...

Hats off

Get me three top hats and a scissors... stat!



Jeeves Wooster lampshades

Forever $22

I'm not shopping at Monsoon until they quit trying to rip me off for living in Ireland. That said, I do adore their Keja Dress but at €144 (£85) they can keep it. I've ordered the Forever 21 Floral & Stripes V-Neck Dress $22.80, which is not only cheaper, but has a nicer neckline. Take that UK-based rip-off merchants.

Fake it 'till you make it

If the recession has taught us anything (and the list of lessons is endless) it's that spending half your monthly salary on a Karen Millen body con party dress two sizes too small was a bad idea.

One of the life's simple pleasures is finding something you want at a fraction of the price. If you don't mind deviating slightly in terms of colour and texture and you're ready and willing to add your own touches here and there, you can save hundreds... allowing you to wear nice things and eat during the same month.

Case in point, the (bound to be pricey but fabulous) Oasis/ Royal College of Art collaboration I highlighted a few months ago... buy some incredible feathers here, stitch them into the hem of the Forever 21 ruffle tier-dress (a recession-tastic $24.80) and bada bing, bada boom, you've got yourself a custom version. Splash out a few extra quid for super fancy feathers (peacock eyes, pheasant or imitation eagle quills) and yours is better than anything Oasis and a college of fashion students could ever come up with.


Feathers - by The Sexy Pedestrian on Polyvore.com">

Smooth operator

With the number of creams I put on my face and the cost of the bloody things, if I ever age, somebody's getting sued. That said, I'm a sucker for science so I'm quite excited about a Lancôme release I got this morning announcing "two major discoveries that unlock the genetic code to skin youthfulness and beauty."

There I was, sleeping in for an extra ten minutes when there were major discoveries going on. Damn you, wine!

Let's get to it:

Discovery 1:

"Skin's beauty, condition and youthfulness, the changes it goes through over time and its ability to withstand stress and aggression is largely related to our genetic inheritance. All these qualities are coded in our genes, at the heart of every cell."

I have to say, this is not the best news I've ever received on a Wednesday morning.

Discovery 2:

"We can help restore a more youthful protein profile on aged skin."

Now you're talking, Mr. Scientist.


How!?
Well, Génifique Youth Activating Concentrate™ is an innovative formulation that contains a concentrated core of select active ingredients chosen for their ability to promote a protein profile more typical of young skin.

According to Lancôme, "Génifique has been put through a rigorous testing program and has been shown to have an outstanding ability to recapture more youthful-looking skin. Glowing with radiance, skin rediscovers its potential: plumped up and velvety to the touch, the complexion sublime and texture beautifully smooth. From the first application, skin appears more smooth and toned. The skin is more radiant and intensely hydrated. Wrinkles appear reduced."

So when can I buy your little bottle of magic face sorcery?
... on counters from March 1st, €70.

Button it

Bitch, please - this is going to go with almost everything. I'm really buzzed about navy lately, if you're blonde like me, you can just throw it on and your hair looks brighter - result!

Military Knit Cardigan £28, Asos.com
Red lips, a pair of denim cigarette pants and a white head scarf and you're all set.
Perfect for now.

Bag of tricks

Marks and Spencer has launched a stealth attack on the Spring/Summer '09 accessories market with these two babies.

Pictured above is the Limited Collection Contrast Shopper, €45.00 - tan, roomy and affordable. What's €45 anyway, two large pizzas? Five cocktails in town?

It's expensive older sister, the Autograph Leather Weave Tote (€229.00, pictured below) is a stunner, with its woven handle and panels and gold hardware. Out of my price range though (if I want to heat my house or have electricity, that is) and slightly overpriced anyway.

Something's afoot...

What's this? It's all bright and sparkly! It's hurting my eyes! It's sun! SUN! There hasn't been sun since September... 1968!
You wouldn't get away with this without a cosy cardigan, obviously, but in celebration I give you the Big Pocket Shirt Dress, €15, Penney's.
Spring-tastic and gleefully easy on the budget, in-store at the end of March.

Thrift superstar

Painfully Hip has some ace tips for snapping up thrift bargains. In my experience, Irish second hand shops don't tend to hold the same promise of those in the US, but that's the thing with charity shops, you never know who's going to die and leave a wardrobe of vintage labels to a family of sons with no idea what they're looking at...

Street style

Charity Chic

Irish Examiner journo Louise Roseingrave is organising a four-hour fashion fundraiser in Chambers Bar in Cork on Saturday, Januaury 31st.
At the moment she's collecting all the second hand clothes she can find - everything from hats, scarves, shoe and boots to belts, bags, jeans, dresses, t-shirts, tops, jackets and coats - the lot: both men and women's.

The proceeds will be donated to this very deserving little lady.

If you live in Cork or Dublin and have something you'd like to donate, contact Louise on 085 7214256 or email louiseroseingrave@gmail.com to arrange a pick-up!

The event itself, from 2pm to 6pm on January 31st at Chambers (Washington Street) will be well worth a look, with everything priced from €2 to €20. It's shopping, on the cheap, for charity, with a glass of wine in your hand... you're not going to get more 'feel good' than that.

Red Alert

Unless you're spending it alone except for a bottle of gin or with a bunch of bitter singletons, contrary to what cosmetics companies and enthusiastic beauty editors will tell you, Valentine's Day is not a day for red lipstick.

If you're in a relationship, your other half will look like a tranny within 20 minutes, giving you an interesting idea of what he might look like if he were a lady.
If you're trying to lure a man into your life or, from a male point of view, into your slightly scary Valentine's-crazed clutches, you might as well just head for the kebab shop and go home right now, because men are terrified of anything darker than a neutral gloss.

You've been reading magazines and they've told you that, to truly celebrate the occasion, you should go all out - red lips, ruby nails, scarlet suspenders, the lot - what a vamp! Right?
Wrong. To a man, red lipstick is the social equivalent of being tarred and feathered. And it's a bitch of a stain to get out of a shirt.

For other occasions of course, it's absolutely fine, some would say essential. Every girl should have at least one fail-safe red lippy. Finding the right one takes time, it's trial and error. You'll discover the wrong colour makes you look like the love child of Pete Burns and a circus clown. The right one will make you look like a smokin' amalgamation of Dita Von Teese and sex itself.

After many, many mistakes, I eventually discovered La Roche-Posay's 'Novalip' Rouge Satin - this stuff incorporates the micro-exfoliating agent LHA, which their science geeks say "stimulates exfoliation and cell generation".
It comes in 14 shades ( €16.50 from most chemists). Shade 191 (below, right) is a 'just eaten an ice-pop' cherry-red colour, great for partying. No. 198 (below, left) is a deeper, bluer matte red, try these two first to get a feel for what suits you.

And for Christ's sake try not to kiss anyone.

Full circle

I finally got my American Apparel Circle Scarf. According to the label, it can be worn 13 different ways. While this is true, I only liked nine of the options and I wasn't that enamoured with the ninth.
The rest were pretty satisfactory though and it definitely scores 10/10 for versatility, even though the whole concept is a piece of marketing genius. I like marketing, sometimes it's the only reason I buy things.




Rather than bore you to tears with a wordy description, I decided on pics instead.

Get one here or if you're handy, run one up on the sewing machine for about €4.

1. Basic scarf
2. Shawl
3. Doubled scarf
4. Scarf with hood
5. Doubled scarf with hood
6. Hooded shawl
7. Figure 8 top
8. One-shoulder dress
9. Bandeau dress (this one needs pins and/or a belt)

Knickers Monica

So, I know one of your deepest, darkest secrets.
If you're anything like me, and you are, your underwear drawer is an unorganised disgrace.

Yesterday, in a desperate attempt to restore order to my wardrobe, I initiated the Great Underwear Cull of 2009. This is an alien idea to men folk, Mr. Pedestrian keeps socks and jocks in two neat drawers. No drama.
Us girls have a whole lot more to worry about, especially when it comes to sorting the thongs from the boy-shorts.

My underwear drawers (all three of them!) were positively overflowing, which meant that since Christmas I've been using the same four bras on laundry rotation, despite having a colourful collection of over 15 stowed away like some kind of kleptomaniac.

Having upturned all three onto the bed, I discovered two things:
1. That I have a disproportionate amount of novelty knickers.
2. That, rather than sort through it all, I could throw it all out and buy new stuff.

I decided on a compromise. I put my favourite bits and pieces back in the drawer, all folded neatly and then bought some new stuff as well. Shopping for underwear is entirely guilt-free because it's a real necessity, not like fishnets. Or hats.
If you're on a budget (and who isn't?) the 'Truly' bra and thong pictured below are €10 and €4 respectively at Penney's. The three sets above are from TK Maxx and start at €5.99, which isn't bad considering the mark-down.

Now, like a real grown-up lady, I'm wearing underwear that actually matches!

I'll be so relieved if I get knocked down.

Would like to meet...

As per Rick's suggestion, here are five (just five - boo!) bloggers I'd rather be talking to at the Blog Awards than lurking in a dark corner by myself:

AnnElicious
Manuel
Annemarie
Molly
Lottie

To name but a few!

Blog Awards nominations

My mother doesn't "do internets", so it wasn't her, but to whoever Voted Pedestrian in the Blog Award nominations, you ROCK.

Lots of lovely links here

Apple-y ever after

I know, I know it's a childish scent but DKNY's Be Delicious always makes me feel all energised and awake, even before the first of the day's coffees or any drugs at all.

Now it comes in a roller ball thingy, which should help avoid any spillage, and carrying around a bag that smells like an explosion in an apple juice factory. Again.


€22.00, Brown Thomas etc.

...

The 30's were not kind to little girls with big dreams... Dear Mary

Wicker woman

Everything's so grey at the moment that this little bangle trio really perked me up. Pricey for the January poverty party at €30, but cute, no? And wicker!

Freedom @ Topshop


Dinner tonight is Braised Lamb with Flageolet Beans (check me out - flageolet beans!), with thanks to my slow cooker and the lovely Delia!

Oooh, Betty

Petrol blue in patent leather, Betty Jackson knows what she's doing. This one's a keeper and, at €78 (Debenhams), could be mine in less than a month if I got my act together and brought my lunch to work every day...

Soup-er!

I would LOVE one of these. According to the ad, you could use it to carry "your swimsuit, your lunch and your transistor." Ideal if you were going to some kind of lunchtime pool party.

Why aren't there more lunchtime pool parties?

More awesome vintage ads here

Kick 'em to the curb

These are the kind of boots that I'd wear to death. I had a brown pair that I wore with everything, then they fell apart and I had to buy Uggs (which I had been steadfastly avoiding for years) and put them in a bin on Bleecker Street in NY. They looked so sad as I walked away, just sitting in the bin.

They were all:

"What are you doing? How can you leave us here?

And I was all
"You've left me no choice, boots. You let the water in. Everything's falling apart."

"But we've taken you to so many parties! So many cities! Have you forgotten the dancing?"

"Jesus wept. My toes got wet, for crying out loud! It's over, it's really over now."

"Fine! Fuckit, you never treated us right anyway. And you're a fat bitch."

"That's just spiteful. And I'm just heavy on my heels, you can ask my podiatrist."

Aaaaaaanyway...
I really like the perforated panel in these actually, great buckles too and they'd be perfect for grunging up a summer dress.

Yours for €130 at Faith.


UPDATE
Just got an email highlighting these
£70 plus 20 extra off because it's a sale item!
Thanks Liz!

Join the line

Lay it on thick or use it to enhance what yo' momma gave ya, you can't beat eyeliner for fast results. I love the stuff. I couldn't resist getting two new ones because I appreciate when cosmetics people put a bit of effort into design. The stuff lasts forever, so I should be good for about 15 years.

The first is M.A.C's super-cool Penultimate Eye Liner (€19) in carbon black. The pen is simple to use, and particularly good for Friday night cat eyes and scrawling phone numbers on the hands of unsuitable men.

The other one is Lancôme’s new Laque Liner Pure Black, €24.50 from the Pink Irreverence debut collection by Aaron De Mey, their artistic director. This one is good and thick and Will. Not. Budge. until you want it to.

Feelings...

More here

Oatally uninspired title

You know what's nice once you have it in front of you? Porridge, that's what. I'm eating Aldi Instant Oat Cereal in Golden Syrup flavour, which is far superior to Aldi Instant Oat Cereal in Oat flavour, in case you find yourself in Aldi in a flavour panic.

I've been drinking a lot of water, almost the recommended two litres a day in fact. This stuff really works, my skin is really clear but it's tough going. It was never going to be as nice as wine, but at least after two litres of wine you'd do a party dance, lose a shoe and pass out. After two litres of water you feel like you're drowning internally and the mood benefits are zero, unless you're particularly turned on by 'hydration'.

In other numbingly yawnsome news, Glamour has released their fairly uninspired pick of the 35 women most likely to become (still with me?) '2009's Agyness Deyn'.

It only took me a month to get over 2008's Agyness Deyn, who was Agyness Deyn herself, so what chance do these poor sparkly lambs have?

Katy Perry, Zooey Deschanel, and - get this - Michelle Obama all make the list. Katy Perry is a clown. I was hoping she'd have gone away by now, but she's still there, stomping around with her baby voice and permanently stupefied expression.

I decided on this picture of a clown today. This is because (a) you never really see clowns during the week (b) clowns are more interesting to look at than Katy Perry and/or porridge.

Be your own icon

It's funny how looking at a random object for long enough can make you look at lots of other things differently. One of my favourite parts of the NY trip was the Museum of Modern Art.

A new obsession with finding the perfect camel coat (like THIS ONE from Max Mara) was born when I stared at Warhol's 'Campbell's Soup Cans' (1962) for a little too long. It just happened. Everyone else was ooh-ing and ahh-ing, "it's iconic", "such a defining piece". I was thinking, "I have a cadmium-red wool blend scarf, it's that exact soup can shade. It's perfect, perfect red. Now nothing will be right until I own a camel coat, sandy beige (like the light to the left of the picture).
The (sorry) flavour of an era... condensed (again, fuck, I can't help it!).



Then there's Josephine Meckseper's 'Knee Highs' (2006) part of a series that aims to expose the links between politics and the consumer worlds of fashion and advertising. I didn't entirely ignore the message, but the 50's lingerie backdrop grabbed me, then white and brown patent took over, what a contrast! Slightly seventies, but in a different context, what a combination. What can I do with white and brown, God, where can I find brown patent pumps?



Finally it's Roy Lichtenstein's 'Girl with Ball' (1961). Never has a line drawing looked so happy. The lips, the hair, the suit, nearly fifty years old and still so fresh. Looking at her isn't enough, I want to be her. Is she were a word, she'd be 'Woo!'

That's me then, navy, red, mustard and white for summer. 2009's predicted neons and tropical brights don't suit me anyway... this year, I'm channeling 'woo!'

The Pig and the Daschund

I got this by email, so I can't credit the photos unfortch, but I just. can't. resist. posting it.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could all just get along?

Woe there.

Okay, so it can get a bit ridiculous sometimes, but as a coping method, the American dedication to optimism has got to be applauded. If you're Irish, it's always a bit of a shock when a stranger tells you to have a "great day", a "wonderful New Year" or a "fantastic evening", but you get so used to hearing it and even (shock, horror!) saying it that when it's gone, you miss it.

It was okay for a few weeks in December, but here, the Christmas spirit melted faster than a chocolate Jesus. From newsreaders to taxi drivers, the Irish are hell-bent on gloom and misery and lamentation. And they fucking love every second of it. Since I landed back in Cork, people have been lining up to regale me with stories of job losses and dismal outlooks and dole queues. Irish people get a weird kind of satisfaction from spreading bad news. It's a negative, kind of hushed monotone, but if you look at the person's face, their eyes are dancing with pure, unadulterated glee.

It's amazing that the Germans are the ones to have come up with the word 'schadenfreude' ("largely unanticipated delight in the suffering of another") when you can almost be guaranteed it originated in Ireland 9,000 years ago when the lid fell off someone's Dolmen or somebody's wild berries turned out to have a laxative effect.

Why can't we report the news without the entire dramatic meltdown lecture?

There's a recession, people are losing their jobs, it's sad and scary and you can't get quality champagne in Aldi. I know, I get it, but do we have to keep flogging this dead, dead horse?

The Americans might be overly gung-ho about the 'Yes We Can', but why we have to be utterly fanatical about 'No we bloody can't, so there's no point trying' is beyond me.

Rant over. Have an absolutely fantastic day!

Home girl

I'm back, baby. NY rocked as hard as expected, to get some housekeeping out of the way here's some highlights:

Food
Carmines 200 West 44th Street - you HAVE to see this place, well worth the hour's wait (what's that, three, four Cosmos?) in the bar.
Yum Yum Bangkok (Thai restaurant, 650 9th Ave, between 45th & 46th St.)
The Jekyll & Hyde (7th ave/Greenwich village) good fun, after a few drinks.
Swing 46, 'Restaurant Row' 349 W 46th St, dinner and dancing, woo!
Little Italy

Note:Stay away from Ruby Foo's, off Time Square, the food was gross and, unusually for NY, the staff were unhelpful plus the place was much pricier than everywhere else.


Must-sees
Natural History Museum
Museum of Modern Art
Central Park Zoo (we walked through Central Park from the Natural History Museum on the opposite side) I was particularly impressed by a neon orange frog in the rain forest section, a giant polar bear and a red panda. It's monkeys a-go-go in there.
South Street Seaport (Pier 17) The amazing Bodies Exhibition is also there at the mo.
The Rockefeller Centre (Top of the Rock for incredible views)
9/11 memorial tiles in Greenwich Village - heavy stuff


Shopping
Bleecker St. Records,239 Bleecker St. - well worth a few hours if you have room in your suitcase for $4 finds. I picked up the Jane Fonda work-out on original vinyl, I figure it'll be more fun than the 300 'salsa-cize' and aerobics classes that kindly crammed their details through my letterbox while I was away.

Great vintage and second-hand stores in Greenwich and Soho
The usual designer knock-offs in Chinatown, I didn't indulge but I know people who've picked up some nice copies.
Note: Don't buy anything within ten blocks of Times Square, everything from t-shirts to souvenirs is half the price elsewhere.



Average mani/pedi - $20 and you'll need it after all the walking, NY is pedestrian central. This, incidentally goes a long way in burning off the extra 3000 calories in hot dogs, cheese steaks, pretzels and pizza you'll consume daily.

The cold wreaked havoc on my skin so I've been slathered in Armani's Crema Nera (pricey at €250, but you'd be surprised how much you can save if you do your weekly shop in Aldi...) since I got back. In hindsight I should have brought it with me.

Against Mr. Pedestrian's wishes, I bought Jobe a jacket. If you've never seen a cat in a sheepskin hoodie, you're missing out...

Start spreadin' the news...

I'm leavin' for NY tomorrow so I'm having a blog holiday... back in a week, bitches.

'Citing!