Lots of Cologne in Cologne...

I was in Cologne at the weekend checking out their Christmas markets. I was hoping to collect some Cologne stamped street style shots with my new – well, my new second-hand - Canon G9, which I got a great deal on from the Camera Exchange on Georges Street; the guys in there are all so helpful. Unfortunately nobody caught my eye, and while I wasn't expecting stylish people in their masses, I was surprised to not even spot a couple of them. A bit of creative layering and they'd be away in a hack. It was pretty brrr though, so maybe they were hiding out at home!

So what did Cologne have to offer? Well while there wasn’t much in the way of stylishly clad folk, there was lots more to enjoy in the way of vintage stalls with some amazing jewellery, bags, beautiful silk scarves and food, food and more food. I sampled some pretty delicious waffles, pancakes, traditional German potato cakes… the list goes on. Trawling through the markets was made a whole lot easier with plenty of gluhwein, and with the overhead trees dressed in love-hearts and stars, I almost forgot how cold it was!

Being a chocolate lover, it would have been rude not to make an appearance at the Cologne Chocolate Museum. I'm now officially an expert on on all things chocolate! Check out a shots of chocolate making in action, a collection of old chocolate wrappers, oh and Kinder Surprise toys!

 

To Conform is Not to Tilda...

I watched a beautiful Italian movie last night, called I am Love, featuring the uttlerly brilliant Tilda Swinton. It's a movie which Tilda, and friend and Director Luca Guadagnino developed over 11 years ago. With lots of evocative imagery, the film tells the story of a woman's (Swinton) relationship with her family, food and sex. Tilda is intriguing to watch, her body language and use of facial expression is incredible, she left little need for words. 

Tilda is such an interesting character with an amazingly distinctive look. She brings something quite unique to everything she does. I love that she's not afraid to stand out and be who she is, when there's so much conforming takes place out there. Her performance in I am Love was yet another confirmation of how wonderful she is. I'm reminded of a quote "to be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting".

Fronting many powerhouse fashion magazine covers, it's clear her power to inspire knows no bounds. My favourites are featured below. Also featured below are some shots by photographer Ryan McGinley, they were taken for a Pringle Scotland campaign, in which Tilda featured. The nature inspired shots along with Tilda's androgynous looks are a perfect and fresh match for the brand.

Credits: Dazed and Confused, Another Magazine

Ben Toms...

I'm completely enarmored with the work of photographer Ben Toms. The shoot below is one he did for Double Magazine along with stylist Mattias Karisson. The mood they've created is what really drew me in.

Images: Ben Toms

Going it Alone...

It's not always possible to keep each other warm, although it's certainly my preferred method and I'm sure I'm not alone there! So for those times when you've got to go it alone this Winter, I've picked a selection of my favourite outerwear on offer this season. There's something there for the guys and the girls!

For the boys!  Reiss Military style crombie, Jill Sander for Uniqlo classic double breasted woolen coat . Finally for a more casual look, I'm loving this black cape from Topman.

Now for the girls... From Reiss a fitted crombie coat, an All Saints mac from Asos and finally an assymetric detail trench coat from Cos, which I'm very happy to say now has a concession at BT2!

Images: Reiss, Uniqlo, Topman, Asos, Cos

The Wonderful Eilis Boyle's 10th Collection...

I'm a happy girl when I'm deep in a forest, the dappled light, the feeling of purity, it all sucks me in. So when I watched this video of Eilis Boyle's new and 10th collection, using forest as the backdrop , I thought to myself, perfect! It's a really beautiful collection, I particularly like her feathered dress.

 
10th collection from Eilis Boyle on Vimeo.

Lanvin for H & M...

Due to hit the stores at the end of November is Lanvin's collection for H & M. From my experience, it's sooo hard to get affordable stylish clobber for guys in Dublin, so what's even better is there's something for the boys:) I've selected my favourites below from the lookbook.

Image Credit:: Refinery 29

Darklight...

Saturday night took me to new space Grand Social, it was an evening with Synth Eastwood and a collection of brilliantly costumed folk. We all looked pretty damn wicked, particularly my bunch, and that's not being biased! The theme was scary movie characters which led me to go as the wonderfully wacky Charlie Chaplin. There was lots of fun to be had, and I'll definitely be making a revisit to Grand Social. Check it out for yourself, it's just at the halpenny bridge, where Pravda used to be.