Shoes Like Suri Cruise

I was interviewed recently about my fashion icons, particularly those in the world of celebrity.

Immediately individuals such as Daphne Guinness, Diane Kruger, Nicole Richie and Sonya Lennon came to mind.

Unfortunately, there was one famous individual that I forgot; Suri Cruise.

Suri might seem like an alarming choice, as she is in fact seven years of age but she has a collection of footwear that I could only dream of.

Standing at 3′ 5″ and with a size 11 (size 29 EU) footprint, finding shoes without an agglomeration of bows, sequins or flowers is often torture.

Places such as H&M and Zara are my go-to locations to source boots, sandals, pumps and often heels which mirror the brand’s womenswear section.

Having finished college this week, I have convinced myself that it is the summer, even if the Irish weather does not always agree with me.

Thus, I have been scrolling through various fashion outlets online to find some shoes to fit the season.

What I found in Zara’s ‘Girls’ collection has left me, quite literally, salivating. (I apologise for the Pavlov’s dog imagery…)

However, I need your help.

I have narrowed my selection down to four pairs and whilst my conscious would quite happily allow me to purchase each of the four pairs, even I know that it verges on gluttony.

The prices start at €25.95 and escalate up to €35.95. Which pair would you choose? (You can vote below)

Wood & Leather Sandal – €35.95

Studded Leather & Wooden Sole Sandal – €35.95

Studded Ankle Strap Sandal – €27.95

Basic Sandal – €25.95

Young and Beautiful

Baz Luhrmanns ‘The Great Gatsby’ is released  in Ireland today.

However, a lucky few attended the premiere screening in The Savoy last night but their reaction to the film on Twitter was quite a mélange, with the majority to be unfavourable – to say the least.

Whilst I am a huge fan of both Carey Mulligan and Leonardo Di Caprio, it is the screenplay’s much-hyped costumes by Miuccia Prada and diamonds by Tiffany & Co. that really peaks my interest – as facetious as that sounds.

I finish college (for the last time) today and going to see ‘The Great Gatsby’ was just one of the ways I was going to reward my hard work. Now though, I’m not so sure…perhaps I’ll just keep listening to the soundtrack.

The soundtrack was executively produced by Jay-Z  and while I’m not a fan of Beyoncé’s rendition of ‘Back To Black’, Lana Del Rey‘s ‘Young and Beautiful’ is exquisite, even if the lyrics are a tad egotistical with a dash of self-assured-ness.

The American songstress croons ‘Will you still love me, when I’m no longer, young and beautiful?’

Thankfully Del Rey answers her own question with ‘I know you will, I know that you will’ and whilst I love the melody, the lyrics have been thought-provoking about my own definition and the public’s definition of beauty and age.

What is our obsession or need to show our icons only in their youth? Do we not deem them to be beautiful as they age?

Broadcaster Maia Dunphy recently posted a link on Twitter to some photographs I had never seen before and really took me by surprise.

If I mentioned the name ‘Audrey Hepburn’, what image immediately comes to mind?

Is it of Audrey dressed in a Givenchy dress and pearls, or perhaps the actress is still in character as Holly kissing a handsome beau in a trench coat in the middle of a New York rainstorm.

Hepburn passed away twenty years ago and while I was only three at the time, I hold very strong memories of her – but all of those are from her youth.

Audrey starred in ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ in her thirties, but what did the actress look like in her forties, fifties, sixties? Why are these images not displayed when we herald her achievements and her career highlights?

While I agree with Audrey when she says something like “Paris is always a good idea”, her wisdom is never clearer than when quoted saying;

“The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole,but true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she knows.”

After all, “Make-up can only make you look pretty on the outside but it doesn’t help if your ugly on the inside. Unless you eat the make-up.”

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When My Dad Met Jared Leto…

About four years ago, my brother Chris and I had tracks such as ‘Kings and Queens’, ‘Closer to the Edge’, ‘Hurricane’ and ‘This is War’ on constant replay whilst continuously mentioning that if 30 Seconds To Mars ever performed in Dublin, we were most definitely going.

At the time, the rest of the family paid little attention to our fanatic ways. I think they hoped it was just a phase.

That was until about a year later, the video for ‘Closer to the Edge’ popped up on MTV whilst both Chris, my Dad and I were in the room.

Whilst Chris and I sang along, Dad suddenly made a point of mentioning that he knew that guy in the video.

Initially, I thought it may have been just one of the extras in the scene.

No, he knew Jared Leto. 

You would think he would make his children privy to this information in their early teens so that they could boast just a little.

But, no – Dad didn’t realise Jared had transformed from indie actor to being a musician heralded by millions around the world.

How did it come about?

My Dad has had quite a colourful life thus far, dotted with film sets, actors and actresses alike.

Whilst working on ‘The Last of the High Kings’ in the early ninties with Christina Ricci and Gabriel Byrne, Dad recalls talking with one of the other stars of the film quite a bit, some guy called Jared.

Jared soon discovered that my Dad had been in Willow and Braveheart. The tale goes that Jared was rather enthusiastic about this, so much that he deemed my Dad to be famous, told most of those who were on set and asked him for his autograph.

At the time, Dad thought Jared was just a little bit mad and didn’t actually give him the autograph.

If Jared would now like to reach out to my Dad to get the autograph, I would be more than happy to put the pair back in touch…

This week, 30 Seconds to Mars released the video for the leading track off their new album ‘Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams’.

‘Up in the Air’ was produced, directed and edited by Jared Leto and also stars Dita Von Teese and gymnasts McKayla Maroney and Jordyn Wieber.

If you’re 30 Seconds to Mars fan, you’ll love this! Even if you’re usually not, it’s a cracker of a tune and the video is rather spectacular and most definitely worth a watch!

The Student Media Awards 2013

The Student Media Awards, or the Smedias as they’re colloquially known, were held this week, in The Ballsbridge Hotel.

Hosted by Lucy Kennedy, it was a rather glamorous affair with students donning their most formal of attire. There was even someone wearing head-to-toe red velour – I kid you not.

I was really unsure of what to expect, it was my first time to attend and also my first time to be a nominee.

Among my classmates and I, we were nominated for four awards. I, for ‘Blog of the Year’, Rósa for ‘Radio Production – News and Current Affairs’ and Leah and Edel were in competition for ‘Radio Production of the Year – Arts and Features’.

For me, being nominated for ‘Blog of the Year’ was a huge achievement and came as quite the surprise.

As the night progressed, the audience became a little more raucous but Lucy’s self-deprecating remarks and interesting facial expressions, kept those of us, who were a little more sober, highly entertained.

Whilst it was the students who were being awarded, a slew of industry professionals and famous faces also graced the stage to present the awards.

To mention but a few; Sinéad Kennedy, Vincent Brown, The Viper, Brian Dobson, Bobby Kerr, Rozanna Purcell, Ryan Phillips, Marc O’ Neill (of Tallafornia) and Jedward.

For those who know me, outside of the internet perhaps, I would say that you’re fairly aware of how supportive my parents are of all my endeavours – whether that’s joining me on stage at the Olympia Theatre or not…

They came along to the awards too, I actually think they may have been the only parents there, in fact.

So, my Dad was Mario Testino for the evening, organising photoshoots with as many of the celebrity guests as he could find backstage.

It was a really great event and even though I didn’t come home with the award, I was humbled to be grouped-in with the future of Ireland’s media industry.

Huge congratulations to Edel who took home the award, it was IADT’s first but most definitely not it’s last.

You never know, the future host of the Late Late Show could have been in there among us somewhere…

King of the Travellers; John Connors

I’m currently studying an M.A. in Broadcast Production in Television and Radio at the Institute of Art, Design and Technology in Dun Laoghaire. (I know, it’s quite a mouthful)

As part of the course, my twelve classmates and I, created a variety of radio programmes and features to understand the production, presentation and technical elements of the radio industry.

For assessment, each student had to produce and present a thirty minute radio programme covering the topics of current affairs, sport, light entertainment and arts.

The topics were decided by each individual producer.

Producing my radio programme led me to meeting one of the most interesting characters I have ever had the pleasure of interviewing; John Connors.

The acting domain is often perceived as one promoting exclusivity, only those of a certain age, background, education and physical appearance are granted admittance. Of course, talent is a factor too, but it’s not always the deciding one.

As a little person, I can utterly empathise with how easy it is to be typecast within television and film.

It was extraordinary and inspirational, for me, when fellow little person, Peter Dinklage, won the Emmy for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Game of Thrones. He was accredited solely due to his acting achievements, his physical appearance and height was of little importance.

As part of the college assignment, I was privileged to speak with actor John Connors for the arts segment of my radio programme.

John, a member of the Travelling Community, spoke candidly about the stereotypical forms of employment for Travellers and the challenges in emerging from the mold and pursuing a different dream.

John is the star of upcoming film ‘King of the Travellers’; a tale where in the Travelling community, a young man must put his past behind him and settle a long running feud between two families so he can be with the love of his life.

Progressing from the title of actor, John has grown his talents to writing the screenplays for ‘Cardboard Gangsters’ and ‘Stalker’,

However, you will see him on the smaller screen very soon as he is currently filming Season Four of RTÉ drama Love/Hate where John says it will get even more real this season and his character will most definitely stir things up!

A huge thank you to John for speaking with me, he is without doubt one of the most promising talents to emerge from Dublin this year!

Benefit Cosmetics; Fake Up

For the past four days, my alarm clock has been programmed to shrill me from sleep at the horrific hour of 5am.

Initially, it was as toxic as it sounds. However, my body has slowly but surely realigned itself and today I found it oddly attractive to discover that by 8am, I had more completed than I usually do before midday.

Each day this week, I have had two things stored in my satchel of survival; money for caffeine and Benefit’s Fake Up.

Last month, I had the pleasure of attending Benefit’s Dublin launch of Fake Up in Harvey Nichols at Dundrum Town Centre.

The ridiculously talented Mark Rogers, chief make-up artist for Benefit in Ireland, gave the room of beauty and fashion bloggers a tutorial in how to apply Fake Up whilst listing the many attributes and advantages of using Benefit’s new concealer.

Since almost time immemorial, it proved impossible to find a concealer that didn’t amass in the bags under my eyes. My concealer needed not only to be able to masquerade my blemishes!

I had virtually given up hope until I put Fake Up through vigorous testing this week.

In it’s cylindrical packaging, Fake Up is a combination of two products; the inner ring is the concealing element which comes in three shades – light, medium and dark. The outer ring is that of a moisturiser which includes extracts of apple seeds and vitamin E.

I am in no way a chemist, but the dual properties of this product is what kept me from looking as fatigued as I felt this week.

It is a first for me, that a concealer conceals and doesn’t cake. Thus, although the price of €26.50 may be more than you would usually pay for this genre of product – it is one which I would highly recommend.

Mark Rogers showing me how to ‘Fake Up’ in Harvey Nichols.

A Workplace Wardrobe

The ‘what will I wear to work’ question has always been one of the biggest style conundrums, for me personally.

Perhaps I should give you some background information.

After completing my Leaving Certificate, I started a four year course in Coláiste Mhuire, Marino training to be a primary school teacher. As part of the course, each student had five placements or teaching practices where you would effectively be teacher for three to four weeks.

The Teaching Practice Department within college were rather strict in their definition of professional dress. Our male teaching counterparts wore a shirt and tie and whilst it was a little more difficult to articulate a dress code for us females, items such as jumpers, trousers, cardigans and blouses were steadily added to my wardrobe.

As I progressed through each of my Teaching Practices, I began to pay much more attention to my qualified colleagues to see how they dressed.

Whilst some schools, alike many offices, were more relaxed in their attire, wearing jeans and comfortable clothes, I sought to expand my wardrobe (and further deplete my bank balance) to add style to sophisticated.

However, with all of my interest in fashion, I continuously found myself favouring the jumper and pleated trousers, merely because it was easier.

Four years later, I am in the middle of completing my Masters, in a completely different field; the domain of media and broadcasting, just incase you were wondering.

One of the most crucial elements of this specific course is the industry placement. This is how I have spent the Easter break so far.

Having spent last week learning about the world of television, this week I am privileged to learn the who, what, why and how of radio.

Two weeks ago, I went shopping – armed with my sister and iron-clad determination, to amend my ‘workplace wardrobe’.

Inspired by Zoe Hart / Rachel Bilson in Hart of Dixie, I bought a multitude of shorts, blazers, a leather jacket, blouses and bold statement pendants which I have spent mixing, matching, clashing, comparing, contrasting (and a variety of other verbs).

Whilst my confidence has grown and I have learned a little about dressing appropriately, comfortably and stylishly for work – I am without doubt that there is an entire minefield remaining for me to discover.

Thus, I would like your assistance and advice!

What do YOU wear to work? Does it make a difference whether you wear jeans, a suit, tracksuit bottoms or a shirt and tie?

At work, does your ‘uniform’ define you, perhaps even to others? Do we place too much importance on it?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!