The Gloss March 2016

IT'S COOL TO BE KIND / COMPETITIVE DRESSING / A HEALTHY HEART / NEW SEASON BUYS: MODEST, MID-RANGE & MEGA

MAGAZINE MARCH 2016

with THE IR

ISH TIMES

THE FASHION ISSUE RUNWAY INSPIRATION FOR REAL WARDROBES

Discover more.

MARCH 2016 NEXT ISSUE

THURSDAY APRIL 7

�8 INSIDE THIS ISSUE 8 THE LOWDOWN Where we’re dining, who we’re seeing and what we’re buying in March

10 HUNTING & GATHERING Outfit inspiration for the school run, supermarket and beyond

30 MOODBOARD Susan Zelouf reveals why kindness trumps all else

67 BEAUTY This months’s new launches and one unexpected ingredient: tea

72 FOOD Trish Deseine’s chocolate cake and malted truffles will elevate your Easter entertaining

6�

74 WINE Mary Dowey heralds the welcome return of Cabernet Franc

PUBL ISH E R

JAN E MC DON N ELL E DITOR

SARAH MC DON N ELL STY L E E DITOR

AI SL I N N COFFEY BE AUTY E DITOR

SARAH HAL LI WEL L A R T E DITOR

L AURA KEN N Y ASSISTA N T E DITOR – F E ATUR E S

76 MY GLOSSY WEEKEND

SARAH B REEN

Nikki Creedon tells Anne Harris why fashion gets her up in the morning

At home in Frankfurt with Thomas Sabo’s globe-trotting creative director Susanne Kölbli

HAN NAH P OP HAM

34 THE WAY YOU WEAR IT

78 THIS GLOSSY LIFE

From runway to real life, as worn by four stylish Irish women

Inside international lifestyle guru Carolyne Roehm’s garden

32 LET’S DO LUNCH

40 THE SMALL REVEAL How to embrace this season’s subtle new erogenous zones

44 FASHION New season, fresh perspective. These are the three trends you need to try

62 HIGH HEMS & ROLLER BAGS Meet the women who led Ireland’s fash pack in the 1960s

ON THE COVER: Floral long-sleeved top; floral shorts; both EMILIA WICKSTEAD. TOP LEFT: PU raincoat with grosgrain ribbon border, LONGCHAMP. Black cashmere sweater, PRADA. Taupe pleated skirt, ZARA. Blue Mothercare Featherweight Ebury leather handbag, ANYA HINDMARCH. Orange canvas and suede sneakers, HERMÈS, TOP RIGHT: Plaid tweed jacket; matching trousers; white leather sneakers; all CHANEL.

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4 | March 2016 | T H E G L O S S M A G A Z I N E

ASSISTA N T E DITOR

A DVE R TISIN G SA L E S DIR E CTOR

TRACY ORMI STON CON TR IBUTIN G E DITOR S

Polly Devlin, Antonia Hart, Catherine Heaney, Penny McCormick, Katy McGuinness, Aoife O’Brien, Peter O’Brien, Therese Quinn, Luis Rodriguez, Natasha Sherling CON TR IBUTIN G PH OTOGR A PH E R S

Michael Dwornik, Neil Gavin, Renato Ghiazza, Olivia Graham, Neil Hurley, Lisa Loftus, Barry McCall, Joanne Murphy, Liam Murphy, Amelia Stein, Suki Stuart THE GLOSS welcomes letters from readers, emailed to letters@ thegloss.ie. THE GLOSS is published by Gloss Publications Ltd, The Courtyard, 40 Main Street, Blackrock, Co Dublin, 01 275 5130. Subscriptions Hotline: 01 275 5130. 12 issues delivered directly to your address: Ireland: t49.50. UK and EU: t80. Rest of world: t115. Printed by Boylan Print. Colour origination by Typeform.

Copyright 2015 Gloss Publications Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited. This magazine can be recycled either in your Green Bin kerbside collection or at a local recycling point.

~ GLOSS IP H MARC

The trouble with TRANSITION YEAR... a worrying return to COMPETITIVE DRESSING... the think tank in THE SNOW... a warning for the lazy HOUSEWIFE...

D

   An alpine setting does seem to have a mind-clearingand-sharpening effect. For several years, a group of young middle-aged Irish bankers, business heads and the occasional academic and artist get together for an informal weekend in Chamonix. Guests stay at two stunning chalets owned by up-and-coming power couples and while the main emphasis is on skiing and dining, the level of informal idea and deal sharing has meant that the weekend is now known as ‘mini Davos’. Allegedly, at the 2016 summit, things got heated ... politically, of course.    It seems, along with competitive dressing, of which more later, the Private Event is well and truly back. A viewing of the film Brooklyn at the British Film Institute with director JOHN CROWLEY in attendance, was hosted by a prominent Irish board member. Guests enjoyed the movie in a tiny screening room allegedly frequently used

by WOODY ALLEN. The film’s theme chimed with the audience of exiles and City commuters, despite the starkly contrasting circumstances enjoyed by today’s emigrés.

6 | March 2016 | T H E G L O S S M A G A Z I N E

(UN)FRIENDLY COMPETITION: Who knew dressing could be a competitive sport?

was being “playful”. We recall another case some years ago where a complaint to the mayor of a village about a woman sunbathing topless on her balcony was thrown out, the mayor opining that if more women sunbathed topless, the village would be a happier place. If we get a warm spell, we could squeeze onto our tiny balconies (first removing the bicycle, clothes airer and bag of compost) and put this theory to the test.   

With Six Nations season well underway, seats on planes chartered by Irish legal and stockbroking firms are at a premium. One woman reports being the only female on such a trip bound for a fixture of the Rugby World Cup last year. When she asked a female partner why more women weren’t invited, she replied that female clients and colleagues were invited alright, “they just didn’t want to go”. Perhaps they are choosing our Look the Business fashion and networking event (on October 19 this year) which is already almost fully booked.    Restaurants and bars in New York are facing an interesting dilemma, as they try to figure out politically correct signage for “restrooms”. Given fluid gender permutations, the standard words and symbols for the Ladies and Gents are apparently discriminatory ... litigation looms, followed by the inevitable introduction of a new set of Lavatory Laws. We suppose it’s good to flush out any anomalies ...    Not so forward-thinking, it seems, in Italy. When a man in a small village south of Rome made a report to the Carabinieri police, saying that his wife left the house in a mess, was slovenly in her appearance, wouldn’t cook and occasionally barred him from the bedroom, rather than dismissing it as a domestic dispute, the police referred it to the judicial authorities, who decided to send the matter to trial. The 42-year-old woman stands accused of “bad management of domestic affairs” and, if found guilty, could face between two and six years in prison. Just last month, a court in Sicily ruled that a man accused of groping three female colleagues was not guilty of harassment, but rather

Famous Irish gardener (and occasional contributor to THE GLOSS) HELEN DILLON could never be accused of being slovenly. On the contrary, a writer from The Daily Telegraph recently described how Dillon reapplied her lipstick several times during a day-trip spent scouting for snowdrops (the name of a snowdrop fan, by the way, is “galanthophile”). The lipstick was produced over and over from a LULU GUINNESS handbag, restoring Dillon’s impeccable appearance. The writer also mentioned the gardener’s sportive style of driving and admitted to being rather nervous.    “Madam, I’ll have to ask you to put down that third handbag.” Words you are unlikely to hear, unless you are one of the aforementioned Chamonix set intent on a multiple purchase in a luxury accessories boutique. But here’s why you might be restricted. Due to hefty import tariffs, prices for luxury goods can be 20 to 30 percent higher in China when compared to abroad. So now luxury fashion retailers in Europe are tackling the issue of daigou, a grey market trade where shopping agents purchase goods overseas and sell them back to customers in China, typically making a profit and saving the customer money, by avoiding import duties. Luxury brands have started watching their customers closely. “We’ve placed restrictions on the amount of products that people can buy,” says JEAN-JACQUES GUIONY, CFO at LVMH. “When you see someone in a store, you don’t know whether they are buying handbags for themselves or to sell them onto the market.”    With renewed gusto for shopping comes Competitive Dressing, a sport which attracts only the most self-obsessed and terrifyingly focused of women and, increasingly, men (but mostly women). At recent events – a charity lunch, the races – we observed a steely determination among participants to wear a must-have item first and better, than anyone else. In the case of this season’s key pieces, which reveal tantalising little bits of the body, it’s about being in peak physical condition too, toned arms, no muffin-top.

Not match-ready? Neither are we. Time to hit the gym. ^

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JASON LLOYD-EVANS

on’t you wish you were in Transition Year, so dazzling are the adventures some lucky TY students enjoy. Our dismal two weeks spent folding leotards in a dance shop (prompted by a vague interest in ballet) and “filing” in the uncle’s office (confirming a complete ineptitude for clerical work) pale in comparison. Spending a few months with a family or indeed at boarding school in Spain or France is now considered entry level stuff in certain, admittedly small, coteries: it’s far cooler to help build a village in Peru or assist charities at work in India or China. (Cue a flurry of invites to fund-raising coffee mornings with pan pipe soundtracks and curry nights with energetic Bollywood dancing displays, leaving more than a few sheltered fathers in shock, as their daughters joyfully jiggle their medallions.) Stints with international banks and leading fashion designers are considered highly desirable by youngsters and their ambitious parents (or should that be the other way around?) while spending a term at school in the Alps solves the question of a troublesome teen – no phones, no Facebook and lots of bracing fresh air. Of course, we should point out that much excellent experience is gained, valuable work done and monies raised by TY students. Perhaps it’s the lawnmower parents who need to take stock. One overprivileged 16-year-old has clocked up five continents so far, with deep-pocketed Daddy footing the bill. How will real work ever measure up for this kid?

HERMÈS BY NATURE

The Lowdown

WE’RE READING: Behind The Runway by Matt Lever, a stunning collection of fashion photographs perfectly depicting the excitement, panic and drama backstage.

Since the late 1990s, Lever has been a fixture at the most iconic shows

by Chanel, Jean Paul Gaultier and Giorgio Armani, and is still Dolce & Gabbana’s go-to man for exclusive coverage. €35, Roads; www.roads.co.

WHAT’S TRENDING IN MARCH

1

1. The So Collective space. 2. Beeswax candles, Brookfield Farm. 3. Ceramic hand-thrown teapot, Chloë Dowds Ceramics.

2

WE’RE VISITING: Neptune at Global Village at Powerscourt House,in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow for spring interiors inspiration.

3

2

STANLEY’S, the cosy French bistro and wine bar on Dublin’s St Andrew’s Street, a welcome antidote to from super-spare, hardly dressed venues springing up around the city. Designed by Suzie McAdam, the panelled dining room is equal parts intimate and elegant, and features charming, gilt-framed oil paintings of famous actors, brass fittings and cosy candlelight. Other French-inspired hotspots on our radar?

LADURÉE’s tea rooms on nearby South William Street, for warm French toast and rose chantilly whipped cream. And while DELAHUNT on Camden Street serves modern Irish fare, a table behind the creamy lace curtains feels distinctly Parisian too.

8 | March 2016 | T H E G L O S S M A G A Z I N E

SO COLLECTIVE at Kildare Village, a brand new retail space devoted to the very best of modern Irish design: fashion, homewares, jewellery and accessories. WE’RE EXCITED BY Ireland’s newest, freshest concept store in a way we haven’t been in a long time WE’RE INSPIRED BY The gorgeous space designed by ChanLegge, the creative pairing of Jennifer Chan and Jonathan Legge, who have used pieces by Irish designers, including Shane Holland’s modern lantern, Colin Harris’ bedroom cabinet, to furnish with a light touch. WE’RE DISCOVERING A collection curated by Mark Quinn of Baluba, featuring Helen Steele’s bold striped dresses, Electronic Sheep’s cool, quirky knits and Martha Lynn’s modern millinery. WE’RE TAKING HOME Scarves by Mr Jenks and Sian Jacobs, bold coloured jewellery by Melissa Curry and delicate gold and silver rings by Natasha Sherling. WE’RE COMING BACK FOR new designers, added weekly.

WE’RE GIVING: One of NEPTUNE’s chic glass vases, filling it with Neptune’s own silk blooms (inspired by the oriental garden Karl Lagerfeld created for the Chanel AW16 show). Other fabulous florals?

LOISON’s beautifully wrapped Italian Easter cakes. We like the divine Peach Colomba with orange peel and almond, in its pretty pink packaging.

Available at Dunnes Stores, Avoca and Cavistons.

WE’RE BUYING LIT-TICKETS FOR: BECKETT IN FOXROCK,

a celebration of Samuel Beckett’s life and work.

Tonight, at Tullow Church, where the Nobel Prize winner spent many Sundays, Marcus Lamb and Jennifer Laverty will perform theatrical extracts, poetry and prose, while UCD’s Dr Feargal Whelan connects his writing to Dublin 18. Tickets are available from www.eventbrite.ie.

MOUNTAINS TO SEA

THE DOOLIN

DLR BOOK FESTIVAL,

WRITERS’ WEEKEND,

where headliners include Sir Michael Parkinson, Cecelia Ahern, Neil Jordan, Louise O’Neill, Sheila O’Flanagan, and Jennifer Johnston, with Liam Ó Maonlaí leading a night of Van Morrison songs as gaeilge. From March 9-13, www. mountainstosea.ie.

for readings, seminars and workshops by literary luminaries including Joseph O’Connor, Dermot Bolger and Stephen Murray.

Watch out for the anthology celebrating 35 years of Salmon Poetry, who first gave a voice to Rita Ann Higgins. www. doolinwritersweekend.com.

COMPILED BY HANNAH POPHAM

WE’RE DINING AT:

RUTH MARIA MURPHY

WE’RE SHOPPING AT:

HERMÈS BY NATURE

TWIN TRACK

DRESSING UP ^ DOWN Is this what success looks like? Is it lifestyle guru and fashion consultant Yasmin Sewell, tricked out in natty print, super-skinny blazer and jaunty hat, superself-styled with belt and pushed-up sleeves? Or hot digital fashion entrepreneur Miroslava Duma, late of Vogue Russia, in jeans, white tee and bucket bag?

If you anwered A or B ... well, you’d be right on both counts! After years of primping and preening and posing, Duma feels confident enough to wear to Fashion Week the sort of outfit we might wear to pop to Lidl (okay, maybe not the cool white shoes). Yves Saint Laurent described blue jeans as “the most spectacular, the most practical, the most relaxed and nonchalant ...”

It’s the old confidence trick: If you’re in control of your style, and your destiny, everything looks good on you. Just avoid sweatpants outside the gym. In the words of Karl Lagerfeld: “Sweatpants are a sign of defeat. You lost control of your life so you bought some sweatpants.”

For clothes for grocery shopping and/or leading a digital revolution, see over.

10 | March 2016 | T H E G L O S S M A G A Z I N E

JASON LLOYD-EVANS

HUNTING

A R N O T T S - H A RV E Y N I C H O L S - D U B L I N

GATHERING

Channel the Trend 1

2

3

9

4

8

6

5

One of a duo of HERMÈS colognes for spring, this fruity spin on rhubarb is quirky and bold.

JASON LLOYD-EVANS

7

8

TWIN T RACK

DOUBLE TAKE

9

1. Gold Rosslyn neckpiece, d30; WWW.MYSHININGARMOUR.COM. 2. Lux Volume Mousse, SHOW BEAUTY, d35, at Harvey Nichols. 3. Blue floral shirt dress, d24.99, at H&M. 4. Tan leather belt, ISABEL MARANT, d80; www.net-a-porter.com. 5. Tortoiseshell-frame reading glasses, SEE CONCEPT, d40; www.colette.fr. 6. Eau de rhubarbe écarlate cologne, HERMÈS, d92, at Brown Thomas. 7. Birds doodle notebook, DIPTYQUE, £12stg; www.liberty.co.uk. 8. Blue Straight denim jeans, d55, at TOPSHOP. 9. Straw French trilby hat, d120, at SHEVLIN, Cow’s Lane, Dublin 8. 10. White Christy lizard-effect leather shoes, AQUAZZURA, d525; ww.net-a-porter.com.

For stockists, www.thegloss.ie

12 | March 2016 | T H E G L O S S M A G A Z I N E

10

FASHION

THE PERFECT MATCH:

SHOPPING THE TRENDS Ensure you stay stylish this spring with our round-up of the season's best pieces to buy now, wear now. There is something to suit all budgets, writes AISLINN COFFEY SHIRT TALES For super-feminine easy dressing, roll up the cuffs and wear with heels or flats.

CAROLINA HERRERA

THE MIDI SHIRTDRESS

FIT PARADE A neat cut, and cropped length will keep this hard-wearing jacket from feeling bulky.

Even though it has slightly utilitarian connotations, the hard working shirt dress couldn’t be more feminine. Wear yours with a belt to highlight the waist. | MEGA |

| MID-RANGE |

THE BIKER JACKET A timelessly cool staple, the tough-girl biker jacket is back in favour. Who said it ever went away?

| MODEST |

| MEGA |

Pinstriped washed-silk dress Maison Margiela, d1,590; www.net-a-porter.com. Khaki Lockette Petite suede bag, d1,350; khaki Flora suede shoes, d695; both Jimmy Choo, at Harvey Nichols.

Floral print dress, d199, at Marks & Spencer.

White leather handbag, d125; white knotted leather sandals, d99; both at Cos, 6-8 Wicklow Street, Dublin 2.

16 | March 2016 | T H E G L O S S M A G A Z I N E

Khaki floral shirt dress, d58, at Oasis. Tan suede wedges, d59.99, at H&M. Tan saddle bag, d29.90, at Accessorize, Dundrum Town Centre, Dundrum, Dublin 16.

Black leather biker jacket, Saint Laurent, d3,690; black ribbon hairband, Chanel, d640; both at Brown Thomas. Blue cotton shirt with ribbon tie, Commes des Garçons Girl, d410; www.net-a-porter.com.

| MID-RANGE |

Black leather biker jacket, Vila, d239.20; www.laredoute. com. Black suede fringed bag, d135; black suede flats, d65; both www.stories.com.

| MODEST |

Black leather biker jacket, d129, at Zara. Blue cotton waterfall-detail shirt, d69; navy long earrings, d19; both at Cos, 6-8 Wicklow Street, Dublin 2.

Dublin BOSS Store 67/68 Grafton Street

HUGO BOSS UK LTD. Phone +44 (0)20 7554 5700 hugoboss.com

CHLOÉ

FASHION | MEGA |

| MID-RANGE |

| MODEST |

CÉLINE

DAY TO NIGHTIE Super-star blogger Nicola Warne in a sherbet-hued dress and knit at Sydney SS16 fashion week.

OUT OF THE BEDROOM Underwear as outerwear is one of the season’s biggest trends. Look for chemise-like, silhouetteskimming dresses, plain or trimmed with lustrous lace or intricate embroidery. Temper the underwear-feel by pairing with an oversized knit (V-neck sweater or cardigan).

Green Raquel silk slip dress, Equipment, d530; grey Sewing Class embellished wool cardigan, Christopher Kane, d1,095; both www. matchesfashion.com. Gold wire hoop earrings, Tiffany & Co, d1,300, at Brown Thomas.

| MEGA |

SNOW PATROL Black accessories look chic with head-to-toe white.

WHITE OUT Designers freshened up spring collections with luxurious pieces in an all-white palette.

20 | March 2016 | T H E G L O S S M A G A Z I N E

Emma satin-trimmed mini dress, d995; metallic faux leather brogues, d695; both Stella McCartney at www.net-a-porter.com. Charcoal Bone cuff, Elsa Peretti for Tiffany & Co, d570, at Brown Thomas.

Oyster lace-trim silk sun dress, Mes Demoiselles, d545; www. matchesfashion.com. Taupe trench coat, Harris Wharf London, d520; metal-toe sneakers, Adidas Superstars, d115; all at BT2.

| MID-RANGE |

Ivory wool coat, Whistles, d325, at House Of Fraser. Ivory Georgia Nano leather bag, Chloé, d650; black Anais sandals, Isabel Marant, d520; both www.mytheresa.com.

Black lace-trim slip dress, d50; www.riverisland. com. Gold leather glove shoes, d39.99; round sunglasses, d9.99; both at H&M.

| MODEST |

Off-white wool coat, Carolyn Donnelly The Edit, d169, at Dunnes Stores.

Retro-style sunglasses, d15.95; orange leather mules, d59.95; both at Zara.

peugeot.ie

PEUGEOT 308 FOCUSED ON YOUR SENSATIONS FROM €230 PER MONTH*

2.9% APR*

PEUGEOT I-COCKPIT

I

€3,500 SCRAPPAGE

(3)

PURETECH PETROL ENGINES

Combined consumption (l/100 km): from 3.6 to 5.1. CO2 emissions (g/km): from 95 to 114.

YEARS EXTENDED

WARRANTY

I

€750 CUSTOMER REWARD(3)

R E V E R S E PA R K I N G C A M E R A (1)

#AffordableQuality

Standard from Active model. (2) 5 years warranty is made up of 3 year manufacturer’s warranty and 2 year extended manufacturer’s warranty.

On registrations up to 31st March 2016. Peugeot 308 range RRSP from €19,365 plus delivery.

Finance Example: Peugeot 308 1.6 BlueHDi 100bhp Allure. Retail Price† €25,718.40. Customer Deposit / Trade In €9,001. Finance Amount €16,717.40.

36 monthly payments of €230. Total Cost of Credit €1,159.09 which includes a documentation fee of €63.49. GMFV†† (Optional Final Payment) €9,533.

APR 2.9% as at 01 January 2016. Min deposit 10%. † Includes delivery & related charges. Model is shown for illustrative purposes only. ††Guaranteed Minimum Future Value (GMFV) is payable if you renew or retain the vehicle at the end of the agreement. Further charges may be applied by your Peugeot Dealer subject to kilometre limits / condition of the vehicle. *Lending criteria and conditions apply. Offer available on all new Peugeot 308 Allure models registered up to 31st March 2016 at participating dealers.

APR 2.9% which is inclusive of a documentation fee of €63.49. This is a Hire Purchase agreement provided by Bank of Ireland t/a Bank of Ireland Finance.

(1)

(2)

OR

(3)

PEUGEOT 308

FASHION

PROPER ORDER Team a prim blouse, like this one from Gucci, with anklegrazing denim for a modern look.

| MEGA |

THE SHEER BLOUSE From pussy-bow necklines to Victorian frills, the ladylike blouse has had a new season update. Invest now for your workwear wardrobe – and weekend. | MID-RANGE |

GUCCI

BLU GIRL

CHECK, PLEASE The secret to effortlessly nailing this tricky trend? Mix pattern while matching palette.

STRIPES & CHECKS Step out of our comfort zone and embrace loud, graphic prints. Mix and match to add dimension and texture if you’re feeling brave.

| MODEST |

| MEGA |

| MID-RANGE |

Green striped one-shoulder dress, Stella McCartney, d695; white leather shopper, Tod’s, from d885; white Jellie sandals, Givenchy, d205; all www.mytheresa.com.

Check apron dress, Whistles, d185, at House of Fraser. White cotton shirt, Lennon Courtney, d79, at Dunnes Stores. Panda sneakers, Joshua Sanders, d320; www.avenue32.com

| MODEST |

Navy extralong wool coat, d149, at Zara.

Pink silk blouse with red neck tie, d980; green crossover leather mules, d495; both www.gucci. com. Ink Maria flared-leg jeans, J Brand, d305, at Brown Thomas.

Pink silk blouse, Whistles, d170, at House of Fraser. White cotton cropped trousers, Miu Miu, d270; www.mytheresa. White and pink leather and suede sneakers, Golden Goose DeLuxe, d300; www.net-a-porter.com.

22 | March 2016 | T H E G L O S S M A G A Z I N E

Nude bird-print blouse, d39.99; blue denim cropped jeans, d39.99; white leather slip-on sneakers, d34.99; all at H&M.

Striped linen trousers, d135, at Marks & Spencer. Navy checked top, d29.99, at Mango.

Silver leather sneakers, Superga, d73, at Schuh, Dundrum Town Centre, Dublin 16.

NEW

Multi-Active Day & Night creams To get –and keep– Smooth and radiant skin.

30’s.

You never stop!

(Why should your skin?)

Enter the Multi-Active anti-ageing duo, rich in teasel plant extract embedded in game-changing capsules that deliver a targeted revitalizing and antioxidant action. Multi-Active is designed for gorgeous results thanks to the best of science and nature. It reduces the appearance of signs of stress and ageing, while reviving tired skin too.

Because your skin care should be as brilliant and hardworking as you.

Teasel extract with antioxidant and revitalizing powers

It’s all about you.

FASHION | MID-RANGE |

| MEGA |

X APPEAL Blogger Leandra Medine wears a statement pinny at Paris Fashion Week.

| MODEST |

X-front twist or cross-over front frocks, tops and pinafores offer a great opportunity to flaunt shoulders and arms. If our Irish weather throws a spanner in the works, layer a crisp shirt underneath.

SIMONE ROCHA

THE X FACTOR Pink Neoprene jacket, Simone Rocha, d1,375, at Havana. Pink Flamenco Knot leather bag, Loewe, d1,500; www.mytheresa.com. White leather sandals with chain detail, Givenchy, d705; www.mytheresa.com.

Pink bonded-crêpe cross-over dress, Nicholas, d620: www.saksfifthavenue.com. Nude Davina suede shoes with crystals, Jimmy Choo, d975, at Harvey Nichols. Gold Jackie drop earrings, Lulu Frost, d265, at Loulerie, 14b Chatham Street, Dublin 2.

| MEGA |

| MID-RANGE |

Pink folded sleeve jacket, d150; pink woven strap dress, d190; both at Cos, 6-8 Wicklow Street, Dublin 2. Multi-coloured Bunny pochette, Vivienne Westwood, d91, at House of Fraser.

| MODEST |

Tan doublebreasted belted suede mac, ¤429, Marks & Spencer.

COLD SHOULDER From Bardot and gypsy tops to peek-a-boo cutouts, SS16 is all about baring those shoulders.

24 | March 2016 | T H E G L O S S M A G A Z I N E

BARE BONES Accentuate shoulders with artfully undone hair or shouldersweeping earrings..

Blue Bidi Bidi Bom Bom cotton top, Rosie Assoulin, d1,435; www. net-a-porter.com. White wide-leg crêpe cropped trousers, Rochas, d625; www.matchesfashion.com.

Multi-coloured tweed and silicone clutch bag, Chanel, d6,050, at Brown Thomas.

Black shoulder-detail cotton top, Whistles, d125, at House of Fraser. White tie-front trousers, d145, at Hobbs, Dundrum Town Centre, Dublin 16. Black leather sandals, Isabel Marant, d230, at Brown Thomas.

Stripe off-theshoulder top, d24.99; tan leather jacket, d199; nude leather sneakers, d49.99; all at H&M.

IRELAND@THOMASSABO.COM

Make memories last – with your complimentary engraving.

WWW.THOMASSABO.COM

J CREW

FASHION

THE SPRING COAT This season’s trench coat, a lifelong wardrobe staple, couldn’t look better: look out for great colours like blue, yellow and red and make it your own by adding a fabulous statement belt. | MID-RANGE |

| MODEST |

JIL SANDER

| MEGA |

Multi-coloured check trench, Jaeger, d525, at Arnotts.

Ivory crêpe trench, Calvin Klein Collection, d1,865; www.net-a-porter.com. Airplane enamel brooches, Chanel, d420 each, at Brown Thomas.

Yellow lightweight trench, d309; www.maxandco.com. White trench, d215, at Hobbs, Dundrum Town Centre, Dublin 16. Daisy print silk scarf, Dolce & Gabbana, d295; www.mytheresa.com.

26 | March 2016 | T H E G L O S S M A G A Z I N E

Beige cotton-rich trench coat, Autograph, d185, at Marks & Spencer. Blue cotton trench coat, d180, at Topshop.

Black and floral print scarf, d25; www.asos.com.

BLUE CRUSH Pale blue has usurped traditional beige as the coolest trench colour for spring.

FASHION DESERT FOX Wear shades of cream and khaki for a subtle nod to this trend.

URBAN SAFARI From guipure laces and embroideries to safari linens and russet shades – go natural, go wild. | MEGA |

Beige button-through linen dress, d1,527; beige linen pumps, d695; both Altuzarra at www.matchesfashion.com.

Printed enamel bangles, Hermès, from d375, at Brown Thomas.

| MID-RANGE |

Beige ruffle-edge linen dress, d297; www.matchesfashion. com. Line GG canvas bag, d690; www.gucci.com. Pumpkin leather sandals, Isabel Marant, d360, at Brown Thomas.

28 | March 2016 | T H E G L O S S M A G A Z I N E

| MODEST |

Rust trench coat, d99.95; olive wide-leg cargo trousers, d29.95; both Mango. Rose gold Mona Lisa bracelet, d45, at Newbridge Silverware.

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LUXURY AWAITS

*on the recommended retail price © Kildare Village 2016

02/16

MOODBOARD

2

5

I’m being kind to my tummy with a bowl of soothing potato and spring leek soup from a modern Irish recipe in Imen McDonnell’s Farmette Cookbook. At Easons fom March 8.

“IF YOU CAN’T BE KIND, AT LEAST BE VAGUE.” JUDITH MARTIN

“MY RELIGION IS KINDNESS.”

6

DALAI LAMA XIV

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1

THIS M ONT H T H E M OOD I S :

4

KIND

I’m nesting with a collectible piece from Irish artist Sasha Sykes’ Caliogy series. Enquiries to Oliver Sears Gallery, 29 Molesworth Street, Dublin 2.

“BE KIND, BECAUSE EVERYONE IS HAVING A REALLY HARD TIME.” PLATO

SUSAN ZELOUF finds kindness matters most Goodbye, cruel world. It’s officially spring in the Northern Hemisphere, when hairline fractures in the dark nights of the soul begin to let light in, as the days gradually lengthen. March, the third month of the year is named after Mars, Roman god of war, probably because improving weather allowed soldiers to return to the battlefields, the thawing ground facilitating burials as well as the sowing of seeds. March also happens to be Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, a tenebrous link to the earth’s renewed fertility. It’s the time of year we might spy a couple of sparring hares in the fields, the female kickboxing a courting male, either fending off unwelcome advances or testing his strength and suitability as a potential mate.

According to the proverb, if we manage to withstand the leonine winds of early March, we can look forward to kinder climes towards the month’s end, a lunar cycle both cruel and kind in equal measure. It’s been a particularly tough winter, the world strafed by calamitous events; even the most lionhearted among us long for a respite, a lull in the terror, a moment of calm, a few kind words to quell the fear, the rage, the grief we’ve been feeling.

Kindness is water when we’re thirsty, a blanket when we’re cold, a hand to hold when there’s nothing left to say, a hospice at life’s end, a thank you note. Of all the virtues we aspire to possessing, kindness is the one we’d most like to be on the receiving end of. Hollywood bad boy Colin Farrell shocked us when he admitted to the press, “The one quality that I find more and more attractive in a woman is kindness”.

I keep company with a Mrs Kipling, an exceedingly good friend: loyal, generous and kind. Nothing is too much trouble for her; her home and her heart are always open to friends and strays. A gift faerie, she’s at her happiest when choosing perfect pressies for loved ones, often giving

30 | March 2016 | T H E G L O S S M A G A Z I N E

away her own treasures to strangers who admire them. I worry about her boundaries, or lack of them, and I’m often tempted to warn her off bad people. Then again, maybe they are the ones most in need of kindness, to

I’M WELCOMING

heal what is broken in them.

If you think kindness rewards the recipient more than the donor, think again. In her bestselling book Lovingkindness, Sharon Salzburg quotes Buddha on the fringe benefits of being kind: ‘You will sleep and wake easily, and you will have pleasant dreams. Your face will be radiant, your mind serene. People and animals will love you; celestial beings will protect you, and you will be reborn in happy realms.’ Add the balm of kindness to your daily beauty regime and you may be able to dispense with the filler. Audrey Hepburn suggested, “For beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness”.

In The Power of Kindness, Piero Ferrucci describes kindness as “the most economic attitude there is, because it saves us much energy that we might otherwise waste in suspicion, worry, resentment, manipulation or unnecessary defense.” As Richard Carlson, author of Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff affirms, “Choose being kind over being right and you’ll be right every time.” Randomactsofkindness.org is a social experiment on a global scale, encouraging individuals to make small gestures that can have great impact.

Watch the short film Kindness Boomerang from www.lifevestinside.com to witness the transformational might of the simplest of kind deeds.

Becoming our kinder, gentler selves takes practice. Begin by letting a car merge or paying the toll for the car behind you. Say something nice to someone. Mrs Kipling plays the lottery regularly, generously promising to split the big win with me. I still worry about her boundaries, but it would be unkind of me not to let her share the bounty. ^

THIS MONTH’S MOODBOARD

@SusanZelouf

spring with Christine Bowen’s paintings of flora and fauna. (1) At The Studio Gallery, Kenmare, Co. Kerry.

I’M MEDITATING on the nature of kindness via Carlo Dolci’s Saint Agnes (2) at The National Gallery of Ireland, Merrion Square West, Dublin 2.

I’M TREATING Mrs Kipling to exceedingly good cakes at Cupán Tae (3), 8 Quay Lane, The Latin Quarter, Galway.

I’M THANKING the hostess with a dozen embroidered Irish linen napkins (4) in an oak box; www. carmelcreaner.com I’M LUXURIATING in silk bed linen (5) from Gingerlily, kind to skin and hair. Bottom Drawer, at Brown Thomas.

I’M EARMARKING something for Our Lady’s Hospice (6), Harold’s Cross, Dublin 6W; www.olh.ie

NAOMI CAMPBELL FOR NEWBRIDGE SILVERWARE

W W W. N E W B R I D G E S I LV E R W A R E . C O M #NSBlueBox

INTERVIEW

LET’S DO LUNCH

by Anne Harris

ILLUSTRATION BY LAUREN O’NEILL

Nikki Creedon introduced us to avant garde designers, a new way of dressing. Through tough times and loss, fashion kept her going

G

rief and fashion may seem like strange bedfellows. But only to those who think fashion is for featherheads.

The redoubtable Joan Didion, one of America’s toughest thinkers, saw no contradiction between between her recent incarnation as a chronicler of grief and signing up as the face of Céline. Nikki Creedon knows that relationship very well too. “Fashion saved me,” she says simply.

Less than two years ago she looked into the abyss as her son Sam, aged 21, lost his long battle with brain cancer. The random cruelty of it is still visceral. But when she says “I’m back,” she means she is now on the safe side of the slough of despair. She is back in the world.

There was another journey back of course: the road back from recession, which, as owner of, Havana, Ireland’s edgiest fashion destination, was as hard on her as it was on every retailer in Ireland. Unlike many, she rode it out. A parallel may be found in her choice of lunch venue. Angelina’s

32 | March 2016 | T H E G L O S S M A G A Z I N E

at Percy Place in Ballsbridge is part of Paddy McKillen Jnr’s upscale apartment block complex, the record sale of which is a triumph of aesthetics as well as a sign of the economic clawback.

A sense of aesthetics was her defining characteristic. The first to spot the market for conceptual fashion for women who wanted to use their clothes, not just to show elegance or status, but as a means of expressing themselves as individuals, she opened with the new wave of Japanese designers, Yohji Yamamoto and Comme des Garçons. “It was a big risk,” she says. She bought the avant gardes –Belgian, English and Irish – always staying on the right side of mainstream. She knew her customer well and long before “personal shopping,” she bought with individual women in mind. Imagine then, her shock when seven years ago, “Really good customers just vanished. Some are coming back now, but buying differently.

It’s all about wearability.”

Her aesthetic was honed at a surprising school. She had a comfortable Killiney childhood. “But I had a very unusual father. One summer, he rented a whole island on the Shannon. He got a dispensation from the bishop allowing

us to skip Mass and then he set all seven of us projects.

Projects about nature and society.” He was a solicitor and an inveterate traveller. “He went to Japan a lot with my mother.” No mystery about Creedon’s affinity with the purity of Japanese design then. Like many a flamboyant father, he was traditional where his daughters were concerned.

“Motherhood was the great thing for girls.” Despite a good Leaving Cert, Creedon went to London for a twelve-month Cordon Bleu course.

The training wasn’t wasted and over the last two tragic years cooking became one of her coping strategies. She doesn’t strike me as a foodie, although having ordered a disciplined chicken salad, she eyes with interest my roast salmon on aromatic puy lentils. Mallards on the canal outside the window eye it up too and I realise that we are only yards from Patrick Kavanagh’s “Canal Bank” seat, bearing his tranquil intimation of mortality: “Commemorate me where there is water.” Creedon can now recollect her father’s death with tranquillity. “It was the night my daughter was born. He was only 67. I had a great miracle and a great tragedy at the same moment.” It is not hard to see how this complicated grief led to her becoming a risk-taker, preferring the company of risk-takers.

It was to be six years before she opened Havana. Realising she didn’t want to be a chef, “I was in New York cooking lunch for company directors when I got a call saying Paul Costelloe needed somebody for his Drury Street shop,” she came home to a career in fashion, mostly at the Irish Design Centre. “But I wanted a different kind of fashion. I also thought, God help me, with my own business,I would have more time for the kids.” Havana quickly became a destination for the cognoscenti and earned Creedon a reputation as Ireland’s most eclectic buyer. “My mind has not changed.

The challenge is to keep the shop interesting. John Rocha has retired and Yohji Yamamoto receded in the recession.

We now have Junya Watanabe, Simone Rocha, Paskal and Jonathan Saunders.”

Two years ago, a grand celebration of 20 years in business approached. But it was not to be. “Sam was diagnosed with a benign brain tumour when he was twelve. Four years later, it wasn’t benign. He had eight operations. The doctors would say ‘do you want to see your scans’ but he would be out the door with his pals. That was what he wanted.”

Sam died in June 2014. “After Sam’s death, I just wanted to run away to the Blaskets but I got up and put on my make-up and went to work. I was sure the business wouldn’t survive, but people were so good.” She sought brief refuge with the monks of Glenstal. Father Christopher, former Abbot, said “You are worrying about Sam. He is absolutely fine. It is you who is not fine.” Death brings new perspectives. “I now see how taking care of him was a great privilege. And now I love graveyards.” And now, once more, she loves scouring the world for the clothes that will stir the blood of the sartorially savvy. “Because fashion gets you up in the morning.” ^

the reckoning Warm chicken salad, kale, chilli, avocado & sprouts Roast salmon, aubergine, lentils & smoked pancetta Total:

E8.50 E15.95 E24.45

Angelina’s 55 Percy Place, Dublin 4, 01 660 2262; www.angelinas.ie

Available on Sky Movies © 2016 M ARVEL

PERSONAL STYLE

The new season means a slew of new trends to embrace ... or avoid. Here, four exceptionally stylish women choose their favourites from SS16, and prove that keeping up with what's on the catwalk doesn't have to mean sacrificing their signature aesthetic 34 | March 2016 | T H E G L O S S M A G A Z I N E

PERSONAL STYLE Blush chiffontrimmed crêpe blouse; blush asymmetric crêpe skirt; both ANTONIO BERARDI, at Costume, 10 Castle Market, Dublin 2. Nude Calabria Marilyn court shoes, GIANVITO ROSSI, at Brown Thomas.

RUN WAY TO R E A L L IF E

THE SWEET NEW SHADE

F

IN THE PINK The SS16 catwalks were awash with blush, particularly memorable at Carolina Herrera, Stella McCartney, Emporio Armani and Simone Rocha.

CAROLINA HERRERA

rom the loudest magenta to the palest blush, pink dominated the SS16 catwalks. Good news for Oonagh O'Hagan, owner and managing director of Meaghers Pharmacy Group, who has always had a soft spot for this ultra-feminine shade. "My daughter loves pink too, so she has asked me to keep certain things for her, which I absolutely will. I treasure the pieces my mum passed down to me," she says.

Despite her corporate role, O'Hagan prefers wearing dresses to suits at the office. "It's important for me to look and feel my best because I understand first impressions last," she says. "My mother was the manager of a large lingerie factory and she used to talk about how important it is to feel confident in what you wear. I love Victoria Beckham and Roland Mouret for structured dresses and Dolce & Gabbana pieces never seem to date. For evening, I like tulip shapes and lace. My style has certainly evolved over time – I used to carefully match my accessories and now I deliberately avoid that."

PERSONAL STYLE

AMAZING LACE As seen at Zuhair Murad, Proenza Schouler, Tory Burch and Monique Lhuillier, peekaboo guipure lace is once of SS16's most notable trends.

RUN WAY TO R E A L L IF E

GUIPURE LACE

OSCAR DE LA RENTA

W

hen Sharon Bannerton, managing director at Bannerton PR, saw her sister Avril in a guipure lace dress by Self Portrait it was love at first sight.

"I immediately bought two of them," she says. "But I'm not generally trend-led, although guipure lace is beautiful this season. At this stage, I know what works for me – I look for elegant shapes and my go-to colour palette is black and white."

Bannerton, who recently completed a 10km Hell and Back obstacle course, regularly shops in boutiques including Olivia Danielle in Athlone and Les Jumelles in Galway, as well as at Brown Thomas. "I work hard to stay in shape, and I’m not tall, so I use clothes to create length. I used to apologise for my femininity but now I wear pencil skirts and heels whenever I can. My signature evening look is a tuxedo; a little black dress is safe but boring."

36 | March 2016 | T H E G L O S S M A G A Z I N E

White diamondguipure lace peplum top, OSCAR DE LA RENTA; black pencil wool skirt, VICTORIA BECKHAM; white and black Calabria court shoes, GIANVITO ROSSI; all at Brown Thomas.

PERSONAL STYLE

BACK TO BLACK Simone Rocha credits a trip to Japan in the early stages of her pregnancy for the "trippy" vibe to her SS16 collection.

RUN WAY TO R E AL L I F E

STATEMENT TROUSERS

SIMONE ROCHA

A

carefully considered purchase of a Miu Miu bag was the gateway into luxury fashion for Edel Kinane, marketing director at JustEat. ie. Her signature style is "clean and contemporary, with touches of sports luxe" so it's no surprise that Simone Rocha has become one of her favourite designers. "Simone's pieces are always modern and ahead of the curve with a signature element, like the flaps on these trousers," she says. "I try to invest in one or two key designer pieces every season, usually from Brown Thomas, which I top up with bits from the high street. I'm addicted to accessories; my handbag of choice for spring is an Alexander Wang backpack that is perfect for walking to work and just the right size for my laptop. Working in tech, I can't remember the last time I wore heels.

I've been living in a pair of navy CĂŠline skater shoes that I bought on sale."

Black flap-detail cigarette trousers; black scuba jersey top; both SIMONE ROCHA, at Havana, Donnybrook, Dublin 4. Black rivet-studded caged sandals, PRADA; embellished necklace, MARNI; both at Brown Thomas. Bracelet, ROWELL DESIGN, 1 The Crescent, Donnybrook, Dublin 4.

PERSONAL STYLE

THIGH HIGH Asymmetric hemlines were also spotted this season at Narciso Rodriguez, Vivienne Westwood, Carven, Danielle Romeril and Michael Kors.

RUN WAY TO R E A L L IF E

THE QUIRKY HEMLINE

J

ewellery designer Tory Long rarely deviates from her signature black.

"My style is very minimalist," she says. "I love a good piece of knitwear paired with a leather skirt or jeans. I tend to keep my clothes simple and play with accessories. You'll never see me in anything bright or printed."

This season, Long has fallen for Zoë Jordan's new collection. "I really like everything about it – it's edgy and effortless. This dress is so contemporary, it would look just as cool with flat boots as it does with heels." Although she loves clothes, jewellery is Long's passion. "I've been designing since I was in my teens. My collection is very simple and wearable and true to my own personal taste – I use a lot of matte finishes. I'm looking forward to wearing long statement earrings, hoops and watching silver make a comeback for SS16." Tory Long Jewellery is available at www.torylong.com and at Arnotts.

38 | March 2016 | T H E G L O S S M A G A Z I N E

Navy and black Roca Jack silk twill dress, from a selection, ZOË JORDAN, at Emporium Kalu, 16 South Main Street, Naas, Co Kildare.

Jewellery, TORY LONG. Shoes, Tory's own.

Photographed

by Al Higgins.

Assisted by Bríd O'Donovan.

Make-up

by Anna O'Callaghan, annaocallaghan @gmail.com.

H A P P I N E S S AT YOU R F E E T â„¢

E: THE THE ZONBACK IS K C BA

FASHION

PROENZA SCHOULER

Leandra Medine in the backless Céline (SS15) dress.

Forget va-va-voom cleavage, fashion’s new erogenous zones are much more subtle, writes ANNE HARRIS

L

ast autumn, Phoebe Philo of Céline, pathfinder of many a look, sent a brown wool dress down the runway. The front, like Milton’s nun, was sober, steadfast and demure. The back was a sensation: apart from the tie at the neck, it was naked to the waist. This season, many designers, notably Alexander McQueen and Roland Mouret, have gone bareback. And almost without exception, designers have chosen the osteo path, revealing shoulder blades, the collarbone (endearingly called by its medical name, the clavicle), the ankle, and even (Céline again) the ribcage.

“Show. Don’t tell.” is the guiding principle of many disciplines, from theatre to parenting; nowhere more than in fashion. How much we show and what we show not only reflects women’s power and choices, but is also a peep box into societal change. Is fashion turning its back, literally, on erogenous zones? Or is there something more subtle afoot?

I once asked a male colleague what he considered the most erotic movie scene of all time. “The shot of Vanessa Redgrave’s bare back in Antonioni’s Blow Up,” he said. Given that the film, acclaimed for its portrayal of decadence in 1960s London, features an explicit orgy, his response demonstrates the perverse nature of eroticism in art and fashion.

Take Ralph Fiennes in The English Patient. Describing his doomed love affair with Kristin Scott Thomas to a shocked colleague, he seeks to identify the part of her he loves the most. The discreet object of his desire was that torc the runs from the base of the neck out to the shoulder. “The clavicle,” says the stunned colleague. This appears to be the new sensuality in fashion: slow burning but explosive and not without a health warning.

The big news now, is that apart from some offerings for fans of House of Cards (Robin Wright can

40 | March 2016 | T H E G L O S S M A G A Z I N E

hardly walk up the stairs, so constricting are her pencil dresses), power dresses are over.

With their attendant Spanx and sadistic heels, power dresses were for dominatrices or dolls. It was as though Chanel, Patou E: THE ZONIGH and Vionnet had never released us from THIGH H the whalebone.

The 2016 woman is all the more sexually interesting for being unaggressive. Placing the emphasis on the top part of the body invariably means longer lengths and lower heels. But the new radical simplicity brings its own disciplines. It’s a tease, and thus an enhancement of sexuality, and if you’re thinking of cancelling the gym membership, hold off. A toned back takes work – you practically need to be an Olympic swimmer. Cut-outs at ribcage level require not just a tiny waist, but perfect lymphatic drainage (even babies have cellulite here). The revolution is in the arms.

Simultaneously hidden and revealed, there is an off-the-shoulder style to excite everyone.

At Peter Pilotto it’s Augustus John’s “gypsy”, smocked, full-sleeved (best on the ingénue); at McQueen it’s Bardotesque balletic cap-sleeved jersey, skimming the most fleshly part of the arm (surprisingly forgiving) and Erdem’s constructionist clavicle exposure is for the gym bodies.

And the high street is on to it. By January, Too much on Zara had a crisp white blouse with sleeves show? Layer slashed to the collarbone – sorry, clavicle. up with And Savida at Dunnes was bringing in its a simple T-shirt, shirt laser cut-outs. or knit.

Show and hide. What better style maxim.^

E: THE ZONRM UPPER A

E: CUTTHE ZON OULDER AWAY SH

Eva Chen dresses down an off-theshoulder knit dress

Influencer Linda Tol gets shirty.

OPENING SOON IN CORK 2 Strand St, Malahide | 01-8456989 | mc.store.malahide@gmail.com | 19 Oliver Plunkett St, Cork | mc.store.cork@gmail.com Marc Cain FP.indd 1

BUSINESS WISDOM DID ANYTHING IN YOUR EARLY LIFE EXPERIENCE OR FAMILY BACKGROUND INFLUENCE YOUR JOURNEY TO YOUR CURRENT ROLE? I have been very fortunate to have had the support of my parents and a positive school experience, which encouraged me to pursue university and the aspiration of a career. There was never a sense of being limited. More recently, the partnership of a very supportive spouse in our move as a family to Australia – and the decision to return to Ireland – has played a significant role in my success.

AN ACCOMPLISHMENT YOU ARE MOST PROUD OF? Managing to build a career and successful track record in my chosen profession, while also raising a young family of three children. I am hopeful more accomplishments lie ahead.

HOW DO YOU APPROACH DIFFICULT SITUATIONS? I’ve learnt to try to keep things in perspective, bringing urgency when needed, but looking for a path forward wherever possible. I’ve also come to appreciate the power of curiosity; ask a lot more questions and test assumptions. There are always two sides to every difficult situation.

WHAT KEEPS YOU AWAKE AT NIGHT?

PHOTOGRAPH BY AL HIGGINS

I am not a natural worrier, but I do put myself under a lot of pressure and expect a lot of myself. At the moment, staying ahead of the pace of our business is on my mind, but a good night’s sleep helps me to keep my energy levels up to meet those challenges.

THE CV After a short stint in financial services following her BA in Business & Economics at Trinity College and MBS in Human Resources Management from the UCD Smurfit School of Business, Clodagh Logue’s career changed direction when she joined CPL plc as a recruiter. Through her work there, she had the opportunity to join Microsoft’s European Operating Centre as a recruiter in 2000 and thus began a 15-year career within the HR profession of Microsoft Corporation. She held a number of HR roles over that time, and also spent a number of years as a senior HR leader at Microsoft Australia. In 2014, she was appointed HR Director for Microsoft in Ireland. She joined Fitbit as International HR lead in October 2015.

FROM THE DESK OF ...

Clodagh Logue SENIOR DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL HR, FITBIT PLC

WHAT IS ONE CHARACTERISTIC YOU BELIEVE A BUSINESS LEADER SHOULD POSSESS? DESCRIBE YOUR ROLE: I lead HR for Fitbit across all of our international locations. I have responsibility for helping Fitbit attract, develop and grow our international talent here in our EMEA HQ, but also across Europe and our Asia Pacific locations, including India, China and Australia.

YOUR COMPANY’S BUSINESS PRIORITIES FOR 2016?

Fitbit believes a more healthy lifestyle is within everyone’s reach and we’re looking at all of the critical imperatives for wellness to see how we can further help people. We are expanding our presence into more than 50 countries this year, increasing our retail presence to more than 48,000 stores and increasing our headcount in our Asia and Europe locations, including here in Dublin.

HIGHLIGHTS AND CHALLENGES DURING YOUR TENURE? Fitbit is constantly pushing the boundaries of what’s possible by developing new and innovative products and services. We are also pushing boundaries in the pace of our growth – my challenges are those associated with this pace and our need for scale across all our people processes and platforms, as well as finding the best talent to build our presence across the world. This comes with great opportunity for learning and growth for me personally and professionally.

42 | March 2016 | T H E G L O S S M A G A Z I N E

The ability to inspire and motivate others.

WHICH IS THE MOST USEFUL WAY TO ENGAGE CLIENTS OR SUPPLIERS? Informal, one-to-one conversations are usually most effective. I think it’s important to remain open to making a connection with others. The world is a small place – every connection can lead to another.

THREE PIECES OF ADVICE YOU MIGHT GIVE TO WOMEN WHO ASPIRE TO BE IN LEADERSHIP ROLES? Look for role models and sponsors. I have been very fortunate to work directly for or closely with some exceptional female leaders in my career. As Marian Wright Edelman, the American activist, once said “you can’t be what you can’t see”. In a similar vein, identify a coach or mentor you can trust, but also ensure that person will challenge you and ask the hard questions others might not. This becomes even more important as you progress into leadership roles.

Be yourself and don’t be afraid to ask for help and advice. 

MY WORKING LIFE:

THE WAY I DO BUSINESS 1. STRONG POINTS I am pragmatic and positive and I have high energy levels. 2. WEAKNESSES A strong bias for action and outcomes sometimes comes at the expense of tuning into how others are feeling. 3. WORK/LIFE BALANCE Working flexibly helps me get the balance right – I need to be deliberate about maintaining time for myself and for my family. 4. LOOKING THE BUSINESS The tech sector is quite informal and my day-to-day uniform is business casual, usually slim-fitting jeans and a smart top or jacket. In a formal setting, I wear a dress, skirt or tailored separates with heels. 5. PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE I’ve had a pension all my working life and have been deliberate in maintaining the highest levels of contributions that I can. Equity/ stock awards also form an important part of my financial planning.

Multi-colored quilted maxi dress, TOMMY HILFIGER. Gold CC cuffs, CHANEL. FASHION NOTE: TOMMY HILFIGER is at 14 Grafton Street, Dublin 2 and www.tommy.com.

TAKE TRENDS The season is spring-loaded with colour and pattern Photographed by DANILO HESS Styled by LUIS RODRIGUEZ

White organza blouse with concentric circle detailing; Embroidered maxi skirt with sequin details; both DELPOZO. Mint green Goccia shoes, ROCHAS. FASHION NOTE: DELPOZO is at www.delpozo.com.

T HE T RE ND:

PATTERN PLAY On the New York runways, inspired by their travels, designers used an array of bohemian and indigenousstyle patterns to make bold, free-spirited statements.

T HE T RE ND:

PEEP SHOW For spring, collections featured glimpses of bare skin. Far from revealing all, restraint keeps these clothes directional and wearable.

Black shoulderdetail silk/wool mix top; black short kilt with pleated panel; both LOUIS VUITTON. Neon pink leather shoes, CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN. White leather handbag with lemon appliqué detail, HERMÈS. FASHION NOTE: LOUIS VUITTON is at Brown Thomas, Dublin.

Black off-theshoulder satin-mix dress, BOSS HUGO BOSS. Red Arcade leather shoulder bag with silver chain handle; sun yellow and white origami earrings; both PRADA FASHION NOTE: BOSS HUGO BOSS is at 67-68 Grafton Street, Dublin 2 and www.hugoboss.com.

Marigold and white egeo yarn top with side split, TORY BURCH. Deep orange pleated shantung silk skirt, HERMÈS. Silver CC cuffs, both CHANEL. White and black leather shoes with metallic baubles, PRADA FASHION NOTE: HERMÈS is at Brown Thomas, Dublin.

Fuchsia and mustard silk dress with vinyl panels; pink block-heel python and PVC sadals, both CHRISTOPER KANE. FASHION NOTE: CHRISTOPHER KANE is at www. matchesfashion.com.

Make-up by Elena Perdikomati at Utopia using MAC. Hair by Jeff Francis at Utopia using L’ANZA Healing Haircare.

Set styled by Tatyana Bevz.

T HE T RE ND:

COLOUR BLOCK Designers refreshed simple shapes with bright colour combinations for spring. Oranges, reds and yellows turned up the heat giving the collections a vibrant summery appeal.

FASHION NEWS

Wardrobe

TAKE FIVE Intricate lace, slinky satin and more – here’s our edit of H&M’s SS16 Conscious Exclusive collection

BY AISLINN COFFEY

1

Who needs an occasion? Dress down this satin skirt with a simple white T-shirt and off-duty style sneakers. 099.

THE GLOSS

SOLE MATES

EXCLUSIVE

Natalia Barbieri and Jennifer Portman are the design duo behind British footwear brand, Bionda Castana. Here, Barbieri discusses their new collaboration with high street retailer LK Bennett

This blouse is a feminine take on the classic white shirt. Style with wide-leg jeans. 039.99.

HOW DID THE BIONDA CASTANA BRAND COME ABOUT? Jenny and I had always dreamed of launching a luxury accessories brand. We quit our day jobs and used the money we’d saved to take a tour of Italy, sourcing factories and working consistently to get the product to the best quality. WHO DOES WHAT? We both wear multiple hats. We design the collection together and then all other departments are split between the two of us. We’re running a global business – Bionda Castana is stocked in over 60 boutiques across the world, we’ve got our own store in Belgravia and the online business. WHAT INSPIRED THE

3

Give this pretty floral embellished dress a contemporary spin with platform brogues.

0149.

4

BIONDA CASTANA X LK BENNETT COLLECTION?

We looked to the 1950s and 1970s for our inspiration and sought to mix this with signature elements of the LK Bennett and Bionda Castana aesthetic. The end result is a collection that transcends the decades while appealing to a wide range of customers. WHAT IS YOUR FIRST MEMORY OF BUYING HEELS? Standing outside the Prada store in Milan waiting for it to open so that I could purchase 50mm-heel tan suede d’Orsay pumps. They had the most beautifully exaggerated cross-stitch detail along the upper, and a brushed metal accessory across the toes. WHAT IS YOUR IDEA OF THE PERFECT SHOE CAPSULE WARDROBE? A single sole 100mm pump, an open-toe sandal, a 50mm pump, a flat pointed ballerina, and a round-toe biker boot. These will see you through. WHO DO YOU RATE AS STYLISH? I love the surprises of Lady Gaga and also the

Natalia Barbieri and Jennifer Portman. Below: The Raspberry Chequerboard Jerry sandal, which Barbieri says embodies both the LK Bennett and Bionda Castana aesthetics.

2 This lace maxi dress has a carefree, bohemian feel.

Complement with gold sandals. 0399.

5

chic of Alexa Chung. WHAT WOULD YOU STILL LIKE TO ACHIEVE? Opening more stores is always the goal. YOUR ULTIMATE STYLE TIP? Only buy a heel you can walk in. We always test drive our shoes during the sampling phase.

If they don’t work for us, we make the amends necessary so that they eventually do. LK Bennett X Bionda Castana collection is at Brown Thomas, Dublin and online at www.lkbennett.com.

This gown is an elegant choice for contemporary brides. 0199.

WHAT YOUR PAIR SAYS ABOUT YOU: Charlie Morris and Hugo Taylor.

MADE NEAR CHELSEA With summer fast approaching, chances are you’ll be needing new sunglasses. Three years ago, lifelong friends Hugo Taylor (one of the original creators and stars of Channel 4’s hit series Made In Chelsea) and Charlie Morris turned their passion for buying expensive designer sunglasses into a fully-fledged (successful) company. Designed for both men and women, Taylor Morris’s chic, slick and vintage-inspired frames are designed with universally flattering shapes and materials in mind. Taylor, a history of art graduate, believes high-impact sunglasses don’t need to be brash. The collection, which comprises eleven different shapes, has all the hallmarks of success and has already caught the eye of the fashion set. Let the sun shine. Taylor Morris is at Harvey Nichols, Dundrum Town Centre, Dublin 16.

50 | March 2016 | T H E G L O S S M A G A Z I N E

CLASSIC: You like to play it safe.

1

OVERSIZED: You have a serious bohemian streak.

2

ROUND: You’re cool, creative, one of a kind.

3

CAT EYE: There isn’t a trend you won’t try.

4 4

1. Saratoga, d178. 2. Invidia, d232. 3. Zero, d287.

4. Chelsea Cat’s Eye, d232.

B O O D L E S . C O M / R A I N DA N C E

FASHION NEWS

Wardrobe

Toile Monogram Neverfull.

Mon Monogram Neverfull.

CULT CLASSIC What makes a bag a classic?

TIME T RAV E L:

THE SUNDRESS

PHOTOGRAPHED BY JAKUB WALUTEK

Children of the 1970s will remember how a sundress was a staple of the summer wardrobe: a certain length, revealing scraped knees, often smocked, always cotton. The blistering heat of 1976 is not a figment of our imaginations, nor the “rinsing out” of said dress every evening, before it was dried in the geranium-scented conservatory of a rented summer house.

Tommy Hilfiger’s latest collection, takes us right back to those days, and makes us want to dress simply and easily on holiday. If you were a child in the 1970s, you’re hardly a little girl now, but you can still wear this pretty classic with sandals or skaters.

Tommy Hilfiger, 14 Grafton Street, Dublin 2. The runway collection is available at eu.tommy.com.

HELL FOR LEATHER Dee Mangan has grand plans to expand her Kinsale Leather Co. I WANTED TO create a contemporary accessories line, with

pieces that a woman in Paris or New York would wear. It’s a very clean aesthetic, very modern. I call them “companions for everyday adventures” because so much of your life ends up in your bag.

MY BAGS ARE available in four colours – black, tan, taupe and oxblood. I sell limited edition colours in my Kinsale shop – the colours change every three months.

52 | March 2016 | T H E G L O S S M A G A Z I N E

MY STORE IS in a listed building, with lots of light and

space. It looks more like a gallery than a shop.

MY FAVOURITE PIECE is the Jamie fold-over clutch

(below), named after my nephew who was born the week I finished it. It can be worn three ways and I’m just introducing a removeable strap too. My handbags are all designed and hand-made in Cork.

I HAVE A ROOM at home just for shoes and handbags.

I’ve always liked Stella McCartney, Anya Hindmarch and Clare V bags. Most of the time, if I buy a bag, I’ll end up customising it. I like adding studs, or a strap, and I don’t like buckles so I’ll replace those with a magnet so the lines are cleaner.

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD HAVE one great black bag. If you’re lucky enough to find a navy one, buy it, because they’re incredibly hard to come by.

YOU MUST HAVE at least one clutch. And a lavender, dusty pink or taupe bag is invaluable in summer.

TOP TIPS If light-coloured leather gets dirty, soapy water will clean it. If you get an ink stain, hairspray will get it out. Conditioning leather is really important. I use Chelsea Leather Food.

I HAVE BIG PLANS. I’m bringing out a backpack and a wallet in June and plan to expand my presence in Dublin too. www.kinsaleleather.com; Arnotts.

With divine handbags at every turn, how to choose just one to be your hardworking companion, the friend you never tire of?

A continuing trend for simple, useful handbags is proof that less is definitely more and that longevity usually trumps this season’s “must-have”. Louis Vuitton’s brilliantly named Neverfull (created in 2007) is one of the least shouty and most useful handbags. With a sturdy but pliable structure, two neat handles and no fiddly closure, its genius lies in its sheer practicality. In coated canvas, it has replaceable leather handles which can be worn over the shoulder or held in hand, and a matching detachable clutch purse.

Look out for seasonal updates (above), the Mon Monogram personalisation service or avail of Hot Stamping (your initials) free of charge.

A classic bag is immune to shifts in the economy, should hold at least 75 per cent of its value and may even appreciate: see www.vestairecollective.com for upto-date re-sell prices. Clean your classic by wiping with a soft cloth, store in a dust bag and never leave it on the floor.

Our money is on the Damier Ebène square-printed Neverfull, in three sizes.

We (naturally) say go Large (¤995). The Damier print, designed in the 19th century, still looks fresh so we suspect it will never date. But suit yourself: the collection is at the Louis Vuitton boutique at Brown Thomas, Dublin.

Lining in striped fabric.

Riveted drawstring.

Leather handles for handheld or over-theshoulder wear.

In coated canvas, with a sturdy structure, this bag is a hardworking piece.

THE NEW RANGE ROVER EVOQUE from €41,745*

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CO2 emissions 113 – 181g/km. Price shown is for the Range Rover Evoque Coupe 2.0 eD4. *Delivery and related charges additional.

FASHION NEWS

Wardrobe Tess Daly wears jewellery by Pandora. 1.

Petals of Love silver stud earrings with clear cubic zirconia, d49.

2. Petals of Love silver pendant with clear cubic zirconia and necklace, d99.

3. Petals of Love silver ring with clear cubic zirconia, d59.

2 1

TESS DALY:

STRICTLY CHARMING The affable television presenter, and Pandora’s brand ambassador, shares style tips and reveals her Irish heritage

“Control pants!” declares Tess Daly as I compliment her outfit when we meet; a seamless combination of slim black trousers, cream silk top and gold Jimmy Choos. Later, she confesses to kick-starting the year with a twice weekly personal trainer to stay in shape.

That, and the fact she’s been a model since being scouted in McDonalds in Manchester at 16. Since then (she’s 46) she’s worked in Paris, Japan and New York, and is an author (The Camera Never Lies, It’s Up To You) as well as a television presenter.

Of course it’s in the glamorous co-anchor role of Strictly Come Dancing, with Claudia Winkleman, for which she is most famous. If Winkleman’s style is quirky, Daly is elegant, often in column dresses. “We have a limited budget so I rely on my stylist Gemma Sheppard to borrow dresses. We pool ideas and I’ll often take pictures of things I like.” She favours Roland Mouret, Victoria Beckham and Stella McCartney. “I like dresses that hold you in place. You won’t find me in anything floaty and I firmly believe in wearing the dress not vice versa.” She’s also aware of the needs of the show.

“People expect Saturday night glamour but the dresses I wear also need to be functional.

I’m cantering up and down steps and leaping over cables off camera so I can’t wear heels that are too high.”

Keen to pass on style tips, Daly says, “I’ve just sent the make-up artist to Selfridges with my credit card to buy Charlotte Tilbury’s Wonderglow and Film Star Bronze & Glow

palette,” she says. Off duty she wears “skinny jeans and heels with a jacket. For the school run, sneakers.” In the same breath she recommends a Topshop loyalty card and London’s Marylebone High Street for shopping. “It reminds me of Soho in New York where I lived in the 1990s.”

Approachable yet aspirational, it’s easy to see why Danish jewellery brand Pandora has chosen Daly as brand ambassador. “Pandora speaks to three generations of women – teenagers, mothers and grandmothers. You’re able to make the jewellery your own.” Today she’s combining Majestic Feathers rings (stacking two for impact), and the Petals of Love collection, reflective how Pandora’s collections become more diverse and artistic each year. “I don’t feel dressed without earrings,” Tess confesses.

“I’m like a kid in a candy shop when the new collections arrive.” I admire the Petals of Love necklaces she’s wearing – and ask if the fourleaf clover has any significance. “My father’s family came from Cavan and his father Felix Daly was a milliner there. My two best friends are Irish so I feel I could wear a shamrock with pride.”

As we say goodbye, Daly says conspiratorially, “You should get yourself one of these necklaces. Go on, treat yourself.” Less a command, more 3 something your best friend might say, it would be a shame not to follow her advice. PMcC Pandora, 35 Grafton Street, Dublin 2 and stockists nationwide; www.pandora.net.

GET IN LINE

54 | March 2016 | T H E G L O S S M A G A Z I N E

Rust silk pyjama top, d125.

RODARTE SS16

Leather and suede boots, d295.

As Swedish high street store & Other Stories makes plans to open a megastore on Grafton Street (in the old A|Wear building), fashion lovers are waiting, credit cards in hand, to get their mitts on the highlyanticipated Rodarte & Other Stories capsule collection . Readyto-wear, accessories and shoes will be launched online on March 17.

Get ready to click and snap up. www.stories.com. Coming to 26-27 Grafton Street, Dublin 2 this autumn.

Leather and sequin heeled sandal, d125.

Cropped suede jacket with faux fur collar, d295.

Sequin wrap top, d145.

Leather and sequin wedge sandal, d125.

Collection Nouveaux Classiques

Photo Michel Gibert. Photograph used for representational purposes only. Thanks : Sculpture Zoé Rumeau.

French Art de Vivre

Dièse. Corner composition, designed by Philippe Bouix.

Helios. Cocktail tables, designed by Jean-François Marchou.

European manufacture.

UNIT D1 - Beacon South Quarter, Dublin 18. Tel: 01-653-1650

3D Interior Design Service

www.roche-bobois.com

STRAP

From our 2016 Collection

Rathnew, Co Wicklow Telephone 0404 65000 www.newcastledesign.ie

BY APPOINTMENT ONLY

HEALTH

PHOTOGRAPH BY ELLISTON LUTZ

CHOLESTEROL IN FOOD Cholesterol is found in some foods (eggs, liver, prawns, crab and lobster) but this type of dietary cholesterol has little effect on your blood cholesterol. Most women can continue to enjoy moderate amounts of these foods (between four and six eggs per week). The more damaging sources of cholesterol are trans and saturated fats, found in cakes, biscuits, pastries, processed meats, butter and cream.

Eating too much may increase your risk of heart disease and stroke. The evidence overall suggests that we should limit saturates to less than a third of all the fat we eat. Trans fats increase LDL levels and lower HDL levels, cause inflammation and increase the tendency for blood clots to form inside blood vessels. The recommended intake is no more than two grammes of trans fats a day.

UNSATURATED FATS Better for your heart than trans or certain saturated fats, unsaturated fats are divided into monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Olive oil, rapeseed and other seed oils, walnuts, Brazil nuts, almonds, hazelnuts, avocados, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds and chia seeds are all sources of unsaturated fats.

The protective omega-3 fats in certain fish keep the heartbeat regular, reduce triglycerides and prevent blood clots forming in the arteries by making the cells less sticky and assist in protecting the heart and joints. Oily fish – trout, mackerel, salmon – is the best natural source of omega-3 fatty acids. Eat two portions every week.

HEART ON A PLATE

By our mid-forties, we’re all at an increased risk of a “heart event”. Fix your diet and you diminish the risk, say KATE O’BRIEN and PAULA MEE in their new book, Your Middle Years

H

eart disease is now the leading cause of death in women over 50. The risk of high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol increases after the menopause; as oestrogen levels decline, harmful LDL increases and the good HDL cholesterol decreases. Fatty cholesterol deposits develop and harden within the blood vessel and blood flows under increased pressure through narrowed vessels. When there is a complete blockage, oxygenated blood is prevented from reaching the brain and a stroke occurs. If the heart muscle is deprived of oxygenated blood, a heart attack ensues. Keeping cholesterol and blood pressure levels as near normal as possible is vital, particularly post menopause, and an annual cholesterol and blood pressure test is important, especially where there is a history of cardiovascular disease in the family.

HEALTHY LEVELS Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance. Nearly two-thirds of the body’s cholesterol is made by the liver and what we eat contributes to the remaining third. Your risk of having a heart event is increased by having a high level of Low-Density Lipoprotein. A High-Density Lipoprotein is protective because HDL carries cholesterol away from the arteries and back to the liver, protecting against its accumulation on artery walls. A low HDL can put you at risk of heart disease.

58 | March 2016 | T H E G L O S S M A G A Z I N E

BLOOD PRESSURE Blood pressure is the force of blood against the artery walls, which rises and falls during the day. It is recorded as two numbers: systolic pressure (as the heart beats) over diastolic pressure (as the heart relaxes between beats). A healthy blood pressure is 120/80 millimetres of mercury (mmHg) or lower. If your blood pressure remains elevated over time, the condition is dangerous because it makes the heart work too hard, and the force of the blood flow can harm arteries. If uncontrolled over time, it can lead to heart disease, kidney disease and stroke. Your doctor may prescribe medication.

DASH Many women combine dietary and lifestyle interventions in conjunction with blood pressure medication. The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension eating plan contains very little saturated fat, red and processed meat, desserts and sugary drinks.

Eating less salt is a vital part of reducing your blood pressure. The DASH approach replaces foods that are high in salt with foods that contain potassium, calcium and fibre. The diet includes whole grains; small servings of lean fresh meats, lots of fish and poultry; nuts and beans; low-fat dairy; and large quantities of fruit and vegetables. For more details of the DASH diet, see www.dashdiet.org.

Your Middle Years (Gill Books, ¤16.99) is published March 11.

THE FIX-YOURHEART DIET ADD THESE Porridge, muesli, home-made granola, oatcakes. Add barley, which contains betaglucan which can also lower cholesterol, to soups, and fibre-rich kidney beans, lentils and chickpeas to stews. Eating 30g of nuts a day may lower LDL. Apples, grapes, strawberries and citrus fruits are rich in pectin, a soluble fibre that lowers LDL.

USE THESE The active ingredients in functional foods (spreads and little shot bottles) are usually plant stanol or sterol esters, naturally occurring substances found in many grains such as wheat, rye and maize. They have a similar structure to cholesterol and so they compete with it in the gut and inhibit its absorption.

AVOID THESE If your triglycerides are high, reduce sugar and sugary foods, sugar-sweetened drinks, soft drinks and fruit juice, cakes, biscuits and chocolate. Reduce alcohol: have just one drink on any one occasion and try to have three alcohol-free days a week; eat a dinner serving of oily fish such as salmon, trout, or mackerel, twice a week.

SHAKE THE SALT Add little or no salt when cooking porridge, rice, pasta or potatoes. Adapt recipes with herbs, spices or lemon juice. Avoid highly salted foods such as crisps, popcorn, salted nuts, processed meats and ready meals.

Buy lower-salt versions of stock cubes, soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce.

LOSE WEIGHT Being overweight increases the risk of high blood pressure. That risk rises as your weight increases (obese BMI>30). Systolic and diastolic blood pressures drop an average of 1mmHg for roughly every 0.5kg of weight lost, although the actual amount varies from person to person.

IDEAL LEVELS Total cholesterol (TC): 5.0 mmol/L or less.

Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol after an overnight fast: 3.0mmol/L or less.

High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol: 1.2 mmol/L or more.

TC/HDL ratio: 4.5 or less, that is your total cholesterol divided by your HDL cholesterol. This reflects the fact that for any given TC level, the more HDL the better.

Triglycerides: 1.8 or less.

REMEMBERING 1916

A CENTU

2016

1916

Two similar women, two very different eras: just

THE WOMAN

HER POLITICS

HER WORK

Gretta Farren is 28 years old, a university graduate with a job in the civil service.

She was engaged to Tom, who she met at UCD, but he was killed in the early months of the war.

She lives at home, in Rathmines, with her brothers and sisters. Her father is a highearning Catholic barrister. Gretta is attractive and gregarious with a wide circle of friends.

She was distraught at the death of Tom but knows she can’t mourn forever. She is lucky, and unusual, in having a job, but it doesn’t support her and the only way to have a home of her own is to get married. The Irish marriage rate is low and it’s only got worse since the war. There are fewer men around, beyond the very young, the very old, the very pacifist and the very nationalist. She hopes the war will end soon; meantime she knows she is having a much better time than her mother did as a young unmarried woman.

Gretta supports the Irish Parliamentary Party and Home Rule like her parents but shows her independence by her defiant, if largely passive, support for women’s suffrage.

She feels this gives her a certain radical chic, but she keeps off the subject in mixed company; she doesn’t like to be thought strident. She distances herself from the militant suffragettes – “obviously starting that fire in the Theatre Royal was disgraceful – someone could’ve been killed!” – and is all about petitioning and letter-writing (though she doesn’t much get round to either). She approved when the Irish Women’s Suffrage Federation suspended propaganda to organise constructive relief work at the start of the war, and was outraged by the poster in the radical Irish Citizen: “Votes for women now!

Damn your war”, but after Tom was killed she found this phrase returning to haunt her. After the Rising, her views will follow the mainstream: initial condemnation and disparagement turning to sympathy and radicalisation. When women finally gain the vote in 1918 she is able to avail of it – being by then over 30 – and she will vote for Sinn Féin unlike her father who will stick with his own forlorn defiance to the Irish Parliamentary Party.

Gretta was avant garde in going to UCD to study literature and modern languages, and showed initiative six months after Tom died in joining the civil service, where she works in the local government board. This makes her unusual among her friends who, if they work at all, tend to be teachers. Shortage of men means more opportunities for women in the civil service, but the work is largely clerical, and it’s an occupation rather than a career. Gretta earns £65 a year, which is half what her male colleagues on the lowest rung earn, and not enough to live on. To put it in perspective, her father earns £900, while a manager at Eason’s earns £400. Her religion is a hindrance to promotion, though not as significant a hindrance as her gender, and if she marries she will have to leave work immediately. Her parents are happy that she has a respectable occupation but everyone is waiting, and hoping, for her to get married.

She is too level-headed and ultimately too conventional not to, and in 1919 she will become engaged to a friend of Tom’s with whom there was always a little frisson. The marriage will be happy. She will have six children and far less domestic help than her mother; and she will look back on the war years as her most free and independent.

THE WOMAN

HER POLITICS

HER WORK

At 34, Fiona Keane is asked almost daily by her mother when she plans on marrying Eamonn, her boyfriend of six years.

The problem is, while Fiona is certainly worried about her diminishing egg supply, like many millennials, she's not entirely sold on the institution of marriage. At the moment, she's more interested in travelling frequently and possibly freezing her eggs than walking down the aisle. And Eamonn isn't pushed either. The couple, who met at Electric Picnic, live together in a terraced house in Portobello which they picked up for a steal in 2012 with a little help from Fiona's parents (although their mortgage is still eyewatering by national standards). Fiona is a graphic designer at a Dublin 2 advertising agency while Eamonn is a freelance web developer who spends more time on his startup concept than pitching to new clients.

Until last summer, Fiona's interest in politics was limited to voting for whomever her father suggested, but the equal marriage referendum awoke something in her that reaffirmed her faith in democracy. In this year of commemoration, she's still trying to get her head around the heroes of 1916: she knows Pearse was the main man but her appetite for information about Constance Markievicz is insatiable. What an icon! Fiona was bored by last month's election, and is more concerned with her reproductive rights than who is and isn't paying water charges. She channelled her inner revolutionary though, and asked any canvassers straight out where exactly they stood on repealing the eighth amendment – that twelve Irish women travel to the UK every single day for an abortion enrages her. However, living in Ireland does have its benefits in the grand scheme of things, especially when she considers the ever-present terror threat and what happened in Paris last November – she had only been there two weeks previously on an impromptu mini-break. The refugee crisis weighs heavily on her mind and she is hoping that we can find some way to accommodate more displaced Syrians – images from Calais and Lesvos continue to haunt her.

Originally from Dalkey, Fiona lived in Stoneybatter while studying at DCU, although her parents covered her rent and expenses for those four years. Following her degree, she travelled around Southeast Asia before settling in Sydney for two years. Her parents were devastated but understood the importance of seeing the world. Finding employment was tough when Fiona returned but, following a six-month unpaid internship, she finally managed to land her first junior graphic design job and put her degree to use. The agency is one of the biggest in the city, and her department is busy so her hours are often long, especially when she's on deadline. This is a common problem for Fiona's friends too, especially in law firms, where it's normal to work 60 hours a week in order to be taken seriously. Still, the money is good now, although she's acutely aware that many of her male colleagues are earning significantly more for doing the same job. She plans on bringing it up at her next review but isn't hopeful – the gender pay gap in Ireland is almost 14 per cent. Luckily, her family has a place in Portugal so they get away on holiday at least twice a year, only having to pay for flights. Her one extravagance is a weekly cleaner from Hassle.com, which she refuses to give up even though these days her disposable income seems to all go on far flung hen weekends.

60 | March 2016 | T H E G L O S S M A G A Z I N E

REMEMBERING 1916

RY APART how different was life in 1916 compared to today?

As a member of the well-off Catholic professional classes, Gretta was brought up in a swirl of tennis, musical soirées, theatre, the Botanical Gardens, and concerts in the Gaiety and the round room of the Rotunda. Going to college in Earlsfort Terrace broadened her outlook and her circle – she attends improving lectures and occasionally goes to plays in the Abbey, though her support for Celtic revivalism is, at best, tepid. She prefers matinées in the Theatre Royal and loves the new upmarket picture houses. She meets friends at Bewley’s Oriental Café on Westmoreland Street or at Woolworth’s on Grafton Street, which has the novelty of a self-service cafeteria. She reads novels – George Moore and Somerville and Ross, and thrillers like The Thirty-Nine Steps, and takes guilty pleasure in the crime pages of The Irish Independent. In the summer, she swims at Seapoint, or sometimes goes to the heated baths at Clontarf. She dutifully helps out on charity committees in support of the war effort.

Her parents employ the full complement of domestic servants (who earn about £12 a year) and the only job Gretta has to help out with is shopping, from food emporia where everything is charged to account and delivered.

At Findlaters or Leverett & Frye, or William & Woods in Great Britain Street, or Andrew’s on Dame Street, she buys the staples – packaged tea (Mazawattee or Lipton’s), biscuits (Jacob’s or imported Peak Frean and McVities), cocoa (Fry’s), ginger ale (Cantrell & Cochrane), jam, fruit, lobster parts, calves tongues and grated Parmesan. Since the war the price of everything has gone up and Gretta has a conscience about Dublin’s poor; she disagreed with her parents over the Lock Out. Her father occasionally takes the family to Jammet’s where the chef, Michel Jammet, used to work in the Viceregal Lodge, but Gretta’s engagement lunch was there and she doesn’t feel quite ready to return. She consumes alarming quantities of meat, butter, and jam but to no visible effect – her corseted waist remains 23 inches.

HER SOCIAL LIFE

HER RESPONSIBILITIES

Fiona hates the moniker Yuccie (Young Urban Creative) but a lot of her friends do seem to fit the bill. They try to do something cultural together at least once a week, whether it's checking out a show at one of the smaller theatres, like the Project Arts Centre, seeing a foreign language film at the IFI or wandering through one of the galleries in town. At the weekends, she and Eamonn will usually go for brunch at the Fumbally or Sophie's or invite friends over to chill out in their tiny but functional eat-in kitchen. They are always on the lookout for new restaurants to try but often return to fancy old reliables, like the Saddle Room at The Shelbourne or Chapter One if they have something to celebrate. On nights when she just can't bear to leave the house, Fiona likes to curl up with her iPad and flick through Pinterest for interiors inspiration. She's hoping that they can move to a larger house with a garden, maybe in Ranelagh, in the next couple of years. On Sundays, she rounds off the weekend with a hot yoga session at a local studio, figuring that it's the easiest way to detox after an indulgent couple of days. Plus it gives her an excuse to wear her yoga pants all day long.

With Eamonn so dedicated to getting his start-up off the ground, Fiona has found herself bearing the brunt of the mortgage recently. He assures her there's an angel investor just around the corner but she's sceptical – is there really a market for an app that matches single people according to their pets?

Eamonn does most of the cooking so Fiona takes on the shopping. She is passionate about supporting Irish producers so she has the bulk of it delivered by SuperValu (now that's a handy app). Eamonn's father has an organic vegetable garden in Monkstown so she's always happy to pop out there in her Mini Cooper to see what's in season. Looking after the household budget is also Fiona's domain. Between them, she and Eamonn spend a large chunk of it on takeaway coffee from 3FE and a divine chianti from Fallon & Byrne. Unbeknownst to Eamonn or her parents, Fiona has a maxedout credit card that she can barely afford to pay the interest on.

She's considering selling some shoes on eBay to make it go away.

HER WARDROBE Gretta welcomes the freer, simpler styles and looser corsets, of the 1910s, and is in favour of the sporty "Gibson Girl" look coming from America, but she’s still an Edwardian which means she dresses in layers: long knickers, a chemise and corset or stays, over this a petticoat, then a dress, or a blouse and skirt, ending with a coat or mantle and a hat. The blouse alone has tucks, embroidery, appliqué, lace, faggoting, pleats, and trimming.

It’s all very constricting and expensive, but it can look magnificent. Gretta has her dressmaker run up a "harem skirt"; she brazens out her mother’s put-down – "You look like a circus clown" – but that skirt doesn’t get many outings. Her father is comfortably off but he can’t afford the outfits in Arnotts, Brown Thomas, or Switzers. Instead she collects magazine pictures and has her dressmaker run up the designs. She splashes out on feathers for her hats, kid gloves and fur wraps from Barnardo & Sons. She saves on make-up and on handbags, which are not a big thing since well-off women don’t carry money. Bridget Hourican

HER WARDROBE Fiona is trend-led but isn't afraid to invest in classic, tailored pieces from Jil Sander and Helmut Lang either.

Her workplace doesn't have a dress code, so she likes to assert her creativity by mixing unexpected colours and fabrics, inspired by Alexa Chung, and statement jewellery has become her "thing".

If money were no object, she would splurge on JW Anderson, Gucci and Stella McCartney but she spends more time in Topshop than Brown Thomas. Simone Rocha's new collection, inspired by Constance Markiewicz, has piqued her interest and she's currently lusting after a khaki, military-inspired jacket. The weekly emails she receives from Net-A-Porter are depressing but she can't seem to unsubscribe.

Thankfully, vintage shopping isn't expensive and she's been known to queue outside Oxfam on George's Street when something in the window catches her eye. At the moment, her favourite piece is a silk pyjama top from the 1970s, a gift from her mother who once sat on Mick Jagger's knee and still talks about it. That, and her grandmother's mink coat, are proof that good quality never goes out of style. ^ Sarah Breen

T H E G L O S S M A G A Z I N E | March 2016 | 61

GUCCI

HER RESPONSIBILITIES

SIMONE ROCHA

HER SOCIAL LIFE

SOCIAL LIFE

A trio of models stops traffic outside the Dublin Horse Show in 1961.

HIGH HEMS ROLLER BAGS

PICTURE PERFECT Clockwise from above: Catherine Connolly (second from right) in an ad for Bolger’s; designer Sybil Connolly; Catherine Connolly (right) in a shoot for Sun Beam Swimwear in 1966; Marguerite McCurtain modelling an Ib Jorgensen jacket, now on display at the National Museum of Ireland; below, Grace O’Shaughnessy wearing Neillí Mulcahy in 1966.

Being a successful model in 1960s Ireland meant doing your own make-up and never saying no.

MAGGIE ARMSTRONG meets four formidable women who led the era’s fash pack

T

heir bags were big, deep and backbreakingly heavy. Inside: twelve pairs of shoes, four hair pieces, rollers, six pairs of underwear, eight pairs of tights, pots of make-up, sticking plasters, false eyelashes, safety pins, a sewing kit, boxes of jewellery, scarves, aspirin and, usually, a good novel.

It was Ireland in the 1960s, when the fashion industry was shaping up in a half-dressed sort of way. Models then didn’t have the entourages and glam squads of today.

They were more like journeymen hauling tool boxes: a model packed her own kit for a show, leaving nothing to chance outside her precious bag. These behemoths inevitably came on wheels, such was their weight. Grace O’Shaughnessy’s was black leather from Liberty, and she lugged this baby onto vans for the country fashion shows that back then were a model’s bread and butter – before the lucky few were plucked out to work with the top couturiers of the time, such as Sybil Connolly or Ib Jorgensen. “It

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was exhausting. You’d get home from a show at night and have to lay out all your shoes and count them for the next day,” she says.

Models learned exactly how to pack for every sartorial eventuality at the “poise and personality” classes that sprang up during the 1950s and 1960s. Under the expert tutelage of the agency heads, including “perfect” Violet Collins, furclad Betty Whelan and “mother hen” Miriam Woodbyrne, girls learnt how to glide at a backwards slant in heels, swivel their heads admirably, make the best side of their faces the prettiest. “In those days, to be a model or an air hostess was considered to be a very good thing for a girl,” says O’Shaughnessy, who was a secretary in Walpole’s linen manufacturers when her older sister sent her money to do a modelling course. She went on to become leader of a pack that included Helen Joyce (now Lady

Wogan) and Hilary Frayne (now Weston, and married to Selfridges, Brown Thomas and Arnotts owner, Galen).

Gay Byrne once told Grace on The Late Late Show that, “You were all so above us, we were afraid to talk to you”.

With olive skin, long dark hair and an oval face, she was compared to the Madonna by Sybil Connolly, and won the remarkable title of Europe’s Ideal Woman of 1966, for which she got a Fiat car. White, of course.

In religious Ireland, a model was supposed to be a paragon of true virtue. Unlike today, when more skin means more success and girls are outspoken on social media, a model was decorative: seen and not heard. A very tall doll. “To be signed with an agency, it was like being in a religious order,” explains Marguerite McCurtain. “Walking down Grafton Street, you had to have your hair and your make-up done perfectly. You had to represent ‘amazing’, insofar as any of us could.”

That was the idea anyhow. Behind the scenes, the job was far from amazing. Suzanne Macdougald,

SOCIAL LIFE arguably Ireland’s most famous model of the era, recalls the “glamour” of driving around the country with a sales rep to show clothes to shop owners. “We changed in every goddamn toilet, hotel room, back bar, you name it. If you ever did a show in Ballydehob, you’d arrive and wash your hair and there was never anywhere you could dry it, unless you brought your own hairdryer.” At age 15, she took a modelling course with Violet Collins. She was so good, she left Alexandra College girls’ school in Dublin and soon became a teen sensation, all golden features, bouffant hair and pale pink lips. “Everybody thought it was very glamorous but I disgraced the school – they didn’t like the idea that I was appearing in the newspapers and things.”

Similar to today’s Irish models and promotions girls, in the 1960s, the way to secure work was to say yes to everything. Macdougald even learned to smoke when she broke into television commercials. She did get to be Terry Wogan’s “Jackpot girl” though, an impressive achievement in those circles, spinning the wheel of fortune. “I didn’t do much talking,” she laments. “You didn’t have to be very bright.” Stripping off on occasion was par for the course too. “I was never averse to doing anything that I was asked to do,” says O’Shaughnessy. She recalls Clodagh, one the era’s most venturesome designers. “She said, ‘Grace, I want to do body painting. You’re the only one I know who will do it. So will you allow me to paint your body and appear on shows and things?’ So I said ‘yes’; it was a job. I had a very skimpy bikini on, and she painted me with wonderful artistic spiral designs and trees of life.”

Model agents were always keen for their girls to go abroad and fly the flag too. Macdougald wore her share of “ghastly crimplene” at trade shows in Czechoslovakia, and leapt at the chance to travel to New York in 1964 with a group of dressmakers, including Henry White, Jack Clarke, Clodagh and Irena Gilbert, on the Irish Export Board. “Nobody would pay you any money, basically,” she says. Along with Catherine Connolly, she was told they would have their air fare paid but they would have to fend for themselves once in the US. That is how the 19-year-old fast friends ended up on a plane to Kennedy airport, pretending they had somewhere to stay. “I was so desperate to go to America I said ‘Yes, of course I’ve got relations.’ I didn’t tell them that they lived in California,” says Connolly. “Everyone was going off to the Hilton Hotel.

Somebody on the plane told me about a really quirky hotel.

I didn’t realise it was basically for down-and-outs. Anyway, Suzanne and I stayed there, by the docklands. We woke up in the morning with helicopters landing on the roof and somebody shooting up two doors down the corridor.”

It wasn’t only drug addicts they had to worry about.

Due at the Hilton for the fashion shows at three o’clock, unbeknownst to the girls, a funeral procession for fallen firefighters was taking place on the same day and the city had ground to a standstill. Coming out of their seamy digs, they spotted a girl with false eyelashes and an enormous bag on wheels. A model bag! “We thought, oh, she must be a model. We asked her if she was going to the Hilton.

She said ‘yes, come this way’.” Off they went to the wrong Hilton, on the other side of Manhattan, spending their entire first morning in a traffic jam and arriving two hours late, missing most of the shows. “We were murdered,” says Macdougald. “We spent the next ten days sleeping under the coats and suits. This was our exotic trip to New York.

Hitting the big time.”

Both Macdougald and Connolly ended up in London being groomed at Vidal Sassoon’s legendary salon and working with international superstars like Twiggy.

MODEL CITIZENS Clockwise from right: Grace O’Shaughnessy wearing Neillí Mulcahy in 1967; Suzanne McDougald aged 15 in 1960; Catherine Connolly in an ad for Bolger’s.

Connolly recalls one shoot for Selfridges, when she first met the Cockney waif. “She was delightful,” Connolly says. “She was much smaller than I’d expected, only about five foot five. She was far too small for all the clothes, they had to rush off and get her the equivalent of a size six today. We all felt like great big elephants in comparison.”

This is a joke, of course. None of the models was overweight and dieting was not a part of their lives. “You worked so hard, it was never an issue. Sometimes you

“We were sent to a DOCTOR on Harley Street who gave us BLUE PILLS, pink pills and green pills.” didn’t have time to eat,” says Connolly. Macdougald tells a darker tale, however, of working in London later, in the 1970s, under a Bond Street agent. “We were told we had to lose weight. We were sent to a doctor on Harley Street who gave us blue pills, brown pills, pink pills and green pills, and you had to take these. They were uppers. And a lot of girls collapsed. At that stage I was very thin – I was told I was too thin. I would have been a size ten, I was a size eight by the time London was finished with me.”

Did they have to put up with sexism? Abuse of power?

Absolutely. “We had it the whole time,” says Connolly.

“Especially in England, if you went for an interview they’d sort of say ‘Ooh, you’re a nice little thing.’ Or get you to try on one thing after another and walk into your dressing room with half your clothes off.” She once worked on a beach in winter with the photographer David Bailey – “a very intimidating person to work with. He would scream and shout at you but I sort of got on very well with him.”

But lasting friendships were forged. For many of the girls a day on the catwalk meant laughter and confidencesharing. “The best fun was doing shows,” says Connolly.

“There were a lot of girls you had to be with for two weeks in rehearsals. We’d discuss recipes, or do our knitting.

You’d see all these girls with false eyelashes and amazing figures, sitting knitting waiting to be photographed.” In

those days, to work with the Danish-born Ib Jorgensen was the pinnacle. According to Marguerite McCurtain, who was his muse, “He had the most beautiful house at 24 Fitzwilliam Square; the double drawing room was his salon. It had the aura of a cathedral about it.” But McCurtain would arrive late having done her make-up in the car, and enjoyed tormenting Jorgensen’s top buyers during her defilé. “I kept my most spirited presentations for them. I found it very hard not to drape a feather boa along the nostril of one, or give them a good whack of my shawl, or open my coat so that they were sneezing and gasping for air. It was complete theatre.”

The other designer to know was Sybil Connolly, reinventor of tweeds. O’Shaughnessy was Connolly’s favourite model, and the designer would make the clothes on her body in her Merrion Square studio – after summoning the butler for tea and a homemade biscuit on a silver tray. O’Shaughnessy remembers her “lovely trilling laugh” on planes to London to meet buyers, and Jacqueline Kennedy’s magnanimous visit – to order six of her pleated house coats. “[Connolly] was the grande dame.

She was most kind to me. She gave me several outfits; a beautiful oatmeal tweed dress, slimline and sleeveless, and a jacket over it, in rolled silk, and an aquamarine blue dress with a matching coat.” Alas, she’s since misplaced them.

Years of passive preening and tedious packing and repacking deterred none of these women from forging impressive careers after modelling. Macdougald: art gallerist, who ran the Solomon. Connolly: interior designer, with her London company, Northwick Design.

McCurtain: travel writer. O’Shaughnessy: model agent and business consultant. Are the former 1960s dolls impressed with today’s not-so-model citizens? Macdougald is disappointed by the tendency to gloom on the runways, a far cry from how it used to be done. “The girls, they don’t project a personality. I don’t like this deadpan look.

I think they think that clothes are supposed to speak for themselves. But clothes, as far as I’m concerned, should be worn.” ^ @MaggieDubliner

THE MAN AND HIS MUSE Ib Jorgensen and Marguerite McCurtain at The National Museum of Ireland’s Ib Jorgensen – A Fashion Retrospective in May 2015.

T H E G L O S S M A G A Z I N E | March 2016 | 63

BOOKS

Rosemary in Kilcroney, Co Wicklow in 1938. Left: Baby Rosemary and her brothers Joe Jr (left) and Jack with their mother in 1919.

THE HIDDEN KENNEDY DAUGHTER Beautiful but intellectually disabled, Joe and Rose Kennedy’s first daughter was lobotomised at 23. In a new book, KATE CLIFFORD LARSON lifts the lid on this closely guarded secret

B

orn in 1918, Rosemary Kennedy was the first daughter of Joe and Rose Kennedy. She suffered from intellectual disabilities caused by a lack of oxygen during a difficult birth, a secret closely guarded from the general public. She was beautiful and travelled the world with her family but, as she got older, and the ambitious Kennedy siblings began to gain power and ascend the political ranks, Rosemary’s condition was considered a threat to their glamorous image. In November 1941, when she was 23, her father made the decision to have her lobotomised. Although her mother claimed the procedure was completed without her consent, she later admitted some knowledge of it. A new book, Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter, reveals the lengths Joe Kennedy went to in order to keep Rosemary’s condition secret.

Rosemary Kennedy spent most of her life living in isolation, first at boarding schools and then at Craig House, a private and exclusive psychiatric facility about 50 miles outside of New York that was heavily subsidised by the Kennedy Foundation, with upper-class social amenities like golf, tennis and swimming. She died in 2005 in a Wisconsin institution at the age of 86 ...

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Craig House’s proximity to New York and its connections to the city’s elite may have made Joe Kennedy uncomfortable. The risk of having anyone discovering that Rosemary was institutionalised and in such a debilitated state was a public relations problem for a family with political ambitions. Ironically, Joe’s decision concerning the lobotomy had rendered Rosemary more, rather than

Joe’s DECISION had rendered Rosemary more, rather than less, of a THREAT to the Kennedy family ASPIRATIONS. less, of a threat to the Kennedy family aspirations. Settling Rosemary in Massachusetts or Florida would have been more convenient for visits by the family, if they had wanted to or could visit her. But there were hardly any private facilities in those two states that were suited to Rosemary’s needs. Patient abuse was also rampant.

In 1948, Joe consulted with one of his close friends and spiritual advisers, Boston’s Catholic archbishop

Richard Cushing. The Catholic Church had been building therapeutic hospitals, sanitariums, and special schools for decades. Among them was Saint Coletta School in Jefferson, Wisconsin. Serving about 200 children, the facility offered care for mentally disabled adults as well. Cushing’s school, Saint Coletta by the Sea in Hanover, Massachusetts, was originally designed for a small number of children who lived at, and were schooled in, two small buildings on a 176acre campus. Joe, through a newly established nonprofit philanthropic family foundation created in the memory of Joe Jr, called the Joseph P Kennedy Jr Foundation, would donate more than $100,000 to the building of a chapel, a children’s playroom, three classrooms, and a dormitory for 40 children there in 1948. Within ten years, another large donation of funds from the Kennedy Foundation would help the school expand to in separate residential homes, additional classrooms, and more recreational facilities for children and a few adults.

But, in the late 1940s, the Massachusetts facility was not suitable for Rosemary — not because she could not be properly cared for there but because, as Archbishop Cushing told Joe directly, “It would be impossible to avoid public attention.” Cushing encouraged Joe to send Rosemary to the Jefferson, Wisconsin, programme.

“There,” he assured Joe, “and not Hanover, will solve

BOOKS Bobby, Eunice, Jean, Pat, Rosemary and Teddy Kennedy on a tour of Italy in 1939.

your personal problems.” Joe worked through a friend and longtime business associate, John Ford, to make all the necessary arrangements for a transition. “Word has come from Mother Mary Bartholomew that the school at Jefferson, Wisconsin will co-operate in every way concerning the placement of Rosemary,” Sister Maureen wrote to Ford from Saint Coletta at Hanover. “I am sure that everything can be arranged to Mr Kennedy’s entire satisfaction.” Joe dispatched Ford to investigate the facility in January. “I thought I would follow it up with a visit myself, possibly in March or April,” Joe wrote to Ford on New Year’s Eve in 1948. “That is the most important unfinished business that I have.”

Sometime in the early summer of 1949, Rosemary moved to Jefferson. Over the next 15 years, Ford would visit Rosemary at Saint Coletta, checking on her care. He handled the financial details and acted as intermediary between Joe and the sisters caring for Rosemary. Joe never saw Rosemary again. He paid for a special one-storey brick ranch-style cottage to be built for her, which also housed two specially trained nuns who could live with her fulltime. Informally named the Kennedy Cottage, it would become Rosemary’s home for nearly 60 years. Settling into a routine, Rosemary found comfort and security, even friendship, with the nuns, staff, and patients. She was happy, the nuns reported, and was adeptly cared for and nurtured by the sisters, who became her substitute family. Inquisitive reporters tried to find her and uncover her story, but the nuns were vigilant, thwarting attempts by journalists and others to speak with or photograph her.

Rosemary received individual therapy and participated in social functions and occasional meals with staff and residents at Saint Coletta. Speech therapy and improving her motor skills remained priorities.

The trust fund Joe had set up for Rosemary many years

Saint Coletta School in Jefferson, Wisconsin in the late 1940s. Below: Drs Walter Freeman and James Watts popularised the lobotomy in the US.

Rosemary with her father Joe Kennedy, US Ambassador to Great Britain, at the opening of the London Children’s Zoo in 1938.

before, as he had done for all his children, paid Rosemary’s bills at the school. But, even without it, Joe would have made sure she was well cared for: a car used by her caregivers to take her on short trips into town, furs, and beautiful clothes guaranteed that she was still a Kennedy girl. Consistent, significant yearly donations were made to the school as well.

Rose Kennedy claimed to her niece Ann Gargan that she was kept in the dark about the lobotomy for 20 years, well into Rosemary’s life at Saint Coletta. Gargan recalled that Rose “had to piece the story together chapter by chapter.”

Heartbroken, angry, and disillusioned, Rose begged her friends and family advisers to tell her what had happened.

Why, she asked, hadn’t she been told? Rose later claimed, in her 1974 memoir, that she and Joe consulted with “eminent medical specialists” who advised them that there was no choice, but that Rosemary “should undergo a certain form of neurosurgery”. Though little correspondence exists that explicitly defines what Rose learned and when about what happened to Rosemary, it is not possible that she remained as uninformed as she alleged. Rosemary now lived wholly apart from her family identity. Unable to speak clearly,

Eunice, Kathleen and Rosemary Kennedy in 1925.

and deeply intellectually impaired, she no longer needed to compete with her siblings and had become, as one nun described her, less “goal oriented.” Still a relatively tall woman, at five feet eight inches, Rosemary presented an imposing figure. In spite of her crippled limbs, however, she was strong and healthy. Over time, Rosemary would indeed consider Saint Coletta her permanent home. In one letter to Sister Anastasia, Joe expressed deep gratitude for the kindness and loving care the nuns and staff were providing Rosemary. In a remarkable moment of honesty, he told Sister Anastasia that Saint Coletta had offered “the solution to Rosemary’s problem . . . a major factor in the ability of all the Kennedys to go about their life’s work and to try and do it as well as they can.” ^ Excerpted from Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter by Kate Clifford Larson. Copyright © 2015 by Kate Clifford Larson. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

T H E G L O S S M A G A Z I N E | March 2016 | 65

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A CUP ABOVE

The beauty world is constantly endorsing exotic new ingredients. But the current buzz is about something rather more prosaic: tea, as SARAH HALLIWELL found out

Beauty

“Rare teas are grown in small quantities, picked by hand and harvested using TRADITIONAL methods.”

Earl Grey & Cucumber Cologne is one of their loveliest – but these are seriously special. The purest tea extracts are infused straight from the leaf: “It’s both an art and a science,” explains Majoullier. “Unlike mass-produced teas, rare teas are grown in small quantities, picked by hand and harvested using traditional methods,” says Fragrance Director, Céline Roux. “Tea can be as valuable as gold.”

Just a few additional ingredients accentuate the infusions. Silver Needle tea is harvested in China just once a year, making it incredibly rare: it’s delicately floral, and enhanced here with hints of sage, bergamot and rose absolute. Other colognes celebrate the bright buds of Jade Leaf tea; delicate Darjeeling, and smoky Midnight Black tea, with sandalwood (lovely on men too).

Other brews to inhale are BELLA BELLISSIMA’s Cologne Toujours, with green tea enhanced by lemon and pomelo; and BULGARI’s classic Green Tea, created by legendary perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena in 1992. ^ La Solution 10 de Chanel, S74, nationwide from March 25. Jo Malone London Rare Teas Cologne collection, S300 each, at Brown Thomas from April.

FATMA AL-THANI

O

n an exclusive visit to the CHANEL research labs, on the outskirts of Paris, we saw a whole new side to tea. Kitted out in white lab coats (yes, Chanel manages to make even these look stylish), we toured behind the scenes, where all the skincare and make-up is conceived, tested and developed. It’s Willy Wonka for grown-ups, with tantalising glimpses of your future make-up bag at every blindingly-white turn.

Chanel’s current focus is White Needle Tea, a white tea found to have the most concentrated antioxidant quality, rich in theanine, a key amino acid. It’s the star ingredient in Solution 10, a luxury moisturiser for sensitive skin that Chanel has developed in collaboration with New York dermatologist Dr Amy Wechsler, motivated by the countless patients she sees with irritated or itchy skin.

“With sensitive skin it’s so important to know what’s going on it, so it makes sense to keep it as simple as possible,” says Dr Wechsler.

The theory is classically Chanel: less is more.

So here is a moisturiser that doesn’t have an ingredients list so long and tiny it makes your eyes hurt. Instead of the usual 35-50 ingredients, the lab set themselves a challenge to use 15 or less. Four years and 117 samples later, they managed it with just ten, achieving a tricky balancing act between efficacy, suitability for sensitive skin, plus, let’s face it, a certain glamour.

Solution 10 is a skincare haiku, honed and pared back to the absolute essentials. Each element, from the nourishing shea butter to the plant-derived squalane, is the purest and best. The testing process was rigorous: if it can protect skin during the peak of pollution in Beijing, we reckon it can cope with Dublin and Cork. It’s also excellent for men as a postshaving soother. Expect to see a trend for simplicity in skincare as others follow Chanel’s lead.

Special tea leaves are also being infused over at JO MALONE LONDON, where perfumer Serge Majoullier has created a set of six perfumes, the Rare Teas Collection. These will be available at just a handful of stores worldwide, including Brown Thomas. And you’re getting a first glimpse of them here first. The collection is focused on purity, as reflected in the bottle, the brand’s first new design in 25 years.

Jo Malone has dabbled in tea before – bright, effervescent

SKIN SOLUTIONS A psychologist as well as a dermatologist, Dr Amy Wechsler is a firm advocate of a positive mindset as much as a good routine for your skin: “Healthy strategies for coping with stress are essential to any beauty regimen. You can’t halt the march of time, but you can get stress under control and minimise the toll it takes on your looks. Learn to relax, develop a more positive mindset and you will see dramatic improvements in how you look and feel.

Raised cortisol levels cause inflammation so you need to lower those any way you can, for example, more sleep, meditation, mindfulness.” Her skincare tips are nononsense: “If you find something you like, stick with it – I see no need to ‘change up’ your hair or skincare every few months. One essential is sun protection – it has saved my skin.” And there’s no need for gadgets or cleansing brushes, Wechsler believes: “They are too aggressive and abrasive for the skin – they are only suitable for your feet in the shower.”

T H E G L O S S M A G A Z I N E | March 2016 | 67

BEAUTY

BY SARAH HALLIWELL

XXXXXXXXX

Buffet BEST UNDER ¤10 We have a soft spot for MAYBELLINE Baby Lips (and we’re not alone, judging by how fast the lip balms sell out). The latest take is Baby Lips Balm & Blush (a7.65), in peach, pink, ruby and bronze, to swipe a dewy sheen on lips and cheeks. They epitomise the best of high-street beauty – fun, affordable and collectable – keep in pockets to cheer yourself up at all times.

ISSA SS16

THE GLOSSIEST BOBBI BROWN Long-Wear Gel Sparkle comes in five limited edition shades for spring, from Silver Heather to Pink Oyster and they are gorgeous. That slightly wet-look sheen on your eyelids is enlightening: because it lasts so well, it hints that you had a seriously decadent night out the previous evening. Zip on with a fingertip for instant glamour. a30.

THIS MONTH WE’RE WEARING ...

The ice-cool new take on TOM FORD Neroli Portofino, Aqua, is lighter, brighter and a little more affordable than the original but still captures the essence of Italy in a bottle. Eau de parfum, ¤120, at Brown Thomas. The fresh and effervescent Pomelo

by JO LOVES is our other spring scent. From £65stg, www.joloves.com

DEEP HYDRATION

STATION ERY

STAPLES

Your spring ESSENTIALS

P

erhaps it’s a throwback to our childhood love of stationery – the thrill of filling a new pencil case at the start of term – but spring beauty is dominated by cool crayons for eyes, brows and lips. LIPSTICK QUEEN’s Cupid’s Bow lip crayons (at SpaceNK) are the business, vibrant and gorgeous to wear, and widely copied. We find SOAP & GLORY’s chunky Archery Brow Almighty pencils and MAC’s new Big Brow Pencils (a21, five shades) give the most natural brow boost, while MAC’s Kajal Liners twist up like the most exciting propelling pencils, and come in every shade from emerald to espresso (a18). But it’s TOM FORD’s slim and elegant High Definition Eye Liner (a37), a sleek, mechanical pencil for high-intensity colour, that gives the biggest thrill. As we get older, it becomes a frustrating challenge to find liner that stays put and doesn’t smudge straight up onto your brow bone, making you look rather raddled and scatty – we know this from bitter experience and constant checking in the rear-view mirror. And while liquid liner has staying power, a hard graphic line isn’t always what you’re after. A streak of this is like indelible ink. It is resilient even on less-than-firm eyelids, and can go inside the waterline (some long-wear liners sting), staying sharp. The colours are beautifully subtle – slate grey, inky black and a beautiful azure blue. For evening, ramp it up with a sheen of Cream Color for Eyes. Our next crayon purchase will be CLINIQUE’s Chubby in the Nude Foundation Sticks (launching April), as they make the ideal travelling skin-perfectors – as easy as colouring in.

68 | March 2016 | T H E G L O S S M A G A Z I N E

VICHY’s Compensating Complex range is tailored to menopausal skin; actives in this range can mimic the impact of youth hormones, boosting moisture levels and plumping skin. Try the Concentrate (a36) for day-long hydration; subtle golden micro-pearls help skin look brighter.

THE GLAM SPOT This Starlett Scarlet matte lipstick (a21.50) is one small but perfect part of the glam Charlotte Olympia collection for MAC. With its spider-web graphics and 1940s vibe, it’s a classy range that champions old-school dressing: curled lashes, the reddest lips and not a hair out of place. Exclusive to Brown Thomas Dublin and www.brownthomas.com from March 24.

T HI S MO N T H

I’LL USE ...

Founder of Nobó dairy-free ice cream, RACHEL NOLAN, on her beauty regime “I TEND TO BE CONSCIOUS OF what I’m putting on my skin and so would pick natural skincare as a rule. I’m using WELEDA Skin Food at the moment, which I originally bought as a baby cream but I find it really good, especially when you need something rich. I also try to choose Irish brands if possible, and came across KINVARA Absolute Cleansing Oil, which smells lovely. I always have DR COY’s coconut oil (from www.nourish.ie) in my bag as it’s handy for so many different things, from taking off mascara to any patches of eczema on the baby. For hair, I’ve been going to Michelle at Di Milo, Donnybrook, Dublin 4, for years; it’s handy as they open at 7am. I use ARMANI Luminous Silk foundation and I’ve found PAESE (www.paese.ie) Sheer Glow bronzer really good and inexpensive. I don’t tend to wear lipstick but go for something like a tinted balm or gloss by BURT’S BEES; mascara is probably my one make-up essential. I was given JO MALONE LONDON Pomegranate Noir Cologne a few years ago and love the way a little goes a long way. For a relaxing bath, I love DR HAUSCHKA Moor Lavender Bath Essence.” www.nobo.ie

RACHEL’S BEAUTY BILL WELEDA Skin Food, ¤10.99 + DR COY’S Organic Virgin Coconut Oil, ¤23.99 + KINVARA Cleansintg Oil, ¤19.95 + GIORGIO ARMANI Luminous Silk Foundation, ¤45 + PAESE Sheer Glow Powder, ¤12.99 + JO MALONE LONDON Pomegranate Noir Cologne, ¤48 + DR HAUSCHKA Moor Lavender Bath Essence, ¤18.95.

TOTAL = ¤179.87

BEAUTY

FIRST LOOK...

TAKE 3: LIFT THE LID

The beautiful Sta Maria Novella Farmacia beauty line, made in Florence for over 600 years, arrives any day now at Parfumarija, 2 Westbury Mall, Dublin 2.

Eyebrow lifts are the surgical trend with the biggest increase in demand last year, according to research by WhatClinic.com, despite an average price tag of a3,789 in Ireland; eyelid surgery is also high on the list. If that idea puts you off your lunch, try: 1 CHARLOTTE TILBURY’s light and creamy Magic Eye Rescue (a55). 2 CLINIQUE Pep-Start Eye Cream (a22), in its cheery orange pop-up tube, wakens and brightens. 3 LANCÔME Advanced Génefique Yeux LightPearl (a55) soothes tired eyes.

THE LIP HIT LANCÔME Juicy Shakers are a fun new take on lip oils – bright pops of colour rich in protective, moisturising oils. Shake and go. a22, exclusive to Brown Thomas; nationwide from March 16.

THE LOCAL HERO We wrote about Irish brand PESTLE & MORTAR’s Hyaluronic Serum last January and it has since gone on to gather fans all round the world. The new Hydrate Lightweight Moisturiser again does what it says on the pot – a rather smart sealed pot, too – and like Solution 10 (see page 65), this is a simple yet effective formula. It contains pomegranate and green tea extract, jojoba oil and vitamin E to give skin a hydration boost. a48, at Arnotts and www.pestleandmortarcosmetics.com

“The most important thing this season is the glow,” says top make-up artist Val Garland. This translates to healthy, shiny skin, prepped and polished, as at PREEN and ZAC POSEN for spring. Forget laborious, overdone contouring: this is far more user-friendly. Warm skin with the brilliant CLARINS Self-Tan Milky Lotion: far from drying skin, as self-tan usually does, this does double-duty as a moisturiser, with aloe vera and fig for lasting hydration and a fresh scent.

At Brown Thomas, a28. ARMANI Maestro Glow SPF30 (a46) is a mix of skincare, colour and glow, made with natural oils and ultra-fine pigments. And a tiny drop of BAREMINERALS Sheer Sun Serum Bronzer in Bare Glow (a30) makes us think of silky liquid caramel.

RALPH LAUREN SS16

HOW TO DO... The Glow

FULL EXPOSURE When you’re revealing shoulder, neck or décolleté, deploy buffers, polishes and varnishes to make them worthy of display. Use a firm body brush to exfoliate (always brush towards the heart, before showering, to slough off dry skin), or treat yourself to a gorgeous body scrub like NEOM Organics Great Day Wild Mint & Mandarin Body Scrub. ¤41, at Seagreen.

The trend for exposure draws attention to bits we neglect, such as the chest and neck – areas which, as Dr Mike Bell, Scientific Advisor for Boots, notes, are more prone to ageing.

Pick a lightweight, non-

sticky formula such as NO 7 Protect & Perfect Intense Advanced Moisturising Body Serum (¤34.50), with argan oil and hyaluronic acid to hydrate and firm skin.

SISLEY Phytobuste + Décollété (¤202) works wonders in improving skin’s elasticity and giving TLC to the much-neglected chest area, using all manner of hydrators, from walnut extract to velvety shea butter. Putting on body cream every day is a pain but quickabsorbing formulas make the process less laborious. Lash on GARNIER Ultimate Blends body butters and balms with lush honey and soothing oats, from ¤6.95.

THE MARCH VISIT

You’ll find much more than make-up at SMASHBOX’s first ever Studio Store, newly opened in London

Above: Smashbox Brow Tech Gloss Stick, ¤21. Right: 25th Anniversary Lip Palette, ¤76, comprising 25 of the brand’s best-loved shades, inspired by Hollywood icons, is lipstick heaven.

You can feel LA energy as soon as you walk through the door into the Smashbox studio store. Yes, it’s all about cosmetics, but the spacious, light-filled venue takes the notion of a concept store to the next level. First, there is the impressive Donald Robertson mural; the space will host a revolving display of art exhibitions and an artist-in-residence programme. Should you need to hire a photographic studio or soundproof video facilities (to make your own vlog perhaps?), this can be arranged. But you can also hang out, enjoy a coffee or juice and avail of numerous complimentary “make-up in minutes” services.

Synonymous with creativity and beloved by red carpet regulars such as Charlize Theron and Drew Barrymore, the brand loves to share their beauty hacks.

In that spirit, there’s a lipgloss-making station, or you can try “Flawless in a Flash”, or the “Define & Perfect” browover (both five minutes). I felt invincible after a “Conquering the Contour” lesson (15 minutes), while the “Perfect Canvas” session teaches you all about Smashbox’s iconic primers and foundations. Once the transformation is complete, head to the ringflash selfie booth. The Studio’s ethos always has being camera-ready in mind, and this space is as much for photography enthusiasts as for make-up mavens. Online beauty shopping might be convenient, but this is somewhere to come and indulge in the sheer joy of makeup. Lucky Dublin having the excellent Arnotts Smashbox counter, to tide them over between London visits. ^ PMcC Smashbox, One Fitzroy, 6 Mortimer Street, London, W1.

T H E G L O S S M A G A Z I N E | March 2016 | 69

ZAC POSEN

BEAUTY MILLENNIAL SKINCARE

THE BLOCKBUSTERS THE TREND: The luxury market just got more luxe, with more and more serums and creams breaking the ¤300 barrier and beyond. TRY IT: Crème de la Mer's Genaissance de la Mer The Serum Essence (¤510, from March), which has the potency of a retin-A without any irritation, saw incredible clinical tests over eight weeks in smoothing and energising skin. It certainly has a

SPFS FOR GOOD SKIN

SKINCARE

TRENDS for 2016 From exotic new ingredients to ultra-luxurious launches, SARAH HALLIWELL takes a close look at new-generation skincare sublime lightness and silkiness, and skin looks as if it's been resurfaced. Chanel Sublimage La Crème (¤310) and La Prairie Cellular Radiance Pure Gold (¤410) are also in the premier league, meaning your new season investment buy may be a pot of cream rather than a coat …

THE INGREDIENT THE TREND: Along with the continued passion for hyaluronic acid, the best natural skin hydrator we have, we’re seeing squalane appear on a lot of ingredient lists.

Naturally present in the skin’s lipid barrier, squalane prevents moisture loss and helps keep skin supple and flexible. TRY IT: It's a key ingredient in Sisley’s new super-cream, L’Intégral Anti-Age (¤360), one of the most supremely beautiful things we have ever put on our skin, and in Irish brand Pestle & Mortar's Hydrate moisturiser (¤48).

Meanwhile Liz Earle is championing paracress, a natural muscle relaxant we are set to see more of, in new Superskin Eye Cream (¤41, at Arnotts).

INSTANT GRATIFICATION THE TREND: We want results, and we want them now. And so the big blur continues. “Immediate results in skincare are mandatory – we can't wait three weeks

70 | March 2016 | T H E G L O S S M A G A Z I N E

to see a difference,” says Lair. “There must be an immediate result as well as long-term efficacy. It’s easy to think of skin primers as an extra step you don’t have time for, but in the quest to wear less foundation, a good one can make all the difference.

TRY IT: Elizabeth Arden’s Flawless Start Instant Perfecting Primer (¤33) does what it says on the tube, mattifying skin without having to flatten it with powder. It’s an ideal way to smooth out skin that tends to be oily, and means you wear less foundation.

Asian-inspired fabric masks are incredibly effective for fast, intensive moisturising: Estée Lauder's Micro Essence Infusion Masks are utterly brilliant. ¤59.

SQUEAKY CLEAN THE TREND: Is this the year we see a backlash against plasticised, plumped-up, over made-up Instagram faces? MAC’s Terry Barber thinks so, and the message was clear on the spring catwalks – be inspired by the street not celebrity, and looks that are natural rather than fake perfection. Detox skin from the inside out, focusing on what you eat and drink – and cleansing. TRY IT: The Clarisonic reigns supreme in terms of achieving a deep clean. The Sonic Radiance Set, with two different cleansers and a

THE TREND: Your best investment, at any time of the year, is a daily SPF. The difference is that this year the focus is on easy-to-wear, skin-enhancing protectors.

TRY IT: Aveda Daily Light Guard Defense Fluid SPF30 and L'Occitane Divine SPF20 Light for instant protection.

Emma Hardie Protect & Prime SPF30 (¤49, at Arnotts) is a moisturiser and protector in one: it's amazingly pleasant to wear. We wish Murad’s Invisiblur Perfecting Shield SPF30 (¤69.50, at Therapie clinics) wasn’t so pricey, but this innovative transparent gel is the one everyone will be copying.

SONG OF THE SEA THE TREND: Look no further than the coast to boost your skin: seaweed is a skin superpower. TRY IT: First, start eating this powerful natural protein. We’ve mentioned AtlanticKitchen.co.uk before – add their dried seaweed to stews and soups – and try Sea of Vitality’s brown bread mix with seaweed, and milled dillisk (seaofvitality. ie), sourced in Dungarvan. Nutritionist Elizabeth Peyton-Jones advises: “Use seaweed instead of salt. Salt will dehydrate you and wrinkle you up like a prune.

Seaweed is full of minerals and iodine which is a great for your metabolism.” It’s also being more widely used in beauty: try Bobbi Brown’s new Skin Nourish Face Mask, with green algae (¤43). Try seaweed in your own bathroom: CaraMara. ie will deliver a box of Fucus serratus seaweed (¤30), for a therapeutic bath. The natural minerals and silky oils give you the softest skin, and will make you sleep like a baby, while your house smells, freshly, of the sea. 

PHOTOGRAPH BY JASON LLOYD-EVANS

THE TREND: “Skincare must adapt to demands of environment, lifestyle, stress levels and our multi-tasking lifestyle,” explains director of Scientific Communications for Clarins, MarieHélène Lair. “A specific stress hormone, cortisol, is produced by the brain and also by skin. When production of this hormone is increased, consequences are visible at each level of the skin as it damages the dermis and affects the production of collagen and elastin.” Clarins always looks to plants for solutions: “Our philosophy is to merge the best of nature with the latest technology.

For us, nature is the oldest R&D lab. Plants are born to survive and to adapt and so we learn from them.” Clarins has a portfolio of 250 plants already registered and analysed for their efficacy but each year they screen more than 400 new ones, adding around ten. TRY IT: Clarins Multi-Active Day Cream (¤55) has long been a staple of our beauty cabinets, and the original muchloved formula has now been enriched. The new Multi-Active range features Teasel extract in a high-tech capsule to intensify the quantity delivered into the cell, like a compatible charger, to re-energise skin.

“We have also studied melatonin, a key hormone for chronobiology and the quality of sleep, and an antioxidant weapon. Lack of sleep leads to a decrease in melanin production and more oxidation in the skin.” Multi-Active Night (¤59.50) helps to regulate the stress hormone. Other trends include a reduction in perfume intensity in face care, globally. “In Asia, for example, women use about eight or nine products every day so we have to make sure that our perfumes in our creams are only present at the moment of application,” says Lair.

TAKE TWO: Facial oils continue to be big news – but Clarins have been creating pure plant Tonic Oils for over 50 years. With an application method created by founder Jacques Courtins, to encourage lymphatic drainage, facial oils are Clarins’ best secret weapons.

serum, "works synergistically to increase clarity and radiance in the skin,” says founder Dr Robb Akridge. The morning cleanser features calming agents to target pigmentation, while the serum contains lightening agents to reduce hyper-pigmentation.

Tom Ford Purifying Cleansing Oil has to be the most glamorous way to wash your face. It silkily lifts off makeup, and has a purity lacking in cheaper oils, which tend to clog skin. And the bottle will last for months. ¤58.

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VACUUM CLEANERS

LAUNDRY

DISHWASHERS

COFFEE MACHINES

REFRIGERATION

FOOD

SWEET DREAMS ARE MADE OF THIS

Chocolate is a fabulous and versatile ingredient, but beware blindly embracing trends, writes TRISH DESEINE

I

72 | March 2016 | T H E G L O S S M A G A Z I N E

Like many chocolate cake (or just cake!) enthusiasts, the discovery of Christina Tosi and her Momofuku Milk Bar in New York was a revelation. Regressive to the point of (almost) trashy, suddenly it was okay to put sprinkles in the cake, not just on it. I loved and still do, her use of malty taste with chocolate, easily achievable here with the help of Ovaltine.

Go crazy and squish a few Maltesers in there too. It may not be chocolate art à la Patrick Roger, but definitely gives a more satisfying and sexier (no teeth poking in front of your beloved) crunch than those evil cocoa nibs.

FOR ABOUT 40 TRUFFLES (10 minutes preparation; 2 hours cooling) 150g salted butter, softened • 175g unsalted butter • 250g Ovaltine • 2 tbsp good quality cocoa powder (such as Valrhona) • 250g icing sugar • 150g dark chocolate or dark milk chocolate (over 35% cocoa solids) 1. Put all the ingredients apart from the chocolate into a mixer and beat to a smooth paste.

2. Let it harden in the fridge for 30 minutes or so then with a teaspoon take small amounts and then roll between the palms of your hand. Set them on to baking parchment or a silicone baking mat. Melt the chocolate and drizzle it over the truffles. Leave to cool and harden in the fridge before eating.

CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH BUTTERMILK This cake has a dense and velvety texture, yet doesn’t feel heavy.

FOR 8/10 (15 minutes preparation; 30 minutes cooking)

ephemeral experimentation from the moment we stroke a finely designed luxurious wrapping to the promising snap (I hope) of the well tempered bar within.

In Ireland, thankfully, we have not escaped the fun. The chocolate fashion brigade introduces new and obscure cocoa bean origins and taste associations as quickly as your Magnum melts in a hot cinema. Some work very well, particularly the trend for bars with tart, tiny fruit pieces such as raspberry or lime zest hidden inside. Others, like the current madness for very high cocoa content bars, sour and dusty, with little regard for f lavour or balance, are often not so pleasant.

And the greatest fashion victim of them all has to be the dreaded mix of cocoa nibs and sea salt lazily sprinkled over one side of a melted bar and left to dry. I’m not against a tiny f leck of sea salt through a ganache, or a cake or even a mousse, it balances taste and enhances f lavour as you eat, but there is nothing pleasant about having your palate directly attacked by pure salt just as it’s expecting smooth chocolatey sweetness. And then, adding insult to injury, once it finally arrives and you’ve had your lovely chocolate hit, you are left to dislodge little pieces of cacao grit from between your back teeth. Next thing you know, they’ll be putting leathery seaweed in there too. Oh … ^ @TrishDeseine

210g flour • 120g good quality cocoa powder (such as Valrhona) • 2 tsp baking powder • 170g unsalted butter at room temp • 120g caster sugar • 150 dark brown sugar • 3 medium eggs • 1 tsp natural vanilla extract • 170g buttermilk • 1 tsp fleur de sel 1. Pre heat the oven to 180˚C. 2. Grease and line a 22cm sandwich tin.

3. Beat the butter and the sugars until the mixture becomes pale and foamy.

4. Add the eggs one by one, beating more after each and scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go. Add the vanilla extract at the end.

5. Sieve half the flour and cocoa powder into the bowl and mix them in with a spatula.

6. Add the buttermilk and mix again before tipping in the remaining flour, fleur de sel and cocoa powder.

7. Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, testing the cake towards the end with a skewer which will come out clean when the cake is done.

8. Leave to cool for 5 minutes before turning the cake out onto a wire rack and leaving it to cool completely.

9. Serve with your choice of berries and freshly whipped cream.

PHOTOGRAPH BY DEIRDRE ROONEY

n Ireland, we love chocolate.

We love it a lot. We are the third biggest consumers in the world, behind only Switzerland and Germany, with a whopping 7.4kg a year per person (the weight of two babies, or 16 guinea pigs, to quote the helpful visualisation given by an Irish news source) and we show no signs of slowing up.

Apart from its obvious sweetfix, mouthfilling attraction – doubtlessly how most of those 7.4kg go down – chocolate and cacao are the most fabulous of cooking ingredients, allowing a infinite amount of textures, temperatures and associations and a few notable guest appearances over in savoury territory too.

There’s a chocolate cake for every mood and appetite, from a f luffy buttermilk crumb, (recipe, right) served with cream and berries, perfect for a light summer teatime, to the fudgiest dark layer cake, dripping with glossy black ganache.

My chéri has and always will be the intricately constructed coffee/ almond/dark chocolate Gateau Opéra, created in 1955 by Dalloyau patissier, Cyriaque Gavillon and named after the effect of the layers of seating surrounding the stage in Paris’ Opera Garnier. In Paris, I embraced le chocolat in all its forms. A mug of it, made with milk and chocolate, not powder, creamy and molten, would instantly revive my freezing fingers and bones from a winter walk in les Tuileries just as a tall glass of iced chocolate matcha from my favourite Japanese salon de thé would cool me down deliciously when temperatures rose.

Alongside ever-spreading stores of famous brands like La Maison du Chocolat, founded by the sadly missed pioneer Robert Linxe, and those of more recently discovered genius Pierre Hermé or Patrick Roger, chocolatier, sculptor and selfproclaimed alchemist, many neighbourhood chocolatierspatissiers would still pride themselves in producing their own sweet little bouchers and balotins of pralines, ganaches, rochers and truff les. A most democratic and enduring love affair it was, and is.

As we become more and more fascinated with, and mindful of, what we eat and how we eat it, food fashions now come and go at the same pace as the Paris collections. New chefs, restaurants, ingredients and food destinations are discovered, devoured and cast aside so quickly we have barely a moment to click on or swipe their image, let alone actually taste them. And chocolate does not escape the whirlwind.

Our love of it and its versatility allow all sorts of giddy,

CHOCOLATE MALTED TRUFFLES

THIS WONDERFUL LITTLE PLACE ... LOS ANGELES

Fashion designer Mariad Whisker has a long-standing love affair with California

O

n my first trip to America in 1979 I had two must-dos. The first, the Chelsea Hotel

in New York, where I hoped to bump into Quentin Crisp, Andy Warhol or Leonard Cohen. The hotel was a

shabby let-down and the closest I came to the famous was to The Slits, scrawled in black felt-tip pen on the wall behind my bed in a grubby double on the fourth floor.

My second must-do was Venice Beach, California, where I hoped to have better luck stalking the ghost of Jim Morrison – or at the very least catch a glimpse of a Beach Boy or two. Venice, California-style, the 1905 dream of tobacco millionaire Abbott Kinney, was a grandiose scheme, complete with canals and Venetian architecture. By the time I arrived, 75 years later, his dream had become a bit of a nightmare, with a dubious boardwalk, not much left of the fancy buildings, and a penchant for gang warfare.

Staying with my friend at 202 ½ Ruth Avenue (I never understood what the half meant) in the heart of Venice, I found the raucous spirit intoxicating. I also found a gourmet vegetarian restaurant called Meyera. Nearby was West

Washington, a street of mostly derelict wannabe craftsman bungalows in a low-key neighbourhood that appealed to the art crew because it was affordable – Charles and Ray Eames had their office there and Frank Gehry built his Binoculars just around the corner.

By the time I finally moved to California in 1994, Meyera was no more, but there was a plethora of eating places that didn’t necessarily assume vegetarians were hippy freaks and catered deliciously to our evolved palates. I became happily familiar with Minnie T, although I never could afford the clothes, and got my coffee fix at Intelligentsia.

And then along came Gjelina.

Gjelina – with its purple sprouting barley, sun choke in thyme, grilled radicchio, charred Brussels sprouts in cilantro puree, fennel braised in its own pollen – is a vegetarian’s paradise. Never mind the pizzas with their heirloom beans, beluga lentils, melted raclette with wild

nettles … Don’t even get me started on the desserts.

Although I have returned to live in Dublin, I go back to LA at the drop of any old hat. When I made the costumes for Cold Dream Colour, a dance performance inspired by the work of Louis le Brocquy, I haunted Gjelina between performances at the Electric Lodge on Electric Avenue.

Now Abbott Kinney Boulevard has become achingly hip – described as the coolest block in America by GQ. Minnie T and a host of other good souls have fled the rent hikes for cheaper shores but I am drawn irresistibly back to Gjelina.

In the meantime, the fried cider sprouts in the Vintage Cocktail Club are delicious and China Sichuan does a mean long bean. Until my next trip to Gjelina, they save my vegetarian bacon. ^ ÓRLA DUKES Above: Pizza at Gjelina. @OrlaDukes Gjelina, 1429 Abbott This picture: Kinney Boulevard, Venice, California; Gjelina on Albert Kinney www.gjelina.com.

Boulevard.

Mariad Whisker is at Brown Thomas.

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T H E G L O S S M A G A Z I N E | March 2016 | 73

WINE

A FRANC REVELATION

THE GLOSS MAGAZINE presents

Cabernet Franc is making a comeback and it’s particularly welcome at this time of year, writes MARY DOWEY

I

’ve never had much time for Cinderella – too meek, too weak, too naively wide-eyed to have been a winner in the long run – so when people start gushing about “Cinderella grape varieties” I always feel a stab of irritation, they haven’t been unjustly overlooked or undervalued. They’re simply caught up in the revolving doors of fashion that keep wine moving forward. Among the perky grapes on the way back in, Cabernet Franc is my red favourite.

Responsible for juicy flavours, sometimes with a leafy or minty edge, Cabernet Franc has been around for a very long time. It occupies about ten per cent of the vineyard area in Bordeaux where it has been blended with its genetic relative, Cabernet Sauvignon, and with Merlot, since the 18th century.

So overshadowed has it been by these two Bordeaux stalwarts that even some wine know-alls don’t recognise it as the key component of Saint-Emilion’s most famous wine, Château Cheval Blanc.

Cabernet Franc has been quietly at home in the Loire Valley for even longer. Cardinal Richelieu is said to have selected it for planting at Saint-Nicolas-deBourgeuil back in the 17th century and it continues to be the main red grape there today, as well as in nearby Chinon, Bourgueil and Saumur-Champigny. In these Touraine appellations it stars in its own right rather than playing a bit part as a blending agent.

So what has changed to nudge this shy performer into the spotlight, not just on its home turf but in many other parts of the wine world – giving its name front billing on labels everywhere from Chile, northeast Italy and Tuscany to New Zealand and China? My guess is that it comes down to one word: refreshment. Two or three decades of jammy, highalcohol, blockbuster reds have sharpened our appetite for more elegant, vibrant wines. With its raspberry tang and that characteristic herbaceous streak, Cab Franc leaps into the foreground, light-footed as a ballet dancer.

It’s especially welcome right now, after months of heavy winter warmers. Best foods to make it shine?

Although it’s not too fussy, behaving nicely with a broad swathe of middleweight poultry, meat and vegetable dishes, it seems to take on an extra layer of charm when teamed up with pork and/or tomatoes. A young vintage served slightly cool in the summer will also be a winner with salmon or tuna.

One other thing to bear in mind as the weather warms up: Cabernet Franc is responsible for some tasty sparkling rosé, Crémant de Loire. The best I’ve tasted recently is Bouvet-Ladubay, a pink as pale and ravishing as a Tiffany rose with a backbone of tingling acidity that makes it lastingly delicious.

Snap it up before the sun comes out and it all disappears (Whelehans Wines, Loughlinstown, Co Dublin, c23.95.) ^ @MaryDowey

74 | March 2016 | T H E G L O S S M A G A Z I N E

1.

2.

3.

1. SANTA RITA 120 CABERNET FRANC, CENTRAL VALLEY 2013 Although this ripe Chilean has more body than Cab Franc produced in cooler regions, the classic raspberry notes are there, along with succulence and sheer likeability. Try it with Asian beef or a Mediterranean stew.

From Tesco and Dunnes Stores, about d12.

2. GAYDA FIGURE LIBRE CABERNET FRANC, PAYS D’OC 2013 Tim Ford, the producer of this organic, singlevineyard charmer, says it’s his television wine. With strikingly pure, fresh flavours, it’s dangerously moreish, as well as stylish. From www.jnwine.com, d22.

3. THIERRY GERMAIN DOMAINE DES ROCHES NEUVES SAUMURCHAMPIGNY 2013/14 Germain, the biodynamic producer of my desert island Cab Franc was voted a 2011 winemaker of the year by Revue des Vins de France. It’s an energy-packed dazzler.

From www.lecaveau. ie; Corkscrew, Dublin 2; Green Man, Dublin 6; www.quintessentialwines. ie; Hole in Wall, Dublin 7; Jus de Vine, Portmarnock; JJ O’Driscoll, Cork; d22-25.

LOOK THE BUSINESS

“INVESTING IN TRUSTED ADVISERS” AT THE MERRION HOTEL THURSDAY 21 APRIL 2016 If you are a woman in business, at C-suite or partner level, in senior management, or if you own or manage a business, you will be interested in attending our inspiring “Investing in Trusted Advisers” dinner, hosted

by THE GLOSS MAGAZINE in association with leading wealth management specialists Investec and and corporate law firm A&L Goodbody.

In business, making key decisions comes with the territory. Decisions need to be made daily, even hourly, and it may be those decisions that influence your company’s trajectory. The ability to call on advisers you can trust could make all the difference to how you navigate problems, resolve issues and deliver outcomes. Speakers at the event,

Aisling Dodgson, Investec’s Head of Treasury and Sheena Doggett, Partner at A&L Goodbody, will be joined by Financial Times columnist and author Mrs Moneypenny. Moneypenny’s own experience in business informs in a unique and distinctive way, and she will engage and entertain guests on the topic of trusted advisers and their role in both personal and professional life.

As well as hearing expert advice and fresh thinking, we are delighted to present a very exclusive LOOK THE BUSINESS fashion presentation.

A very limited number of places remain. To apply, please email lookthebusiness@thegloss.ie or call Tracy Ormiston at THE GLOSS on 01 2755 130.

ORDER OF PROCEEDINGS 6.30pm Networking Reception ◆ 7pm Welcome by THE GLOSS MAGAZINE 7.10pm Investing in Your Future: Investec’s Aisling Dodgson on making the decision to invest ◆ 7.35pm First Course ◆ 8pm Putting Your Interests First: Sheena Doggett at A&L Goodbody on how to get the best advice ◆ 8.10pm Main Course 8.40pm Mrs Moneypenny on Women, Business and Taking Advice ◆ 9.10pm Dessert and Coffee ◆ 9.20pm Looking the Business: The Fashion Investment Principle 10pm After-dinner drinks, networking ◆ 10.30pm Event closes

BOOKS BEDSIDE TABLE

What is JENNY COLGAN reading?

Jenny Colgan is a Sunday Times bestselling author who has won the RNA Romantic Novel of the Year Award. Her latest book, The Little Shop of Happy Ever After, follows Nina as she leaves a back-room computer job to open a tiny book shop in the freezing, remote Scottish Highlands. Sphere, ¤11.99

BOY MADE OF BLOCKS

by Keith Stuart As an author, I am often lucky enough to be sent books before they’re published. Definitely a perk of the job. I have the absolute best upcoming title on the go right now. It’s the story of a father trying to rebuild his life after his marriage collapses, with the added strain of raising an autistic child, who reconnects with him through Minecraft. It's absolutely beautifully written, totally riveting, and I suspect there will be tears before bedtime. I am willing to risk it though, because I just can't put this one down. Sphere, ¤11.99 A NOTABLE WOMAN

by Jean Lucey Pratt I absolutely adored and dipped in and out of this compilation of the diaries of Jean Lucey Pratt, edited by social historian Simon Garfield.

Pratt was a freelance writer who religiously kept a journal from her mid-teens right through the second world war – and beyond. It's very funny and charming, but touches in a very deep way on what it was to be a 20th-century woman, moving between two worlds.

It's also very niftily edited; Garfield's waspish footnotes are a joy. Canongate Books, ¤31.60

THE END OF THE WORLD RUNNING CLUB

by Adrian Walker I completely raced through this book. To be perfectly honest, I will read any apocalyptic fiction – I'm a huge fan of the genre in general, and this book works absolutely brilliantly. When the world ends, Edgar, a 35-yearold very unfit man, has to run from Edinburgh to Cornwall to locate his wife and child. Bang! It's such a wonderfully simple premise, carried through with tremendous verve, and a very interesting cast of unlikely characters, including a hulking tattoo artist and an elderly man who claims to have run the length and breadth of Australia. Highly recommended. Del Rey, ¤12.65

HIGH ^ DRY AMANDA PROWSE hasn’t had a drink since her early 20s. Drawing on her own experience, her latest novel explores a middle-aged woman’s relationship with alcohol

I

’m Amanda and I am teetotal.

This phrase is sometimes enough to make would-be friends scurry back into darkened corners and for people to cross me off invite lists before I have the chance to say, ‘But I’m still fun, honest!’ I’ve lost count of the number of times mates have justified a non-invite to a dinner party, as ‘You wouldn’t have enjoyed it'. This means that booze was the glue for the evening, which makes me persona non-grata.

I’ve thought about it a lot and I suppose that having a sober friend sitting at the table while everyone is getting sozzled is a bit like eating a cream cake at slimming club.

No matter how discreet, you know the room would be full of disapproving tuts.

Before you sigh, picturing my Lycra-clad body imbibing nothing but organic quinoa and the odd spinach smoothie, I am not a health-obsessive and I am not anti-booze. I keep a well-stocked drinks fridge that groans under the weight of beer, cider, wine and gin. I happily uncork a bottle when friends arrive, and vacuum around my sons when they have over indulged. Heck, I’ve even cleared out my freezer so the boys could conduct jelly and vodka experiments on a semiindustrial scale.

So why don’t I just pop a cork and join in? The answer is simple: I always, always cross the line. Some people can take one square of chocolate, one biscuit and put the rest back in the cupboard. Not me. I’m an all-or-nothing kind of gal. The same goes for any hobby: I only have two settings, Full Tilt, and Off. Now, when this means scoffing a whole packet of Hob Nobs; reading every single word that Thomas Hardy has ever written; or watching a hundred hours of House, that’s one thing. But what about when that obsession, that addictive nature, encounters alcohol? That’s a whole other story.

When researching my latest book, Another Love, I spoke to a variety of women who were all alcoholics, some in recovery, some not and to hear them describe the need for their drug of choice, was heart-wrenching. One woman in particular will stick in my mind. Sandra, not her real name, woke every day with the resolution not to touch a drop and, within an hour, her hand would be gripping the bottle. Her “medicine” simultaneously made her feel better and worse, helping her mind and body drift into the state of numbness she craved, while fuelling her sense of failure that she had once again succumbed to the calling.

I recognised the language used by the women I spoke to, I

“Why don't I just POP a CORK and join in? The answer is simple: I ALWAYS, always cross the line.” understood how it felt to make the jump between want and need. The feeling that a celebratory sip becomes “just one glass,” and moves swiftly on to a whole bottle with a straw stuck in the top. When they talked about the obsession, and how nothing else could be achieved until they had sated the desire, it was heartbreaking. I heard tales of how these women had chosen alcohol over their careers, homes and even their families. When alcohol is your commander, you quickly find out that it is a wicked, indiscriminate and harsh master.

Sandra summed it up for me: “I think about my next drink as I am taking my last. Nothing fills me with panic as much not knowing where my next drink is coming from.

I wasn’t always this way. I used to enjoy the odd glass. It was when I started hiding my drinking that I knew I had a problem.”

This horrible, horrible disease is on the rise among career women like Sandra. The traditional image of the drunk, sipping out of a brown paper bag on a bench, is no longer valid. You are just as likely to be sitting next to an alcoholic at work, on the train, or at a dinner party, where a woman in the corner sits quietly, choosing not to drink because she knows how easy it is to cross that line. ^ Another Love by Amanda Prowse (Head of Zeus, ¤17.99) is out now.

T H E G L O S S M A G A Z I N E | March 2016 | 75

SOCIAL LIFE “I try to RESERVE a certain amount of ENERGY, love and time for my family and FRIENDS.”

Below: Kölbli’s terrace, Zum Gemalten Haus, Frankfurt.

Ilse Schreiber’s sausage stand at the Klein Markthalle.

Below: Kölbli’s favourite breakfast: smoked trout and goat’s cheese.

I

try not to think about work after I leave the office, but it can be difficult. My life has always been filled, seven days a week, with thoughts and discussions involving my job and the further development of the Thomas Sabo business. When I do something I put my heart into it, and focus on it.

But I try to reserve a certain amount of energy, love and time for my family and friends at the weekend.

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

My GLOSSY

WEEKEND SUSANNE KÖLBLI is the globetrotting creative director of jewellery house Thomas Sabo, who spends her weekends at home in Frankfurt whenever she can

On Saturday morning, I like to prepare a healthy breakfast and eat it in our kitchen of our home in Frankfurt, unless it is summer, in which case I will enjoy it on the sunny terrace, surrounded by greenery and fragrant flowers. Afterwards, my husband and I stroll to the nearby market in search of even more food. I can’t resist a good flea market, even if it means getting up early.

Frankfurt has some of the best street food, prepared with quality ingredients and passion, so ILSE SCHREIBER’s sausage kiosk at the KLEIN MARKTHALLE is a firm favourite, especially with my husband. If we are in the mood for something more traditional, we’ll go to the APFELWEIN WAGNER (www.apfelwein-wagner.com) where I order the Frankfurter Grüne Sauce mit Hartgekochten Eiern und Kartoffeln – a special green sauce with boiled eggs and potatoes that is incredibly delicious. ZUM GEMALTEN HAUS (www.zumgemaltenhaus.com) with its superb goulash is another safe bet. My favourite restaurants are

unpretentious and charming, serving local food. Ideally, we bump into some friends who share our passion for eating out. We spend the rest of the afternoon walking around the neighbourhood, taking advantage of the spring sunshine.

When darkness falls, we head home and prepare dinner for friends. I love to entertain and cook either German, Mediterranean or Asian food. Although I am inspired by recipes, I rarely stick to them and tend to freestyle in the kitchen. We’ll listen to anything, from punk to new wave, Brahms to the Rolling Stones, and dance around the living room.

Kölbli’s favourite Chanel boots.

76 | March 2016 | T H E G L O S S M A G A Z I N E

Ethno Feather

Whether at home necklace, or travelling, my d498, Thomas Sabo.

Sunday mornings always start with a hearty breakfast of avocado with smoked salmon or smoked trout and goat’s cheese. I try not to eat too much bread, red meat or dairy products so I will sip a delicious green tea called Fuji-Yama from Mariages Frères. Women now want to be more relaxed, they want to make time for themselves, they are interested in their bodies and they want to live healthily. So I do yoga. I do my Oms and respect others.

Ideally, I have Sunday lunch at my parents’ house. My mother will cook up a feast, and my father will pull a nice bottle or two from his beloved wine cellar. We catch up over good food and great conversation.

The German term “wanderlust” most definitely applies to me. When I can, I love to go on long walks in any of Frankfurt’s beautiful parks and forests. I never go anywhere without my trusty Chanel boots. After my walk, I arrive home to some traditional German kaffee and kuchen – our equivalent of afternoon tea.

An absolute tradition in my house, and one I will not compromise on, is watching Tatort, a German television crime drama set in Sweden, every Sunday at 8:15pm. Once I am relaxed, I’m ready for the week ahead. ^ In conversation with Sarah Breen.

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T H E G L O S S M A G A Z I N E | March 2016 | 77

THIS GLOSSY LIFE

EVERYTHING IS ROSY: When a garden is at its peak, you want to maximise your enjoyment of it - hence the table with a bouquet of roses, from the surrounding bushes. I use my flowers to create a scene, a stage set or tableau. OPPOSITE: Carolyne Roehm in her Connecticut garden.

This Glossy Life

AT HOME IN THE GARDEN

New York native, fashion designer and lifestyle guru Carolyne Roehm began creating her garden 34 years ago. For her, a garden is more than just a project, it’s a passion

A

garden is like love. As with amour, a garden is a place you venture into with hope, energy, excitement, enchantment, and the greatest of expectations. Both require a leap of faith, a desire to switch of the rational mind and let fantasy take over; a willingness to be flexible and a knack for improvisation. And there’s the other side: both love and the garden are fatiguing, exasperating, humiliating and expensive. You make messes that simply can’t be cleaned, and mistakes the correction of which can take years. Yet the things you learn from love and the garden inevitably make you smarter, more mature, more expert at fielding cosmic curveballs and surprisingly, more at peace.

A PLACE TO ENTERTAIN When the cold of winter finally releases its grip, I throw open my windows and doors. The moment the first warm day arrives, I am living and working and entertaining in virtually every part of the garden. One of my favourite things is al fresco dining. If friends come by, we’ll pull a

T H E G L O S S M A G A Z I N E | March 2016 | 79

THIS GLOSSY LIFE table into the garden and have an impromptu picnic in the rose garden. A table outdoors, set with vases of flowers, fills everyone with a sense of pleasurable relaxation. The words “a moveable feast” may be a cliché, but the activity never loses its charm.

THE STORY OF THE GARDEN For the first three summers at Weatherstone, my efforts were relatively modest. As I got my hands gloriously dirty, the pleasures of gardening were their own reward and it never occurred to me to Think Big. The one horticultural skirmish that rose to the level of a battle was the replacement of the gravel car park with green space – today it’s called the rose garden. I also planted a little vegetable patch and had the satisfaction of putting homegrown food on my table, and enlarged the perennial beds. For three years, my engagement with the land remained my most dependable, consoling pleasure.

It was around that time that the eighties began to roar, as loudly and gaudily as did the twenties before them, and the green stuff on the balance sheets began to influence the green stuff on the ground. We engaged landscape architects who had worked on a number of successful public and private commissions. When, a month later, these gentlemen laid out their master plan before me, I took one look at it and laughed. “First of all,” I said, “I’m not going to live this long, and second, nobody has that much money.” Even the water features were on steroids. In the end, we committed to part of it.

The experience taught me several important lessons.

When I worked in fashion, I was of course seduced daily by the idea of making beautiful things but I also knew that any garment I designed had to be properly crafted and structured. Whatever one’s vision, I found out the hard way, it has to have practical roots. For reasons financial,

In my heart, the tulip is first among equals. I usually do a palette of pinks and oranges and yellows ...

WARM COLOURS. professional and personal, I decided to return to the modus operandi I’d pursued during my first three years and as the

equals. I usually do a palette of purples and blacks, pinks and oranges and yellows, warm colours, vivid colours.

THE ROSE GARDEN The rose garden, which replaced an unsightly gravel parking area, is a formal garden. I confess that I don’t live in it so much anymore but when the garden first came to be, I visited it constantly. In fact the door above the rose garden originally connected to a hallway and I actually installed my piano there. On a lovely day, I’d open the door, and the roses and I would encourage each other.

Depending on the season, it’s possible to visit the rose garden and not see any evidence of its signature flower: the plants need to be quite severely cut back and they don’t rear their lovely heads until June, so I fill the box-edged beds with tulip bulbs for early spring. Once the roses appear, however, they take over: David Austins, floribundas, hybrid teas, and more. I love the old roses but they only flower once a season so I have left those out. Better, for this rose glutton, to have multiple flushes.

saying goes, keep it simple. I continued to build on the old

LESSONS IN LOVE

perennial beds and to develop the vegetable garden. I am

The mistakes I have made and the lessons they’ve taught me are applicable to gardens (and gardeners) everywhere.

My single biggest mistake was trying to push onto the environment plants that it would not accept. Test the soil, and try to improve it. Curb your enthusiasm: buy what will thrive.

My love affair with my garden is now in its 34th year, and shows no signs of abating. Sure, sometimes we get on each other’s nerves. But the garden hasn’t lost its ability to amuse, enchant, astonish or intrigue me. And there is nothing I’d rather see when I open my eyes in the morning.  Photographs and excerpt from At Home in the Garden by Carolyne Roehm.

Copyright © 2015 by Carolyne Roehm.

Published by Potter Style, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.

one of those people who likes nothing better than to drive off in search of irresistible plant material, which led me to cover things the soil rejected. Finally I quit trying to force Mother Nature to give me what I wanted and focused on bringing into balance the multiple adventures of 34 years.

THE SPRING GARDEN The great run of spring bulbs begins with the appearance of snowdrops, followed shortly after by crocuses. Next we welcome scilla, then hyacinths after which the daffodils erupt and eventually cede the green stage to the tulip. At season’s end arrive the alliums until mid-June, which greets that perpetual party latecomer, the fritillary. Since I love variety and want to be able to arrange as many different spring flowers as possible in bouquets, I fill the garden with bulbs of every conceivable type, so I can bring the yield into the house. In my heart, the tulip is first among

80 | March 2016 | T H E G L O S S M A G A Z I N E

THIS GLOSSY LIFE

TULIP FEVER: The earliest spring bulbs are hyacinths and narcissus; the tulips are just starting to come up. Below: Alliums are the very last of the spring flowers, appearing in May. OPPOSITE: In this arrangement, Sensual Touch, Couleur Cardinal, Bastogne and Beauty Queen tulips.

T H E G L O S S M A G A Z I N E | March 2016 | 81

www.chanel.com

CHANEL BROWN THOMAS, GRAFTON STREET, DUBLIN 2