Spotted Out - Mid November Part Deux

Residence, St. Stephen's Green, was awash of Celags and Fabu types Wednesday evening! A-Listers abound to toast the opening of Total Management Ireland. Tara O'Connor, resident PR goddess was surrounded by friends and clients alike to support and celebrate her new business venture.

One gorge attendee told me that the evening was all about 80s for many of the glam ladies in attendance, rocking new spins on some of the decades most prized fashion trends: "sculpted shoulder pad jackets [were] the must have item. Rosanna Davison wore hers emblazoned with sequins, whilst Xpose presenter Lisa Cannon opted for a sleek black style, and model Laura Toogood wore hers in striking purple"

Claudine Palmer was full on WAG-alicious donning a Roberto Cavalli dress and embellished stilettos but her best accessory? Mum Joan!

Hayley Rock was demure pairing her classy dress with Chanel pearls, totally hott single lady Leigh Arnold chose this season's sex on a stick slashed leggings while Andrea Roche, who happened to being doing double celebratory duty, arrived with husband PJ Mansfield looking fabulous, relaxed and beautiful!

Not enough mega-watt glam you say? Also partying it up on the night, Assets models Diana Donnelly and Suzanne McCabe, Katie-Jane Goldin, Virginia Macari, and Chloe Arnold, arm in arm with hottie boyfriend and music star, Justin Manville. Jealous yet? We know we are...xxox!

Spotted Out - Mid November 09

As you can probably tell, I've been really slacking the past week! I'm really sorry folks and I promise the rest of my Recession Era Shopping Posts are coming shortly but for now, wet your style whistle with some Society news courtesy of of one of my many gLaM spies! xxox "The Annual Race Against Breast Cancer Day recently took place at Leopardstown Pavillion. Ireland's glitterati were out in force to help raise money for Breast Cancer Ireland. The guest list was scattered with many high profile guests. Rosanna Davison arrived looking radiant in a black and red coat which she wore over a stunning dress. Rosanna was accompanied by Wesley Quirke and her parents. Chris de Burgh even gave a highly appreciated impromptu live performance at the event. Rosanna was joined at her table by model best friend Laura Toogood, who made her first public appearance since darkening her hair. A number of well known personalities were in attendance including TV stars, Brendan Courtney, Sinead Desmond and Aisling O’Loughlin. Assets models Sarah McGovern and Aoife Cogan turned heads in their striking outfits. Mary Kennedy acted as MC for the afternoon. Tina Koumarianos of Image magazine wore a striking hat and former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds had the pleasure of celebrating his birthday on the day. The event, which is now in its fourth year of running, raised over €290,000 for Breast Cancer Ireland"

Eyes All Over This City

So, I may be stuck in bed with the Swan Flu (I've re-named it, Swine sounds awful!) but I've got eyes everywhere kiddies! ome of the country's most gorge celagutites and models were out and about this week as I lay coughing up a lung in my apartment! Here's what went on our FaB capital; Monday: The Conrad hotel hosted the annual Marie Curie Fashion Show.

Working the catwalk for this noble cause were: Suzanne McCabe, Laura Toogood, Aisling Pugh, Diana Donnelly, Louise Kavanagh, Georgia Salpa and Nadia Forde. Looks and ensembles from from Marks & Spencer as well as Arnotts delighted those who attended!

Tuesday: Zuku by KSO Launch and Fashion show organised by stylist, Roxanne Parker at the Attic on Henry Street.

Spotted at the fete?Assets model Laura Toogood rocking a long, black, Gothic-style skirt with a white corset by Coast. Fellow Assets model and musician Una Gibney was on hand in a gorgeous navy number by Chloe dress. Author Marisa Mackle donned fitted purple dress with a coordinating and very on trendy purple necklace. Noirin Kelly of Big Brother 'fame' was every inch the recessionista-fashionista in a black and silver sequined dress copped in Dunnes Stores while Xpose's Karen Koster looked stunning in pink dress from the new collection being shown. A bevvy of Assets models strutted down the runway including, Amy Ronning, Aoife Cogan, Sarah Morrissey and Yomiko.

Jealousy is coursing through my veins! Sounds like another gLaM week in Dublin! xxox kiddies!

V-Card Theatre

One of our favourite ladies is back on the scene in a big way! Not only do we have the pleasure of seeing the FAB Leigh Arnold on the small screen each week in RTE's The Clinic, playing every one's FAV acupuncturist, but now we can see her under the hott lights of the stage here in the capital and beyond!

Back in the 90s (wow, back in 90s - can't believe I just wrote that!) a website was created that allowed people to share the real life stories of their first sexual experience anonymously. Naturally, the site created a huge amount of buzz and 70,000 stories soon poured in, all ranging from heartwarming to heartbreaking, adorable to slightly grotesque!

Eventually, writer Ken Davenport spun some of the more entertaining stories and unique personalities into a heartwarming and hysterical stage show.

Gaining the honour of the longest running off-Broadway show and being featured on countless news programs the show, aptly titled 'My First Time', has become a theatrical gem.

Lucky for us this gem has traveled to our shores, and features a bang up cast! Along with Leigh Arnold, Keith Duffy, Claire 'the Tulls' Tully and Alan Shortt, all climb into the roles of various real life people and share the funny and only slightly humiliating stories of their 'First Time'.

As 'your first time' is a milestone event that at some point almost all people - no matter colour or credence - share every person can attach themselves to this show and the characters it features. Starting on October 14th at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin, the production will then tour around the country, showing in the Theatre Royal in Waterford and the Cork Opera House. Under the direction of Michael Scott, who has previously brought us our Leigh in both Trojan Women and The Vagina Monologues, the show is bound to be a hit - between the hysterical content and the eclectic and totally hott talent it features how could it miss?

So go on, grab a ticket now while you still can! We all love a good horrifying sexual tale and there is nothing more GLAM than a night at the Theatre!

** UPDATE**THIS SHOW HAS BEEN DELAYED DUE TO THE SUDDEN AND UNTIMELY DEATH OF KEITH DUFFY'S DEAR FRIEND STEPHEN GATELY - STAY TUNED FOR AN UPDATE AS TO WHEN PERFORMANCES WILL BE RESCHEDULED**

A Day at the Racing with Laura Toogood !

Even though I am having a supreme time here in NYC, I am totally out of the loop with most things Irish and Fab. This would present a Major problem if it wasn't for some wonderful, not to mention super glam gals whom I can live vicariously through! Today the smart, talented and lovely Miss Laura Toogood is having us along for a day at the races! Enjoy xoxo!

Laura Toogood and Gillian Fitzpatrick

Photo by Leon Farrell

Goffs Millions Race Day On Sunday I attended the Goffs Millions Race Day and I was lucky enough to be a guest in the Brown Thomas marquee. I left Dublin at noon with some friends in a taxi destined for the Curragh. The day is a highlight in the Irish racing calendar as it plays host to Europe’s richest two year old races. The prize for the Most Stylish Lady is also lucrative, with Brown Thomas offering €20,000 to the winner.

We arrived at the Curragh to a friendly greeting from Kennedy PR, who were organising the hospitality on behalf of Brown Thomas. A champagne reception followed by a buffet lunch was offered prior to the first race. Several familiar faces attended the event including Ronan and Yvonne Keating, the former standing out from the crowd in black, square-framed vintage sunglasses. Amanda Byram wore a stunning couture dress with striking shoulder pads and joined publisher Michael O’Doherty on judging duty along with Stacey O’Donnell of Brown Thomas. Alan Hughes attended as did fellow TV3 presenter, Lisa Cannon who was on reporting duty for Xpose. Lisa dressed for the occasion donning a glamorous beige and brown headpiece to match her dress.

Photo by Leon Farrell

After lunch, we positioned ourselves by the windows at the front of the marquee and watched as a steady flow of ladies arrived, many strutting past the parade ring in an attempt to catch the eye of the judges. There were several stunning outfits on display with some contenders opting for a high impact factor by choosing attention-grabbing ensembles, and others attempting to achieve a more subtle effect through various eye-catching styles. Purple was the colour of the day, with the regal shade boldly on show, often teamed with cream or yellow, and on some occasions worn without any interference. Tall fascinators also proved popular and the coordinated brolly protocol was followed regularly. Many of those vying for the honours of Most Stylish Lady clearly spent considerable time synchronising their outfits in impeccable detail and inspiration had been taken from various fashion decades. The top thirty ladies were invited to join us in the Brown Thomas marquee. Peacock inspired attire had obviously proved successful with the judges as two of the shortlisted ladies opted for this theme. Contenders who had taken inspiration from specific fashion eras were also dutifully rewarded with a place on the shortlist; one eye-catching outfit was a red reflection on fashion in the 1920’s. It was Elaine Bennett’s simple, but striking black and cream dress, with matching black accessories that triumphed in the fashion stakes and secured the generous prize fund.

Winner! Elaine Bennett and admirer

Photo by Leon Farrell

The race day was thoroughly enjoyable from both a fashion and equestrian perspective and for those who have never attended I would recommend it as a fun day out that can be enjoyed with a partner, family or friends. Many ladies spent a large sum of money on their outfits, but those who are on a budget are certainly not excluded from the fashion fun. An accompanying friend purchased one new item for the day; a stylish hat, costing less that five euro from a local charity shop. My personal choice was a Guess dress that I purchased over a year ago and which hasn’t had an outing for as long. It had black and white detail so I teamed it with a black cardigan adding a belt to create definition. It is crucial to keep the weather in mind when dressing for the racing and considering it is nearly October I wanted to make sure I was warm enough to spend some time outside, so I wore black tights with Kurt Geiger closed-toe heels.

Often people consider the hardest part of putting an outfit together for racing, is choosing what to wear on your head. There is a misconception that hats and fascinators are expensive; they might well be pricey to buy, but hiring them for the occasion proves an affordable option. I sourced a suitable black and white hat from Foxrock Fillies, which is a hat hire shop ironically located in Blackrock. I picked up my chosen hat three days prior to the race meet and was given six days ‘borrowing time’. Foxrock Fillies have a vast array of hats in all shapes, colours and sizes, and also offer some stunning fascinators and accessories, so it is definitely worth popping in for a browse. With my equestrian background I appreciate the action on the day so I had a small flutter and backed four horses in the early races, but sadly my luck was not in. For those who think they don’t have enough knowledge to become involved in the betting, a summary of the form is offered on the race card, so after a quick read, it is worth chancing an educated guess. The parade ring offers race goers an opportunity to admire the runners and for those who want to get close to the action it is easy to stand near the rails. If you have never been racing before it is definitely worth considering attending some of the major meets. Further information, including details regarding various Ladies Days, is available on www.goracing.ie. Special thanks to the friends I attended with for a fabulous day, and to Brown Thomas for their wonderful hospitality. For more covereage of the Fab Happenings check out The Independent!

Lovely Links;

http://www.brownthomas.com/ http://www.kennedypr.ie/ http://www.hathire.ie/ http://www.goffs.com/ http://www.goracing.ie/ www.curragh.ie http://www.kurtgeiger.com/ http://www.guess.com/ www.tv3.ie/xpose

Seen Out - 12.9.09

Another grey day in NYC, filled with meetings and phone calls and slightly on the boring side BUT - having dinner at Pranna later with an old BFF and very exciting! A little birdy (with a laptop and email capabilities!:) had this to say about the GLAM weekend I missed in Dublin and the Bollinger Champagne Reception; "The VIP guests were treated canapes and Bollinger that was served throughout the afternoon at the Curragh racecourse. We were transported from the Shelbourne hotel in town to the racecourse. Guests included: Miriam O'Callaghan's eldest daughter Alannah who wore a stylish brown headpiece with a matching short dress. Model Laura Toogood wore a red and black top hat decorated with black lace with a bright red dress. TV presenter Baz Ashmawy was there with his girlfriend, Tanja Evans, who wore a figure hugging purple skirt with a sheer black top and fuchsia shoes. Hayley Rock wore a lovely feather headpiece that was designed by Ronnie Ryan. It was a boiling hot day but everyone had a lovely time!" Sounds FAB! Keep in touch kittens! xoxo

White Hot Night in the Capital

Entertainment.ie has a FAB gallery of all the comings and goings last night when Residence held the Samsung Pearl White Mobile Launch.

Danielle Bux, or I suppose we should say Lineker now!, was on hand to help Samsung and other FAB people launch the latest Blackberry in the Pearl collection.

The recession seemed outa sigh and outa mind last night as the event was quite reminiscent of days of yore (or should I say more!) With a white theme and busting goodie-bags that even included the new coveted phone, Dublin's 'It' girls were out in force and - we think - gave the gorgeous lingerie model a run for her money!

Models Sarah Kavanagh, Ruth O'Neil, Louise Kavanagh, Laura Toogood, Charlotte McCabe and Naomi Cullen all looked gorge in their gleaming white!

The party was filled with TV3's best and brightest as Glenda Gilson, Aisling O'Loughlin, Lisa Cannon, and newbie Sean Munsanje were all their rubbing elbows and get all the latest goss we're sure!

Check out the Herald to hear Mrs Lineker's thoughts of our city and her new found married life!

*photos courtesy of entertainment ireland*

The Fast and the Generous

If Voltaire Diamonds signs on to sponsor an event the probability is very high that it is going to be an all out glam shindig! Couple that with the fact that it is for an extraordinary cause and the fabulousness of thelaunch party, and it is pretty much a done deal that Ireland's First Annual Cannon Ball Run is going to be 3 days worth taking part in!

Kicking off at 7 am this Friday morning, the run , in aide of Barrestown Children's Charity, promises to be three days of fun, flash cars and beautiful Irish countryside...oh and did I mention, they are raffling off a Ferrarri 360 Spider, compliments of Richford Motor Company??

The 'Runners' will travel from Dublin, Kinsale, Killarney, Killaloe, Galway and back again, raising money, having laugh and doing really good thing, as each car entry fee (of €500) goes directly to Barrestown.

For those not familiar with Barrestown, it is a children's charity and camp set up by the late Paul Newman;

'Barretstown is a specially designed camp, providing a programme of adventure, activities and fun - backed by the medical world - which helps children with serious illness regain their confidence and self-esteem.' Check out their good works for yourself, and if you can't take part this weekend, donate!

Another equally swank sponsor, Residence, held the kick off party a few weeks back and let me tell you, it was a killer party - just check out some pics below! So, do what you can, and if any of you "runners" are out there, let me know! I'd love to post all about the trip and if you have any snaps pass them on!

Spotted Out - First Week September '09

Volkswagen debuted their new Golf GTI in Leopardstown Pavilion on Wednesday night to loads of Celags and FAB people...

Our personal FAV Laura Toogood attended with gorge Irish author pal Marissa Mackle and Assets model Naomi Cullen. Social-Diarist Demi-God Wayne Cronin, the adorable and talented Darren Kennedy and a few Leinster Rugger-Buggers sprinkled about (which was fitting since Volkswagen announced their new sponsorship deal with Leinster!) helped to even out the Testosterone level on the evening.

Miss Toogood was seen looking glam in a short yellow dress, black Kurt Geiger ankle boots and black tailored jacket from the M&S Petite Range. Marissa was stunning in an Electric Blue dress with red heels and Naomi kept it chic and sophisticated in black. Yummy models Diana Dononlly and Georgia Salpa were there working the promotion in sex red jumpsuits and GTI caps!

Sounds oh so FAB!

We Hear...

RTE's new Reality - Charity 'Lords of the Rings' maybe the most unlikely of TV dating shows but for one lucky guy it has proven to be just that!

UK Apprentice star Ben Clarke, is now appearing as one of the 10 celebrity contestants battling it out on the telly programme and as a result of his participation, he enjoyed a romantic date just this week with Eire's own Niamh Walsh.

Dublin's City West hotel was the scene of their first magical meeting when the two attended the first round of the charity competition, in which GAA great Jack Sheedy beat out former Manchester United ace Lee Sharpe.

The gorge Niamh, or Nemo as many friends know her, is currently a full time model and had only gone over to the boxing match to support some friends - but she walked out with much more! "She and Ben instantly hit it off and he invited her out for drinks in Dublin on Saturday night," a friend told The Sunday World

After having drinks together post match Ben invited the model out for a second date and she accepted. No word yet on how the date went but watch this space! Niamh is FAB girl and she deserves nothing but the best! We hope she is happy, whether a third date is in the cards or not and we hope Ben was nothing but a gentleman!

photos - Lili Forberg - http://www.misslili.net/

Sorry We Missed It...

I missed out on all the fun and glamour at the RDS for the 136th Annual Dublin Horse Show but, that doesn't mean I can't meticulously scan all the pics of the ladies fab fashion!

Best Dressed Lady Award, which was judged by Amy Huberman amongst others, went to Emir Irwin O'Shea of Kerry who's look below was designed by her sisters, Niamh and Clodagh. My absolute FAV (of what I saw) was Lisa Murphy's beautiful butterfly-inspired look!

Hoping everyone had a lovely day out! xxox

Ferosh!

Grainne Seoige look totally glam in her very 'every the moment' yellow dress by Paule Ka from the Melie-B boutique in Limerick and wicked black heels at the Race Ball.

'Chellers Heaton, Here to Stay...

First, she ran off to be at a heart broken Katie 'Jordan' Price's side, and then came the news that her big 3-0 would be celebrated in England's capital and not our own, this all had me wondering if X-Liberty-Xer Michelle Heaton was itching for her old life back in London but, never fear !Michelle is here, and here to stay.

Aided by close pal and always gLaM Tara Sinnott, Heaton's Irish beau Hugh threw a lovely slightly low key VIP gathering for her and her new set of Irish cronies! It was a who's-who of the Dublin social set and a total fashion fest! For full coverage of Michelle's Suprise bash check out Showbiz Ireland for all the pics, glitz, glam and dish!

Our FAV's on the night? The beautiful Nadia Forde and hark! It's Sarah Kav!! They both look TO-DIE and Sarah's look was just OOC!! (this is why we've missed you girl!!) Check out a snap of the two below from VIP and keep reading to see how you can get Sarah's look yourself!

They both look so polished and well put together here. Everything is spot on from outfits, hair and make up to accessories! Nothing is over done, with clean, chic lines and simple elegance perfectly on display. Sarah rocks three hott summer trends with her boyfriend style blazer, black shooties and luxe quilted purse!

This top is an almost dead ringer for Sarah's above and is available now at TopSHop for under 30 Euros!

This funky boyfiend style blazer is terribly in right now. It gives every outfit an edgey relaxed cool with it's slouchy fit and rolled sleeves. This one is at ASOS and although it is 65 Euros, I promise you will use it over and over again this summer and fall!

Now, this skirt is not an exact one as Sarah more sleek paired down mini but the elastic band at the waist make it brilliant for tucking your top and keeping it in place as well as comfy! Besides, its on sale now at Oasis for 20 Euro!

These black suede shooties are so much like Sarah's and they have a sweet little ruffle detail along the heel that give them something extra special! You can grab these now on the Dorthy Perkins website for under 60 Euro and yes, they very much ship to Eire!

I found this black quilted purse with god chain and hardware on the Miss Selfridge site for like 20 Euro, not too shabby!

Finally, throw on a bunch of funky bracelets and bangles like these from Marks & Spencer for not much more than a fiver and you are ready for hair, makeup and a night on the tiles!