Helen McAlinden and Hilda Smith

Helen McAlinden Autumn/Winter 2021 Fashion Show

Some feeling of normality returned last week when I attended my first fashion show in nearly two years. Helen McAlinden’s collection was showcased beautifully in Harvey’s the restaurant in Harvey Nichols in Dundrum Town Centre. I had some photos on my Instagram stories last week. But one of my followers (whom I bumped into recently
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Statement Sleeves with my ‘Style Not Age’ Friends

Hello everyone. It is all about statement sleeves with my friends at ‘Style Not Age’. I searched my wardrobe and found nothing of interest there. There were no statement sleeves that impressed me. So, I had to go shopping. And I found this lovely shirt from ‘Studio 124‘ in Malahide with fabulous full sleeves and
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July Jacket

‘Style Not Age’ Showcase July Jackets

July Jackets, chosen by Jacqui, makes for a good alliterative opening to this month’s ‘Style Not Age’ prompt. Is it because I am in my mid-sixties that I feel that time is flying by? Or is it because it feels we are stuck on PAUSE at the moment, waiting for life to get back to 
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Malahide Castle

‘Style Not Age’ Shares Picnic Outfits

Hello, my friends. ‘Style Not Age’ is back with a picnic theme this month. What would you wear to a picnic? This prompt came from Gail of ‘Is this Mutton’. Do you go on picnics? I used to as a child. I would gather my sisters and take them off to a nearby field that
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Blue Kimono

The Sky and the Sea Inspire ‘Style Not Age’

HOW THE SKY AND SEA INSPIRE ME When I think of the sky, I picture the colour blue. Some fluffy white clouds float by. Another favourite would be sunset or sunrise with yellow, red and orange colours dominating. Similarly with the sea, I prefer the blues of sunny days rather than the greys of stormy
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Spring Sweaters

Spring Sweaters with ‘Style Not Age’

Another month nearly over. And we have the perfect prompt of ‘Spring Sweaters’ from Anna for our ‘Style Not Age’ feature this month. There may have been a lot of sunshine but there is still a chilly wind most days. While I have ditched the heavy winter coats, I still need to keep warm. No
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Online Shopping with Charisma Fashions is Still Personal

I am a big fan of shopping in boutiques because I love the personal service you get there. Department Stores are great but they do lack the personal touch. Nothing beats a boutique, where the owner has personally chosen her stock. I shop a lot in Malahide and have written before about some of my
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Borrowed from the Boys with ‘Style Not Age’

‘Borrowed from The Boys’ is Emma’s prompt for this month’s ‘Style Not Age’ group. It is true that we have adopted many items of men’s clothing as our own, over the years. Trousers are the most obvious item, I suppose. POTTED HISTORY OF PANTS When you look back at women’s fashion through the centuries it
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Faux leather jacket

‘Style Not Age’ Showcases Faux Leather

Faux Leather is the theme of my ‘Style Not Age’ group this month.  I have some faux leather in my wardrobe, my most loved being my Spanx suit (below) which you have seen before. But for this month’s challenge I decided to bring out my much-loved faux leather biker-style jacket (below), bought a few years
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‘Style Not Age’ in Loungewear at home

Loungewear has obviously become much more popular since the pandemic. Why? Because we are spending more time in our houses. Many are working from home and so the more formal work dressing has gone by the wayside. CASUAL WEAR It is true that casual dressing had been creeping into the workplace anyway. It started with
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Primark green coat

Out and About with Style Not Age

Our ‘Style Not Age’ collective shows what we wear when we are ‘out and about’. In my case, I have been living in casual clothes. I presume most of you have too.  In Dublin (Ireland), we have been in and out of various levels of restrictions since last March. We had a brief reprieve for
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Gothic Romance for Halloween Week with ‘Style Not Age’

GOTHIC ROMANCE Emma’s theme of Gothic Romance is perfect for Halloween Week. I am more of a Romantic than a Goth in my style but I did enjoy the challenge. It certainly pushed me out of my comfort zone. I chose a local graveyard for my backdrop, within my 5k radius in a really beautiful
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‘Style Not Age’: All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go

We have had so few occasions to get dressed up in the last 6 months. My summer dresses were particularly neglected and I spent most of my time in more casual and leisure clothes. Social occasions were mainly outdoor barbecues. And with Irish weather being so unpredictable, I always went for trousers and layers and
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‘Style Not Age’ Share FROW Outfits

This month, we are having a little fun and imagining what we would wear if we were invited to sit at the front row (FROW) at any of the designer shows at London Fashion Week. The pandemic has obviously changed how it will look and I believe 90% of London Fashion Week in September will
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How to Fix Broken, Chipped, Worn Teeth and Improve your Smile

‘Teeth are always in style’. Dr. Seuss I have been smiling without showing my teeth recently (see below) because I have not been particularly happy with their condition. My top front teeth had become weakened and worn down, the edges were rough and the enamel was damaged. They had also lost length. Seemingly, this is
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Our Signature Colour is ‘Style Not Age’ July’s Theme

This month, I have asked my ‘Style Not Age’ friends to each choose their Signature Colour. This is their ‘go to’ colour, the colour that they are drawn to when they open their wardrobe or go into a shop.  I head straight for red, orange and yellow (more mustard really) as I am obsessed with
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Zara check trousers

Check Me Out With Style Not Age

This month, my friends and I in ‘Style Not Age’ are featuring anything and everything check. I love check and have featured many looks over the past few years. You may remember these trousers from Punt Roma, exclusive to Shaws Department Stores. They have got a lot of wear because they are so comfortable.  The
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‘Style Not Age’ roar Welcome to The Jungle

Our Style Not Age ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ prompt for May comes from Emma (Style Splash) and gave us plenty of scope. If you have been following my blog for a while, you will know that I am addicted to animal print. The leopard, cheetah, tiger and even zebra prints are prominent in my wardrobe.
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Hilda upstyled Zara combo

Upstyling or Revamping your Wardrobe With The Zip Yard

Upstyling is the buzz word of the moment, as is sustainable fashion. They go hand in hand, I suppose. Some people are very good at upstyling. I was not one of them, but I have been converted. The stylist daughter Courtney (you can follow her on Instagram @courtneysmithstyle) is an avid upstyler. From a young
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Unbelieva Brow

My Brows are Back with ‘Unbelieva Brow’ by L’Oreal

My Brows are Back with ‘Unbelieva Brow’  by L’Oreal (well temporarily back). Lockdown has played havoc with my brows. Usually I get them dyed and then all I have to fill them in with a pencil. And my go-to pencil is Charlotte Tilbury. I like many of Charlotte’s products. But they have been gradually disappearing in
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Comfy Casuals for Staying Home with ‘Style Not Age’

Since I retired from teaching, I have more comfy casuals in my wardrobe than ever before. In winter, it means jeans and a top/jumper worn with boots. In summer, it is more likely to be a top and light trousers or skirt. VERY CASUAL EVERYDAY LOOK DURING LOCKDOWN For the first few weeks of lockdown,
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Denim Directions with ‘Style Not Age’

My friends from ‘Style Not Age’ and I are bringing you denim this month.  We decided we need to bring you some normality. In Ireland, Graham and I have been in self-isolation for two weeks. We have seen our family from a distance. More restriction came in two days ago and now we can only
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Flower Power means ‘Style Not Age’ dig out their florals

I chose ‘Flower Power’ as this month’s ‘Style Not Age’ challenge. WHY? Because the shops are full of floral patterns on tops, jackets, skirts and dresses. You could say that floral prints are having a moment. In truth, they have been back on trend for a few years now. But where did the term ‘Flower
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it cosmetics cc cream

Go get ‘IT’ CC Cream: it works miracles on your skin

I am IN LOVE with IT CC cream. This is the BEST foundation/ make-up/ cc cream ever. I am not usually given to superlatives, I swear. Developed in conjunction with plastic surgeons and dermatologists, it has rapidly gained cult status. Yes, IT Cosmetics has produced the perfect CC+™ Cream with SPF 50. It is like
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