Groomed for success:"Sixteen-year-olds are still wearing too much make-up, too many wrong clothes, and still copying what their friends are wearing, even if it doesn't suit them." So says former model Geraldine Brand, whose summer style workshops for 16-19-year-olds begin next month.
She has always stressed the importance of first impressions, and her courses encourage good grooming and self-confidence in teenagers. Courses are limited to a maximum of 12 people, each of whom receives individual attention. Retailer a|wear supplies clothes to suit various body shapes, and a professional make-up artist advises on the latest trends. The week-long workshops cost €300 and take place in the Coach Centre, a purpose-built studio in Westland Row, beside Pearse Street Dart station, in Dublin 2. Brand also runs a one-to-one two-hour consultation for people wishing to improve on their self-presentation for job interviews. For further information see www.geraldinebrand.comor phone 01-8327332.
Word on the streetStreetwear is a combination of attitudes, aesthetics and activities that binds together a group of people with similar interests. That's the definition of a trend that began with inner city kids in New York in the 1980s, who formed a community influenced by skateboarding, punk, hardcore, reggae, hip hop, club culture and graffiti, according to Steven Vogel, author of a new book on the subject. There are interviews with designers of leading brands, an insider's A-Z of street culture and a guide to related magazines. Now an international sub-culture, streetwear's influence has spread to many other areas of fashion. Streetwear: The Insider's Guide is published by Thames & Hudson, £16.95 in UK.
California dreamin'The current Toast collection, for all you fans of this mail order catalogue/travelogue, was shot in California and has a certain laid-back country look to it, even featuring an apron for the first time. Key items include a swing coat with shawl collar (above), a 1940s-style silk chiffon, polka-dot devoré dress and a sexy silk georgette dress with a pleated bodice. Their familiar slouchy trousers and leather jackets are there again, along with quirky but chic takes on platform shoes (in glossy patent leather) and ballet flats (from Repetto in powder gold, carbon and pomegranate). See www.toast.co.uk.