I haven’t posted in ages. I’ve been a disaster. Anyway. Always a fan of a good waxed jacket and clothes that keep you cosy, I came across Benthik, a brand new Irish label who make clothes aimed at that particularly crazy breed of surfers - the cold water/giant terrifying wave surfers, of which Ireland is full. So far they have waxed jackets and heavy cotton shirts in their online store, with things like thick t-shirts and hoodies on the way. I love the cuff detail on the shirts, apparently ‘designed for Antarctic exploration to stop the breeze infiltrating.’ Set up last year by a surfing/sailing obsessive that I knew in college, Benthik is a great challenge to the idea of the sun drenched surf-life that brands like Quiksilver and Ripcurl glorify and will surely have appeal beyond the surf fraternity.

[All images via Benthik.ie]

Can Harris Tweed do no wrong? They’ve collaborated with Topman, Converse, and Clarks among others, and most recently with Urban Ears and The North Face Purple Label. It makes for stylish, wearable and modern interpretations of a classic fabric with an important heritage.

I went kind of instragram crazy at Harvey Nichol’s Hitchcock Heroine inspired Autumn-Winter fashion show on Wednesday night. It was all the bird decorations I think. Do love a good stuffed bird. One model had a (stuffed) crow balanced on her wrist, sadly I was too busy being gleeful at the sight of it to get a decent shot. The show was divided into five classic Hitchcock movie sections - Rear Window, The Birds, Psycho etc, with the looks channelling the heroine from each film. It made for very stylish and elegant fashion in the style of some of the most iconic actress - lots of headscarves and sunglasses, riding boots and fawn colours and some very beautiful evening gowns.

Shutterbug Vintage in Kilkenny is one of those shops I’ve always meant to make a pilgrimage to but as yet, it hasn’t happened. Wonderfully enough, for those like me who sometimes find it difficult to make our way out of the Greater Dublin Area, Shutterbug has launched a sort of online sister to it’s onstreet self: Folkster. They’re the first place outside Dublin to stock a selection of Jeffrey Campbell’s daunting range of shoes. There’s also an evolving collection of vintage bits and pieces as well as incredible armour-like neckwear from Bonzie - this studded epaulette is my particular favourite. One of the best things about this site is the name and the design - it perfectly captures that folksy, prairie-wandering, self-sufficient, horse riding naivety that that is fluttering about on the edges of fashion at the moment. Like a sort of online spirit of this Arizona Muse shoot that l love so much. One day I’ll hopefully get to Kilkenny but in the meantime I’m gonna be lurking about on folkster.com.

Men’s sporty sunglasses can too often be confined to those sinister looking wraparounds that lycra-clad cyclists seem to always wear, zooming around with eyes glazed a là Cyclops from X-Men, who you half expect not to have any eyes at all. Obviously, they choose these for a reason - they stay on while they’re going at speed and they offer the best protection from the sun. If you’re looking for sunglasses that protect your eyes as sports sunglasses would, but have some fashion edge, go for brands that are a little outside of the mainstream. Carrera sunglasses are synonymous with sport, becoming iconic in the eighties through sponsorship of the Winter Olympics and Formula 1. In keeping with their alliance with F1, they tend to use hi-tech materials to make durable frames and lenses. Maui Jim are a Hawai’ian sunglasses maker whose polarised lenses contain ‘rare earth minerals’ to enhance the colours your eye perceives. Bolle are another company very involved with sport - particularly winter sport, and they sponsor several snowboarders and skiiers. I was always jealous of my sister’s Bolle snowboarding goggles and their orange lenses, until I got a Carrera ones. Police sunglasses last year launched the mirrored blue lens on their aviator, the ideal way to hide your eyes the morning after the night before.

Clarks Originals just keep getting better. Especially love the military style red desert boots.

I normally delete the many newsletter type mails from companies or sites I’m signed up to. Not because I’m not interested in them but because I never have time to read them, and mobile web in Ireland just isn’t the best when it comes to browsing such things. However, an email in my inbox this morning from Lux Fix caught my eye with the clever title ‘He asked me if my statement knitwear was really a subtle political statement.’ I am a great fan of ‘statement knitwear’ as they are calling it, and have been furiously washing all my cashmere sweater, bretons, and sweater dresses in anticipation of the approaching winter. if you’re looking for some warmth this winter Lux Fix have 20% off this lovely dress by Crumpet, Toast have a very cosy looking soft cowl neck sweater, as well as some beautiful fairisles, and all the way from the Aran Islands my new favourite thing: a baby alpaca and silk Inis Meain shawl.