Archive for the Category »Blanaid's Style «

blanaid-dress-2

blanaid-dress

After a serious lack of outfit posts, I seem to be on a mission to make up for it in one week. The shoot with Ciúin gave me a bit of a kick to get in to my clothes again - not just shoot wise, but the day to day stuff.  Also, after my encounter with the navy polka dot dress versus the scissors, I can’t stop cutting stuff up. I like the raggedy hemlines and altered shape. I may be addicted. 

I bought this dress in Penneys’ yesterday, and started by cutting the unflattering ruffled bib from the front, then cut about an inch from the bottom. Also cut off unflattering ribbon tie thing. Had to put down the scissors before I was left with a floral cravat. May change blog name to www.howsshecutting.com

Dress - €13.00 Penneys

Parka - €20.00 ish Penneys

Belt - €10.00 Vintage

Boots - Bought them in the River Island sale around five years ago, I think they were around €60.00.

xBlanaid

blanaid

b0

This is actually a reeeal outfit post, as I was wearing this today, although the image is from the shoot with Ciúin on Saturday.  Saved me trying to get an even remotely half as daycent photo of the rigout on the mac. Must sort out the camera situation. I really have absolutely no excuse.

Hat - €4.00 charity shop, Kilkenny

Tartan bralet - €25.00 Topshop

Belt - Vintage

Skirt - By Malene Birger (the creased look of it is part of the design, which suits me and my ironing laziness just fine..!)

Shoes - Gil Carvelho for Faith

Cape - €4.00 Sue Ryder charity shop, Thurles

Briefcase - €8.00 - Mulberry bag I found in a charity shop around five years ago, love it but it’s falling apart..

Didn’t wear the hat though, as I was in work,  and also added the navy and white mandarin style top from the tattoo shoot a few posts below. Really wish this weather would sort itself out - I blame the volcanic ash. Not sure why, I just do.

xBlanaid

Photo by Ciúin Tracey

08
May

blanaid-ciuin-tattoo-3

blanaid-ciuin-tattoo-4

blanaid-ciuin-tattoo-2

blanaid-ciuin-tattoo

First shoot in our new studio Shutterbug! Ciuin Tracey came down from Dublin to photograph me  for a project she’s working on - which yes, involved underwear being out on show…but not in a racy way! : )  So happy with the lighting in the new studio, and the cyclorama - I have a feeling I’m going to enjoy working on all of our shoots - which is a very good feeling indeed!

 I also love working with Ciúin - we have a very similar end product in mind so we don’t even need to rabbit on at each other, just let the other do what their doing and have fun - great day’s work! There are lots and lots of set ups from yesterday’s shoot - but here’s the first one - a kind of  ’Russian Aristocrat Forgets Their Trousers While Getting Lots of New Tattoos.’ Well, obviously I photoshopped the tattoos in, but I kind of want them in real life now….

Turban - Christmas present from my sister, from the second hand shop in front of George’s Arcade in Dublin - help, what’s the name of it…!? apx €20.00

Veil - Bought in ‘Tempted’ around 2 years ago. €38.00

Feathered hairband - Penneys - €2.00

Blue bikini - Penneys - €6.00

Navy and white top - €18.00 H&M

Scarf around waist - Penneys €2.00

Wrap on chair - H&M €7.00

Stockings - Penneys (I didn’t realise how much of this was from Penneys..) €3.00

Jewellery - left hand little finger: two rings from Daisy stacking rings, green jewel ring from K Kajoux.  Ring finger: red ring from Dirty Fabulous. Right hand : Turquoise ring from Accessorise, diamond ring from ex. 

* * * 

Photography : Ciúin Tracey

Styling & Digital Art. : Blanaid Hennessy

* * *

Hope you like the shots!

xBlanaid


 

01
May

blanaid-clothes-fashion1a

blanaid-clothes-fashion1

blanaid-clothes-fashion1bOutfit posts are back in the game! ; )

I bought this dress for a tenner in a charity shop yesterday - it was ankle length, with long sleeves, a white panel where the deep V now exist, and thick white bands at the top of the pockets - yes, I took out the scissors…! 

Dress: €10.00 Sue Ryder charity shop, Kilkenny

Belt : Vintage ‘Ray Busa’ belt.

Boots : River Island, around five years ago…

xBlanaid 

blog-rings2

jewellery-blanaid-1a

jewellery-blanaid-1

I haven’t done an outfit post in a while, what with all the work and being a leeetle tired, I haven’t really felt that eh..camera ready. This is my baby step back into it all though - a couple of images of the amount of rings I am currently wearing. Perhaps you are the same - I seem to go through extreme phases - at times I can’t stand jewellery, and then, like now, I can’t seem to put enough of it on myself. 

Here are the details:

Red ring from Dirty Fabulous - I bought this at the Absolut Style at Set weekend, I’m incredibly in love with it - the lady who designed it worked with Christian lacroix, and you can tell…the attention to detail is astounding. The ladies in Dirty Fabulous have a fantastic eye - I wanted ALL of their stuff. Bought a stunning silk jersey dress from them too, going to use it in an upcoming shoot with Ciúin Tracey.

Green ring from K Kajoux - Also purchased at the Absolut Style at Set weekend, K Kajoux’s stand was one of the absolute highlights for me. All of her jewellery is handcrafted, and this little gem was only €10! Love it, haven’t taken it off since I bought it..Contact details for her on the way!

Daisy stacking rings - in LOVE with these rings, made to stack together or mixed in with other jewellery. These were sent to me as a gift, but I never recommend anything unless I actually like it - I’d rather send it back. I put these on the day I got them, and I literally haven’t taken them off since. Here’s the info> Daisy stack rings are available from stockist nationwide and come in sizes small, medium and large. Individual rings range in price from €30 to €94. See the full range >here<.

Diamond ring - My old engagement ring - vintage style with Rennie Macintosh detail on the sides. Odd to still wear your engagement ring? Perhaps, but I love it as a ring.

Turquoise ring - this was my ‘replacement’ engagement ring when the diamond one was being resized, I actually love it more than the real one, even though (or maybe because of the fact..) it was a fraction of the price, from Monsoon Accessorize. 

Anyway, that’s the fist step, outfit posts to follow shortly. Maybe. Yes…definitely. Definitely maybe.. ; )

xBlanaid

blanaid-set-2sml2

blanaid-hennessy-set-3sml

blanaid-hennessy-1sml

 As you may or may not know from me going on and on about it, I’m organising ‘Absolut Style at Set’, a vintage fashion, film and furniture fair for Langton’s House Hotel, Kilkenny ( 2nd, 3rd and 4th of April.) It’s to showcase their new SET theatre, which is quite lovely and beautiful, designed by interiors guru David Collins.  

My brother Eoin is a photographer, so we did a shoot in the SET theatre for our press package, and here are the results!

 Hair piece : Hand dyed Silk Chiffon and Velvet headpiece/corsage adorning a birdcage veil: €100.00 and Vintage Brooch: €15.00 both from Millinery By Rebekah Patterson , The Market Slip, Kilkenny.

Dress :  1970’s Gunne Sax strapless cream lace ballerina dress: €125.00. Vertigo Vintage, Dublin and Kilkenny.

Hair : by the quite brilliant Anne, at Kieran O’Gorman Hair and Beauty Day Spa, the Butterslip, Kilkenny. (see more below)

Shoes : Dunnes Stores €15.00, but they hurt!

More info on the ‘Absolut Style at Set’ weekend to follow, or read a bit about it >here<. Tickets go on sale tomorrow…

Thanks to Eoin for taking the photos!

xBlanaid

See more of the hair-did after the jump!

more…

moselle-outtke

moselle-2

Here are a couple of images photographer Moselle Foley took on our break from the ballgown shoot in the apartamento. She used her Yashica camera for these shots - I actually think they’re my favourite, I just love the retro tones…

That’s all, just thought I’d share - thanks a million Mo! (Apologies for the mess in the background!)

xBlanaid

ciuin-black-4

* * *

ciuin-5* * *

ciuin-black-4b

One more shoot post from Ciúin Tracey, bit of a crazy/evil/demented take on a regular ball-going ‘ensemble’…There are just so many images from the shoot so these posts may continue for quite some time! Thank you Ciúin!

.My friend and I were just talking about the kind of stuff we wear on a night out, and how maybe we should ‘tone it down’ a bit…then I decided, well no, when I’m 70-odd, I’ll look back at my 20-odd year old self and say - ‘why the hell didn’t you go even crazier you silly girl.’ So in conclusion, I dress the way I do on a night out in order to keep my future self  satisfied. As good a reason as I can muster.

Gown - Around €120.00 Karen Millen, Kildare Outlet Village.

Belt - €15.00 Bay Trading

Feather Bolero - €5.00 Sue Ryder Charity Shop, Kilkenny.

Image by Ciúin Tracey. Post-production by me.

x Blanaid

P.S I am going to start doing the normal macbook camera outfit posts again though, as I don’t tend to wear ballgowns toddling about the place on a day to day basis..well, maybe every second day..

blanaid-moselle-1

blanaid-moselle-f

blanaid-moselleg

blanaid-mosellee

blanaid-moselle-bMoselle Foley is just an exceptional photographer, who has a true passion for all things camera related..(she owns about 17 cameras, mix of vintage, classic and modern, legend!)

She’s also great to work with, we shot these in natural light in the sitting room of my apartment, and it was a very relaxing day altogether. 

Visit Moselle’s website >here<

and do drop in to her Flickr page too, it’s fantastic >here<

Green dress - Designed by Juliette Harvey

Fur coat - Vintage

Gold Shoes - Gil Carvelho for Faith

Jewellery - Mix of vintage, Penneys, Accessorize and Topshop. 

x Blanaid

ciuin-blanaid-3

ciuin-blanaid-2

I have no excuses for this outfit- it’s mental. But I’m determined to make men’s tracksuit bottoms from Penneys, cut up into shorts, somewhat acceptable. Are you with me? Eh…no?

Okay I know it’s a bit beyond, but I think these are my favourite shots from the shoot with Ciuin Tracey…so had to post them. Thanks again so much to her, add her on facebook here ! >

I used some photoshop actions downloaded from deviant art to create the coloured lighting effect, I’d highly recommended them. They are the ‘50 postwork photoshop actions by Manicho.’ I started with ‘Extreme Vintage 1′, then added ‘Contrast desat 1′. Two clicks, as easy as that!

Vest : H&M

Shorts : Penneys

Belt : River Island

Corsage : Penneys

Socks : Penneys tights cut up

Shoes : Gil Carvelho for Faith.

x Blanaid

_sml-blanaid-3_sml-blanaid

Another outfit post from  the shoot with Ciuin Tracey…this time it’s a bit of a floaty number. I never generally leave my legs un-be-tighted or stockinged, so this is probably more for the shoot than real life..!

Silk dress - by Malene Birger, worn a little see-throughly over…

Gold bandeau and hotpants - American Apparel 

Shoes - Gil Carvelho for Faith

Necklace in hair - Accessorize

Jewellery - mix of vintage, Accessorize and Penneys.

Thanks again to Ciuin, add her on facebook >here<

x Blanaid

411

blanaid-black-2

blanaid-black-1a

New outfit post from the shoot with Ciuin Tracey - this one is a bit of a demented flapper situation….

Top - €55.oo Topshop

Belt - €15.00 Bay Trading

Shorts - €22.00 H&M

Tights - Penneys

Shoes - €80.00 apx Topshop

Sequined head band - cheap belt cut in half.

Jewellery - mix of vintage, Accessorize and Penneys. 

Thanks again so much to Ciuin for the photographs, add her on facebook >here<! 

x Blanaid

 

blanaid-ciuin-1
blanaid-ciuin-2
I really wanted to do more outfit shoots for the blog, so was delighted when D.I.T. fashion photography student Ciúin Tracey got in touch about doing a bit of a collaboration.  She really is fantastic to work with, and there are loads and loads of images to post, so I’m pretty sorted for the outfit posts for a while! A huge thank you to her for the shoot…
This outfit is slightly mad, but I think it’s quite appropriate for War at Spy on South William St., which is my new favourite place. Quite demented. Laura and I will be DJing there this Saturday night, if you’re about the place!

Gold bandeau - American Apparel.
Fur - Vintage
Sequin skirt - Penney’s.
Layered top worn as skirt - Pringle outlet store, Rathdowney.
Man’s belt - River Island
Socks - Penney’s tights cut up.
Shoes - Gil Carvalho for Faith. 
Hair - by Joan in Anna Danielle’s, Urlingford, Co. Kilkenny.
Contact Ciúin through her facebook page >here<
x Blanaid

blanaid-friday

saturday-blanaid

blanaid-sunday

I was quite lucky to have bought five lame, beshoulderpadded, sequinny cheap tops in Oxfam on George’s St. on Thursday, as I wore every single one of them this weekend with the fail-safe sequinned shorts from H&M! Saved on the old having to think about it situation. 

Friday

The first outfit was for the IMTV awards, which was held in The Sugar Club. Brilliant night, a little merry! 

Top - €8.00 Oxfam George’s Street. 

Shorts - €22.00 H&M Liffey Valley

Studded Belt - €15.00 Bay Trading

Tights - Penneys…Shoes - apx €80.00 Topshop

Jewellery - mix of Accessorize and vintage, the cream bracelet is from Penneys, I love it!

*My hair was by Joan in Anna Danielle’s, Main Street, Urlingford, Co. Kilkenny (056) 8831208*

*

Saturday

The second outfit was for our DJ set in Spy on South William St.  -

Crop top - €5.00 Oxfam 

Gold bandeau bra- American Apparel.

Mustard leather trench coat is an old one from the Urban Outfitters’ vintage section in Glasgow - £30.00

Rest-  same as above.

*

Sunday

The third outfit….Dublin is missing a good place to go on a Sunday night, unless anyone can recommend one? We were a tad tipsy so headed into what we affectionately refer to as Charles Fitzgerald Jenkin’s Mansion House otherwise known as Coppers. Lordy…but the dancing is fun!

Harlequin top - €12.00 Oxfam

Bra - American Apparel. 

Rest - same as above.

I swear, that’s the last post on this weekend! Unless I ever get to do another ‘Ten Favourite Things’, then it will be on that! 

x Blanaid

Thanks to Laura Cunningham and Andrew Clancy for the photos.

 

blanaid-evening-herald

I was quite thrilled to be asked to offer up my ‘Ten Favourite Things’ to the Evening Herald, by journalist Suzanne Yarker, except…I’m really bad at picking my favourite anything. I love music, films, books, chocolate - but ask me my first choice of anything and eh…yeah come back to me in about a week. Thankfully, both Suzanne and the lovely photographer Doug O’Connor were as easygoing as anything. Even when Doug was trying to help me out things, saying like : ‘How about that lamp, do you like that?’…it ended up as…’I do! I do like that lamp!’…’Could you live without the lamp though?’…’I could…I could live without that lamp..’ etc.

Anyway, I’m pretty happy with the results, they all mean something, or remind me of a lovely time, and that’s all you can really ask for from objects.

Feel free to tell me yours..If you can pick ten - it’s hard, try it!

x Blanaid

In no particular order by the Evening Her-dild…

_blanaid-gold-coat

1. Nikhil & Shantu hand painted gold coat :  This is by far the most expensive thing I own. I make it earn it’s keep by hanging it on the wall when I’m not wearing it, so it moonlights as a piece of art. It keeps my guilt about the cost down a bit..

green-hat-blanaid

2. Green hat : The best representation of thievery from my mother’s wardrobe: she buys it, I steal it. Luckily both she, my sister and I all love second hand shops, so my bill is pretty low. So far.

keniche-blanaid

3.  Keniche Hoshine print : This Keniche Hoshine print reads “I never stopped writing to you, sending telegrams that read like fevers.” which for me, sums up how intense and insatiable some love affairs can be…His ‘A Polite Winter’ collection is this demented adventure in love and desire, and to know that other people can  feel that way without descending in to all-out insanity, well, it’s a comfort!

chair

4. Vintage chair : I bought this at a car boot sale for about €15.00 I’m usually pretty disrespectful toward everything I own, but not this chair. It’s very dainty.

car-cigar-blanaid

5. Vintage Cameras : My brothers and I are just about to open a new studio in Kilkenny, so I have to practice the old taking photographs lark. These vintage cameras, which cost a euro each, are much cheaper to drop than my brother’s expensive stuff. And I will drop them at some stage. No doubt about it.

6.  Cuban Cigar Box : I thieved this from my Dad years back, it reminds me of him, and my brother Eoin, who are both partial to a cigar. It’s been dragged from house to house, so is looking a bit shook, bit I still love it. 

turquoise-ring-blanaid

7. Turquoise ring : This ring reminds me of a slightly foolish but fun period of my life, when I was very young and knew a whole lot about nothing, particularly relationships.

sewing-machine-blanaid

8. Brother Sewing Machine : One of the most thoughtful birthday gifts I ever received. It works perfectly and looks beautiful. It has also saved me a lot of money.I get bored with my clothes pretty quickly, but even with my very limited sewing skill, it’s possible to alter things just enough to make them different. Such as the huge scarf from H&M that became a very inexpensive maxi dress…

dress-blanaid

9. White silk dress : I bought this in Zara, for €99.00. It reminds me of one of my favourite nights out; one of those mad occassions that started all elegant, and ended a few days later with a dirty fry up.

grandparents-blanaid

10. Photo of grandparents : I love this photo of my mother’s parents, out at a party, looking all glamorous and in love. Instead of showing lots of different photos of my friends and family, who are really all of my favourite things, I think this image sums up my life with the people I love. Laughing, getting dressed up, having fun and just enjoying the whole party.

x