#WearingIrish is not just for St Patrick’s Day

On St Patrick’s Day, I generally pull out an item of green clothing from the dark depths of my wardrobe.

This year, inspired by following people’s #WearingIrish stories on Instagram, I’m embracing a slightly more contemporary approach by sharing and wearing some of my favourite pieces by Irish designers.

A.P.D Jewellery

This great jewellery line is the brainchild of the infinitely talented Petra Wolsey. By day, she’s the marketing director of the Beannchor group – the people behind some of Belfast’s best hospitality venues, including The Merchant Hotel, Bullitt Belfast, The Dirty Onion and The National. By night, she’s a jewellery designer and over the last few months, she’s been burning the midnight oil, creating a new collection, which will debut at The Merchant’s Fabulous Fashion Teas this weekend.

Petra’s focus is on creating unique, wearable one-off pieces of hand-made jewellery in various materials, using new and re-found pieces. I’m lucky to have not one but two fabulous A.P.D. pieces in my collection – a dark grey (pictured above) and a plum leather cuff (featured in intro pic) and I can’t wait to see what this new collection has in store. Find out more here.

Pluck & Devour Pegasus by Grainne Maher Millinery

Belfast based Milliner, Gráinne Maher wears many hats (naturally) and is also a jewellery designer. Her contemporary ‘Pluck and Devour’ range, which features a range of laser cut Perspex designs is fantastic and my gold, glittery Pegasus pendant is amongst my favourite things.

Green, White & Gold: Gráinne Maher Gold Glitter Pegasus Pendant.

I wear it all the time - just scroll through my Instagram feed and you'll see it pictured countless times (as in the intro pic to this post). It never ceases to get admiring glances. Priced at just £25, it’s an extremely wearable statement piece. I’ve yet to get a custom piece of GMM headwear but I understand Gráinne is now running a range of millinery workshops, so perhaps I’ll try my hand at one of those some day soon. Find out more here.

Éadach by Sara O’Neill

If you’ve been paying attention to the fashion pages of Ireland’s top magazines this year, you have probably come across stylist and illustrator Sara O’Neill’s beautiful Éadach collection.

These beautiful oversized silk scarves re-tell the stories of Irish myth and legend with intricate hand-drawn illustrations and are pitched as ‘wearable pieces of art.'

I treated myself to a Lost Souls scarf a few years back and wear it all the time. They can be worn in multiple ways, though I’ve never been fantastic at styling scarves – I really could benefit with a lesson or a YouTube tutorial one of these days.

Wearing my Éadach Lost Souls scarf at Yosemite National Park on honeymoon last year.

At £170, these scarves are investment pieces but they’re worth every penny. It’s such a wearable, versatile piece that brings a luxurious touch to a look. I’m lusting over a few more from the Éadach collection, including the cool new Morrigan skinny, Queen Medb and the Banshee, Dark Rose, amongst others. In truth, I’d probably buy them all, if I could. Find out more here. And if you’re an Insta-obssessive like myself, follow Sara here for a snapshot of an achingly stylish North Coast life.

Roads Perfume

Irish perfumes have a bit of a bad rep. Growing up as ex-pats in England, my mum had a penchant for Inis and Connemara and those distinctive scents will never leave me. You’ll still find them in the duty-free section of Irish airports; look out for the Guinness felt top hats, plastic leprechauns and shillelaghs and they won’t be far away.

Thankfully things are changing. A while back I was introduced to Roads, a contemporary fragrance brand from Dublin and I’ve been hankering for a bottle ever since. Last weekend, during a trip to Dublin, I relented and after much deliberation nabbed myself a bottle of the amazing ‘Big Sky’ scent in Brown Thomas. I’m hooked.

The blub says it “represents the vast African skies that frame the ever-changing landscapes beneath, a moveable muse that artists, film-makes and photographers have all tried to capture.” I’m not so sure about that but its citrus notes are balanced with a healthy musky base, with amber, sandalwood and myrrh amongst the subtle influences, which suits me down to the ground – I’ve never been one for scents that are too fruity or floral.

At €98, it’s not cheap but it’s around the same price point as my other favourites (Chloé Signature and Jo Malone – Earl Grey & Cucumber) and it lasts the distance too. Find out more here.

Note: I’ve been on a bit of a blogging hiatus of late but am trying to get back into the swing of things and am even in the midst of creating a new little home office to encourage myself to get back to writing. More on that and other musings soon.