Here's a fashion conundrum for you: every summer, the Irish weather tilts with predictable unpredictability from hot and sunny, to mild and breezy, to cool and rainy, often in the same day. Yet every year, we have the same dilemma about what on earth we're meant to wear so that we look summery but don't turn blue in the process. Sweaters look too woolly; jackets look too heavy and are a pain to carry when the sun breaks through the clouds, and pashminas, which everybody hailed as the miracle solution some years ago, have now been deemed too passe for words.
Increasingly, women don't have to wear formal suits to work, which is fine and dandy in winter, when a twin set and tailored pants will take care of most days. But come summer it's a different story - a short-sleeved shirt looks good and crisp on a warm day, but what on earth are you going to put over it later in the day when you cool off? Then there's the problem of weddings, First Communions, christenings and all the other dressy occasions that dot the summer months. If you opt for something less formal than a suit - such as a slip dress or a skirt and top - a very formal structured jacket can look silly while nothing at all is too revealing and too darned cold.
"There's a real lack of transitional wear in the shops," points out Nicky McComeskey of Vivien Walshe on Stephen Street. "I'm surprised there isn't more out there, because we just don't have the set seasons in this country - I mean, when's summer exactly?" This year, their big seller has been wraps, in jewelbright colours, silks, embroidered fabrics, with fringes or without. "They're an essential in every wardrobe by now, because they're so great for occasions. Once you get used to them, they're very easy to wear," points out McComeskey. Certainly, the wrap is one solution to the problem, and a good sequel to the pashmina. Draped around the shoulders, they look regal, while hanging off the elbows with the ends trailing on the ground, they add a touch of boho chic. They're great for office chills too, and have a wonderful habit of making you feel like you're a seasoned traveller who wouldn't set foot in first class without a throw.
There's something here to suit every pocket. On a recent trip to India, Louise Kennedy sourced some gorgeous pashminas with a Madras stripe which make them perfect for day wear and cancel out the worn-out pastel pashmina effect. At around £600, they're not cheap, but they're obviously being snapped up as the Merrion Square salon recently sold out. The next consignment is due in at the end of this week.
Textile designer, Lorraine Bowen prints beautiful silk organzas and velvets with spidery poppy-heads in blues and lilacs for around £155 - look out for her work in the Kilkenny Shop or Brown Thomas. A wrap needn't break the bank either - the Jane Shilton range at Clery's includes some delicate sequin-trimmed wraps with bags to match for £25, or look out for beach sarongs in Marks & Spencer and Dunnes Stores; the plain-coloured ones can make great cheap and cheerful wraps. Still, not everybody wants to be draped for the summer, and a trailing shawl can get in the way if you've got some serious work or serious partying to do. When stylist Susie Coen was trying to decided what to wear to a good friend's wedding recently, she put some thought into the wind chill factor and came down firmly on the side of the cardigan.
"It's important that your dress is the main focus though," points out Coen. "You don't want your cardigan to distract too much."
She came up with a look that minimises the distraction factor but adds a touch of warmth to a strappy dress. "Just get a lightweight cardigan, the smaller the better, in River Island or Oasis or wherever. Put it on and then pull the ends behind your back and do up the bottom three buttons. It's a slightly different way of using a cardigan, that means you don't see too much of it but it gives you a bit of warmth." Alternately, she suggests checking out Mango in the Liffey Valley Centre, which stocks a selection of sleeves together with boob tubes at £19.99.
If you'd rather steer clear of random body parts, then you should just opt for a plain cardigan, and there's plenty of them in the shops. This summer, cardigans tend to be trimmed and decorated to within an inch of their lives. If you want to emulate Madonna in her American Pie video, you could go for a lace-trimmed number by Anonymous which is stocked by Whistles. Designer Lucy Downes's cashmere numbers for her label, Sphere One, are good for slightly cooler days, while Benetton always has a good selection of light cotton knit cardigans in a variety of styles and colours. It's worth keeping in mind Coen's rule of thumb that the "lighter the material, the more you'll get away with - cheap can very easily look posh".
THE other cardigan option is much chunkier, usually a rib knit with either a zip front or a tie waist. If you want to look like Marilyn Monroe in that classic black and white beach shot, or like generations of Hamptons summer residents, the chunky cardi is the thing to sling over your bikini or cotton dress. Ozone, a new shop in the Hibernian Mall, has some great cotton rib knits with zip fronts by Swedish designer J. Lindeberg, or go for an Aran cardigan from Blarney Woollen Mills for some traditional appeal. If all else fails on the cover-up front this summer, there's always Susie Coen's advice for staying warm during an Irish summer party: "The best way to ensure you don't freeze is to minimise the distance between your car and the venue."
