Clothes lines

Call of the wide:What do George Lee, George Hook, Ivan Yates, Tom McGurk and Pat Kenny have in common? The guys are all wearing big chalk-stripe suits on TV, although Kenny's penchant is for more subtle striping, a lot quieter than the rest.

The vogue for this attire is spreading like a virus among our politicians and sporting commentators. It was originally started by that great trendsetter the Duke of Windsor and its popularity with gamblers (and later bankers) is thought to have given rise to the expression “wide boys”. According to Louis Copeland, wearing chalk-striped suits “is a power thing. It’s a statement. I think if you want to look serious, you are lost in a plain suit.” The chalk-stripe suit was Lee’s sartorial choice for announcing his resignation “and he probably felt since he was going to make an important statement that he wanted to wear something he felt confident in”, says Copeland. “It could be that it’s because people want to look more serious these days. Or it may just be that you are on show and want people to notice you.”

Gathering Moss

Kate Moss is amping up the French bag collection Longchamp.

A collection masterminded by the model, which she describes as “ladylike with a bit of edge”, goes on sale in March. Well made and sturdy – which is only to be expected from that long-established leather house – that edge could be represented by the zebra-print totes and the sturdy weekenders lined with zany, zebra-print leather.

Arnotts has bagged the collection for Dublin and, with prices from €200 to €600, it may be a winner this season. There’s talk that Moss’s next collection will be jewellery.

Sister act

Sisters Petria and Maisha Lenehan’s new venture, a cafe and clothing boutique in a beautifully restored corner shop on Emorville Avenue, off Dublin’s South Circular Road, will open early next month. Called Dolls, after Petria’s shop on Clarendon Street, the boutique will showcase a similar selection of interesting and innovative clothes, jewellery and accessories, plus pieces picked up from Petria’s extensive travels abroad. Alongside will be Maisha’s cafe, Bibi’s, offering coffee and cakes as well as lunchtime fare. A qualified chef, Maisha is known for an equally individual approach to food and used to run a company called Fresh Catering. The sisters want it to be a neighbourhood gathering place with wearable, alongside edible, temptations.