Shopping with a conscience

CLOTHES LINES:This silver shopper looks extraordinary when you see it up close, but it has an even more astonishing story behind it.

It is composed of hundreds of recycled aluminium pull rings crocheted together by women from some of the poorest communities in Brazil. The rings are gathered from rubbish tips by an army of more than 100,000 people who get 60p per bag of 65 cans which are then selected, hammered, washed, polished and dried before the crochet work begins. Some nine billion cans are recycled in Brazil every year and the man called The Can King, Olavo Torquato, who comes from one of the toughest favelas in Rio, has been memorably photographed dressed from head to toe in recycled metals. This Dalaleo tote is from Diffusion in Clontarf, Dublin 3 (€240). The boutique
also stocks a selection of smaller bags, cushions and jewellery.

Dress up Spanish style

Hoss is a Spanish brand with a distinctive, almost Art Deco look, and an emphasis on unusual swirl prints and offbeat colour and pattern combinations. For winter, its dresses come with a variety of necklines from high necks and ruffles to boat shapes, bib fronts and dramatic pin tucking. Hoss was founded in Madrid in l994, and its versatile, eclectic style has been compared to Marni or Stella McCartney, though its prices are lower. It popularity has grown along with its turnover - from €3.8 million in l998 to €39 million in 2007. Hoss can be found in Costume in Castle Market, Dublin 2, which also stocks some of its rather zany jewellery.

Choo choo shoes

There's a generally rather raunchy look to most of the boots and bags in the latest collection from Jimmy Choo, such as those with Wild West fringing, decorated with metal biker stars, patchwork snake skins or leopard print. What caught our eye most, however, was Erica (right), a purple suede shoe boot complete with lavish bow and an artful angled heel in shades of striped purple. A real winter winner, it costs €1,050 from Jimmy Choo at Brown Thomas, Dublin.