AT a show in aid of the Sue Ryder Foundation yesterday at the Toyota Showrooms in Ballsbridge, the clothes came from Khan, a shop in Blackrock, Co Dublin. Its owner, Ms Deryn Mackay, buys as if for her own wardrobe, with the taste that strikes a chord in anyone with a weakness for the plain classic.
Every week new pieces arrive, only three of a style are kept and, if it is love at first sight, there is need for fast action. These are not going to languish on the rails.
It is mainly a dress and jacket collection, but there are superb suits, bearing labels such as MK MK, Pianoforte de Max Mara, and Armani - a lot of Italian names, in fact - as well as the cream of Irish designers. Most of the clothes are in silk of one sort or another, and colours are very restrained, navy, ivory, gun metal and white outstripping the pastels.
The dress and jacket is the big attraction of the season. Armani's are in navy blue crepe, (£499), "August silks" in ivory with long, loose coat and dress (£269), and MK MK are ultra smart in gun metal rib silk (£329).
But there are stunning trouser suits, as well as the more romantic long dresses, such as one by Max Mara in black, patterned with white tulips (£219). And there are silk organzas and black taffeta for the Big Night Out.
Accessories include silk chiffon scarves by Liberty, which are more than just an extra, and splendid leather bags by Mulberry (who also have smart suits and dresses, including a long black dress in linen and silk).
It is not all classic correctness. A make called Morgan recalls the 1960s and Courreges, with black and white vinyl and lycra micro minis, tiny jackets, shorts and other diminutive things, which cost in the £50 a piece range. And do they make a statement.
Everything here makes a statement and if most are saying sophisticated things some, including the zany knits by Irish designers, are saying it in a more lighthearted and frivolous way.