This weekend, fly the flag and still look good …
Let’s be honest: dressing for St Patrick’s Day has always felt like a bit of a reach … an emerald green tee does nothing for most, and anything with a slogan is seriously no-go territory, even if worn in an ironic way. If you belong to Gen X or Y, you’ll have no doubt struggled with the embarrassing sight of your parents wearing earthy clumps of shamrock on their lapels and vowed never to repeat their heinous crime. When a floppy green leprechaun hat is off the table, what are the options?
Simone Rocha SS16.
Go back in time? You might have seen Simone Rocha’s 2016 collection which marked the centenary of The Easter Rising by celebrating the wardrobe of soldier patriot Constance Markievicz. The Countess, as described by fashion historian Anne Haverty, wore “a dark green woollen blouse with brass buttons, green tweed knee-breeches that could be concealed under a long skirt, black stockings, and heavy boots, a cartridge belt around her waist, with an automatic hanging from it on one side and a Mauser rifle on the other, a bandolier, and haversack on her shoulder”. Having interpreted this soldierly rig-out for her 2016 show, Rocha went on to dress actress Charlene McKenna as Markievicz in an oversized brown velvet greatcoat (which would feel just grand on March 17) for photographer Emily Quinn’s powerful “Art of Strength” portraits of Irish women.
Charlene McKenna as Countess Markievicz, dressed by Simone Rocha. Photograph by Emily Quinn.
We loved the military tan colours of Rocha’s show and the rich brown tones of the velvet greatcoat. So let’s start by ditching bright green, and taking up mossy tones and traditional Irish fabrics, like tweed, wool and linen. An Aran sweater (try Ireland’s Eye for the gorgeous Honeysuckle cropped Aran sweater in natural sage green) would be perfect – wear with with jeans or cute tweed or linen ankle-grazers. Or wear Irish tweed from top to toe – look to Magee for its new oat and barley-coloured version of the famous Emma coat, or Avoca Handweavers for its hot-off-the-loom Irish herringbone tweed coat in the springiest shade of pea green.
But really what we covet, above all else, is the Tricolour scarf by Stable of Ireland: yards and yards of soft Irish linen, in soft green, grey and gold. It’s a scarf and a flag, albeit with a little artistic license – slate grey replaces the white – and it can be worn in multiple ways.
The Irish Tricolour scarf, €240, at Stable Of Ireland.
“We wanted to create a scarf that represented the Ireland we know and love,” says Sonia Reynolds of Stable. “We chose the colours to mirror the natural surroundings on our small island: from the bright green seaweeds of Donegal and vibrant rich green moss in the Wicklow woods to the grey limestone of the Burren and the rolling clouds that come in off the Atlantic, and the deep russet orange of the Monbretia flower on the roadsides of West Cork.” Adds Stable co-founder Francie Duff: “It’s one of our most popular scarves: the STABLE Tricolour is worn and flown worldwide.”
Two Gloss staffers have Tricolour scarves and always look incredibly stylish at Six Nations matches and St Patrick’s Day dos. Publisher Jane McDonnell loves that it’s a “subtle iteration of the tricolour” and always wears it to rugby matches at home and abroad. “It travels well … huge and soft, and a much nicer way to convey support for the team than a tight green jersey or a horrible hat!” Beauty editor Sarah Halliwell even wore her Tricolour to her citizenship ceremony in December when she officially joined the ranks of Mná na hÉireann: “A gift to mark our momentous move to live in Dublin, for me the Tricolour scarf is a symbol of the joy I feel that I am lucky enough to get to live in Ireland. When I’m not wearing it, I hang it on my wall – I adore its subtle colours and vast softness. It’s one of my favourite things.”
Wrap yourself in the flag this week or consider sending the Tricolour to an Irish person living abroad, man or woman. It’s a stylish way to parade your patriotism. The Countess would definitely approve.
