The world of fabric is something I admit to knowing nothing about, but recently I heard this great story about a new fabric design to Ireland.  Forget about Lady Gaga and check out Grayson Perry!

Grayson Perry is an artist specializing in pottery – great, I’m sure he makes lovely pots I hear you all moan.  What’s interesting about this guy is his sense of dress!  Grayson’s alter ego is Claire – yes, he  moonlights as a transvestite.  His alter ego has this self designed fabulous flamboyant wardrobe that has seen him turn his hand to fabric design at the request of fabric specialists.

Let’s just say in fashion world terms he could be compared to the likes of Peter Jensen.  His designs are quirky, some with a vintage vibe.  If you want to be noticed or are looking for something different then his designs are for you.  His designs are made using organic fabrics (100% cotton lawn) and are suitable for dressmaking and some soft furnishings.  What a great way to update your wardrobe by picking up some of his wacky fabric and having it worked as an accessory like a scarf or kaftan or go all out and have a Summer dress or skirt made up (a la above).  You won’t get more recession friendly plus you’ll have pride in wearing your own creations.   I’ll leave the fashion design to those of you with more visionary skills and opt for making a few new cushion covers!

Grayson is married and living in London with his wife and daughter, not forgetting his aged but much loved cat.  The designer has included anything from knuckle-dusters, hand grenades and motor bikes in his designs.  We’ve included some pictures of the quirky artist and his fabric designs which are available exclusively from Murphy Sheehy fabric specialists, who informed us they’ve just launched their new website.  Let us know if you’ll be turning your hand to making your own pieces or heading for your local alterations center.

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As we’ve said many times before your eyes are the focal point of your face.  Your eye brows are as if not more important because they can alter the look of your entire face which is not always a good thing!  If you don’t have your eye brows right you could be adding years to your age or your face can look harsh.  Go to a therapist that has been recommended or someone you trust when having your eye brows shaped.  If you are a DIY fan then here are some tips on how to get the right shape brow for your face.

First and foremost let us start by addressing the old wives tale of not removing hair from above the brow – rubbish!  Obviously you DO NOT want to get into changing the shape from above the brow but do take any strays that go outside the line of your brow, you’ll be amazed at how much cleaner they look even by only taking a couple.  If you have really dark hair and lots of it when you are having them shaped at a salon ask your therapist to take the strays up top too.  Some may be ‘old school’ and gasp at the suggestion but you only want THE STRAYS removed so tell her to relax, take a deep breath and do it, you are paying and they are your eye brows after all!

Now that we’ve cleared up that issue back to basics.  Don’t stand too close to the mirror, you have a better perspective if you stand back.  Purchase a good pair of tweezers.  Ruby are a good brand but everyone has a different opinion on what makes a good tweezer!  Make sure the lights are on (!) and your face is cleansed.  How do you know what to tweeze and from where?

Here’s what they teach at beauty college… Use an orange wood stick (wooden cuticle pusher!), and rest it against your nostril going upwards towards your forehead as shown by D in the diagram.  Remove any hair going in towards the nose/other eye.  Then look straight ahead and hold the orange stick to the outer edge of your pupil pointing upwards (E), this is where your arch should be at its highest point.  To find where the brow should finish hold the orange stick at your nostril going towards the outer corner of your eye (F) and that is your finish point.  Personally I think the brows look better on most people with a long finish.

You can use a brow pencil to lightly fill in different shapes to give you an idea of whether certain shapes suit you.  Bare in mind if you are retraining your eye brows it can take months for them to regrow, sometimes they never do!!  You’ll have a few weeks of dishevelled brows but trust me it WILL be worth it.  I’ve done this countless times with clients and taken years off them and they never go back to their old shape so persevere!  Just think what a brow shape did for Liz Hurley or Susan Boyle!

You’ve also got to take the shape of your face into account and whether you’ve a high or low forehead or wide set eyes.  Here’s a breakdown of what shape brows suit specific face shapes, something you should definitely consider before reshaping.

High Forehead – to create an illusion of a lower forehead the arch of the brow should be slightly elevated.

Low Forehead – to create an illusion of height to the forehead the arch should be as low as possible.

Square Face – the brow should have a wide and high arch to give an oval impression.

Round Face – arched brows will narrow your face shape.

Pear-shaped Face – eyebrows should be arched and extended at the outer corners to give extra width at the forehead.

Oblong Face – brows should be almost horizontal.

Wide Set Eyes – to make eyes appear closer leave the brows unplucked at the inner corners.  Left of D in the diagram.

Close Set Eyes – the eyes will appear wider if you pluck more from the inner corners (D) and extend the outer corner.

So, happy tweezing ladies.  If you’ve totally over tweezed for the last while just let them grow back without tweezing for a couple of weeks so you actually have something to work with and can start implementing your new shape.  Remembering in this case more is more!

See our previous posts on Make-up your eyes, Threading Hair Removal.

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