Irish Tribal

During my recent trip to southern Ireland, our tour guide described the western portion of the island as having a rich "tribal heritage". Blood runs very thick among the clans in that part of the world, he said. Although the tribal print in this fluttery confection probably does not evoke quite the kind of tribe of which Ciaran was speaking, I was still smitten when I spied the dress in a boutique called Swamp in the city of Cork along the River Lee.

With a handkerchief hemline that rises to miniskirt length in front and drops almost to the floor in back, this unusual frock, by QED of London, was almost too daring for my taste. Fortunately, good sense did not prevail and I bought the dress. In fact, I was so taken with the mixed metal pendant necklace on a black cord that was displayed with the dress that I bought it, too.

So today, back in Baltimore with temperatures hovering in the upper 80s, I decided to wear the dress and let my tribal side out to play. I paired the necklace with mixed-metal earrings I have owned since the 1990s, and donned strappy jute-wedge sandals by Nine West’s Vintage American Collection for my commute to the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. With a wide, stretchy black belt to tie the whole look together, I set out on my way, reminded of the evergreen isle from whence the dress came with every swish of the billowing skirt.

Cheers,

Lynell