Co. Council to review its land policy 

£3,500 to have coat of arms for Bagenalstown 

Carlow response to fashion designer's attack 

`An Irish woman can look great in a pair of jeans and a tee-shirt' 

JUSTINE O'MAHONEY Staff reporter YOU HAVE to hand it to glamour guru, Paul Costello, he certainly doesn't mince his words. When he's got something to say, he delivers it straight up, no frills attached. His recent comments about Irish women being far from a picture of sartorial elegance have proved that. If you were the type to get peeved, you could play him at his own game of course. You could be tempted to call him `an ungrateful balding little upstart' who has savagely bitten the hand that fed him and his family for a very long time before he decided to up and leave for London. scurrilous But, because most of us wouldn't want to stoop to his level, we would refrain from such scurilous comments, for the sake of good taste, which is obviously something that Costello doesn't hold much store in. And although Irish women may know a bit about good taste, we know absolutely nothing about style, according to Mr. Costello. This coming from the man who wears immaculately tailored suits, with denim shirts and loud ties is really quite rich, when you think about it. If Costello was a woman and said what he said, he'd be labelled a b**ch, his remarks dismissed as catty comments and no-one would have paid a blind bit of notice. But because he is a man, and a man who should know what he's talking about, we have taken his remarks to heart - The Fashion Police are after us! `Ambitious mutton' Describing us as `ambitious mutton' and saying that we wouldn't know style if it tottered up to us in 10-inch heels, Costello has helpfully suggested that perhaps if we stopped eating and drinking so much, and generally making pigs of ourselves, we'd have a far better chance of looking stylish. Charming! Carlow-based fashion designer Elaine Curtis who has worked with Paul Costello happens to agree with what he said, but maintains that his comments were taken out of context. `His original comments were made in response to a fashion spread in Image magazine which featured 90 women who were supposed to be the most stylish women in Ireland. He said that he felt he didn't think they were representative of Irish women and I have to agree with him,' says Elaine. However, having said that, Elaine did concede that Costello had gone a bit too far. `He did go a bit overboard. To say that we were just two generations out of the bog was a bit forceful. But he is right in saying that Irish women aren't stylish.' `Most women that you see walking down the street don't have much style. It doesn't figure in Irish women's lives, it just isn't that important. Our climate doesn't help and there aren't that many Irish clothing companies, whereas in Italy and France, fashion is one of their most indigenous industries,' explains Elaine. The normal everyday uniform for women in Ireland, she says, is jeans and a jumper, `whereas Italian and French women have a much greater sense of style. But that's not a bad thing. Style just doesn't come naturally to Irish women.' Nonsense Meanwhile Tullow artist, Shahine Ali, described Paul Costello as `a bloody fool' who had just shot himself in the foot. `I have never heard such nonsense in my life. Irish women are truly stylish. We may not be slaves to fashion or trendy but we each have an individuality which reflects itself in our own personal style,'she said. Shahine continued that she did not agree with Costello in saying that French and Italian women were the tops of the fashion stakes. `You get plenty of frumps in Italy and France. Style is an individual statement, a sign of self- confidence. The majority of Irish women nowadays are asserting themselves and that shows in their clothes. `An Irish woman can look great in a pair of jeans and a tee-shirt. She doesn't need to wear haute couture,' Shahine claimed adamantly.' Boutique owner Helen Mullins of Touch of Class in Carlow, also felt that Costello's remarks were totally unjustified. `Ireland has some of the best dressed women in the world. The Germans are probably the best dressed; I don't think the French deserve the reputation they have for being stylish but we are certainly up there with the best,' she said. Innate good taste `For someone who has dressed many of Ireland's most glamorous women, his comments certainly don't say much about his own designs, said Helen. Borris-based Green Party spokesperson for the environment, Mary White, maintained this week that Irish women had innate good taste and style and she too rejected Costello's remarks. `We may not have the style of the Italians but we have a style which we are comfortable with. Irish women tend to wear clothes that suit their figures rather than what's the latest fashion. I mean, there's no point in wearing a mini-skirt if you don't have the legs,' she said matter-of-factly. Improving Mary reckoned that Irish women were becoming increasingly better-dressed as we head towards the new century. `We wear what we feel happy in, it may not be Italian glamour or Parisian chic but it is innate Irish good taste and style.' The final word came from Dymphna Bramley of Bramley's boutique in Carlow. `I find it hard to believe that a top designer like Paul Costello should make such a statement. He must have been misinterpreted or the article misread. He should be asked to clarify his comments.' She concluded by saying: `In my opinion, Irish women dress very well and always look glamorous at functions. There is no question about it, we are extremely stylish.' 

NEWS SPECIAL: Justine O'Mahony reports on the work of the South Leinster Rape Crisis Centre which was recently opened in Carlow. 

Helping women survive the trauma of rape