Beside the sea

Last night I swam in the Irish sea in the rain. The sky was silver and the water was completely calm, with just a slight swell as raindrops smattered the surface. It was cold, still and utterly exhilarating.

Living by the sea is even more magical than I imagined. There is always something to look at, from the hardy early morning swimmers first thing in the morning and the kids hunting for crabs and periwinkles to the kite-surfers in the evening and tentative lines of young canoeists having lessons. And yesterday, there were dolphins out in the bay. When the tide’s out we take cups of tea onto the sand and the kids run around; it’s like being permanently on holiday.

The swimmers change and congregate by the Martello tower, and it’s a wonderfully eccentric sight – a bunch of all ages, all shapes, standing in their pants as they contemplate the icy waters. Locals stroll around the streets and squares in their dressing gowns as they head down to the water. It’s like having a giant open-air swimming pool. And boy, it beats paying an awful lot of cash per month to have water kicked in your face for 20 minutes by the Alpha Male doing messy crawl in front as you plough up and down the chlorinated, sweaty pool.

The feeling when you get out of the sea is fantastic – you feel energized, exhilarated, your skin glowing and tingling – and a cup of tea never tasted so good. Yep, I'm a convert – though ask me again come November....

Talking of the sea, there’s a book festival in Dun Laoghaire from 7-12 September and I’ve booked to see John Banville, Booker winner for the wonderfully evocative and moving The Sea. I'm also seeing Jonathan Coe and Ross Raisin (Raisin’s God’s Own Country is a brilliantly dark first novel set in the moors of Yorkshire).

So far, so very good – and I haven't even told you about the Cake Cafe yet... next time.

Inside Out

‘The wise woman with a limited dress allowance will invest a great deal of it in underwear’ (from The Cult of Chiffon, 1902)

Airing your underwear in public is de rigeur right now, it seems. From structured corsets at Bottega Veneta to lacy slips at Dior and, naturally, bra straps sexily on show at D&G, there was plenty of slinking down the catwalks for spring/summer 2010. As underpinnings come once again to the fore, the idea is to be seductive and sexy, without being slutty….

The latest season of the ever-seductive ‘Mad Men’ (Wednesdays, BBC4, 10pm) adds fuel to this fire – all those curvaceous women peeling off their twin-sets to reveal the most perfect satin slips and coral-pink bras. Though as Madonna revealed in the 1980s in Gaultier’s iconic conical bras, it’s a trend to be picked up only by the most fearsomely confident/exhibitionist.

There are some glorious bits of retro underwear around – so satin-smooth and beautiful it seems rude not to show it off. Take a peek at What Katie Did, specialists in vintage-style undies. There’s everything from surprisingly glamorous shapewear through to super-sexy corsets (from £125) that scoop you in and lift you up for a real Jessica Rabbit silhouette. The Harlow Bullet Bra (£27.50) and 1940s-style Dolly Mixture bra (£30) are wonderfully authentic, at high-street prices.

Boudiche in Edinburgh (with a sister store in Glasgow) is one of the prettiest lingerie boutiques I’ve seen, a lush little boudoir decked with the best labels, from La Perla and Stella McCartney to their best-selling range, the weirdly named but very sleek New York label, The Lake & Stars Curveball (prices from £32). The ‘Franklin Romper’ (worn by Carrie, with jeans, in the first Sex and the City film, if you care about such things) is madly pretty in rose and mocha. The champagne-coloured chemise (£135) is bang on trend for this season, and really nails that subtle-sexy look. The website’s excellent, though we’d love a bit more information on fabrics: you don’t want to spend this much on underwear and then discover it’s 100 per cent polyester. This chemise is silk, though. Order online; free delivery for orders over £35.

Also modern in outlook is young English designer Clare Tough, stocked at Browns in South Molton Street, London. Inspired by vintage embroidery she found at Clignancourt market in Paris, her collection features classic modern underwear in nudes and oysters, teamed with transparent tops and light cardigans. Love her pretty lace slips (from £305) and sculpted bra tops.

Another store worth knowing about is Susan Hunter, just off Grafton Street in Dublin. Her silk lingerie and kimono dressing gowns have an elegant vintage look. (Free returns and free delivery on orders over £35). I’ll add more details when I go back to the store in Dublin in a few weeks’ time.

I’m really not convinced by Marc Jacobs and Cavalli’s take on this trend though – satin bras worn over vests (a string vest, in Cavalli’s case) and T-shirts. Can this ever be a good look? Sure, it’s cold at the moment, but if you’re going to do the ‘underwear as outerwear’ trend, shouldn’t you just go for it? Magazines can plug this look all they like, but it won’t be one I’m trying out any time soon…