I almost found myself not wanting the Philip Tracey-designed crown to be taken from Maria Walsh, writes Alison O’Connor

Meath Rose Elysha Brennan has been crowned this year’s Rose of Tralee after a whirlwind festival of poems, party pieces and all the parades a town could handle.

As a new play and V&A exhibition celebrating Alexander McQueen open in London, Rachel Marie Walsh looks at the life and style of the iconic designer.

Rachel Marie Walsh finds Philip Treacy’s collaboration with MAC is sure to turn heads and also advises not to be blinded by marketing speak when it comes to the latest releases.

It’s hats off to Galway milliner, Philip Treacy as new accounts show that profits soared at his fashion firm last year to over €319,000.

The women of Ireland showed who were the real bosses of the Dublin Horse Show yesterday by taking centre stage from any visiting US rock star.

Bruce Springsteen turned up at the RDS yesterday, but the Boss didn’t sing a word as the focus of the crowds remained on horses at the opening of the five-day Discover Ireland Dublin Horse Show.

For their historic state visit to London, President Michael D Higgins and wife Sabina have both shown considerable sartorial flair.

SEWN together with as much care as this landmark State visit, it was joint admiration of a fan made from handcrafted Youghal lace which saw queen Elizabeth and President Higgins relax into laughter after the spectacle of the welcome to Windsor Castle.

It’s official. Amy and Brian really are our Kate and Wills.

The Queen has said that Britain and Ireland shall “no longer allow our past to ensnare our future” at a historic state banquet in honour of President Michael D Higgins.

Cork’s best-known fishmonger, Pat O’Connell, was thinking of his mother as he once again shared a few words with the Queen of England — but this time he was at her pad, namely Buckingham Palace.

PJ Gibbons profiles the young Irish people set to make waves this year.

KEITH RICHARDS was somewhere around Oughterard, on the edge of Lough Corrib, when the craving began to take hold.

* Well, you can’t say Sarah Jessica Parker didn’t stick to the ‘Punk: Chaos to Couture’ brief at the Met Gala, in a Giles Deacon dress, Philip Treacy headpiece and Louis Vuitton boots. Top marks for drama and she’s smiling for once... the best accessory.

It’s hats off to renowned Irish milliner Philip Treacy as accounts show his fashion firm recorded profits of £110,585 (€128,066) last year.

Hats off to Cork Food Week Pirate Gourmet Trail

ALEXA, THE

YOU WERE reminded of that infamous, early ’80s Oscar ceremony where Chariots of Fire screenwriter Colin Welland warned Hollywood “the British are coming”.

Philip Treacy claims the hat Princess Beatrice wore to her cousin Prince William's wedding is his "most favourite" creation.

Irish designer Orla Kiely had every reason to be delighted when Kate Middleton stepped out in one of her shirt dresses yesterday.

BEING an outsider is never easy but with marginality comes the rarefied privilege of bucking trends or indeed, creating them.

THIS year will go down in the annals of fashion as the year the hat was hot.

Vickie Maye visits the funky hotel designed by hat man Philip Treacy

THERE has been an explosion in demand among Irish woman for fascinators and hats after the royal wedding made headwear one of the hottest fashion trends of the year.

With just hours to go before the auction closes, bids for the unique royal wedding hat worn by Britain's Princess Beatrice at the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton have now reached £81,000 (€92,800).

Auction bids for Princess Beatrice’s bizarre royal wedding hat have exceeded £75,000 (€86,000) – as the online auction enters its final two days.

Despite the tragic death of British designer Alexander McQueen in 2010, his brilliance still casts a huge shadow over the world of fashion, writes Rachel Marie Walsh

In the UK, only five bids have been made for Princess Beatrice's bizarre royal wedding hat since it went up for auction yesterday.

STYLE guru Celia Holman Lee busily married the best of Irish fashion with the royal wedding yesterday as more than 300 — mostly women — crowded Limerick’s Milk Market for a public screening of the nuptials.

The bride’s choice of ivory and white satin bridal gown did not disappoint, writes Rachel Marie Walsh

Wedding guests David and Victoria Beckham described today’s ceremony as “beautiful and heartfelt”.

Clutching an invitation to one of the biggest occasions of the year, guests pulled out all the stops to impress with their fashion choices.

STYLE isn’t a birthright; it is a knack which few have and many seek to emulate. Such is the case for princess-in-waiting Kate Middleton who was dubbed fashion royalty long before her nuptials to Prince William were ever announced.

PARIS HILTON, the world’s most overrated celebrity (Guinness Book of Records, 2007), turns 30 on February 17.

* Irish designer Sinead Doyle launches her fifth collection Paradise Lost.

* Danish jewellery brand, Pandora, has opened its first Irish flagship store at Cork’s Winthrop Street (021 4276228; www.pandora.net).

Lady Gaga has become a dial icon - as her new waxwork wears her famous telephone hat.

Lady Gaga is to release her own range of fragrances, with the first one expected to be launched in early 2012.

THE Girlies will be out in force this week as the second Sex and the City movie is due to hit Irish screens tomorrow.

Lady Gaga has revealed Irish millner Philip Treacy as a personal fashion icon.