Certain things in life, you're either really into or you're really not.
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Certain things in life, you're either really into or you're really not.
Certain things in life, you're either really into or you're really not. Mayonnaise, for instance. Jack Kerouac. The Wes Anderson oeuvre, post-Royal Tenenbaums. Likewise, there are a lot of devotees of Orla Kiely's clothing, and at least as many people who find it mannered and unbearably twee. This season, riffing on the theme girl-guides-go-safari, Kiely isn't likely to win any converts. But this collection ought to please her fans. A shorts suit in a tonal orange giraffe print? Yes, please, the Kiely girl says. Ditto the sweet white dresses dotted with tiny embroidered rhinos, the A-line skirts with oversize flap pockets, and taut sweaters with friendly lion appliqués. There was a genuine wit to the zoological stuff here, but it served to exacerbate the atmosphere of extreme whimsy. That's either your thing or it's not, though it's worth noting that even a hardened anti-quirk cynic can take cuteness in small doses. And Kiely's mini animal-shaped cross-body bags were totes adorbs, for sure.