While it may be too early to start thinking of Mother's Day (26 March, people), it's never too soon to jump on a designer freebie. Cacharel is a label synonymous with cute Liberty prints, and one of its original couture designs, the 'Bird of Paradise', is available as a limited-edition handbag with purchases of Anais Anais and Amor Amor. Simply spend 37 on a scent, and the bag comes for free. The question now standsf do you love your mother enough to give her both, or will you nab the gift for yourself?

Chain letters

Every season, Dior manages to capture our imagination as well as our hearts with cleverly packaged cosmetics that have serious accessory appeal. We've had the lipgloss rings, the cube chains, the silver and diamonte tags, the palettes with the stretchy black elastic and now the latest, the ID bracelets containing a duo of dazzling glosses with that allimportant brand embossed. As always, available only while stocks last, these chunky chains are musthaves for fashion-conscious wrists and, priced at 51, are a great entry-level item for Galliano devotees where style figures more than funds. Available nationwide now in two different options.

Ladies at lunch

Caroline Charles is one of London's most respected fashion designers. A central figure of the UK scene for some years, her suits and dresses are perfect occasion wear, always look appropriate and stand out in the style stakes. Finally arriving in Ireland, her spring/summer collection will be previewed at a special fashion show over lunch on 22 February at Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud.

Proceeds from tickets goes to Barretstown, Paul Newman's charity to help seriously ill children. On show will be floaty silk dresses, smart separates, clever knitwear and more, all set to a background of gourmet treats and elegant grandeur. For ticket information contact Barretstown on 045 863 169.

Short sleeve shuffle There may seem to be an unfathomable amount of cute t-shirts out there, but how many would you actually want to buy? When you log on to www. truffleshuffle. co. uk, the answer is 'all of them'.

From retro prints (Rambo/ Fonzie/ Sesame Street) on washed-out cottons to more 'of the moment' motifs (Family Guy) they also do a huge range of '80s movies, computer game logos and more. Stock up now and be ready to rock some serious festival chic this summer.

Hail to Avoca

Possibly one of Ireland's most popular destinations for shopping, Avoca is the treasure trove those in search of proper retail therapy flock to. Start with fashion, move on to accessories, trawl through homewares and cute notebooks before rewarding yourself big time in the food hallf everyone loves Avoca!

This season, its own range of clothing, called Anthology, combines idiosyncratic design with great colour combinations and very wearable styles. The sort of pieces that seem to work with the wearer to create an individual look and clothes that can be combined into any existing wardrobe. In Avoca stores now, these separates are sure to stir up a bit of spring fever.

Catch your Beth

If you've spent so many office hours drooling over netaporter. com that it just isn't 'doing it' for you any longer, or should you fancy a source of on-line fashion closer to home, www.

boulevardbeth. com is a heavenly destination.

Created by Beth Haughton, she of the Douglas boutique 'Beth', it's a superb site that's fast to load, easy to navigate and offers a great variety of really superb clothes, accessories, shoes and gifts. There's Paul Smith in abundance, funky tops by Vanessa Bruno, sexy shoes such as the Boccaccini green suedes (above), Strenesse separates and even a sales section for the impulse shopper. If you can't make it to Cork, this is a worthy alternative.

Bags of money

With every season comes a new handbag, or so it now seems. If you've had enough of your winter Chloe Paddington (padlock and all), it's time to go super size for spring. And the fashionistas' favourite? The new Chanel 'Luxury', a metal-finished, punched leather holdall that simply oozes style and the appropriate 'je ne sais quois' for spring 2006. Be first with yours . . . they arrive in Brown Thomas, Dublin at the end of the month with prices from 1,450.

California dreams

The second floor in Brown Thomas Dublin is a cultural hotspot for global fashion. In addition to some of the hottest Aussie numbers (Wheels and Doll Baby frocks, Sass and Bide skinny jeans), it has cool Italian tailoring (D&G and Moschino) and those great British staples by Coast and Karen Millen. Our favourite casual separates, however, come from across the Atlantic . . . Juicy's cute tops, C&C California's tie-dye tees teamed with Lucky jeans (LEFT), Gwen Stefani's super-chic Lamb, all kinds of jeans and, for something a little more cosmo, Marc by Marc Jacobs.

Well, what are you waiting for?