This old thing? Jean Byrne just didn’t have time to change it
IT’S fair to say RTÉ weathergirl Jean Byrne has become a fashion barometer. Daring dresses like her spaceage silver number or the frock that had more slashes than material caused flurries of heated comment on the internet. But the fashionable forecaster must think we came down in the last shower if she expects us to believe her ‘what, this old thing?’ modesty.
Asked about the attention her outré outfits attract, she said: ‘I can honestly say that whenever I went out on TV in something, it was accidental because I didn’t have time to change.
‘I’m a bit immune to it to be honest and also I don’t really know what the fuss is about.’
A guest at the glamorous Peter Mark VIP Style Awards on Friday
‘I couldn’t get over
the fuss about it’
night, where she turned heads in a daring Claire O’connor creation, she added: ‘Like that slashed dress – that was just something I came into RTÉ wearing.’
‘I had no intention of wearing it on television.’
‘It’s one of my own but I was in such a hurry I wore it for my first broadcast that day.
‘Even still, I couldn’t get over the fuss there was about it.’
A member of RTÉ’S on-screen meteorological team since 1996, the Trinity graduate boasts a loyal online following – with a host of blogs and Facebook pages set up to celebrate her fashion choices.
And Jean admitted: ‘I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t checked in now and again. The person who started it was really complimentary. It was really nice of them.’
Part of a star-studded crowd at the VIP Style Awards, the modish meteorologist was herself nominated for the Most Stylish Woman gong in 2011 but lost out to Robbie Keane’s model wife, Claudine Palmer, for the honour.
Miss Byrne insists she simply picks whatever she feels like on the day.
‘I just love things that are a little bit different yet I like things that are beautifully tailored and are beautiful materials and have just a bit of an edge to them,’ she revealed of her fashion inspiration.
‘I just know instantly when I see something that I really like and feel comfortable in.’
Bestselling author Marian Keyes recently outed herself as one of Jean’s biggest fans. She said of one outfit, ‘It’s AMAZING. Sort of Weather-goth’ – and added: ‘Jean Byrne is one of the reasons I love living in Ireland.’