Let's talk about, X

Bennie Reilly – vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist with beguiling indie-folk sextet Little Xs For Eyes – Bennie Reilly – vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist with beguiling indie-folk sextet Little Xs For Eyes - is proof that you don’t have to compromise your comfort or your tastes to put a great outfit together.
“I don’t like to go with the flow – I’m really influenced by country and folk music,” she says, citing influences who would most likely prefer Urban Outfitters to Brown Thomas: folk legend Joan Baez, Rilo Kiley’s Jenny Lewis and indie screen sirens Maggie Gyllenhaal and Chloe Sevigny. “They’ve got a really kind of alternative chic look.”
She adds: “If I’m not doing anything very much – if I’m just hanging out at home or if I’m at work – I’ll just go for drainpipe jeans and cardigans and blouses and things. But if I’m heading out where I’m going to be meeting a lot of people, I kind of like to go for something a bit girlier or prettier.”
So it’s function followed by form for the most part, then?
“Yeah, kind of,” she agrees. “I think the trick is to keep it fancy but low maintenance – because I hate to be hooshing up skirts or hitching up straps when I’m trying to do something important!”
She describes her look as “sort of girly and pretty and a little bit dorky, but with a touch of rock’n’roll,” and it is, she says, a reflection of her identity as a musician.
“When I started off in bands a few years ago I was a more kind of skinny jeans, Converse – a bit more trashy, a bit more CBGBs. But when I’m on-stage, I’m way more comfortable as I am now than I would be in jeans.”
Bennie finds that settling on a comfy, stylish look of her own has reduced her on-stage nerves. “I always felt more comfortable when I was in my runners, and I could play better if I was more relaxed.”
Her favourite fashion item is a lumberjack-texture high-waisted skirt from Upper Fifth Topshop Boutique, which set her back €53, “which is pretty big for me.” She finds that the best way to add to her “vintage-y and off-beat” wardrobe is to scour the shelves for bargains. She doesn’t have a favourite high-street brand, and she remembers with a wince that she only wore her most expensive fashion item (a pair of strappy turquoise stilettos) about twice.
It’s a tactic that has served her well: Bennie’s only memorable fashion disaster dates back to her Confirmation! “I wore a shirt and tie and waistcoat – a sort of man-style waistcoat! I also wore my first-ever pair of Doc Martens – but I was quite small and my feet were enormous... so my Doc Martens were like canal barges!”
She’s since eschewed such wild flourishes, preferring to edge her way along the precipice of style experimentation. Only now that she’s established her own look does she feel able to “be a little bit fancier and wear heels and stuff and not feel uncomfortable,” and she’s “just starting to get into lipstick,” preferring to stick with her Elizabeth Arden Flawless Finish Foundation (“the most important thing in my make-up bag!”), rosy blusher and liquid eyeliner for the time being.
So, as well as dreamy, shy vocals and achingly beautiful melodies, Little Xs For Eyes boast a frontwoman whose look manages to be simple as well as stylish.

Little Xs For Eyes’ self-titled debut EP is available now from Road Records.

Photos by Dave Cullen