Smock is a rather special independent boutique on Dublin’s Drury Street that is co-owend and run by friends Karen Crawford and Susan O’Connell. They came to retailing from different backgrounds; the creative Susan is a graduate of the Grafton Academy (fashion college) and the no less creative Karen had a corporate career before she teamed up with Karen to open Smock.
Category Archives: Shops/Shopping
Favourite Shops//Smock
Filed under Dublin, Shops/Shopping, Style
Vintage Shopping Tips
I asked vintage expert Wendy Crawford, one of the talented trio who co-owns Bow a wonderful independent shop located in the Georgian Powerscourt Townhouse Centre in Dublin, what her top five tips are for vintage-clothes shopping. Bow, incidentally, is one of my favourite shops I have written about it here. Bow stocks: clothes by gifted Irish designers such as Eilis Boyle (the second co-owner of Bow) Tim Ryan and Emma Manley; vintage gems sourced by Wendy; and a treasure trove of jewellery made or sourced by Margaret O’Rourke (the third co-owner of Bow).
Filed under Dublin, Shops/Shopping
Lost Weekend
Every time I visit Lost Weekend, a design store on the main street of the south Dublin suburb of Blackrock, my curiosity is piqued by the enigmatic name. When I was heading to Lost Weekend on Saturday I had in mind that I must find out why it is so called. As it happens I clean forgot to ask the question. So with poetic licence I have decided that it might just be because it is the sort of space that one could all too happily be totally lost in for a whole weekend.
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Filed under Designers, Dublin, Shops/Shopping
If Only
As I type this I am listening to Edith Piaf singing ‘Non, Je ne Regrette Rien’. It’s one of my favorive songs. I am not prone to major regrets but I do occasionally indulge in *if only* thinking.
Filed under Musings, Shops/Shopping
♥ Last Minute Christmas Shopping
This is the last of the pre-Christmas shopping posts. I won’t go through the whole preamble again but will just say, as a quick reminder, that the emphasis in this series of posts is on: craft, home/handmade items, and independent shops. If you are entering the final run up to Christmas with some present shopping left to do, it would of course be lovely to stumble on a shop where you could scoop up diverse items to match all the gaps on your list. The Irish Design Shop, which carries a large range of items spanning different craft disciplines, is that sort of shop. Below are a few of the items they stock that caught my eye.
Filed under Craft, Dublin, Shops/Shopping
♥ First Pair of Repettos
Iconic is an overused word, however when it comes to talking about the Repetto brand it seems an apt adjective. I am a diehard fan of ballet flats. I have a couple of pairs of heels which are only wheeled into service when I know I will be mostly seated while I am wearing them. For everyday life, flats are my footwear of choice: they are perfect for comfortable and unrestricted tripping about without the attendant danger of sore feet. Over the years I have had so many pairs from different labels but never, until my recent trip to Paris, a pair of Repettos.
Filed under Paris, Shops/Shopping
♥ Christmas at Bow
This is the second in a series of posts showcasing items that I think would make very acceptable Christmas gifts. The emphasis in the series is on: craft, homemade/handmade items, and independent shops. My hope is that wherever you live in the world that the images might inspire you (if you don’t do so already) to check out locally made beautiful items that are far removed from the madding mass-produced crowd and independent shops that are a world away from the homogenous high street.
Filed under Dublin, Fashion, Shops/Shopping
♥ Retail Therapy
I love shops in a bonkers allsorts fashion. By that I mean I am as happy to wander around furniture or haberdashery emporiums as I am to gaze at the latest fashions in a boutique or department store. This love of shops doesn’t equate to a love of spending (though naturally I do from time to time).
Filed under Paris, Shops/Shopping, Travel
♥ Favourite Shops//Liberty
Liberty is by far and away my favourite department store. Aeons ago when I lived in London, Liberty was a short bus ride from home and I took it so much for granted that I could pop in to browse when the mood took me. It was great deal larger back in the day when I lived close by but fortunately the essence of the store hasn’t suffered from its shrinking.
Filed under London, Shops/Shopping, Travel
♥ Chanel: 31 Rue Cambon
I find it difficult to explain the why and the wherefore of my fascination with Coco Chanel and the brand she created. When I mull over this fascination I sometimes wonder if Chanel is either simply a monumental marketing triumph or more complicatedly a form of Jungian archetype and part of our collective unconscious. That is not to detract from the magic the brand creates or to underestimate how much and how enduringly Coco Chanel, in her time, changed the way women dress. Gone were the restrictive clothes of previous periods and she introduced many style classics: the little black dress, striped Breton tops, long ropes of pearls…
Filed under Chanel, Paris, Shops/Shopping, Travel
Just Add Attitude
Just Add Attitude 