There’s an incredible amount of female entrepreneurship present across Dublin city. From shops like Aimee Connolly’s beautiful ‘Sculpted’ on Grafton Street, Helen McAliden’s boutique on Drury Street, restaurants like Tapas de Lolas, Hugo and Mae and female owned beauty parlors like The Buff Day Spa, Tropical Popical and The Hive.
Celebrating International Women’s Day this week, Travel2Ireland’s Katie and Louise set out to show you some of their top picks for fashion buys in and around South-William Street!
1. Folkster, 11 South William St
Folkster Dublin is an independent, family-owned fashion and lifestyle brand that started out in Kilkenny by stylish Blanaid Hennessy in 2008. What started out as a small vintage store in has grown into a go-to destination for bohemian-inspired occasion wear, with stores in 11 South William St Dublin 2, and 27 Patrick St. Kilkenny, plus Folkster Bridal in Kilkenny, a private appointment space in Ballymount and an online store at folkster.com.
The Folkster team designs gowns and dresses in Ireland along with many of their accessories, handpicking fabrics and shades while working closely with their trusted family-run production partners in Spain and India. They also hand pick and buy in some smaller independent clothing and accessories brands to round out their offerings to customers – calling these Folkster Finds!
The thing we love most about this shop is the elegance of their luxury gowns hanging in colour coordinated spots throughout the store. The bohemian style is present throughout the shop’s design, from the vintage French books that act as a presentation spot for jewelery, and the use of dark wood contrasted against their white walls gives a sense of earthiness and richness to this beautiful shop and its offerings.
2. Chupi, Powerscourt Centre
Chupi launched her jewellery store in 2014 and since then ‘Chupi Sweetman’ has become a household name in Ireland and abroad. Known in particular for her engagement rings and timepieces. Chupi set up her business after her now-husband proposed to her when she was 26, as quoted in the Dublin Gazette “I just remember feeling so utterly blown away by my engagement ring and when I was wearing it for those first few days, I kept thinking that I was wearing a piece of the future. One day my daughter, who at that stage was still very much still a figment of our imagination, and her daughter could wear this ring in the future. That was just such an exciting idea to me and it enabled me to reimagine our future at a point where I felt I needed a career change.”
Since then, the Chupi brand has grown to a team of over 50 people, with her flagship store in Powerscourt which is a bright, inspiring space, filled with their entire collection, including engagement and heirloom rings, little luxuries, sparkling gifts, and some of the most precious fine jewellery in Dublin.
Our favourite thing about this store is that feeling of elegance and brightness with their long windows that look onto Clarendon Street. The sparkling jewellery gleaming out from their cabinets promises not only something gorgeous to hang around your neck or wear on your hand, but a story and heritage to go along with it…
3. Susan Hunter, Westbury Mall
Susan Hunter, established in 1984, is a Luxury Lingerie Boutique located in the heart of Dublin City. Natural fabrics, silk, cotton, cashmere, linen and wool are their specialities. An excellant selection of fabulous bras, briefs, suspender belts, corsetry, nightwear, dressing gowns, nightgowns, pyjamas, camisoles and French knickers are always in stock.They offer a full fitting bra service and specialise in bridal lingerie to make sure that the wedding day goes smoothly! You can find bra sizes from 30″ to 46″, A to J cup. Brands available in store include Prima Donna, Handro, Marie Jo, La Perla and Selite.
Our favourite thing about this store is its intimate setting nestled in the Westbury Mall, on most days you’ll find Susan herself ready to find you your perfect fit whether you’re looking to feel more confident or find something that fits you just right!
4. Costelloe and Costelloe, 14A Chatham St
Costelloe + Costelloe is a family business with the best range of styles and colours in fashion accessories that you’ll find in Dublin City. Their front of house is run by Margaret and Mary Costelloe, Catherine Sheridan and Fiona Barnes with Bert, Steven and Conor backstage! You’ll find their pink storefront on the corner of Chatham and Clarendon Streets, just off Grafton Street, Dublin 2. They began their shop in 2002, because women know that the right accessories will make or break an outfit for a special occasion. Their team have been obsessed by accessories for a long, long time and love when they can provide a customer with the perfect match for her favourite outfit. Margaret, Mary and their team are great believers in the power of accessorising well.
What we love about this shop is that it’s the best life-saving store when you’re in a rush looking for something (Anything!) to go with a new dress for the night out you’ve just started planning. They’ve helped our team out many times by getting the right pair of necklaces, bags and scarves to go with any outfit from casual to formal wear. As they say on their website, “Imagine that you’ve got the dress and shoes organised for a special occasion, you’re now probably looking for a dressy clutch and maybe a pashmina, a fascinator and some costume jewellery. No need to traipse all over the city, Costelloe + Costelloe is a one-stop shop stocking everything you’re looking for”!
5. Siopaella, 30 Wicklow Street
Siopaella Designer Exchanger is located on Wicklow Street, and offers a range of preloved and re-vamped designer wear for any and all occassions. Siopaella was started in January 2011 by Ella de Guzman with its first location being in Dublin’s historic Temple Bar. Originally from Vancouver, BC, Canada, and thrifting vintage since the 1990s, Ella noticed there were no consignment stores that specialized in both the high street and high end, hence Siopaella was born (for those non-Irish language enthusiasts, “siopa” means “shop” in Irish). By the end of 2019, Siopaella had 5 locations in Dublin’s City Centre. Covid happened in 2020, and like so many businesses Siopaella had to pivot, closing down three physical locations in Temple Bar but expanding their online operations. Today Siopaella continues to be Ireland’s largest and most trusted reseller of preloved authentic designer handbags, accessories and clothing.
The thing that we love most about this store is their huge selection of designer accessories and clothing, each one with a special story, passed from one woman to the next. We think this shop is the perfect way to close out our International Women’s Day feature- with the idea of women sharing accessories and bags across generations, and across Ireland and further abroad!
How are you celebrating this International Women’s Day? If you haven’t already, make sure you support your female entrepreneurs in and around where you are!
