Thursday 28 July 2016

Steal her Style: Maisie Williams



1960's gold mesh and black tassel necklace €95 from Dirty Fabulous

 Did you watch Game Of Thrones? Our family is addicted to it and it fueled many Whats App debates as we watched it from our various corners in Ireland. We all agreed: best finale EVER!!! So now that winter has finally arrived in Westeros we'll have to sit back and wait until next year to see what happens to some of our favourite characters.

In the mean time here's Maisie Williams who plays firm favourite, Arya at the Serpentine Summer Party in a textured black and green dress by Milly. Although Maisie's dress is thoroughly modern the unusual print reminded me of one of our own gorgeous vintage dresses currently in stock. It's a 1950's dress by designer Kitty Copeland and it's one I've had my eye on!!!

 Our version is a little longer than Maisies. It's more a mid length cocktail dress which would mean it would make a chic alternative if you wanted a bit more coverage for your legs. We can't all have as fabulous pins as Maisie!

Our vintage 1960's Kitty Copleand green and black brocade dress is available to buy in store now or on Open For Vintage .




Monday 25 July 2016

We're super excited to share this real wedding with you!










It's with immense pride that we introduce you to our real bride, Edina. She is the very first person to wear one of our own designs from our Papermoon Bridal collection by Dirty Fabulous.

Edina wore our Cherry Pie, tea length dress which is one of our most fun and flirty designs. It's a delicious concoction of nude, beaded lace and pleated tulle. She chose one of our lace boleros and golden toned headpieces to tie her look together. Edina then found her pretty mint underskirt and veil elsewhere.
We're so ecstatic that Edina loved our dress as much as we do!
An enormous thank you for sharing your gorgeous wedding photos with us by photographer Daniel Otten . It's a big highlight in the  history of Dirty Fabulous!!!


Thursday 21 July 2016

Lets Go To The Prom!

Wedding and Debs season means it's time to wear your best frock. Take it from us, there's nothing better than a 1950's prom dress! These are just a small selection on our gorgeous vintage dresses that are currently in stock.
To see these dresses and more give us a call on 01 6111842 or email info@dirtyfabulous.com to book your appointment. 
Or check out Open For Vintage and get your hands on them before someone else does!






Monday 18 July 2016

Carolines Top 3 Vintage Picks From Dirty Fabulous!

We see so many incredible pieces pass through the doors of Dirty Fabulous and our wants-list is often huge. But we've narrowed it down a bit for you here to a couple of choice picks.
Even though Caroline and I have very different tastes we can both appreciate all of our vintage pieces for their beauty and rarity. 
To see how our styles differ we thought we'd share our current top 3 fav's!

Take a peek at Caroline's:
  
No 1: 
1960's B. Siegel Company champagne brocade two piece dress. The heavy brocade fabric and silver and pearl beading make this dress ultra sophisticated. It's quite Jackie O and very classic in design. Wouldn't it make a perfectly chic wedding ensemble!

 
No 2:
Not surprisingly, it's the colour that Caroline adores in this 1950's blue evening gown with sequin detailing. It's such a strong colour which looks fantastic against most skin tones. I can see this dress being worn for a black tie event or it would make a totally unique debs dress!


No 3.
This 1980's ruched jersey dress is from our vintage bridal collection and boy is it a showstopper!
The draping is super figure hugging but in all the right ways. This is one for all you edgy and alternative brides who shy away from the traditional bridal norms and prefer fashion forward fabulousness!!!


Thursday 14 July 2016

Spotlight on Vintage: Sabiens of Boston Asymmetric Evening Gown


This is a striking hot pink satin early 1950's cocktail dress with fabulous tailoring. It is an asymmetrical one shouldered gown with attached wrap around peplum. The peplum has tulle underneath to give it structure. The bodice is a neat fit with boning and a side zip. The skirt is a tailored pencil fit, with a slight train at the back. This dress is remarkably similar to the advertisement pictured on the left which featured in Vogue dated Feb 15th 1951. The advert was for Dana, a Parisian Perfume company featuring supermodel of the day Jean Patchett!



We don't know if the designer of the dress in the advert and our dress were the same, it's probably more likely that the dress in the Vogue advert was a couture piece and ours was an homage to it.
It does have the label of the department store in which it was sold which was "Sabiens Boston".

Our vintage gown also reminds me of the iconic one shoulder pink dress that Marilyn Monroe wore in How To Marry A Millionaire 


If you want to try on our Sabiens 1950's pink gown call 01 6111842 or email info@dirtyfabulous.com to book your appointment.

Or pop over to Open For Vintage to buy it right now!!!



Monday 11 July 2016

Spotlight On Vintage: 1940's Dusky Blue Lace Gown





This weeks vintage treasure is an evening dress that even Veronica Lake would have swooned over! The dress is made of a dusky blue lace over lavender lining. It has an illusion top (very popular at the time) and matching belt.

I love the elegance of this dress which would have been created in the late 1940's. The lace is truly beautiful, very intricate with some slight signs of aging. But this dress is over 70 years old and over-all in in remarkable condition. I'm pretty sure when I'm over 70 I'll be showing more that some slight signs of age!!!

This is a gown that brings it's vintage "A"game!
Available in store now




Thursday 7 July 2016

Celebrity Style Inspriation :Jennifer Lopez

image via E! Online

Cat eye sunglasses available from ASOS



JLo has been showing of some sophisticated threads lately. She's probably known most for her bling-tastic, figure revealing gowns and she's one smokin' hot mama so why the hell not!

Bu you know us, we're fans of ladylike glamour. 
Ms. Lopez recently stepped out in this peach number and we just love it!

Our original vintage 1960's hostess gown is an absolute ringer in terms of colour and has some unique tailoring features, something it share's with JLo's mid length dress.
Wear it with some cat eye sunglasses, big hold-all bag and pastel stilletos.

You're now ready for that fabulous summer soiree you have coming up!

Monday 4 July 2016

The Lost Fashion History of Wicklow Street: Guest Post by Ruth Griffin

Grafton Street’s a wonderland there’s magic in the air… and there’s even more if you turn the corner for a saunter down Wicklow Street.
Have you ever taken your eyes away from the shop windows of Wicklow Street long enough and really looked up as you walked down the street as it curves its way up to George’s Street?

Well I often #lookup and wonder who and what may have been working away in those handsome Victorian buildings, with their pretty bay windows, over the centuries. And having researched The Lost Fashion History of Dublin Tours (along with doing a Masters thesis on the topic of the history of fashion in Dublin), I have found out some intriguing style stories about the street which I am sharing with you and my lovely pals  here at Dirty Fabulous.
(Thanks for having me as a Guest Blogger girls).

Wicklow Street in the 1980's

Fabulous fashion businesses

Wicklow Street has always benefitted from its close proximity to Grafton Street. Being a tributary of Ireland’s premier shopping street has meant that over the centuries the ground floor and upper floor businesses have been home to prestigious dressmakers, milliners, tailors, furriers and designers. But it has particularly been the place for millinery and dressmaking over the decades.

Grafton Street

From the 1890s onwards there have been fashion businesses sewing, cutting, making and designing beautiful fashion for the elite (and not so elite) of Dublin in the  many rooms and floors of the red brick buildings.

From the early twentieth century the street had an array of fashion businesses, which tell us about the period of history. As we know before 1916, Dublin was still part of the British Empire and because of this Dublin Castle was the centre of power. 
One of the most notable fashion businesses of the early twenthieth century at that time were the Court Dressmakers; Madame Doyle who resided in Number 18 and would have created court dresses for debutantes and presentations at Dublin Castle as well as wedding trousseau for Dublin's finest.
Fashion Historian Elaine Hewitt of NCAD has written an interesting thesis on the subject of the wonderfully named Madame Doyle here

1920s wedding photo via The National Library of Ireland


By the 1930's the street became a millinery hub with clusters of milliners (mainly women) trading on the street. 
I love the names of these businesses as they feel very of the age (and a little bit Agatha Christie to boot). 
There was Miss Maude Millinery at Number 12, Miss Brady Bird Milliner, Costumier and Furrier at Number 19 and the milliners Tanner, Shire and Byrne at Number 11.

Grafton Street


From the 1930's-1960's

As the twenthieth century rolled on other fashion residents emerged from the street, most notably was Mai  Geldof  Dressmaking, sometimes known as Fifi, who was the daughter of Zenon Geldof (a Belgian immigrant from Ypres) and the Aunt of Bob Geldof who was a flamboyant socialite and couturier in 1920s Dublin. With her elder sister Cléo they took Dublin by storm, working in the family’s Patisserie Belge on Leinster Street and selling Sweepstake Tickets to fund their wild road trips across Europe. They quickly became the notable trend-setters of the time. She set up a dressmaking salon in Number 11 Wicklow Street from the 1920s/1930s and attracted admired customers from Maud Gonne to Constance Markievicz. A truly remarkable woman and one of Dublin’s oldest residents Mai only died last year in 2015 at the age of 106! Her nephew Bob Geldof was quoted at the time as saying how girls would often come up to him around Dublin and say his Aunt had made their Mother’s wedding dresses! He also mentioned how Mai had helped him as a child and that he often visited her shop on Wicklow Street, “I would mooch around and wander into her shop and she would make me Bovril and take me on dates to the cinema.”

Maude Gonne 

Constance Markievicz

Number 21 & Dirty Fabulous


So it is no surprise that Number 21 right in the heart of Wicklow Street also has also had a fashionable past. From the 1880's is was Beatty & Hughes manufacturing (quite possibly fashion related). From 1905-1940's onwards it was an exclusive hair salon Austin Kane Hairdressing who also had a business on Sackville (O’Connell Street).  And from the 1950's the building became home to a textile agent William B. O’Rourke Agents & Distributors.  



The building continues its stylish incarnation today with the unbelievably beautiful Dirty Fabulous, home to premier vintage from all the decades aforementioned. It is lovely to see when you look upwards now a fabulous bay window lit up with the prettiest of frocks and exquisite gowns still being altered and enhanced for Dublin’s great and good today by the twenty first century’s stylish residents – Caroline and Kathy.


Ruth Griffin is a Fashion Historian and Blogger who gives tours of Dublin’s stylish past, The Lost Fashion History of Dublin Tours. The 2016 programme is ready to book now and Dirty Fabulous Vintage will be featured on The Lost Fashion History of Grafton Street Tour on Saturday, 9th July.