Franziska Hensel is looking for a different fashion experience

Dublin isn’t synonymous with an alternative fashion scene; London beats us hands down at that. Neither is it home to chic designer houses such as Paris or Milan or such an eclectic vibe as New York.

­­That is because Ireland didn’t come into its own, fashion wise, until the emergence of the Celtic Tiger. With the recession, a rise in an alternative fashion market for those searching for something unique or cheaper has popped up in Dublin.

Ruby Ruby, a small designer consignment shop away from the bustle of Grafton Street, is home to the top tier of the alternative fashion market in Dublin. It specialises in and sells only mint condition second-hand designer wear and accessories.

It is run as a partnership by Laura Barnes and Aideen McHenry. She recounts that the lack of service for reselling designer pieces in Ireland was non-existent: “so my business partner and I decided Dublin needed an American style consignment shop and so Ruby Ruby was born.”

Laura possesses a finely tuned sense of where her business sits in an ever-expanding market of unique boutiques, vintage shops and consignment stores similar to Ruby Ruby. “I think shops like ours have popped up all over the country, as people become more value conscious. It just takes a little bit of entrepreneurship to find a niche in the market. Ruby Ruby quite intentionally only wants to be that cherry on top. We have designer goods in mint condition or new, that’s all we want, which means there’s opportunity for others to have different segments of that pie.”

It is a choice that Ruby Ruby fully endorses; they may only sell mint condition designer wear, but Laura is aware that for her business to thrive, the alternative market, the vintage boutiques and swap shops of Dublin need to be there too.

Swopshop, situated in Crow Street Bazaar in Temple Bar, is Dublin’s first and only fashion boutique that swaps clothes for different garments. It has only been open for a year and is thriving. The shop, which is located in the back of the  Bazaar feels more like an over-stuffed closet--with hangers upon hangers of clothing-- than an actual shop, but buried beneath the assortment of clothing are real gems.

The owner, Adéle Geoghegan, is a woman with a very strong business head and a drive for selling on swapped clothing.

When asked why Swopshop is so successful, she replied: “The beginnings of the economic downturn meant it was exactly the right time for a service like Swopshop. We responded to a latent demand in the market and business has increased exponentially month-on-month despite an overall decline nationally in retail sales.”

As for Adéle’s take on the alternative fashion market in Dublin, she agrees that Dublin has long lagged behind other international cities in embracing the second-hand market.

“I think for some people, there is a residual sense of shame, an image of poverty and hand-me-downs, perhaps more so in relation to thirty-somethings who grew up in the eighties.”

Though the attitudes have changed in the last number of years and with the rise in popularity of vintage, swap shops like her own are thriving among the younger generation.

Lucy’s Lounge, located in the basement of Sé Sí in Temple Bar is one of Dublin’s  hidden vintage shops. Once you descend down the stairs, the feeling is one of walking into an over-cluttered closet, with its bright pink walls and assortment of fairy lights, posters, shawls, records, stands and rails of vintage clothes.

The owner Deirdre Macken has been in this business for well over 20 years, having only recently returned to the business of selling vintage clothes.

Sourced mostly from London, this vintage shop feels like some of the rummage shops found on Brick Lane and it will keep even the most adventurous of shoppers happy.

For Deirdre, the main drive for running Lucy’s Lounge is undoubtedly the customer service and second-hand clothes, for upon entering the basement shop she immediately greets you warmly and tells you the tales of each item that catches your eye.

Despite a growth in second-hand and vintage shops appearing during the recession, she says it has had little effect on her business.

“It is neither helping nor hindering. People want a different experience to the high street and they also want something no one else will have,” she remarks. It is this philosophy of offering the customer an alternative selection that appeals so much about vintage shops. “They like to recycle and they want to be appreciated.”

henself@tcd.ie