Compiled by DEIRDRE McQUILLAN
High fashion at a discount
Shoes by Chanel, Manolo Blahnik, Jimmy Choo and Miu Miu can be found at a fraction of their original prices in Ruby Ruby, the second-hand high-end designer consignment shop in Dublin's Royal Hibernian Way. This Chanel jacket (pictured) is €1,300. A red Prada dress (€240), cream YSL tote (€395) and black and white Dior scarf (€150) also caught the eye recently. A cache of boxed Herme's scarves for €225 sold out quickly, but new consignments arrive regularly. Founded three years ago by Aideen McHenry and Laura Barnes, Ruby Ruby gets between three and four deliveries a week, 'and we never know what we're getting', says McHenry. 'We're a recession business, but women are always tempted by bargains.' There are even further reductions in this week's sale.
Crowning glory
Dorothy Mathews, a former occupational therapist who set up her award-winning jewellery company in 1994, continues to produce new fashion collections each season, keeping up to speed with current trends and colours. This striking blue crystal and ribbon necklace, for instance, which would instantly update a black dress, is €75. It is available from Horse Jockey Gallery, Tipperary; Individuals, Cobh, Co Cork; and Susu, Clonakilty, Co Cork. Further information from coronasilver.ie
Boutique of the week: Moda Mallow
The Racing Home for Easter Festival at Cork Racecourse is becoming a big event in Mallow, Co Cork, and it’s the busiest week of the year at Aoife Myler’s lovely Moda Mallow boutique.
A Dubliner who completed a tailoring course at Mallow College, Myler managed the boutique for six years before eventually taking it over with her sister Aideen, a make-up artist.
Both sisters do the buying and keep prices competitive. The aim is to provide casual rather than dressy pieces, mostly from Scandinavian designers. A bestselling brand is Maison Scotch, from Amsterdam, whose jeans and blazers have a quirky edge.
For winter, the shop is focusing on tailoring in school colours such as Bordeaux, forest green and mustard.
Moda Mallow, 143 Bank Place, Mallow, Co Cork, tel: 022-42737.
