Turquoise Flamingo

Every so often, a website comes along that adds a bit of sunshine to my day.

Today’s ray of light came from Turquoise Flamingo, which surely has the most attractive name of any on-line boutique, no?

Turquoise Flamingo is a beautiful Irish website, offering vintage and pre-loved clothing. They’re nearing the end of their Summer sale at the moment so stocks are a bit low, but I read with excitement on the Turquoise Flamingo blog that they have new arrivals coming our way soon.

In the meantime, isn’t this 1960s Summer ‘Brunch’ dress just gorgeous! (I love the styling Cathy – well done!). It’s currently on sale for only €16.

Yours in style,
Caroline

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Swap til you Drop

You may or may not have heard of the clothes-swapping phenomenon known as “swishing”.

To “swish”, means that you get together with like-minded individuals and exchange any unworn garments that you have in your wardrobe. So, in one swift transaction, you can offload your unloved clothes and gain a whole new exciting wardrobe!

Swishing has been a long-time favourite with Hollywood stars such as Reese Witherspoon, but now a new company called Top Swop is bringing swishing to a much larger and more exciting level here in Ireland!

Every couple of weeks, Top Swop organizes large clothes-swapping events in Limerick, Tipperary and Kilkenny. Its genius lies in its simplicity. Let me tell you how it works:

1. Arrive at the event with 2-5 garments that you no longer wear.
2. Check-in your garments between 1.30 – 3.30pm.
3. Your garments are graded on the basis of quality and style.
4. Receive a swap card with a valuation for your garments.
5. You choose as many garments from the selection at the event, up to the value of your swap card.
6. You go home with a brand new wardrobe!

Don’t for a second think that Top Swop events are jumble sales. Quite the contrary in fact. Only items that are on-trend, clean and of high quality will be accepted by the event organizers. Not only can you expect a large selection of clothing sizes, styles and brands, that you can swap for free, the event organisers have some additional treats in store, including brand new jewellery, occasional hats and headpieces, and Italian footwear and bags for sale at discounted prices. There will also be makeovers and cosmetics samples provided by Avon Cosmetics.

Cover charge €10pp. For information on dates, venues and "dos and don'ts" visit Top Swop’s website, Facebook page or ring 087-6942967.

Yours in style,
Caroline

Journey to StyleOdyssey.com

Fans* of my Facebook page will have heard me mention a groovy website called www.styleodyssey.com in recent weeks.

* I always feel a bit silly using that term - it makes me feel very vain!

Style Odyssey offers a huge selection of vintage and "pre-loved" clothes under the following guise, "if you love it, we'll list it"!

Well, I love vintage clothes so, as you can imagine, this website is to me what The Cave was to Aladdin.

The site is extremely well-organised and offers a vast catalogue of products. Crucially, the photos and descriptions are excellent but it was the quality and selection of wearable styles that impressed me most; a jumble sale it ain't! Clearly, there is a critical eye running the show over there and it shows.

Check out this gorgeous pale pink frilly chiffon vintage shirt for €48, which is bang-up-to-date with this season's penchant for nude colours & romantic lines.


And what about this 90s polkadot dress which has an unbelievable pricetag of just €32!


Or this sumptuous Chanel silk scarf, in pristine condition - again only €38. Chanel! For 38 quid!



Have I convinced you yet? If not, go check out www.styleodyssey.com for yourself!

Yours in style,
Caroline

Clothes for Charity

May I take a moment to offer a pat on the back to my neighbour who has come up with a great way of raising money to support Irish Aid Agencies in Haiti. She is hosting a "Clothes Swap"at her home this weekend and has invited the entire neighbourhood to attend (you should see the beautiful invitations that came through each letterbox this week). Basically the premise is simple. You bring along clothes that you no longer require and you swap them for items that you prefer, for a small fee, all of which goes to the Haiti fund. The only condition, naturally, is that all clothes supplied must be laundered and of good quality.

Might be an idea worth replicating in your neighbourhood?

Yours in style,
Caroline

Reese's Pieces

As the saying goes, "one man's trash is another man's treasure".

In a recent interview with In Style UK, Reese Witherspoon revealed that she regularly hosts clothes-swapping parties with her galpals: "There are three of us who wear pretty much the same size, so we'll get together on a Friday night and I'll bring clothes I want to trade and they'll bring theirs."

I'm always saying to my clients that there's no point in stuffing unloved, ill-fitting or unworn clothes in the back of your wardrobe. I love Reese's idea of swapping clothes with friends. Not only do you get to have a really fun time with your pals, you also give old clothes a new lease of life. Better again, it's free!

Yours in style,
Caroline

Swap Til You Drop

Are you a Stylista on a Recessionista budget?

If so, you might just be interested in a new store which has opened in Limerick in the past few days.

Be Fabulous is a high-end swap shop, specialising in new and nearly-new designer and high street clothing/accessories, at a fraction of the retail cost.

If you have high quality garments in your wardrobe that you never wear, why not trade them in at Be Fabulous. Alternatively, if you're looking for a gorgeous designer gúna without a designer price tag, this could be the place for you! With new stock arriving daily, I've a feeling that this place will become a veritable treasure trove for fashionistas and bargainistas alike!

Contact Details:
A: 15 Shannon Street Limerick (opposite the entrance to the George Boutique Hotel)
T: 086-3242818
E: mizinka@hotmail.com

Yours in style,
Caroline