The Galway Fashion Trail – Spring Summer 2016

The Galway Fashion Trail was an incredible fashion event that was held as part of Galway Fashion Week. The event saw eight of the top boutiques around the city hold their own fashion show and each store also showcased the collection of one amazing Galway Designer. I couldn’t attend the last Fashion Trail and it looked amazing so I was delighted to be attending this one. The day for some of us lucky bloggers actually started with a trip to BMW.

Breakfast with BMW

The day started off for some of us lucky Into the West Blogger Network Bloggers with a delicious breakfast in collaboration with Galway Now Magazine in Colm Quinn BMW on the Tuam Road. There was an assortment off breakfast delights to choose from croissants, granola, cheese boards, fruit salads and much more. It was a great opportunity to learn more about the cars as well as catching up with my fellow bloggers.

The BMW team really went above and beyond to spoil us and it was so much fun. The time absolutely flew by and then we were chauffeur driving into town into some of their top of the line BMW cars which was a fantastic experience. You can read more about the BMW Blogger Breakfast here.

The Stylish Line Up

Due to the number of boutiques that we visited on the day, I have decided to do separate posts on each retailer as if you are planning a visit to Galway it will give you a good idea of where to pop into! I have backdated them to the date of the trail so that they do not all appear today in one go! You can find the day’s timetable below as well as links to each post;

• Boutique 1 – Don’t call me Dear – Galway Milliners – link to full post
• Boutique 2  – Willow – Natasha Heaslip – link to full post
• Boutique 3 – Choice – Caithriona King – link to full post
• Boutique 4 – Kilkenny – Andrea Tighe – link to full post
• Boutique 5 – PIA – Vivianne Martin – link to full post
• Boutique 6 – Treasure Chest – Suzie Mahony – link to full post
• Boutique 7 – Gosh Shoes – Galway Hat Shop – link to full post
• Boutique 8 – Colette Latchford – Brid O’Driscoll – link to full post

Don’t call me Dear

The first stop on the Galway Fashion Trail was to the Style Studio at ‘Don’t Call Me Dear’ which is situated on Mill Street. We arrived to a red carpet and were warmly welcomed into the newly renovated store. The Style Studio has an amazing range of Mother of the Bride, wedding guest and Race Day outfits, and around the store are some great displays with the works of talented Galway Milliners. The show was classic styled in a modern way and there was everything from dresses to separates and then bang on trend were dresses that incorporated capes. Click here for a more about the Don’t call me Dear Visit.

Willow Boutique

Next up was the trendy Willow on Mainguard Street. And as it says on their wall; “I’m not a shopaholic, I’m helping the economy” and very few of us left without purchasing something from the store! The show was dramatic as the models came down a wooden staircase to the main floor and from there we were treated to stunning causal wear pieces as well as dressier occasion wear. The jewellery that was used was by Irish designer Natasha Heaslip, her pieces are so unique and intricate that you will not find anything else like them. Click here for a more about the Willow Boutique Visit.

Choice Boutique

Choice on High Street greeted us warmly with Galway Fashion Week cupcakes! An amazing touch by a store that also showcased stunning headpieces by Irish Fashion Innovation Millinery Designer of the Year 2015 Winner Caithriona King. Her pieces are always show stopping and the ones on display were visually stunning and beautifully constructed. The show had a great mix of easily wearable pieces as well as occasion wear. There was some great summer pieces that would work as well in Galway as they would in a beach resort. Click here for a more about the Choice Boutique Visit.

Kilkenny Boutique

Kilkenny was a short walk across from Choice on High Street and it is one of those stores that you can just lose yourself in for hours. We all stood either side of their runway and there was a fantastic mix of Irish Designers as well as styles of clothing – from items that you could wear to a wedding to pieces that you could style to wear to the office.

The headpieces that were on display were by Milliner Andrea Tighe. Andrea’s pieces were stunning floral inspired creations that really stand out. The colours were vibrant and visually beautiful and it was a great reminder how lucky we are to have so many talented designers here in Galway. Click here for a more about the Kilkenny Boutique Visit.

After Kilkenny boutique we were treated to the most amazing feast in the brightly coloured Noodle House on Middle Street. The food was delicious and was a great follow on from our breakfast that morning. We were treated to scrumptious sushi and delectable dumplings all washed down with some refreshing Asian tea.

PIA Boutique

PIA on Middle Street was the next glamourous stop on the Fashion Trail. PIA is known for selling the on trend Freddy jeans, statement accessories, partywear and beautiful dresses. The dresses that were on show were vibrant, bright and many were stunningly styled with creations by designer Vivienne Martin. Vivienne creates high fashion pieces that have an architectural feel to them. I loved seeing how you can style these with high street pieces and create a unique standout outfit. Click here for a more about the PIA Boutique Visit.

The Treasure Chest

We were then warmly greeted by milliner Suzie Mahony and the lovely Mary Bennett outside the Treasure Chest store on William Street. This iconic store has a long history in Galway and I was really looking forward to their show and it certainly did not disappoint. The show included both dramatic and casual daytime looks. The variance of looks is reflective of the Treasure Chest – there are outfits for so many different looks and occasions there. Many of the outfits were complemented by Suzie Mahony headpieces and her magical pieces are always timeless. Click here for a more about the The Treasure Chest Visit.

Gosh! Shoes

Gosh! Shoes in the Eyre Square Shopping Centre provided a different show than the others as it was the shoes available in Gosh! Shoes and the Galway Hat Shop headpieces that were on display not the clothes! We were wowed with shoe styles that ranged from wedges to ankle boots to colourful high heels. Many of the headpieces were bright and detailed and complimented the shoes perfectly. Click here for a more about the Gosh! Shoes Visit.

Colette Latchford Boutique

Our last stop of the day was the Colette Latchford Boutique that is located on Lydon Court off Eyre Street. The fabrics on the pieces in the show were beautiful and there were some amazing prints on display. I loved the clean lines of the pieces and they had such an elegance about them. Milliner Brid O’Driscoll also had some amazing pieces on display for us to admire and it was such a fantastic end to a fashion filled day. Click here for a more about the Colette Latchford Boutique Visit.

The Afterparty

We were then in for one final treat – cocktails and nibbles in the Skeff Bar in Eyre Square. The Skeff is well known in Galway for its great food and amazing atmosphere and Saturday evening was no exception. We has our own section and had a choice of cocktail to start and they were so tasty. Soon after that platters of food began to arrive of prawns, sweet potato fries and other yummy treats. This was the perfect end to a brilliant day as we all got to sit and relax and go through all the photos from the day in the most relaxed and open setting.

We were also to a goodie bag that included bracelets from Choice, pens and mints from Treasure Chest, a voucher for Caithriona King, a voucher for Brid O’Driscoll, sewing kits and a voucher from The Zip Yard, a beautiful brooch from Don’t Call Me Dear, Keoghs Crisps, Solaris Tea and of course a copy of Galway Now! 🙂 So Spoiled!!

The models from Catwalk Models did such an amazing job as did Inglot who did their make up – the girls looked amazing. A massive thank you to BMW, all eight stores, the Irish Designers that showcased, The Noodle house, The Skeff, Into the West Blogger Network and also Galway Now Magazine – it was an amazing event and I am hoping for an Autumn Winter Fashion Trail! 🙂

Galway really proved that as well as being a city known for its craic and culture, it should also be known for its love of design, creativity and style.