We’ve just started working with a new vintage clothes shop in Malahide and already press reaction has been great. The press release we issued can be found below and we’ll blog about coverage once it’s all in- hoping for at least 4 nationals and a couple of local publications. It’s a great story and a brilliant shop - worth a visit for those who love quality at bargain prices.
Irish Shop offers Nearly New Designer Clothes at a Fraction of Original Price
July 29th 2009
Coco Chanel, Jimmy Choos and D & G may not be the brand names you’d expect to find in a second-hand clothes shop, but All About Eve in Malahide do things differently.
Established in June by mums Karen Kavanagh and Tracy Briggs, after they were made redundant from another shop in Malahide, the start-up has already become a grassroots triumph. “Most of our customers are a result of word-of-mouth,” Karen says, “and that’s been satisfying.”
All About Eve has a strict policy for the clothes they take in. The shop operates on a 50/50 six-week sale or return basis and all items must be in perfect condition. They start at high street brands such as French Connection and go all the way up to Chanel, Gucci and Dior. Nothing is priced beyond €250, though the garment and accessories’ original prices have, in some cases, been in their thousands.
Karen and Tracy set up the business on a shoestring budget of €2,000, paying for the first month’s lease with their last month’s wages and renovating the shop space themselves – from the repaired cast-off mannequins to the monochrome, self-designed wallpaper composed of iconic Hollywood starlets. (The shop gets its name from a Bette Davis classic). Even the All About Eve signage was self-designed and handpainted with skip cast offs refurbished to use as the display units.
From the outside the shop looks like a classic boutique. Tracy says, “Often customers come in and ask where the second hand shop is. This is not like a second hand shop where you’ll be rummaging through baskets of ancient clothes. A lot of our stock hasn’t so much as been on anyone else’s back before, and much of the shoes we stock have only been worn inside the shop.”
One of the advantages of dealing with used clothes is that the stock is always rotating and it allows All About Eve to cater for a wide demographic. “I would say customers range from women in their mid-20s all the way up,” Karen says. “A lot of our stuff would be ‘yummy mummy’ favourites like Dior and Gucci but we do have younger funky labels right up to older classic lines.”
Already in the black, Karen and Tracy are an encouraging entrepreneurial story for these challenging times. They’re now considering expansion plans for their business including a second branch and a men’s clothes store.
All About Eve can be found on the First Floor, New Street Shopping Mall in New Street, Malahide.
Website address: www.allabouteve.ie
All Press Queries, interview and image requests to Bvisible Communications, 01-8452401.
