When I started selling my wares at Designer Mart in March of last year, my running joke was that I’d be selling a kidney before July was out to pay for all the beautiful stuff sold by my Designer Mart colleagues. So much temptation, so few spondulicks. Quelle horreur! But as it turns out, working on Cow’s Lane has actually meant I spend a lot smarter. This is a blessing, given the current “R-word” situation I will not mention.
As a result, I am evangelical about what Designer Mart has to offer. I have managed to update my wardrobe for minimal cost, picked up a few pieces for the house and benefit from the great advice of the designers in situ. And think of it- these are the stars of tomorrow you’re shopping with, so who’s to know how much that shift dress/ brooch/ necklace/ painting might be worth in a few years time?
Here’s the thing. Times are tough for many of us. All the same, we would like to get through these more straitened times with as much grace and style as possible (and without resorting to using a hairdryer on our teabags or the aforementioned hair-shirt). This is where Shopping Clever comes in.
Save on Trends, Spend on Essentials: I’m talking cost-per-wear, I’m talking save on the things that will make you cringe six months from now. But don’t worry, all this pragmatism doesn’t need to be boring!
Last year, I commissioned a dress from a Designer Mart regular. For the price I paid (just under €200) I got a magic dress that I’ve worn to parties, graduations, open nights, clubbing. This dress is something that nobody else has, it will never date thanks to its cut, and it is very easy to dress up or down. I also look forward to being able to swank about owning a Fifi Le Rue original when their clothes start turning up at the Oscars.
I swear by the six-month test- when I’m looking at something, I ask if I’ll still be wearing it in six months time, or will I recoil from its hideously-out-of-date form in complete horror. If it’s the latter, save (or don’t bother). If it’s the former, it deserves some investment.
Accessorise & Customise: There could be theses written on the importance of accessories to a wardrobe. For my own part, I swear by corsages, brooches and neckpieces. Not only are they often fairly inexpensive, there’s nothing like an eye-catching accessory to make it look like you’ve made an effort- a win on both counts! Their ability to transform what you’re wearing is also a plus- the other day, wearing a coat I’ve had for months, I was asked if it was new, by virtue of the spankin’ new glass brooch on my lapel.
Look at your own style. Are you a hat person? Is jewellery more your thing? Work with that style signature, the thing that makes you you. Revel in it. Work it!
If there are neglected treasures in your wardrobe, but they give you a dose of the blahs, see what you can do to customise them or refashion them somehow. I’ve bent the ears of countless Designer Mart folks asking their advice on what to do with this coat, that dress etc. Any of them would be happy to help you with customisation or custom orders.
Savvy Shoppers, Come On Down! There is a transcendent joy in beautiful things- an indefinable quality that makes your heart sing. Don’t let anyone tell you that that is unimportant because in times like these, it’s all the more necessary to leaven the gloom. Beautiful things don’t have to be brain-burstingly expensive to be good quality, either- always a plus.
Even if times are tough, it’s possible to buy sensibly, ethically and beautifully. So come on down, folks. We mightn’t always have the weather on our side, but we are chock-full of beautiful stuff every Saturday (and through the week in the shop on East Essex St). If that isn’t enough to tempt you, perhaps the idea of transforming your wardrobe or your nest for far less is.
Designer Mart at Cow's Lane, Temple Bar Book Market, Temple Bar Cultural Trust, Temple Bar Food Market | TBCT January 12, 2010 | 
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