Reinventing the wheel at Athlone"s Dress Boutique

Having worked in the corporate world of public relations both in Ireland and abroad for a number of years, about twelve months ago Deirdre Fenton decided it was time for a change. 'I love style in all aspects and even since I was a child I was a fashion junkie,' she says. Thus, it was perhaps inevitable that she would be drawn towards the fashion word eventually. Having embarked on the challenging and life consuming role of style director, Deirdre established Dress last year, a wonderful new boutique situated on Athlone"s Pearse Street. Currently celebrating its first birthday, Deirdre says Dress has provided her with a invaluable learning curve. 'The first year has been an incredible experience and probably a very big learning curve, particularly with the current climate,' she says. 'However, it will stand to me and my business and I"ve literally gone in at the deep end. I also believe the year has allowed me to understand my target market and what my customers want and need. The first year definately involves a trial and error period and then this year I do hope to further establish Dress in the Midlands and throughout the country. At a time like this, it"s important to continously reinvent the wheel and ensure the business meets consumer demand.' An Athlone native, Deirdre is a past pupil of Our Lady"s Bower. After completing secondary school she obtained an International Bachelor of Arts majoring in Politics and Sociology (IBA) and studied in Paris for her Erasmus year in the heart of the fashion district - Saint Germain des Pres. 'This in essence probably gave me a big eye opener to the field of fashion where, international designers were at your doorstep. After my degree, I completed a Masters in Marketing, which allowed me to gain a business insight to the corporate world. I lived in Brussels for three years, where I worked for Tourism Ireland and the Department of Foreign Affairs for the presidency for the EU and after returning from Brussels, I worked for as a PR manager for a global company, where I travelled worldwide,' she adds. Having travelled extensively across the globe in her previous job, Deirdre has always picked up various labels that are not so readily available in Ireland and she says that this has also been a reason for her to undertake this exciting venture. With the new boutique, Deirdre says she wanted to bring many exciting brands to Athlone with an emphasis on keeping things fresh. Dress has some fabulous surprises in store for this spring/summer with beautiful bespoke dresses from labels such as Alannah Hill, Trelise Cooper, Frock by Tracey Reese and By Malene Birger, as well as many more such as Les Petites, Nocturne, Designer Remix, Almost Famous and Qi. 'I have to be very price conscious with the labels and many of the labels are exclusive to my store,' she says. This exclusive aspect has also helped attract customers from across the country as well as from the Athlone region and many of Deirdre"s customer base were present for last Saturday"s first birthday celebrations in Dress. Miss Ireland Sinead Noonan was at the boutique to celebrate the year in style and Sinead modelled some of the bespoke frocks available at Dress for this spring/summer. There was also a 10% discount on the day and champagne and chocolates to toast the year"s success and the many future years ahead. Deirdre adds that giving advice is another key aspect of her service at Dress. ' People always ask for advice on how else they can wear the garment. I like to buy clothes that are universal so that you can get many wears out of them and accessorise them to fit the occasion. Also, I do private evening viewings, which allows the customer to shop at ease and I can provide a more tailored service.' Deirdre has a great eye for contemporary style and sophistication and this is more than evident in all aspects of the boutique. Deirdre"s attention to detail can be seen in every aspect of the boutique from the eclectic selection of labels to the beautiful interior. 'To describe my house style I"d say it"s very fashion confident, vibrant and extremely celebrity aware with a wide variety of choice for today"s young woman and above all - reasonably priced. The boutique has a sense of 'joie de vivre" and Dress is its home,' she adds. Deirdre is also delighted with the new boutique"s location. 'I love being over in the left bank of Athlone. The left bank is Athlone"s hidden secret with all the various businesses on offer. Everyone has been more than welcoming on the street!' Summing up her business philosophy in the current economic climate Deirdre says that, 'no matter what the time people always want quality and something unique. I think it"s important to be price conscious at this current time. It"s all about working with the customers needs in order to provide a tailored service.'