The Circus Brand: An Irish Vintage Clothing Company

We are a small vintage clothing company based in Dublin, Ireland. You may have already read about how our own brand, Circus, was born. So now we would like to tell you a little bit more about our Circus brand values. We take inspiration from vintage fashion to design classic pieces with a modern twist. Find out what’s important to us as a small Irish business and our hopes and dreams for the future.

Circus is designed in our Dublin studio for women who have fun expressing their personal style
Circus is designed in our Dublin studio for women who have fun expressing their personal style

Our Values as a Vintage Clothing Company

First and foremost, we are proud to be a small Irish vintage clothing company. We love celebrating Irish design. And we love being able to say that all our products are designed in Ireland. At Carousel, we support our community by employing people locally. Furthermore, we use local suppliers for our Dublin studio wherever possible. We also love collaborating with creative people in our local area such as models, make up artists and photographers.

As a small business specialising in vintage female clothing, we have the luxury of being able to provide a personal customer experience. Therefore we can respond to your queries quickly. And easily solve any issues you may have. In addition to this, because we are small, we can constantly look at improving how we do things at Carousel with our brand Circus. We can make quick decisions on important topics such as sustainability, inclusivity and accessibility.

Sustainability and responsibility is at our core. From the beginning of Carousel in 2001, we have focused on doing things the right way. We believe in order to deliver exceptional vintage fashion style; we need to design our products alongside our values. Our motivation is to create excellent vintage clothing and accessories. In particular we are passionate that our products have to be manufactured ethically. Our partner factory, Good Earth India, is a spacious, modern factory with comfortable conditions for all its employees. We collaborate closely with the factory and we visit regularly to inspect the standards.

Circus is made ethically and in close collaboration with our partner factory Good Earth India in Delhi, India
Circus is made ethically and in close collaboration with our partner factory Good Earth India in Delhi, India

Our Hopes and Dreams for the Future

Our main aim with each vintage clothing piece is for the wearer to enjoy our designs. In order to achieve this, we look for suggestions and feedback from our customers. We want you to know that our motivation is making sure our customers are happy and that they love our products. We hope in the future to be considered one of the best vintage clothing websites. Especially in terms of customer experience and satisfaction.

Our customers are our inspiration and we design our vintage clothing and accessories around our customers’ values. Circus celebrates femininity and nostalgia with clothing that is suitable for modern living. Our hope is for women all over the world to feel empowered when wearing our creations. We’re passionate about designing for women that firstly, enjoy expressing their personal style and individuality. Secondly, women that want to feel comfortable in what they wear without sacrificing style. Thirdly, women that are conscious about the environment and the impact of their purchases. And finally, women that desire clothing that does not exploit workers and is in line with their social values.

We design the clothes but the women that wear them are what makes Carousel blossom.
We want to lift up all the incredible women that wear our creations

We hope you enjoyed getting to know us a little better. At Carousel, we are proud of our own vintage fashion clothing brand Circus. You can read more about our story here. Keep an eye on our blog to stay up-to-date with the latest Carousel news, products and more!

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram to become a part of the Carousel community xoxo

Trés Chic! Vintage Cannes Film Festival Style.

In celebration of the beginning of the Cannes film festival 2014 this week, we’ve decided to take a look at some vintage Cannes style! This prestigious festival has always attracted the biggest stars from all over the world, and they really put their best fashion foot forward. Celebrities are mobbed by the paparazzi everywhere they go, and every minute spent there is turned into a photo opportunity. Cannes style seems to go from one extreme to the other, with no in between. It’s either laid back and casual chic as stars relax by the beach during the day, or all-out glitz and glamor as they strut the red carpet and attend parties at night. Here are some of our favorites:

From the beach…

cannes film festival style vintage bardot

Brigitte Bardot – barefoot and careless on the beachcannes film festival mens fashion retro

Cary Grant – so dapper!

boat cannes vintage grace kelly style carousel

Grace Kelly relaxes in chic floral capri pants

beach style summer cannes retro birkin

Love this laid back all white look on Jane Birkin

…to the red carpet.

cannes festival vintage loren dress

Sophia Loren stuns on the red carpet

red carpet cannes elizabeth taylor vintage

Elizabeth Taylor doesn’t need a crown to prove she’s the queen of style!

cannes retro style polka dot dress

Mitzi Gaynor and some delightful polka dots!

ballgown style retro fashion inspiration carousel

Grace Kelly’s polished ladylike evening look

Find your red carpet look with one of our modern vintage dresses, available here!

Carousel xox

Xposé comes to Carousel

It’s always exciting when Carousel gets a visit from the glamorous Xposé team from TV3, and their visit last week was no exception! They wanted to take a look at the new, vintage inspired, U.K. brand “Circus”, stocked exclusively in Ireland by Carousel! Stylist Irene put together some of her favorite looks for the piece, which you can watch here.

Keep on scrolling to see some behind the scenes shots from the filming of the final piece, featuring some gorgeous looks from Circus.

xpose carousel vintage inspired circuscircus vintage inspired tvcarousel circus pose vintage stylecircus fashion style vintage tvvintage irene karen koster tv xpose TV3
To shop for these looks, and more from Circus, go here.

Carousel xox

Mod Style Inspiration: The Mod Couple Portraits of Carlotta Cardana

Modern Mod Style Inspiration

At first glance, you could be forgiven for thinking that Carlotta Cardanas portraits of mod couples are straight out of 1960′s England. In fact, these photographs were only taken in the last three years! This blurring of time is part of why we adore this project. Cardana has taken so much care to place these couples in surroundings that mirror their mod style, and evoke the time and place that mod originated. The surroundings become a part of their style as much as their clothes are. Cardanas photography style – the square format of the photos, the colour palette used, the lighting, all capture a retro vibe perfectly.

Speaking of retro vibes, who can ignore the amazing vintage style inspiration that these couples are? Their dedication to mod style, and also each other, is admirable. It’s so sweet how the couples complement and reinforce each others style. Do you think you could dress like this with your partner? Could you be as committed to a style and subculture as much as these couples are?

We picked out some of our favorites photographs below, but head over to Carlottas website (here) to see the rest of the project and more of her incredible work.

mod style inspiration valentines carouselmod style inspiration vintage carouselmod style cardan carousel retro inspiration

To get your own vintage inspired style, head to our website m2.ilovecarousel.com now.

Carousel xox

Fresher Week Fashion

Freshers week is upon us once again. For the uninitiated, this is week of joining societies you will never ever participate in (Shinkendo? Really?), free shots, realising just how comfortable your mattress at home was, and officially being orientated as a first year college student.

With so many new faces to meet and detail your leaving cert results to (yes people really will ask) this week also turns into something of a fashion parade, if not a friendship abattoir. A chance for the weak to be weeded out and avoided for the rest of the year. To this end we would like to provide some friendly guidelines for what to wear during this auspicious week.

Bags: Once upon a time all you needed to be cool was a pink schoolbag featuring a Disney character. How times have changed. Let’s be real: a sensible backpack will make you look like a loser (unless it’s of the small, leather variety). You will want a normal (gorgeous) handbag that will just barely hold a notebook and one, maybe two, pens. If you are the type that intends to actually turn up to class during the year you will want something in a satchel. To hold that third biro. NB: That laptop bag your mother insisted on buying? Throw it away, immediately.

Vintage Dresses: The uniform of cool college students. As someone who spent those four years eating pasta and pesto, I can attest that the benefits of buying secondhand clothes cannot be underestimated. Effortlessly cool, completely unique and much cheaper than high street (plus you never run the risk of wearing exactly the same outfit as the rest of your tutorial).                                                                                                          Furthermore, though Taylor Swift once sang ” No amount of vintage dresses gives you dignity”, I beg to differ. Who exactly is going to look more dignified doing the walk of shame on Friday morning: the girl still wearing 6 inch heels and a bodycon mini dress in ‘Intro to Linguistics’  or the girl in cute printed vintage? I rest my case.

Accessories: Those of you coming back from a gap year, please don’t try and rub it in people’s faces. If you’ve done it right you’ll have an air of the exotic about you anyway, okay? No braids, no dreads, no harem pants. Yes to silk pashminas, indian leather, restrained amounts of beads. Subtlety is key. There’s a hipster backlash happening or hadn’t you heard? Also: shades are your new best friend. You are about to experience hangovers as you’ve never felt them before. Remember that exotic air we talked about? Wearing shades in lectures= two birds, one stone.

And so to research via the silver screen. The college movie tradition is a little light on inspiring female fashion- Animal House, Old School, Van Wilder? No thanks! Pretty sure the only prerequisite was that Tara Reid had to wear as few clothes as possible, or at least cover those clothes in mud. There are certainly diamonds in the rough however.

You may not get away with an entirely pink wardrobe like Elle in Legally Blonde, but she gets an A for enthusiasm, attitude and pussy bow necklines. And as for that wagon who keeps stealing your weetabix? Kill her with kindness, the Reese Witherspoon way.

Rooney Mara may have only had a bit part in The Social Network but this is exemplary stuff. Keep your makeup look natural for day, too much make up says try-hard.                 A fair isle sweater and pea coat will keep you cosy in those invariably drafty college canteens. Also drinking outdoors: a big deal in college.

The Mono Lisa Smile look may not be one to break out during freshers week but keep it in your back pocket come ball season? Also champagne, always champagne.

Best of luck freshers! And remember a smile is the best way to make friends in college. That, or having your own car.

Satchels: http://m2.ilovecarousel.com/accessories/bags.html

Vintage Dresses: http://m2.ilovecarousel.com/dresses/vintage-dresses.html

Sunglasses: http://m2.ilovecarousel.com/accessories/sunglasses.html

Damsels in Distress

Why is it that high school and campus comedies always end up at the top of my DVD pile and at the tip of my tongue when I need to delight the room with a quick quip? Mean Girls, Clueless and Heathers have all reigned supreme on my screen at one time or another and now Whit Stillman’s beautifully mannered college comedy Damsels in Distress looks set to take its place among this elite group of films.

Released in cinemas last week, Damsels stars the wonderfully gawky Greta Gerwig as Violet, leader of a gang of do-gooders attempting to help their college classmates through the stresses of college life. She takes new transfer Lily (played by Analeigh Tipton of America’s Next Top Model ‘fame’) under her wing. The film also marks the very welcome return of Adam Brody to our screens (Seth <3 Summer 4EVA!) playing one instance of their eponymous distress.

The film seems to take place in an alternate universe – a universe where a man can reach college without learning his colours; creating a dance craze is the highest achievement one can reach; and the right smelling soap can save your life. It also happens to be eminently quotable. Just try not to label everyone you see a ‘playboy operator’ for months after you see it… or was that just me?

The costumes are another great reason to seek this film out. Crisp white shirts paired with simple skirts and pretty pastel dresses with contrasting cardigans had me green with envy until I took a look at this picture of our own Betty –

Couldn’t she just slip right in to the film? So everyone can recreate this look, just drape a cardigan over your shoulders and find an Adam Brody lookalike to take you dancing! How hard can that be?

The lazy gal’s treat

Time to play dress up and invite everyone around to mine for a vintage tea party! I’m excited! I like nothing more than to trawl the internet and watch video after video of vintage hair and make-up tutorials… not to mention rooting out my best vintage frock for such an occasion. Ok so I’ll look the part.. Now to consider what I might serve at my retro rendezvous? If you know me (which you might) I don’t deal well with cooking and baking… the kitchen is a foreign place to me and the microwave is my go to meal maker. So… I was thinking of buying in some goodies… but I decided that’s out of the question! I will be a vintage goddess and bake my own sweets to serve! Now to find the EASIEST recipe.  In my internet findings I come across ‘crunchy cookies’ – not many ingredients and only a short preparation time…perfect for a first time baker like me! A lady does not want to be kept in her kitchen to long… especially when she doesn’t own an apron.   I made a practice batch.  They tasted…fine… but needed something else.  Something that wouldn’t take hours and would taste fantastic. Impossible!? Never!  I root through my presses to find the lazy gal, crowd pleaser that is… chocolate spread! Hooray… It was now time (in good vintage goddess fashion) to get crafty with my easy treats.  I melted the spread in my trusty microwave and proceeded to dunk, drizzle spread and dot my cookies. 

Now for the taste test…. and who better to use? Work colleagues!  Well I got lots of compliments on my baking, but really, who isn’t glad when they get a treat at work!? 😉 they did finish them all and asked if I could make more! that’s a good sign then…So now I’m on my way to the perfect tea party.  What’s next, soufflé? Homemade meringues?!   We’ll see.  Must ask my grandmother if I can borrow her lace doilies. Any who… I’m on my way to impressing through the belly…Until next time…

 

Oh and here’s the recipe, don’t forget the chocolate spread!

 

Ingredients:

225g/8oz  Cream plain Flour
75g/3oz  Porridge Oatflakes
200g/7oz Margarine (room temperature)
124g/4oz Icing Sugar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Essence

 

For Dusting

Caster Sugar

 

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4. Lightly grease a flat baking sheet.
  2. Put the margarine and icing sugar into a bowl and beat until creamy.
  3. Add vanilla essence and oatflakes and mix well.
  4. Finally add the flour and bring mixture together to form a dough.
  5. Knead on a lightly floured board. Shape into a sausage like roll about 2″ in diameter. Wrap tightly in cling film and refrigerate for a minimum of an hour.
  6. Cut slices from roll and place on the prepared tin. Sprinkle with caster sugar and bake for about 10 to 12 minutes or until brown around the edges.
  7. Leave on baking sheet for a few minutes to “set” then transfer to a wire tray to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

 

Charity shops in Dublin

In my experience everyone loves a bargain, so what could be better than a charity shop where everything is a bargain all of the time? Nothing. Nothing is the correct answer. Now please excuse me while I state the obvious but obviously being a charity all of the profit goes to helping others which is obviously a super bonus. Also in a sort of less overt way you are also helping the planet by re-using and recycling. Lovely.

So as a lover of feeling good and spending less, I have been perusing Dublin’s charity shops for many, many years. I find the best way to tackle their hit and miss nature is just to pop in while you’re passing by. This way there’s no disappointment when you don’t find anything, only delightful surprise when you do. Hurrah!

In the picture below you will see a collection of my all time favourite finds. Including a bright orange velvet jacket remade from old curtains (Enable Ireland, Capel Street, €12.50), a shell art rabbit (Enable Ireland, Georges Street, €3.50) and a feathered hat (Wa-Wa, Aungier Street, €10.00). I never knew that I needed these items but now I feel, with only slight exaggeration, that I couldn’t live without them.

If you haven’t experienced the highs and lows of charity shopping then here are my top five charity shops in the city centre to get you started…

 

Oxfam Home, Francis Street.

I rarely need a three piece settee or turn of the century dining room table but somehow I find myself standing in Oxfam Home admiring such items alarmingly frequently while I consider my poor finances.

You will see beautiful things, and you will want them. Be prepared to have to converse at length with your inner id:

“Oh but that dark mahogany letter writing desk will look just perfect in the east wing!”

“We haven’t got an east wing. We live in a studio apartment…”

“Oh tut tut, don’t be so negative.” You have been warned.

 

St.Vincent de Paul, Aungier Street.

The only charity shop I know that is constantly having sales with balloons at the door and a CD player playing all your favourite hits from the 90’s.

You know that blouse you were just considering? Well it was €2, now only €1! Oh all right then, have it for 75cent!

 

Ritzy Rags, Bolton Street.

This is the strangest of all the charity shops in the city. A rare breed where everything is beautifully organised and, unexpectedly enough, comes from Paris – Paris, France! How chic! There’ll be no raggedy old Dunnes Stores numbers to be found here. I have heard tales of beautiful designer gear being discovered unassumingly and, of course, neatly folded in a box (although Ritzy Rags is a bit of a mysterious establishment and these could be urban legends).

 

Enable Ireland, Georges Street.

I don’t know who does the window display here but kudos. I can’t pass without gawking.

 

Age Action, Camden Street.

First of all, like Ritzy Rags, Age Action supports the elderly which is a great thing. Secondly, I’m not a fan of its recent make over. I feel like the white wash floors and window display took away some of the charm of the place. Is that just me being weird? Probably is. They also have copped on to Oxfam’s (the one on Georges Street) idea of creating a pricier vintage section. I haven’t placed that particular Oxfam on my list as it is sort of “The Ritz” of the city centre charity shop circuit- meaning nice but over priced. Of course a charity shop that is over priced is still cheap in the scheme of things. I’ve gone off point, but basically Age Action is a great.