dress, dress competition, contest, fashion contest

Design a dress competition: you design it, we produce it.

August 1, 2023

Hey there, fashion enthusiasts! Carousel has some thrilling news to share with all our amazing followers. We’re excited to announce our latest competition, the🌟”Design a Dress Competition: You Design It, We Produce It!” 🌟
Carousel is excited to announce their latest competition, the Design a Dress Competition! This competition is open to all followers on Instagram and Facebook. The rules are simple: send an image of your drawing or photograph along with some information about your design to @ilovecarousel. Feel free to draw inspiration from your favorite movies, TV characters, singers, or fashion icons. The best part? Not only will there be a fun online voting process, but the winning dress will actually be brought to life! Imagine seeing your creation turned into a stunning real outfit.
Remember, it’s not just a competition; it’s an opportunity for your dreams to become reality. Express your unique sense of style and originality. ✨

Irish Design for Perfect Paddy’s Day Style

March 5, 2018

Are you heading to a Paddy’s Day party soon and want to get in the spirit of things? Are you looking for an outfit that is more chic than shamrocks? We have lots of darling vintage inspired dresses available in shades of green that are just perfect for some alternative Paddy’s Day style. Best of all, they are all Irish designed, here in store by us! So you can show your green colours in an outfit that not only looks great, on any day of the year, but also supports small Irish business. Check out some of our picks for ladies in green below.

Paddy’s Day Style -The Vivien Bicycle Dress

In a deep mossy green, and covered in a quirky bike print, one of our favorite things about this Vivien dress has to be that 1940’s inspired high waist line and A-line skirt – so flattering! Wear it with some pumps or T-bar style heels to complete the look.

Paddys’ Day Style- The Ingrid Needle and Thread Dress

This fit and flare shirt dress is just the sweetest! We love the fold over collar and darling lil’ cap sleeves. The Ingrid come with a matching belt you can wear tied to the back or the front, or even add a belt of your own in a contrast colour. This tea dress is perfect for all sorts of soirees as the weather warms up this Spring.

pADDY’S dAY STYLE – The Alma Pin-Dot Dress

Covered in a classic micro polka dot pattern, the pretty Alma dress features vintage inspired details like a high, contoured waistline, a flared skirt, gathers on the bodice, and keyhole and necktie at the neckline. We are in love with this romantic and unique dress shape!

pADDY’S dAY STYLE – The Chloe Pin Dot Dress

Shift forward into Spring with the oh-so-sweet 60’s inspired Chloe shift dress from Circus! This dress is so versatile for so many occasions. It looks just as good with some heels for nights out, as with boots for weekend strolls. You can wear it loose, or belt it at the waist for a different look. Add layers underneath or over, button it all the way or wear it more open – it’s all up to you, and how you express your unique style!

Lots more on ilovecarousel.com!

We have lots more styles in green available on our website, as well as separates, which are the perfect way to add just a little touch of green to your outfit anytime.

To continue supporting Irish design and Irish design, you can shop all of our Circus range here now.

Desserts and Dresses: Our Photoshoot in Laduree Dublin

July 11, 2016

Photographing our new stock is always a pleasure, but when we get to use a fun, or in this case a delicious, location it is all the more exciting. We try and switch things up as much as possible, and we are very lucky to have lot’s of great places to shoot around this fair city.

This week our neighbours at Laduree Dublin let us use their pastel and pretty surroundings to photograph some of our new arrivals, and boy did we have a sweet time.

This location really transported us, it didn’t feel like we were in Dublin anymore! It was like stepping back in time to the court at Versailles, a tea (dress) party held by Marie Antoinette herself! Macaroons and sugared almonds galore. We just had to indulge post shoot – Pistachio being the groups favorite.

We welcomed two new shapes to our collection this month. We have the ‘Cora‘ (below) and the ‘Sadie‘ that are two very different styles, but both have that nostalgic vintage inspired look that we are all about!

The ‘Sadie’ (below) features an ascot style collar and a simple shift shape. It comes in a cool cotton so its perfect for Summer. Then once Autumn is upon us you can team it with navy tights and a cardi.

The ‘Cora’ is a 1940’s tea dress dream and slotted right in to our setting. It has a wide waistband that cinches in the waist beautifully with cap sleeves and a shirt collar.

We have also gotten some of our best selling and timeless classic shapes back in stock, in new colours and patterns for summer. These include the fit and flare Brigitte dress (above), now available in a fresh and fun botanic pattern. Back by the popular demand, the darling Ava dress in green (below), covered in an adorable pattern of swooping swallows and cute clouds, in now also back in stock, and available here.

Thank you to Laduree Dublin for allowing to use your beautiful surroundings. We think the combination of vintage inspired dresses and pretty macaroons is a match made in heaven!

Vintage Inspired Looks from Carousel on Xpose

July 6, 2016

We caught ourselves on camera earlier this week on Expose! – did you see us? Ilovecarousel.com made it onto the small screen with some celebrity vintage inspired ‘get the looks’. Our style is often compared to the likes of Taylor Swift, Zooey Deschanel and Imelda May to name a few!

The two celebrities chosen were the ever chic Alexa Chung and ladylike Kate Middleton who both have very different styles but do have one thing in common and it’s a love for vintage inspired style.

vintage-inspired-trend-xpose

Alexa – who has been a poster girl for plaid and peter pan collars since she popped up on the celeb scene was a dream to dress. We teamed our ‘Diane’ contrast top (which has just come back in to stock in a range of colours) with our ‘Peggy’ check skirt. This outfit super interchangeable and trans-seasonal which is very handy considering the dodgy weather we are currently having! Add a Jumper and brogues to this and hey presto hello Autumn!

vintage inspired style trend on TV3 Xpose

Our second outfit based on Kate Middleton is fit for a Queen (I am sorry, I had to!) The ‘Ava’ swallow and clouds dress is back in-stock and boasts a very flattering shape. We are throwing back to the fifties with this shirt dress and is an absolute dream to wear. Curvy of straight it nips in at the waist giving a sensational silhouette.

You can watch the feature here for further styling tips.

Circus Summer Lookbook: A Trip to the Beach!

June 13, 2016

Our latest Circus summer lookbook is all about laid back vintage style, that’s perfect for staying cool, calm, and stylish, no matter where these sunny days take you! We were inspired by vintage photos of some of our favorite old school Hollywood icons letting their hair, and their guards, down in relaxed and playful shoots by the sea. We knew the beach would be the ideal location for us to showcase the latest summer collection from Circus. As always, the collection is jam packed with fun and unique patterns, bright, fresh summery colours, and flattering shapes made from light, comfy, breathable fabrics – and all designed by the team here at Carousel in Dublin to boot!

Keeping things casual, we decided to keep hair and make up simple and not too groomed. Although many of these dresses look just as fab dressed up with heels and accessories, we paired them with simple sandals and pumps for a beach look that’s just right. We think the resulting look book is dreamy and romantic, but playful and relaxed at the same time, and reminds us of long summer days gone by spent at the beach. We can feel the sand between our toes! Take a look at a selection below, and let us know what you think. You can shop all the looks included in the lookbook here.

Some of our vintage inspiration

Gina polka dot dress

Olivia Boat Dress

Gloria Polka Dot Dress

Debbie Boats Dress

Lily Striped Dress

We also made a video lookbook, so you can see the collection in action, take a look below!

The Circus summer collection is here!

April 18, 2016

The Circus summer collection has arrived! We couldn’t wait to try the new pieces on and take to the streets and parks of Dublin to see how they look. Summertime means sunshine, warmth, fun and colour, so of course this collection is infused with bright colours, fun patterns, comfortable breathable fabrics, all combined with gorgeous vintage inspired shapes. As Circus is designed and made by the team here at Carousel, we are always very excited when we get our hands on the finished product. Then we can get to the best part – wearing the clothes! Take a look at some of the new arrivals below, with plenty more available online here. Circus Vivien vintage style dress

Add some bright blooms to your wardrobe with our collection of floral patterns from Circus – flowers are always a summer staple. This Vivien dress is a showstopper, with a gorgeous combination of rich purple and reds.

Circus Lana tropical print sun dress

This new Lana dress has us feeling totally tropical! We love the adjustable straps – they ensure a perfect fit that’s just right for you! We’ll be wearing this beauty on all our sunny holiday adventures this year.

Circus Claudette sun dress

In a light denim like material and covered in a sprinkling of daisies, this Claudette is great for keeping things cool and casual on warm summer days in the city.

Circus Vivien 1940s inspired dress

This bright and pretty tulip pattern Vivien dress will ensure you stand out this summer! We love the warm deep orange colour and unique 1940’s inspired tea dress shape.

Circus summer collection new Nina dress

So fresh! The blue and white stripes on this new Nina dress reminds us of the seaside and ice cream – which is exactly what we plan on eating all summer, so we are so glad for those flattering vertical stripes! This versatile dress shape can be easily dressed up or down, and we can see ourselves wearing it to all kinds of summer occasions.

Circus summer collection seperates polka dot Anita skirt Don’t forget your separates! Mixing and matching from our range of blouses and skirts means you will have endless outfit options this summer. This Anna blouse and cute Anita skirt are a match made in heaven.

Circus summer range designed in Ireland by Carousel

Take a look at our lil’ video below to see these looks in action. All of these pieces, and more, are available in our new arrivals section here now. Keep your eyes peeled for more new pieces being added to the Circus summer collection very soon!

The Circus Spring Summer 2016 Preview!

March 21, 2016March 22, 2016

We recently hosted an in store event for members of the press to preview the new Circus Spring Summer 2016 range. Circus is a vintage style clothing range, and is Irish owned and designed in house by the team here at Carousel in Dublin. Needless to say, we are very proud of this line, and we were excited to get a chance to show off the new Spring Summer pieces to members of the press!

Models with vintage style dresses at Carousel Press night

Our lovely models headed to Makeup Forever on Clarendon Street to get their make-up done and get the build up to the event started.

As make up was underway, back at our Exchequer street store we prepped our selected looks for fittings. We wanted to show a range that would best represent what Circus is all about – vintage inspired, unique, feminine, fun, and with oodles of personality. There’s so many shapes we adore in the Circus range that it was hard to chose, but we eventually narrowed it down to nine.

The nine looks we featured included some best selling and timeless shapes, like the Brigitte dress above, which we have made available in a variety of colours and patterns. We think this dress’s popularity comes from its versatility – it’s so easy to style for all occasions!

We also wanted to preview some of our new patterns and vivid colours for Spring/Summer, many of which have already proven a hit with customers, such as this Ingrid fern print dress, above.

In Spring and Summer we like to reintroduce some of our sleeveless or strappy shapes, like the Sylvia and Claudette dresses. We will also shorten sleeves on our popular winter shapes, making them perfect for sunny weather!

We got the show on the road once our guests had arrived and had some refreshments. Betty took everyone through each individual look, giving the details of each shape, their inspiration, and tips on how to style the pieces.

The evening went off without a hitch, so of course we all felt like we deserved a glass of bubbly to celebrate! You can take a look at all the new Circus Spring Summer 2016 arrivals here, with more on the way next week.

Behind the Scenes At Our Leafy Autumn Photo Shoot!

October 7, 2015

We had lots of fun this morning shooting some looks from the Autumn/Winter ranges from both Circus and Kyte. It had to be one of the loveliest, sunniest mornings there has been in Dublin for quite a while. We couldn’t stop laughing about how springlike the weather was as we were trying to get some darker Autumn/Winter vibes for our photos – that crazy Irish weather, always surprising us! We had to change our photo shoot plans for the day a bit, and put away the brollies, but we weren’t complaining

Take a look below at some behind the scenes shots from our shoot in St. Stephens Green park this morning. We’re very lucky that this great location is only a two minute walk from our newest Carousel store in Stephens Green Shopping Centre, so shooting there on this sunlit morning was a no brainer. The leafy lawns were perfect for having some fun throwing around leaves in the sun, and we highly recommend a visit there this Autumn as the trees lining the parks boulevards and pathways turn to gold and red.

behind the scenes Circus Autumn photoshoot

behind the scenes park autumn style

behind the scenes autumn leaves

stephens green park autumn dublin

You can get this Autumn look from our shoot today all at Carousel:

Ava Wisteria dress from Circus available here, 70s style hat available here, pink bolero available here.

Dark Florals: A Trend We Love for Winter!

October 5, 2015

Trend Watch

We’ve never shied away from a floral here in Carousel, so we’re always thinking of ways to incorporate them into our autumn/winter wardrobe. We’ve spotted a recent mini-trend on the red carpet for dark florals, especially floral prints on a black background, and we’re loving it! We’ve found a few great styles from our range to help you capture the look.

celebrities black floral dress autumn looks

Kyte Lily Floral Dress

New in from our Kyte range, the Lily dress is perfectly chic. Wear with fabulous strappy heels like Elizabeth Banks for a great evening look.

Circus Ingrid Dandelion Dress

It’s approaching that time of year when we start pulling out our boots and tights. The Ingrid dandelion print dress from Circus will look perfect wrapped up with winter woollies. We’re picturing a plum lip colour to really set it off!

Kyte Jackie Contrast Dress

Classic elegance can be yours in the new Jackie contrast dress. Ultra flattering and comfortable, it’s a new favourite with all the staff! We love the hint of print on the collar and pockets. Joan Holloway, eat your heart out!

New at Carousel: Introducing the Circus Charlotte dress!

August 11, 2015August 11, 2015

circus charlotte dress retro vintage style anchors

Designed here in Ireland by the team at Carousel, there’s a new dress shape from Circus in town! Introducing the Circus Charlotte dress (available here), a fun shirt dress shape with a shawl collar. This dress is inspired by the shirtwaist dresses that boomed in popularity during the 1940’s, and continue to be popular with lovers of all things classic and vintage nowadays.

With a sleeve length that’s just right for the end of summer, and soon to be available in a variety of colours and patterns, the Charlotte dress will see you stylishly into Autumn. The best thing about the Charlotte dress? In our opinion it has to be that full, flared circle skirt! It’s so flattering to all kinds of body shapes. The Carousel team have all tried this dress on, and it looks great on everyone! Easy to wear, and made from a comfortable cotton fabric, the Charlotte dress is perfect for laid back lunches or catching a movie with friends.

Carousel Blog

Vintage inspired, Irish owned & designed

Tag: dress