The Vintage Sessions

Ruth and Irene, the ladies behind The Vintage Sessions

Before Christmas I had the pleasure of attending the first event of its kind in Dublin. The first (of hopefully many) Vintage Sessions took place on December 8th. Somewhat fittingly December 8th is traditionally the date when country folk, from my neck of the woods, make the day trip to Dublin to do their Christmas shopping. A couple of my friends ribbed me for this!

I've been a fan of Irene O'Brien's blog Vintage Irene for a while now, so I knew that the event would be authentic in every respect. Events of this kind are regularly held in the UK, where the audience is larger, so it felt exciting to be a part of something so niche, within an Irish context.

I was so absorbed in the days talks that I neglected to take any pictures, here are the only three I have:


The formidable staircase of No. 27 South William Street


Gúna's on display from Dirty Fabulous


The intimate setting of the day's talks, on the top floor

The South William Space was the setting for the day, an impressive Georgian townhouse, in the fashion quarter of Dublin. Upon entering you ascend the staircase, and passing by each room peeping in to see what treasures lay within. My purse was light so I merely had a browse around some of the vintage trader's pop-up shops: After Sybil, Dirty Fabulous, Om Diva, Dandelion Daydreamer Vintage, Carousel, Golly Gosh Boutique, Elsa & GoGo Boutique and Alice at Home Interiors were all there for the day.

I was most looking forward to the fashion history talks, curated by Ruth Griffin, co-organiser of the Vintage Sessions. They ran as follows:

- The Evolution of the Creative Quarter and the Rise of Vintage in the Area
- The Lost Fashion History of South William St by fashion historian Ruth Griffin
- 1940s Irish Fashion, by photo historian Orla Fitzpatrick
- Forgotten Irish Style Icons by fashion historian Ruth Griffin
- Vintage in Ireland Today and why so many are choosing to turn their passion in to a career (Sarah of The Licentiate was on this panel, along with Irene O'Brien and the co-owner of Shotsy Vintage in Temple Bar.


When you reached the top floor, breathless, you were rewarded with pomegranate and prosecco cocktails in gorgeous vintage crockery, from Me Auld China.

It was a truly enlightening day, both in terms of subject matter, and the people I encountered. I finally met Sarah Licentiate and got to speak to photo historian Orla Fitzpatrick who runs a truly fascinating website Jacolette.com where she draws largely from her personal collection of antique photographs, and uses them to draw out the social history of Ireland at the time, using clothing such as hats as clues to date the photos!

Keep your eye on the Vintage Sessions facebook page for news of future events! I'll see you there.

Sarah of the Licentiate blogged about this event last week, which reminded me that I had meant to write something myself.