Well. If this isn't like stepping into a Judy Garland movie!…read more Trinkets everywhere, prints from the 50s, skirts from the 70s, and jewelry from the naughties. There are lampshades, cocktail rings, architectural chairs, and prom dresses. There are wild psychedelic prints, muted classic colours and 8-bit designs. Honestly it's been a long time since I've been so excited about a shop in Dublin. It's one of those places that hits you with so many emotions that it's difficult to stay contained. Sheer, unbridled jealousy that someone has created my dream shop, that I should have thought of myself. Mixed with ridiculous hyperactive joy that I've found this place. Coupled with resounding fear and premonition of my future bank balance slipping away before my very eyes... Some interesting points to note about this place: - They have pop up 'shops within shops' in every month or so, so the stock and content is constantly changing - The have vintage and new, homeware and clothing - There is also Locks & Lashes - a vintage styling lady who does hair from the 20s to 60s - You can host events here - perfect for a hen do I did think! If I was you, I'd make a Sunday out of it. If it's the last Sunday of the month, you can wander up along Francis St, taking in all the cute little antique & charity shops, skip into Cat's Meow on the way (saving your money for here of course!), then ending up in the Flea Market for more perusing and food. Grand little Sunday!

Lovers of vintage hairdos, be happy!…read more The Cat's Meow on Francis Street of Dublin's famed Liberties area is a fitting addition to a street that specialises in things old. But this vintage shop is not for the lovers of fine antiques but of a more affordable kind of pleasure - clothes, bric a brac, homeware, pictures. And fabulous hairdos! Not to mention vintage make up. I was there for the hair bit, but had a good rummage around the shop during curler warming. Some lovely dresses and accessories including a stunning silk kimono style top that was a tad too small otherwise I would have snatched it up (size 38 if you're interested). Run by the artistic Maureen, a famed hairdresser on film sets across Ireland, this lady seriously knows her finger wave from her victory roll. And, as she says herself, she likes to give things an individual touch, too. Perhaps not unusually for me, I wasn't entirely sure exactly what I wanted. And how helpful is 'old-fashioned' to a hairdresser, really? Plus I'd forgotten my dress, which was my plan for inspiring her with a vintage look for a non-vintage head. Anyways, fair play to her, she remained undaunted as she set about placing all kinds of rollers in my hair followed by stuff I don't recall the name for but which thickens it all out a bit in the subtle deceit of a 'natural-looking' up-style (honestly, it took me five minutes, I just threw it up any old way). Followed by approximately four thousand gently inserted hairpins that would have set off more than one alarm at airport security but strangely didn't make my head feel tight at any point during the day that followed. In fact, as I walked in the breeze later, I was amazed at how this strange immovable mass that was my hair, now a single unit as opposed to thousands of free-moving follicles, could remain so comfortable and not budge as much as an inch. A great find! Well worth a treat, and I'm pretty sure this lady can do whatever it is you want, strange, rare or unusual, for your hair. There's a pop up section of the shop and a general all round feeling of much creative energy by all involved, and a love of the arts too - so yes, quite a find and next time I'm going to treat myself to the make up bit too, which by all accounts is great. Vintage hair and make up is a different thing altogether than what you get in the regular hairdresser - I speak from experience - plus at €45 this was reasonable value (cost me €60 I'm pretty sure at Peter Mark and lovely and all as they were, it didn't hold for long). So book in advance as I've a feeling word is going to spread and fast. Locks and Lashes is the hair and make up part of Cat's Meow, by the way.

Never in my life have I ever been treated so rudely just by walking into a shop. My friends and I…read morewere visiting Dublin for the day and saw what we thought was a really cool, chilled out shop. We went in and the first thing the woman working there, who seemed like she may be the owner said was "That's enough now." There was a bargain bin of scarves there that we had a look at and she called us a swear word right after, saying we had messed it up, even though nothing was folded there. She constantly stared suspiciously at my friend who was well dressed, polite, and clean, then followed us out of the shop after with arms crossed staring us down as if we were criminals. It was the most uncomfortable experience I have ever had in Dublin.

The Blackrock Market can be a bit hit and miss. Stalls aren't permanent so there can be periods of…read moreup to six months where it's simply crap. However, it's great at the moment. There's some decent booksellers, and a few proper artists to gawk at. I was only in for one of the skeleton days before Christmas, but it was still great. And, had I a job, I'd be back on the weekend when the full market is open.

Small amount of local venders, music on weekends. We ate delicious chicken jalapeño sandwiches and…read morelistened to good music

I have been to several xmas markets in some countries in Europe and some flea markets in Dublin…read moreitself, including the popular one in Newmarket Square. I was very pleased with the choice of the Point Village as the location of the Xmas flea market this year and decided to check it out and now I HAVE to tell yelpers to leave their cosy homes this weekend and simply GO. I love the Odeon cinema building and this event has finally made use of the huge potential of that facility. When you reach the Point right next to the Gibson Hotel, there are a few food stalls outside and as it was flippin' freezing many people stopped by to refuel with 3FE coffee and some pastries, cakes, sandwiches and so on. But then you go in and the atmosphere is great! All the floors of the Odeon are filled with stalls selling all sorts of different things and everyone is very friendly and nice, ready to have a chat about their stuff as they are clearly "local shop owner types". You can pretty much find at least ONE thing that will take your fancy: food, crafts, clothes, scarves, paintings, cards, art statements, jewelry, organic plants, vintage clothing, furniture and SO MUCH MORE! All the stuff is creative and funky so I was delighted. Also, parents can leave their kids playing in some painting areas and dogs were allowed inside so everyone was happy. The event will be on for this weekend only so TRY to go right now if possible. #DublinShopsLocal #DublinShopsLocal #DublinShopsLocal

Meh. Not much to say. Walked across town to visit the Market and was disappointed, though I was…read moretold not to expect much. There are a few stalls but very few are actually Christmas related, which is a bummer. I wanted to find ornaments and that sort of thing but maybe 3 or 4 of the stalls had Christmas items, the rest were things you could find at any kind of fair or flea market type place, which is fine but not what I was hoping for. Even more local handmade, artisanal type things would have been nice, but didn't find much of that, either. They didn't really try with the decorations either, there is a massive tree but it just has string lights on, nothing special. Got a mulled wine and a spiced cider and neither were memorable. There's pizza and curry and a few food options. Wouldn't bother going back, even if I were in the area. Disappointed!

Sunday was the first day of advent (in the church year at least), so I thought it would be…read moreappropriate to check out this Christmas market to see what it had to offer. Approaching CHQ you are met with the sights and sounds of a beautiful Victorian style carousel, and the site of a small village of white tents that has sprung up from nowhere. Wandering round there are various food and drink stalls (multiple options for mulled wine or hot port) and well as plenty of options for Christmassy gifts. Inside CHQ building itself the market extends, with the shops filled with spin outs from other businesses located elsewhere (Kilkenny, a BordBia food shop and book and toy shops), as well as options to visit Santa. Now it could be that I was a bit keen and made it there too early in the season, but for the outside market the decorations didn't quite look finished (bare Christmas trees staring longingly at their more decorated counterparts inside). Being midday on a wet and windy Sunday probably also didn't help, as it hadn't developed the bustling atmosphere that makes Christmas markets seem even more festive. So for now only 3 stars, but think I'll definitely visit again in a couple of weeks time to see how it's developed.