beautiful place for whimsical souls. so many odds and ends, ranges of styles from all sorts of eras…read moreand it seems like anyone could find at least one thing that speaks to them based on the variety i found in the shop. there was an excess of gothic items which was perfect for me, i ended up finding quite a lot of pieces that are all marvellous additions to my wardrobe. also chatted with one of the amazing staff for quite a bit after purchasing one of her fav tops from the shop and i will protect it with my life. friendly is an understatement, the owners really do have a passion for what they do and i felt i was in my element. so sad i could not have stayed in dublin longer or else i would frequent this shop to the point where i would practically live there. thank you so much for the beautiful clothes and for showing me the colourful side of the city will come back as soon as i can xx

Lucy's Lounge is a find! Hidden in the basement of a Temple Bar building, this second-hand shop is…read morean absolute treasure trove. Filled with cutesy clothes, jewellery, accessories, children's toys, old books and the like, Lucy's Lounge is a perfect portal for mid-afternoon shopping heaven. Who knows what precious knick knacks you'll come across in this tiny basement? The shopkeeper is fitted out in an intriguing blend of the shop's wares, intricately done up in shawl, flowery hat, old fashioned dress and a mish-mash of accessories. She is a cross between Mary Poppins and the 'feed the birds' woman, and she is lovely lovely lovely! There are some exquisite discoveries to be made by whoever has the patience to sift through the wares in this store. Whether you're on the hunt for a vintage dress, a tacky 80s fluoro ski jacket, a pair of dainty gloves or a funky wall hanging, this place is worth a look! Beware: this shop is only open Thur - Sat 1pm - 6pm and Sun 3pm - 6pm. Time your trip accordingly!

I love a pedestrian-only shopping district and Henry Street in Dublin has it with a lovely mix of…read morehigh-street brands and local boutiques. There's a diverse selection of stores, including well-known brands like Zara, M&S, and Debenhams and lots of smaller shops and ethnic options. The area has attractive cafes and eateries. There's a bustling vibe and the central location near the GPO Museum and The Spire, Henry Street is a must-see for anybody wishing to experience Dublin's retail and cultural scene. [Review 1835 of 2024 - 92 in Republic of Ireland - 22857 overall]

While walking in Dublin, it is completely necessary to stroll down Henry Street to mingle with…read morelocals and tourists alike. Along this pedestrian-only promenade are countless shops and a handful of restaurants. The span stretches three-tenths of a mile under the names Mary Street and Henry Street from Wolfe Tone to O'Connell Street. The local flavor, the electricity, the shopping are all an enjoyable immersion within Dublin. The only drawback is the lack of quality restaurants along the way. Only Butlers Chocolate Café and The Church are worth dining in this particular stretch. The installation of a reputable eatery could be a massive success in this area.

My friend and I stopped into this charity shop yesterday and it was quite nice. It was small and…read morenot organized super well but that added to the charm. The prices were very reasonable and there was decent selection. I ended up getting a small glass bottle that I needed for a friend's gift and it was €3. The cashier was friendly and checked me out quickly. I ended up going to a couple of different Oxfam locations around Dublin and this one has the best selection and was the biggest. I'm not sure if this is the biggest overall but it was a good size.

You can find all kinds of furniture in Oxfam Home, from 60s bubble rocking chairs to Ercol dining…read moresets, but the pieces are usually towards the funky end of the spectrum. Prices are good, but not too good - as always Oxfam has a fair idea about the worth of things. As well as furniture, it also has an above par secondhand book section.

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.

It was by pure accident that I discovered this newly opened designer shop, tucked away in the alley…read morebehind the Cake Café. It's the kind of shop you need to know about to find, and that's exactly what Yelp is for! This one-of-a-kind shop boasts a nice selection of colourful designer wear, hand-made accessories and very cool children clothes, toys and prints. If there's one place to go for Christmas gifts, that is, if you want something unique and creative for a reasonable price, Mayfly would be a sure bet. I covered pressies for all the little ones in the family and picked up a cool pin for myself (cause you always need to treat yourself a little after a day of shopping presents for others). You can easily loose track of time in here as there are interesting items in every corner. Finding this shop was the best part of my day. Check it out, it's definitely worth a visit. And tell your friends!

This shop is an amazing little place. It's right in the epicentre of the business and…read moreshop/pub/chipper packed that is Camden Street, but since it's down a little alley way it's seems to have managed to have kept a bit of its charm. There's tons of options for cheap clothing these days, but every once in awhile I stop and think why is that shirt so cheap? The answer sadly is more probably than not that some unsavoury labour practices were undertaken. Mayfly solves this dilemma: it's fair trade, the clothes are funky and cool and they're relatively cheap for the material you're getting. If you check in the shop they also offer classes on jewellery making and felt work amongst others and will hold private events showing how to do such things as make an old outfit look new and other great things. They also trade in the People's Park in Dun Laoghaire on Sundays.

Brilliantly eclectic, fantastically random, you could find everything and anything in this north…read moreDublin market. On my mission there yesterday, I bought some vintage earrings for €3, two metres of pure wool fabric for €6 (all fabric here is only €3/mtr and there's a massive selection), a transformer toy for 30c, and some vinyl for €1 each. It's basically a big warehouse encasing a load of car boot sale style stalls. Some sell secondhand clothes, some sell antique furniture, some sell scary looking dolls and dusty teddy bears, and some sell a mixture of all of the above, with some old beauty products or crockery thrown into the mix. It's a great place to wile away a few hours on a weekend, you never know what you'll find, but one thing's guaranteed, you'll definitely having the craic in the meantime.

This is a truly odd, bizzare, strange and grotty place…read more It is the home to a sort of permanent car-boot sale every saturday and also is the home of the Dublin Auction Rooms (http://www.dublinauctionrooms.ie), from what I saw it was a fairly small selection of not brilliant quality furniture - of course that changes daily so you could get lucky. The car-boot sale bit is fairly horrible and tatty to be honest, but I guess you might find the odd gem if you look hard enough

I love a stylish shop with a sense of humour…read more As a home for street art and new artists, A New Space is pulse-point shopping for serious style makers with budgets of all sizes. There's a gold shopping trolley taking centre stage on the large display table right in the middle of the store. Underneath, a rainfall of small but candy-bright plastic rings, buttons ... oh yeah, and a swathe of Marc Jacobs handbags in tasty black or gold patent leather. Cheeky. On the back wall was a low shelf of spray paints, a signed Shepard Fairey HOPE poster and lots of great art. I was so busy chuckling, trying on rings and trying not to dance to the staff-built playlist I forgot to look at prices. Then again, when there's Banksys on the wall and Marc Jacobs on the table... I probably wouldn't want to.

This newly-opened concept shop on Chatham street is a fantastic addition to the downtown shopping…read morescene. A New Space, a unique boutique which opened its doors only a few weeks before Christmas, is run by artists and art lovers for artists and art lovers and stocks a range of artworks and teresting items, from designer books and artsy wallets to T-shirts with cool prints and Marc by Marc Jacobs bags. An old-school Kodak film-camera caught my eye, a great gift for camera collectors, or anyone who enjoys photography. I at least would love one. I'm getting so sick and tired of digital photography and these vintage cameras look sooo much cooler. When I first spotted this shop, I thought it was a pop-up store but the owner assured me they are in it for the long run. Thankfully, they survived the Christmas insanity and I can't wait to see what the January boxes will bring in store.

I love visiting bookshops on vacation and this one was cute! A little tight inside, but clean and…read morewell organized. The staff were not the friendliest, but it was pretty busy. The Winding Stair Restaurant is a huge 0/5 for me though. They criticized me for trying to just get a drink after a long day of walking. I've never been to a restaurant that you had to order food with cocktails. Bummer, but it wasn't that cute anyway.

Located on the banks of the River Liffey & steps from the Ha'Penny Bridge is one of Dublin's oldest…read moreindependent bookstores; The Winding Stair Bookshop packs a finely-curated selection of new & used books in a small space. In the spirit of its location, there's an area dedicated to Irish writers that is a must-browse. The store also carries the types of goodies that stationary lovers go feral over -- tote bags, cards, small & larger prints, etc. Serene ambiance, picturesque location, & staff that were eager to help. I wish I could've spent more time here, perhaps eating at the same-named restaurant upstairs, but alas, my time in Dublin was all too brief.