Are Irish people fashionable?

CaliforniaDream

This could possibly turn into a rant so I'll apologise first!

(Backround: I'm Irish, other girl and guy are central/eastern European)
I was having a conversation with a girl from work about fashion recently. The conversation started because her semi-boyfriend was wearing what most people considered a very feminine tribly hat.
Combined with the rest of his outfit and manner that night I said most Irish people would not expect him to be straight. She took offence to this and said that Irish people have no idea about fashion. She said that every night girls go out wearing dresses no matter where they're going and this isn't fashion. Dresses should be kept for an occasion such as a wedding. She said the girls in her country and the likes of Italy, France etc. wear jeans and tops to bars/clubs depending on the type of night out it is.

I argued saying that fashion isn't A or B but varies between countries and people. What may be fashionable to us in Ireland might be different to Italy, USA or Japan and vice versa. She refused to accept this, saying Irish people had no idea and basically the girls and guys look hideous everytime they go out somewhere.

I got quite angry at this for a few reasons (I would never go to someones country and insult their people and culture) but it's been on my mind for the past day. Are we fashionable? Do Irish people have the capacity to style themselves or simply wear whatever is placed in front of us? Are you not fashionable because you wear a summer dress on a nice day, or a dress to a club? Do we stand a chance next to our central European counterparts or have we failed simply because we are not in mainland Europe?

OldGoat

If this thread runs anywhere near the 'Dey took ur jobs' diatribe I will smite mightly with the banhammer. Lets keep it civil.


Of course there are differences in what is percieved to be fashionalbe from country to country. The countries cultural history has huge bareing on what we wear. The differences might be leveling out with global marketing but what is fashionable in Italy is not always going to be fashionable in Ireland and vice versa.

Ruthie_

Aww reading what that girl said just really pee'd me off!! Haha!

I don't think theres anything wrong with wearing a dress during the day let alone on a night out to the pub, cinema, dinner, club anywhere!! But she feels that there is and that its unfashionable whereas I always thought central Europeans under dressed for nights out ie flat shoes, jeans and a black top. I wouldn't really wear that ever because I find it quite boring (although I know it could look great depending on the jeans and top!)

I see stylish fashionable girls everyday, well stylish imo so I don't think the Irish are unfashionable. Some aren't to my particular style and some are just plain dreadful but there are a lot of lovely put together outfits on girls out there every Friday and Saturday night. Although I do have to say there is a kind of girl that just goes out in the skimpiest outfit they can find, i don't call that stylish. I hate seeing their legs blue from the cold. But not everybody in every country is going to be uber stylish and not everybody is going to find everyone elses style to their liking. I do think its rude of your friend to say that but I wouldn't go losing any sleep over it. Each to their own and all that

Don't agree with the whole dress thing, cause I like girls in dresses. I would say the majority of Irish women would look terrible with the whole jeans/top buzz seeing as their figures aren't the best.

As a whole, Irish people are the worst dressed of any European country I've been to. Read the Op's post: They consider Trilby hats to be "Gay". Says a lot.

speedboatchase

Irish people don't dress well by and large. I'm a bloke and guys wear tracksuit bottoms and sports hoodies to college every day. The ones that wear anything a bit different or fashionable are dismissed for not fitting in and called "gay" and also fashions take forever to catch on here (cardigans for example) and when they finally do they're rubbish versions of them because there are no real independent stores and every guy just wears topman or river island head to toe and doesn't buy online or wear any genuine labels they might be interested in. There's not much choice for a guy since every high street is the same but people don't try push the boat out either and are very very price conscious. I think a lot of people in Ireland consider themselves "above" fashion

eth0_

Irish people on the whole dress poorly. And it's easy to see why. If you dress in any way differently, you'll get abuse from smart arses and knackers in the street. I have a fur trapper hat - which is pretty fashionable and a lot of people have been wearing them this winter - and I came back from living in the UK a few months ago. The first time I went up to Dublin, literally within 5 minutes of stepping off the bus I get "HERE MISSUS I LOVE YOUR HAT HAHAHA".

And let's not forget, what other country has a sub-section of society who think it's ok to go out in public dressed in their pajamas and slippers?

queenbeeuty

I think fashion/style is a very personal thing,so something that looks good on one of my friends may not look as good on me.

Trends vary hugely from country to country,clothing
that may be in fashion now in Ireland might not have reached other countries yet and vice versa.

LickLickLick

I don't think we're completely unfashionable, but I feel that the majority of people that are 'fashionable' don't think for themselves and just wear what ever other guy/girl is wearing.
I do sometimes fall into that category of not really wearing what I want as people aren't open to new things and call them 'weird' or whatever.

Ruthie_

LickLickLick wrote: »

I don't think we're completely unfashionable, but I feel that the majority of people that are 'fashionable' don't think for themselves and just wear what ever other guy/girl is wearing.
I do sometimes fall into that category of not really wearing what I want as people aren't open to new things and call them 'weird' or whatever.

Yeah I hate this. Like people making you feel like your out there in your fashion choices just because they stick to the same outfits everyday, like mannequins from high street shops.

vinylqueen

agree with a lot of what's been said above. i think irish people in general, myself included, are far more aware of fashion in recent years then they used to be which is great however we're not confident that we understand it so that means we go BIG for everything. if you are interested in fashion there's a tendency to cling religiously to trends and end up looking like you've rolled around topshop/topman in a panic or, at the other extreme, to dress exactly like everyone else you hang round with whether that be d4 big hair/uggs/tan (latter is surely more accessory then beauty statement nowadays) or the pajamas as daywear brigade. i find the back pages of irish glossies kind of hilarious cause everyone usually has big hair, lashings of makeup, a big dress, statement shoes whereas at a similar do in france people would probably be wearing jeans. i think irrespective of people's personal style, irish people often go out dressed like they would if they were meeting an ex for the first time since the split and want to look their shiniest, most radiant, best version of themselves. which is grand! but from the outside i'd say it probably does look a bit try hard sometimes which is probably what the OP's friend was getting at. obviously every country has their own style - a glance at the runways of the big fashion weeks proves that - but i think the irish haven't quite found a 'voice' of their own yet. my non-irish friend once said that irish girls get it 3/4 right and then the last 1/4 is overkill. we could be less chanelle, more coco chanel. i thought it interesting when scott from the sartorialist visited here he only took 3 photos of irish women and eh, the trinity rugby practice... yes, all the women featured were beautiful and well-dressed but i don't think they represented necessarily irish style as it genuinely is. mostly because there isn't an 'irish style' unless it is indeed wearing a penney's onesie to the shops, which if not the most attractive garment does defo have something original (and cozy) about it we're getting there but right now we're at our 14 and trying to fit in and get a kiss at the school disco stage style wise.

i'm guessing a lot of people are gonna disagree with me though

here's a link to the sartorialist photos:
http://www.blanaid.com/2009/10/the-sartorialist-in-dublin/

Hewhodares

Im a guy just finished college, and tbh speedboatchase is correct with what hes saying. Some clothes that some guys in college wear are redicuously short tight clothes such as jeans and cardigans and look terrible. I used wear jeans in but they felt way too tight and so now i just wear canturbury tracksuit pants or combats/ beige trousers with hoodies. Most people i know were similar clothes and girls i know say they are cool laid back style.

I used shop in river Island but haven't bought anything there in about 3 years - its far too metro sexual looking like as if u had girls picking out you clothes for u.

The worst style has to be the country mans or bogger going out look. The same thing on every1 of them. Jens, striped long sleeved shirts, brown wrangler shoes and jumpers similar to tommy hilfiger. They are in every nightclub around the country outside of Dublin that play the same music every weekend.

There are very few men in ireland that have decent style.

Hewhodares

Hewhodares wrote: »

Im a guy just finished college, and tbh speedboatchase is correct with what hes saying. Some clothes that some guys in college wear are redicuously short tight clothes such as jeans and cardigans and look terrible. I used wear jeans in but they felt way too tight and so now i just wear canturbury tracksuit pants or combats/ beige trousers with hoodies. Most people i know were similar clothes and girls i know say they are cool laid back style.

I used shop in river Island but haven't bought anything there in about 3 years - its far too metro sexual looking like as if u had girls picking out you clothes for u.

The worst style has to be the country mans or bogger going out look. The same thing on every1 of them. Jens, striped long sleeved shirts, brown wrangler shoes and jumpers similar to tommy hilfiger. They are in every nightclub around the country outside of Dublin that play the same music every weekend.

There are very few men in ireland that have decent style.

padi89

Hewhodares wrote: »

I used wear jeans in but they felt way too tight and so now i just wear canturbury tracksuit pants or combats/ beige trousers with hoodies. Most people i know were similar clothes and girls i know say they are cool laid back style.

Oh the irony :rolleyes:

Hewhodares wrote: »

The worst style has to be the country mans or bogger going out look. The same thing on every1 of them. Jens, striped long sleeved shirts, brown wrangler shoes and jumpers similar to tommy hilfiger. They are in every nightclub around the country outside of Dublin that play the same music every weekend.

There are very few men in ireland that have decent style.

CaliforniaDream

CaliforniaDream wrote: »

This could possibly turn into a rant so I'll apologise first!

(Backround: I'm Irish, other girl and guy are central/eastern European)
I was having a conversation with a girl from work about fashion recently. The conversation started because her semi-boyfriend was wearing what most people considered a very feminine tribly hat.
Combined with the rest of his outfit and manner that night I said most Irish people would not expect him to be straight. She took offence to this and said that Irish people have no idea about fashion. She said that every night girls go out wearing dresses no matter where they're going and this isn't fashion. Dresses should be kept for an occasion such as a wedding. She said the girls in her country and the likes of Italy, France etc. wear jeans and tops to bars/clubs depending on the type of night out it is.

I argued saying that fashion isn't A or B but varies between countries and people. What may be fashionable to us in Ireland might be different to Italy, USA or Japan and vice versa. She refused to accept this, saying Irish people had no idea and basically the girls and guys look hideous everytime they go out somewhere.

I got quite angry at this for a few reasons (I would never go to someones country and insult their people and culture) but it's been on my mind for the past day. Are we fashionable? Do Irish people have the capacity to style themselves or simply wear whatever is placed in front of us? Are you not fashionable because you wear a summer dress on a nice day, or a dress to a club? Do we stand a chance next to our central European counterparts or have we failed simply because we are not in mainland Europe?

So why did you tell her her boyfriend looked gay because he wore a trilby hat? I'm not sure what type of reaction you expected, tbh. She simply defended him/herself and gave her opinion about Irish fashion after you'd already insulted her boyfriend's style.

As for whether Irish people are stylish, some are, some aren't. There's a lot of people with awful dress sense - ill fitting clothes, baggy tracksuit bottoms, too-tight tops etc, but a lot of people, particularly women, are well dressed. People from most other countries think it's ridiculous how Irish girls go out in a miniskirt and no tights, freezing to death and I agree with that. I'd wear nice jeans, a black top and ballet flats on a night out. It's smart and also practical. People trying to walk home in 5 inch heels putting on blister patches and blue from the cold just look ridiculous.

Toto Wolfcastle

A lot of Irish people dress badly. A lot of Irish people are fashionable but that doesn't mean that they look good. The amount of Irish people who are stylish is increasing, but we have a long way to go to be considered a 'fashionable' nation. (I hate the word fashionable. Fashion is not style.)

Cunning Stunt

CaliforniaDream wrote: »

I got quite angry at this for a few reasons (I would never go to someones country and insult their people and culture)

..but it's OK to insult someone who comes to Ireland instead?:rolleyes:


I think a lot of people in Ireland are afraid to 'break from the norm', and prefer to copy whatever the masses are wearing. I have also been guilty of this, but that has changed a lot since I have been living and working abroad, and seeing how people wear whatever they like and nobody bats an eyelid.

Pretty_Pistol

I would have to say no. I don't think Irish people are very adventurous when it comes to fashion. But like other people have said I don't blame them as they would probably get some sort of abuse.

The whole girls wearing dresses on nights out thing really depends on the type of pub/club you're going out to.

muppet26

hmm at least you were honest lol, however you do seem to presume a lot, i.e most people, most Irish people etc..

Pandoras Twist

Ireland has become way more interested in fashion over the past few years (basically because we have had money). But I think we're still finding our feet and have a tendency to have a more mainstream version of the british trends without the diversity.


As has been pointed out, were also very wary of change and anyone who breaks the mould tends to get attacked. We've never really been a nation for innovation


Fashion does vary from country to country too. When I see eastern european women in white knee high stilleto boots and acid washed jeans it practically makes me gag.

Fajitas!

I think *some* folk in Ireland are incredibly unfashionable, same as there's incredibly unfashionable people in every country, city and town in the world. It just so happens we'll notice it a lot more.

That said, the first thing I did when I moved to London was go shopping. There isn't the same importance put on dressing well in Dublin, give yourself a week walking around London, and you'll release it's far from home. What one would wear on a day-in-day-out basis for the same job in Dublin wouldn't cut it. Going out is a similar story.

But then, head over to NY and it's a completely different attitude again.

I could sh*te on further, but meh. I really like the sartorialist's photos. Meant to pick up his book a few months ago and forgot.

speedboatchase

Pandoras Twist wrote: »

we're still finding our feet and have a tendency to have a more mainstream version of the british trends without the diversity

Absolutely spot-on

Hazys

I dont think the question "Are Irish people fashionable?" should be answered by saying fashion sense is different in different countries. I think the question comes down to "How much do people care about fashion and apperance in Ireland?" I think the answer is not a lot tbf.

I was walking around in SoHo and NYU in NYC a couple of weekends ago and you'll see how the hipster fashion dominates the area...not just one or two people but the vast majority are dressed like this (see). You'll see men in their mid 50's in skinny jeans and who are up with the latest trends, imagine a 50 year old man in Ireland wearing skinny jeans!!

As fashion is different wherever you go, i can imagine the same level attention to fashion in Milan as in NYC but a totally different modern italian style.

Ireland unfortunately people dont care as much about their appearance.

billybigunz

Fashion just means a common transient look. People are always fashionable.

Dressing well is different. We do it ok here. You see a lot of fashion victims in London, Madrid etc. who just don't look well.

Star_Me_Kitten

I wouldnt say we are 'fashionable' but I dont see that as a bad thing.
I think we are becoming more and more trend-concious, and its something that I hate because people end up looking like clones and wearing things that dont suit them.

As for reserving dresses for weddings etc, and wearing jeans/flats on nights out, I would absolutely hate that. I wear jeans and flats in my day-to-day wear and would like to feel glam/different when I go out-depending where Im going obv (it could range from skinnies/top/boots to minidress/cardi/heels) but its rarely as casual as you described. Thata a personal choice, and very little to do with fashion.

There are different circles of thought when it comes to dressing i think. Groups of my friends laugh at me when I wear certain things (even as basic as earmuffs) and others embrace them. We are getting to be more open minded, its all a matter of personal taste.

ronaldoshaky

Irish people are definitely not fashionable.

Stella777

Hazys wrote: »

You'll see men in their mid 50's in skinny jeans and who are up with the latest trends, imagine a 50 year old man in Ireland wearing skinny jeans!!

Actually, I'd rather NOT imagine this. It's a picture I could do without in my poor brain. It's not just *Irish* 50 year-old men, but ANY 50 year-old men I don't want to see in skinny jeans!

I'm not sure I'd agree that Irish people don't care what they look like. To my foreign eyes, some Irish women tend to look very dressed-up and done-up on nights out (sometimes to the point of looking over done but that's just my opinion of course.)

Lia_lia

About the whole dresses on a night out thing. I think what was meant by that is that on a night out here practically everyone wears the same kinda dresses that would normally be reserved for more formal events. You know, like this kinda thing.

I've been out many times in eastern European/mainland European countries and they do wear dresses out, but just more dressed down. And not as...generic.

I think there are many people in Ireland that are fashionable and can pull off really great outfits/looks/whatever but they are just too scared of what peoples reactions will be. Especially outside the cities.

BumbleB

They are right, Irish people are clueless about fashion .In all fairness you really you have to go the US to get any decent clothes .

Nobody out there wants to challenge the status quo .

On a night out ,every man nearly looks the same and every girl looks the same ,and then there's conveyor belt barbies.I'm rarely impressed by how a girl looks on a night out .

Eastern european girls are impeccable in their dress sense work out an awful lot and really dress for their physique , and thats why they look so good.

Yesterday, I seen a girl who had a lot of individuality she had a totally unique haircut which looked amazing on her.

I dress very differently to the average Irish person and I personally dont care what anybody thinks .I dress in hip hop ,b boy style and thats me.I've often been complemented by africans on my clothes which is nice because thats where it at .

I love trilby's and fedora's.Also there exists a lot of idiots out there who have an opinion about something ,for instance ,I was wearing an I luv NY t- shirt last summer and a load of morons stopped me to take the piss out of me .Well I do luv NY because thats where I grew up.

Just last night a friend of mine ( a bogger BTW) who was wearing a generic Hilfiger sweater laughed at what I was wearing and tried to advise me on what to wear :rolleyes:.

CamillaRhodes

While I don't think eastern europeans are more fashionable than Irish, as in I think Irish people follow fashion trends as much (not to the same degree as London, obv, but to a fair standard) I don't equate following fashion trends with being stylish.

Where eastern europeans differ to Irish (in my experience of living in one particular country over there) is they are more 'stylish' in terms of rocking their own individual look which works well with their physique, being braver about hairstyles, and generally being a little more poised and less 'clumsy' in their choice of styles. I'm no fashion queen but I like to think I have my own style, which isn't particularly wild but neither am I.

Being brutally honest, they are generally in better physical shape than us Irish (myself included) - women are slimmer, men are more buff. This is of course a gross generalisation, but I gotta admit when I moved back to Dublin I was surprised by how chubby everyone seemed. (I fit in better!) Truth is, most 'fashion' works better on slimmer frames. And for a larger / fatter frame to look good in clothes, the wearer has to really know what they're doing, pick styles which suit a big bum / belly / whatever (ref. Gok Wan).

Anyway, to summarise: don't really give a rat's @ss about our ability to follow fashion trends, but are Irish people 'stylish'? No.

CaliforniaDream

Rojomcdojo wrote: »

Don't agree with the whole dress thing, cause I like girls in dresses. I would say the majority of Irish women would look terrible with the whole jeans/top buzz seeing as their figures aren't the best.

As a whole, Irish people are the worst dressed of any European country I've been to. Read the Op's post: They consider Trilby hats to be "Gay". Says a lot.

Just want to clear up something here.

I certainly don't consider trilby hats to be gay. I quite like the look of them on some guys. Some can pull it off and look amazing (Justin Timberlake!). But I do think they are few and far between.

I said in my previous post that his hat (which was bought from a women's shop) combined with the rest of his outfit and mannerisms that night, came across as quite gay. However, if you knew this guy you would know he's not. It was a topic of conversation that night that his image was giving off vibes of being gay.
I didn't say it to insult the guy or girl and they didn't take it that way as it was in context with the whole conversation.

Also, I don't mean for this thread to become an Eastern Europe versus Ireland thread as there's enough of them in After Hours.
I mentioned Europe in general, including Western, Central and Eastern.

On topic; I've been to quite a few of the 'fashion' cities (NY, LA, Paris, Milan, Barcelona) and their clothes didn't jump out at me. I don't feel they are more stylish or fashionable simply because they come from one of these cities.

I do believe Ireland is slightly behind but we're trying to develop our once personal style. I don't look around on a night out and think people are badly dressed on a whole.
Regarding the dress thing, she said they don't wear dresses at all, so it wasn't a case of us wearing formal dresses, just dresses in general.

Perhaps I'm looking at this issue too closely to home as I believe my close friends and I have quite good taste in clothes and are diverse. We do have similar tastes regarding some things but you can always see an outfit and think 'that's exactly what so and so would wear'.

There's been some interesting points in this thread and I hope it doesn't turn into an Ire V E.Europe thread.

One point thought: I dont think our body shapes/sizes are as bad as some people have made them out to be.

Tristram

Probably repeating what has already been said but yeah, Irish people are not the most fashionable. Much less diversity in styles and less openness to new things. Not the same amount of care put into appearance for the most part. Has changed somewhat in the last decade but a long way left to go. Pretty conservative society though so maybe these things are to be expected.

espinolman

I think that Irish people are fashionable , but it has been suppressed , historians are not sure what was worn in Ireland just a few centuries ago , they are not sure of the history of irish fashion .

I think that Ireland is starting to recover from the suppression .

mood

I think a lot of Irish people (particularly girls) copy what is in magazines rather than having their own unique style. I guess you could argue that is 'fashionable' but it's not 'stylish' IMO. I think we need to dress more in what suits us (personality, shape and skin tone) rather than following trends. I also think we wear too much gray and black which I hate.

I have been to many European cities and think people are generally take care of them selfs more and dress appropriately for the weather. I think it is horrible to see people wear very little in cold weather. Yesterday I saw a guy shivering in a t-shirt and it was -1!!!

OldGoat

I think a lot of Irish people (particularly girls) copy what is in magazines rather than having their own unique style.

This is my opinion too - though I think it's more the men.
It's rare to see the Irish breaking the mould, stepping outside the norm, being individual. That doesen't mean you have to be outlandish. I love the influx of cultures and their take on fashions that Ireland has seen over the last decade.

I also think we wear too much gray and black which I hate.

Thats the Mens rail you are looking at. :rolleyes: