Bow and Pearl: An Irish Boutique Delight

Online shopping has been the way of the fashion world for quite some time now. In fact, if you haven’t shaped up, you can ship out. It’s a necessity (an obvious one) for any boutique looking to survive in the online marketplace. I dropped into the launch of the Bow and Pearl online shop at their bricks and mortar boutique on Saturday. Two things struck me; as someone who spends a disturbing amount of their life online, it was such a treat to go into a real-life boutique and engage with actual material goods! For the uninitiated, Bow and Pearl is a delightful little boutique in Ranelagh which houses an array of pretty dresses, quirky accessories and beautiful bits ‘n pieces for the home. It is a treasure trove in the truest sense of the word, and if you encounter a Ranelagh native or anyone familiar to the store, they all speak so fondly of the place. If you were to while away a few hours of a Saturday afternoon, I can think of no better place. The store is light, bright and airy and the fashion edit is spot-on; if you’re looking for a unique party piece or event dress, Bow and Pearl has a selection of quirky, pretty and glamorous labels (American Vintage and Soaked in Luxury being two of my faves) at extremely reasonable price points.
The second thing that struck me is how much the online store replicates the actual boutique. Bowandpearl.com is light, bright and airy, very easy to navigate and  retains much of the personality and otherworldly ambience of the actual store.

Bow and Pearl Window

I definitely invest more time online shopping than actual shopping now (the crowds! the crowds! and they never have my size!) I’m also all about supporting local and supporting Irish. However, Irish retailers have been slow to move into the online domain in a seriously considered way, which makes it difficult to get behind them. Bow and Pearl have completely and utterly understood the brief and present to you a slick and professional website, whilst still retaining the core aspects of their boutique. In fact, the online store would nearly entice me to take a stroll into the actual shop.

Lots of darling little accessories

Bits for the home

As a by-the-by, some of my picks from the day were the sheer Imogen blouse (so pretty! so girly! but with a hint of sexy!), the pleated, floral-print Valerie skirt and the dip-dye Detox dress.

Imogen Blouse

Valerie Skirt