Siopa, Siopaella - The Best of Dublin

There are many reasons why Siopaella has become one of the most popular places in Dublin for fashionistas of all ages to flock to as often as possible and why the business has grown so significantly since its establishment in 2011.

Siopaella owners Ella de Guzman and Steve Ryan seem to have cracked the formula for sartorial success because of their clever business skills, their unique to Dublin consignment store framework, their friendship towards their customers leading to an ever-growing loyal following, and being exactly the right business at the right time in Dublin. Penelope's Bed took a tour of both Siopaella stores and had a chat with the owners, staff, and their two ridiculously cute dogs Louis and Raquel, who are an intrinsic part of Siopaella!

Ella & Steve with prized pooches Louis & Raquel

Siopaella founder Ella de Guzman is originally from Canada where there are quite a lot of consignment-style stores. Prior to Siopaella she worked in real estate but, since the whole consignment trend hadn’t taken off in Ireland by 2011 there was a perfect place in the market for a business of that nature and Siopaella (Ella's Shop in Irish) was born.

The stock caters for both men and women and you can be assured that every item in the store meets a very stylish standard due to the honed-in taste of the owners and staff so it really is hard to walk out of either store without finding something you love - whatever your taste.

Part of the Chanel collection at the Temple Lane South Store

Timing really was everything with the establishment of Siopaella. The Celtic Tiger allowed a lot of people to buy designer items but the recession took that away from many people so Siopaella allows those who could afford to have had an designer collection before to sell what they no longer need now that wealth has changed and it also allows people who could never have afforded certain designer pieces to buy items that are as good as new – quite a few pieces have never been worn or used – for more affordable prices.

My favourite purchase from the shop was a JW Anderson X Topshop pure wool black kilt skirt from the previous year that had never been worn and still had the Brown Thomas tags on for about a third of the original price and it’s now one of my all time favourites.

Some of the designer stock at the Temple Lane South store

I first encountered Siopaella through their Facebook page. Over the space of a few months I noticed many of my friends were liking pictures of amazing clothes and outfits so the minute I investigated I was hooked and asked them to hold something for me straight away and since then it swiftly became one of my favourite clothes shops ever.

The Facebook page really is very important to the success of the shop more than any of its kind I've ever seen. It creates almost a community of clothes lovers who everyone involved in the shop interacts with so closely and with such friendship that people always come back, leading to a devoted clientele who tell all their friends. With a selection of brands from ASOS all the way up to Chanel the excitement in the comment section of one picture can be so much fun!

A fraction of the designer shoe collection at the Temple Lane South store

One of most important aspects about Siopaella is the passion Ella and the rest of the staff clearly have for what they do. The excitement of Team Siopaella when a new consignment arrives at the very least matches the customers' joy of seeing a Chanel bag they could never afford before become suddenly available to them. Like the JW Anderson skirt, so many once-off items appear that customers didn't have a chance to buy at the time arrive at the shop in perfect condition and the comment section under a Facebook photo shows Siopaella staff and customers as giddy as each other and there is such a charm to that I've never seen so apparent with any other business.

Ella's love for the shop and what she does is so contagious: "We love getting new stock in every day and there's never a dull moment! We have the best customers in the world and many of them have become good friends".

Some of the selection of menswear at the Crow Street store

Another huge appeal of the shop is their constant innovation; they just do things differently and are very unique to themselves in this respect. Starting off as one shop in Crow Street, in three years Siopaella has quickly expanded to a second in Temple Lane South and now have a staff of six full time and one part time. Because the list of consignors grew swiftly Crow Street now holds mostly high street brands from Zara to Topshop while Temple Lane carries more designer brands like Prada, Louis Vuitton and Chanel, as you can see in the photos.

Crow Street stock

Siopaella have been involved in so many interesting endeavors from their many charity events which I have written about in detail here to the Galaxy Style Exchange, lots of fun themed nights including their recent 1920s event, a new endeavor where Siopaella will visit your home to help you do a wardrobe clear out and pay you for any unwanted and forgotten designer pieces. They have also ventured into the world of interiors after bringing home beautiful stock from a buying trip to Morocco and just last week introduced a new stock of designer cosmetics.

 

Siopaella Crow Street shop front

When I asked Ella about plans for the future of the store I found that her passion and ideas never run out: "We want to continue providing the best designer pre-loved clothing and accessories in the country while providing the best customer service." And there are plans to expand the shop even further given their growing success as Ella tells me: "We are looking for a third location in either Cork, Galway, Kilkenny or another Dublin store." Which is exciting news indeed for clothes lovers throughout the country who may have seen the amazing stock grow through their Facebook page.

Speaking of which, for anyone who loves clothes, fashion and style of any kind I would highly recommend following the shop's Facebook page, here, as the guys are constantly uploading new stock throughout the day and after hours too which is the best way to nab the best of the stock, sometimes before it even hits the shelves! It's how I've found most of the clothes I've bought there which are some of my all time favourite pieces.

The future looks bright for Siopaella who can really do no wrong with such diverse and carefully picked stock, such friendship towards every customer who walks through their door, and a constant flow of brilliant ideas which makes the business more and more appealing to the growing clientele of consignors and fashion lovers who come across it.

Siopaella has two locations in Templebar, Dublin 2 at 8A Crow Street and 25 A Temple Lane South. 

Contact 01 677 9106 or 086 840 7825 for information about consignments.

http://siopaella.com/