This week has been a week of firsts for me – first time to get stuck in a lift (not good), first time to watch vampire series True Blood (I’m addicted already) and my first time to visit Kildare Village.
Generally speaking outlet shopping isn’t usually my bag. I did it once on a trip to NYC and to be honest it wasn’t the best experience. With that in mind it’s no surprise then it’s taken me so long to finally buck up the courage to tackle Kildare Village. It opened in 2006 and has grown from just over an initial dozen shops to over 60 stores today and counting. One of the latest additions is Louise Kennedy.
If you’ve already visited you know what lies in store. And if you haven’t it’s well worth the trip. My initial scepticism quickly dissipated once I hit the wide laid cobbled pathways. With its immaculately maintained village-scape, wood paneled shopfronts and topiary scrubs, it conjures up images of the Hamptons (or what I imagine the Hamptons to be like. I’ve not been yet!). The open air is refreshing and great if the man in your life doesn’t like the ‘trapped feeling’ of some shopping centres.
Most high-end highstreet brands have a presence including Reiss, Jaeger, Bally, Radley, L.K. Bennett, Ted Baker and Karen Millen all offering great discounts on previous seasons. The real sweetener for me came when I realised most of the stores also appeared to have a selection of items from their new collections – happy days!
I was particularly impressed with All Saints (my credit card not so much) and the Anya Hindmarch store which has some of the most amazing bags I’ve seen lately. Fans include Scarlett Johansson & Claudia Schiffer. With bags originally priced at over €800 reduced to under €200 whats not to like.
When it all got too much Italian eatery L’Officina by Dunne & Crescenzi offered the ideal spot to relax and refuel before round two. One things for sure, in the run up to Christmas I’ll definitely be back!
