Bloomsday Blouses
It is that time of the year again- Bloomsday! This weekend you will see Leopolds’, Mollys’, James’ and Noras’ dressed up about Dublin town on messenger bike rides, on horse and cart, enjoying an offal breakfast in the Gresham or guzzling Gorgonzola and burgundy in Davey Byrnes or wafting around reading passages from Ulysees at the James Joyce tower in Sandycove. It’s uniquely Dublin dress up day and I think we should embrace it more!
The James Joyce Centre in Dublin tells me that “Bloomsday was first celebrated in Dublin by a ragtag group of artists, writers and intellectuals led by John Ryan, Brian O’Nolan and Patrick Kavanagh. Taking a horse and cart from the Martello Tower in Sandycove, they followed in the footsteps of the characters of Joyce’s epic, drinking and reading as they went. True to character they abandoned the cart at the Bailey Pub, deciding instead to complete the journey in their tipsy imaginations.”
If you would like to follow in this fashion, don a straw boater and work your best Joycean looks this June 16th look no further than the 3rd Policeman in Rathmines. Whether channeling a be-spectacled Joyce look with tilted hat and walking stick or a Molly Bloom look with turn of the century cotton blouse and jaunty straw boater set at an angle, they have an amazing vintage selection for building a Bloomsday look. I did a mini shoot in store with their vintage girl in residence Ria Czerniak where she worked three ways to work a Bloomsday look and some fun accouterments from walking sticks, hat-pins and binoculars to match…
The Strawboater hat– A style which was popular for men and for women in the summer months at the turn of the last century. Joyce was known to sport one and their cheerful brims can be spotted around the city at this time of year. Find a simple strawboater in the 3rd Policeman or glittery one as seen below. The binoculars are perfect for gazing across Dublin bay from the James Joyce tower with.
The Bloomsday Blouse – a white, cotton, turn of the century style blouse with a high, button-up neckline and leg-o-mutton sleeves is the perfect way to channel your inner Molly Bloom. Ria styles one of an amazing selection of blouses in store perfect for a Bloom event which also looks cool with black denim jeans on a non-Joycean day.
The Joycean details - the devil is in the Joycean details be it a leather-bound book, a fabulous hat or hat-pin to finish off your Bloomsday look there are some amazing curios in The 3rd Policeman. Ria shows us how its done…
Get your Bloomsday look with Ria at…
The 3rd Policeman
121 Lower Rathmines Road,
Dublin 6,
Ireland
Tel: +353 (0) 1 555 0002
Email: hello@the3rdpoliceman.com
There are many Bloomsday events on this weekend mainly based around The James Joyce Centre. See a list of activities here
As Ulysees is all about walking around Dublin a walking tour is the way to go. James Joyce walking tours run from 10th-16th of June. See times here.
The James Joyce Centre is also running an amazing exhibition of surrealist photographer (my personal fashion favourite) Lee Miller. Find an unseen collection of her photos of Joyce’s Dublin, this is a must see exhibit. Find more here.
Save Sweny’s Pharmacy from closure! This beautiful Joycean destination and rare building is under threat of closure. Its time to save this amazing site.
Sweny’s Pharmacy, made famous by James Joyce’s Ulysses, is under serious threat of closure after commercial rates more than doubled this calendar year. Sweny’s is a non for profit, registered charity, run by volunteers in order to protect the integrity of the famous Joycean landmark, preserve it in its original state and encourage reading of Joyce’s ‘Ulysses’. Sign the petition to save this historic building here.