My Story

 

I opened my first business way back in 2001, a tiny hat shop in Dublin called Mad Hatter. In 2010, I went on to purchase a boutique in Newbridge, Co. Kildare, Vanity Fair, and all my dreams came true. Unfortunately when the pandemic happened in 2020, I was left with no choice but to close my beautiful shop, as we were exclusively focused on occasion wear, and all events had been cancelled.

 

Through the tears and upset, I decided to go and study fashion design and pattern construction at the Grafton Academy. At first it was about clearing my head and having a hobby that I enjoyed. But the words of my customers over the years kept ringing in my ears.

 

“I don’t want to look like a mother of the bride” and “I want something I will wear again” were the two things every customer said as they walked through the doors of Vanity Fair.

 

Could I design something that would fit the brief? Traditional occasion wear brands that we stocked in Vanity Fair were starting to look tired and slightly dated for this new young woman who was coming to us. Women, of any age, are a lot younger today than they were 30 years ago!

 

Slowly, I began to let myself dream that I could do it. I had dabbled in having a brand produced back in 2019, but there were elements about the process that I wanted to change.

 

The first thing I was sure of was that this time,  I wanted the garments manufactured here in Ireland. This was important to me for lots of reasons. Factories abroad usually demand quite high minimums, and I did not want to create something that would be over produced. Having owned a retail outlet for over a decade, it also broke my soul a little at sale time when perfectly good stock would need to be reduced to clear, not because there was anything wrong with it, but simply to make way for all the new stock that was about to start coming through the doors. I wanted to be able to produce the quantities that were actually needed and be able to restock certain sizes easily as they sold out, something that is not possible with a large factory.

 

I also wanted to be completely in control of the sampling process myself, so that I could ensure that I was able to fit my designs on as many bodies of various shapes and sizes as I could. I needed to have quick and easy access to my customers for this process, so manufacturing abroad was not a realistic option.

 

Then I came across an article about Anneliese Duffy, owner of the brand The Linen Shirt Company, who had started a production facility Fashion Connect in Co. Wexford. Aha, maybe it would be possible to have my designs produced here in Ireland after all.

 

It was really important to me that I created something that could be added to for the occasion, but equally could be worn in a much less formal way. Something that would be special enough for a wedding, but something that you could change up for many other events afterwards. And that is something I have definitely achieved.

Each season new add-ons will be created that will help you continue to wear your original purchase in new and exciting ways. No more hanging in the wardrobe!

 

I was also determined to create something that wasn’t too tailored. Having learnt all about constructing patterns and the positioning of darts etc, it became more and more obvious to me that the only way to ensure a perfect fit was to have something custom made. Bodies come in all shapes, sizes and heights, so to expect the correct position of the darts to be in the same place for every woman, even of the same size, is completely unrealistic.

 

This was something I knew and understood only too well from my experience with customers in Vanity Fair. 90% of the outfits sold needed to be sent for alterations. This led me to think of another issue. They were being altered to fit perfectly to the body that was there today. But what about that same body next year? Would it be the same size?

 

I wanted to design something that would work and fit even if your body changes. I have met far too many women in my years as a personal stylist with things in their wardrobe that don’t fit them anymore. I have even heard women say “no I won’t donate that, there’s about a week every month where that looks amazing on me, but I couldn’t wear it the rest of the month”. Bodies change, and I want you to have a dress in your wardrobe that makes you look amazing, even when you don’t feel it.

 

And so Monessa Joan was born. Monessa Joan is my real name, the name I was christened, although I’ve always been called Nessa. Mo is the Irish for My and I loved the idea of customers saying, oh that’s my Nessa dress, and so my real name Monessa perfectly fits the bill! Plus I love the energy of the way the name sounds.

 

So after an eventful career in the fashion industry, I have now started a new chapter, on my 50^th birthday. A chapter where I have taken everything I’ve learnt over the last three decades and created something beautiful.

 

I look forward to hearing from you and seeing you wearing your Monessa Joan creation.