Siopaella’s Sip’n’Save Event
The time was 5pm, the date was Thursday 10th of July, and the year was 1925…ok no it was 2014 but it felt like 1925. Siopaella had been transformed into a speakeasy bar for the night. There was jazz, there was whiskey, there were faux bobs and there were braces (the trouser kind, not the teeth kind).
What was the point of all of this you may ask?? Well, in all honesty there was no point only that we wanted to have fun and we wanted our lovely customers to have fun with us. I know, I know we’re the best!
A couple of weeks ago all of us at Siopaella were invited to the Odessa club to see the Valerie Coyne trio perform. We were blown away. The talent was amazing and we wanted the trio to perform in the store.
What started as tipsy talk after a few glasses of wine turned into an actual idea which turned into serious planning which turned into Thursday night’s event. There you have it! Not only are we pretty good at doing this whole styling and buying thing but we’re also quite the little party planners (and clearly very modest…)
For this event though we decided to go all out. That meant dress up, bar man (yes we had our very own barman) and a guest list. The guest list was open to the public and the response was overwhelming. It seemed like everybody wanted to be a part of our one night only time machine travelling back to the 1920s.
Now, the music, oh the music! Words cannot begin to describe the talent that Valerie Dalton has. Her voice filled our shop and we all quickly fell in love. The mix of piano and trumpet was beautiful and really helped with the feeling of being back in time and becoming part of a generation that was filled with speak easy clubs, prohibition and old school glamour.
Our very lovely (very very lovely if you know what I mean) bar man Oliver made the best cocktails. We could choose from an old fashioned or a vodka Tom Collins. They were delicious and I can happily say that there is nothing more satisfactory than a whiskey cocktail on a cold, wet and windy evening. There was also of course prosecco available for those who prefer a glass of bubbly.
Food on the evening was brought to us by the lovely people from KC Peaches Dame Street and we all devoured it. There were both hot and cold platters filled with cheeses, chicken, peppers and my all-time favourite finger food; pigs in blankets.
Not only were our guests wined and dined but to make the evening even more special we had in store discounts. You can’t say we don’t spoil you! Some of our guests even changed into the items they bought in order to become part of the 1920s theme.
The Valerie Dalton trio ended the night with a beautiful song about love and then it was up to the main woman herself, Valerie, to choose the best dressed on the night. The winner was the lovely Aisling O’Regan who wore a stunning waistcoat and skinny trousers. Valerie not only loved the more androgynous take on the theme but she also fell in love with Aisling’s Chanel heels (didn’t we all - and they were also a Siopaella find! ).
We’re hoping this event won’t be a one off occasion and that we’ll be able to host more in the coming months. Who knows the next one could see us dawn our roller-skates while we have a 70s disco in store or force us to find our finest neon clothing, fish net tights and glow-sticks while we host an all-night rave…a girl can dream right?
Ciara x
