Clouds have a wellies lining

The 'summer' weather we've been suffering through has dampened spirits fairly thoroughly, but there's a silver lining to every cloud ... isn't there?



Well for Michelle Kirwan, who runs Ruby Shoes in Kilcullen, the confluence of a fashion trendiness in wellingtons and the wet, wet, wet results of the stream of low pressure systems over the country has been a bright spot in business.

"There's been a great run on wellingtons, which are now very colourful," she says. "I got them in for Oxygen, though a little late and I kind of missed the boat there. But then came the scouts Jamboree, and I sold a lot for that. The youngsters came in, and so did their parents."

The rain coincided with wellingtons becoming a fashion item in their own right in recent times. "At the international shoe trade shows, everyone has them," says Michelle, who set up Ruby Shoes in April of last year. "They come with all sorts of colours and patterns, even for men."

There was a short-term downside when the scores of pairs of wellies arrived. "The smell of rubber was unreal for a while," Michelle remembers.

Setting up a shop in Kilcullen just for fashion shoes and handbags was a risk for Michelle. But one which has paid off, in no small measure because there are also an increasing number of other specialist fashion shops in the village, which complement each other.

"Kilcullen has become a place to find all kinds of fashion, with Michelle Graham's Irish Bridal Boutique on Hillside, and Mini Me's childrens boutique, for instance. Overall, Kilcullen has a reputation for quality, and not just in clothing ... I have customers who come specifically to the town to shop for their meat in Nolans, and then come down to me to browse the shoes and handbags."

Well aware of the competition from Newbridge's Whitewater, Michelle makes a point of stocking items which don't feature in the more mainstream shops. "You have to give them a reason to come out here for something different."

Meantime, though, when it's raining in Kilcullen, it is pouring. Pouring wellies business for Ruby Shoes.

Brian Byrne.