Last Christmas we blogged about the fantastic British Vogue article that featured the ultimate Christmas sweater was in fact the Aran Sweater for it’s classic look and quality.

Well they have done it again and this August’s British Vogue features the very beautiful Academy Award Winning Actress Alicia Vikander in a chunky cable knit cardigan slung over her shoulders with a belt and it looks incredible.

The Aran Sweater has featured heavily in British Vogue for the last few years . Vikander an accomplished Academy-Award winning actress best known for her role in the Danish Girl has a sultry chiseled look that shows off this piece wonderfully.

Above American Vogue shoot the beautiful Kerry Countryside.

The Aran Sweater a classic forever.

William McNutts family have been looming high quality woollen products in Downings in County Donegal since 1953. All materials are sourced locally and local people are employed in the mill carrying on the skillful craft of hand looming to bring us beautiful throws and scarves we’ve been selling in store now for some time.

We love their chunky heritage tweed range pictured above, it’s what we love about Donegal the smell of the tweeds, the art of the hand loom that produces these high quality throws that once you own you’ll have in your home to enjoy for many years to come.

The Cherry Herringbone pictured above is one of our best sellers in store, a sturdy well wearing and durable throw and that splash of colour would brighten up any room!

Inspired by their beautiful surroundings of Donegal it’s not hard to see where the McNutts Woollen Mills get their inspiration from.

Beautiful Donegal it’s a magical place.

Gerry Moran of Hatman Of Ireland started his business in Galway in early 2003 going out on his own after years in the hat making business. A man for great attention to detail each cap is finished to an extemely high standard using the finest of Donegal Tweeds made down in his studio in Galway.

With his trademark fabric feather emblem it’s this and their high quality that make Hatman of Ireland such a good seller in store and online for us. It’s also a family affair for the Moran family with the next generation getting involved and we love nothing more than dealing with another Irish family business!

Pictured are the Dubliner style of cap, we chose this for the online catalogue for the popularity , with a touring curved style peak and neat tight fit they look great and are extremely comfortable to wear suiting all head shapes.

The end finish of one of our Dubliner Caps. Any queries just email us at orders@donegalshop.ie

It might be summer but it’s a great time for getting out there and hill walking.  Favourite places of ours to go at this time of year are Glen Head and SLiebh Leigh Sea Cliffs in North West Donegal, with clear blue skies there is no better way to brush off the city cob webs than a long hike in the hills.

Sleibh Leigh are The Highest Sea Cliffs in Ireland, higher than the Cliffs of Moher, people are becoming more away of them for their beauty and abundance of sea cliff walks including the famous “one man’s pass”.

There are also lovely places to stop off on way there such as the Rusty Mackerel Pub serving great sandwiches and drinks as well as Tí Linn Craft Shop and Tea House closer to the Cliffs.

It’s wonderful to chat to our American visitors in the store who are either on their way or returning from Donegal, our favourite county which thanks to The Wild Atlantic Way is now firmly fixed on the tourist trail on Ireland.

Donegal Socks are made with pride in Glenties County Donegal, made using 80% Wool and 20% Polyester making them fully breathable and machine washable. In a host of vibrant colours of Kilcarra wool all sourced locally, we love selling this product and we are stocking up on supplies for the year ahead!

Any questions just email us at orders@donegalshop.com . Visit Dublin and Donegal this year you won’t be disappointed!!

While we are enjoying a bit of a heat wave in Ireland this week, temperatures can not always be so reliable in Ireland. A walk on the beach can change dramatically when you are out of that sun. So while wool keeps you warm in the winter, it can also cool you down in summer. Merino Wool in particular can act as a temperature controller by aligning with the body’s natural temperature. Merino Wool can absorb moisture away from the body resulting in less perspiration and more cool!

Our Super Soft Merino Wool range from Carraig Donn is a great example of this, providing great softness from it’s gentle Merino Wool fibres , keeping the heat in when it needs to and absorbing the bodies moisture when it need to do that too. Wool is pretty amazing fibre considering it literally breathes with you.

In  a practical manner it also absorbs odors ,making it the perfect garment for hill walking or the out doors. When customers in the shop ask us how to care for their sweaters we often tell them to “air” their sweater instead of washing, but when they do wash them to use cool water and a generic hair shampoo and conditioner and to dry flat on a table.

The Aran Islanders wore their Aran Sweaters in every possible climate for it’s incredibly versatile qualities. Any questions on how to care for your Aran just email us at orders@donegalshop.ie

We’ve been dealing with Julie Dillon since we opened our Dublin store back in 1995. A Dubliner herself, Julie hand looms the most incredible children’s sweaters and cardigans using Donegal Kilcarra Yarn.

We stock her “Sheep” range , made up of a solid base with two border colours and sheep and grass along the bottom. The sweaters have 3 button side opener on the shoulder for easier access for your little ones.

Shown above in pink and blue base colours and below in the neutral oatmeal a great colour for either girls or boys.

Available in sizes 1-3 years, we are delighted to launch the full range on our new site live now http://www.thedonegalshop.com

It’s been a busy few weeks here, we’ve set up a new Donegal Shop HQ with our new office and storage space . we’ve been busy putting the finishing touches to our new website, which we are really excited about!

We look forward to launching it in the coming weeks. There is a great new fresh look to the site and we are adding our own personal style to it at the moment.

We taken some products off but we’ve added to great new ones that sell very well for us in our Dublin store and know that you our customers will love them.

We will be really excited to hear what our existing customers think of our new site and what reaction new visitors have to the site, please let us know on our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram page or email us orders@donegalshop.ie looking forward to hearing from you!

What spring summer I hear you say! With the weather conditions out there is seems like Ireland is still in the throes of winter, there were hail stones in Donegal & Dublin this morning.

The Aran Sweater really is a versatile garment that can be used in Ireland all year round . In Spring summer there is still a chill in the evenings, the Aran is perfect for sitting out in the garden in the evenings.

We are also coming into festival season here, while we didn’t see an Arans in Coachella, we can expect to see an annual flurry of festival goers in for their lightweight Aran in our Dublin store. The light Aran is a great weight for those living in warmer climates who may never get very cold winters, and works really well in Ireland for the summer season when you never know if you’ll get sun sea or rain.

Róisin is modelling the charcoal light Aran above. We came across this Australian Fashion Blogger called Michellestylefile.com and we love what she’s done with the Aran tramed with heels and boyfriend turn ups.

So whatever part of the world you are in, send us a photo of you in your Aran to info@donegalshop.ie the best picture gets a €50 voucher to spend online for the month of May or instagram us #aransinsummer16

We have always prided ourselves on selling genuinely Irish made products. Since we have opened in 1995 we have been renowned for selling Genuine Irish Hand Knit Arans such as the one pictured above, a label speaks volumes in this industry , if you have to ask if it’s made in Ireland it probably isn’t.

Kennedy’s Of Ardara, a favourite supplier of ours, a family business that spans over 3 generations of knitters and weavers in County Donegal, their attention to detail is impeccable with each garment knitted is signed personally by the knitter . Using the finest of Donegal Wool and local knitters their products are of a first class standard and it’s a pleasure of ours to sell their products.

You can tell a genuine Irish Hand knit sweater immediately by it’s quality and weight , over a kilo of wool can go into one garment. Each piece can take up to three weeks to make, with the wool costing over €60 and the knitters time it’s no wonder they can retail for over €250 , we insure fair trade in that all knitters receive a proper wage.

In the above picture, is another hand knit Aran we sell in the shop. Made by Magee of Donegal, another family business dating back to 1866. Made using Donegal Wool and again knit by local hand knitters, a MAgee hand knit is something special you will have for years to come . The collection of stitches in a hand knit is always a lot different to a machine made garment, the blueberry stitch above really stands out in a hand knit.

If you are thinking of investing in a hand knit email us with your measurements to orders@donegalshop.ie so we can be sure to match your size as close as is possible to our stock.

Not that we need any convincing, but this is an article in Vogue last winter on the beauty and longevity of the hand knit sweater which graces the catwalk at at least one point every year in the fashion stakes because it is an absolute classsic.

Kerry Woollen Mills is one of the last surviving traditional woolen mills still manufacturing in the beautiful Kerry countryside. Established over 300 years ago to alleviate local poverty the mill drew on the adjacent River Gweestin for the power to drive its machinery and the water to wash and dye its wool. The mill was bought over by the Eadie family in 1904 who had previously been in the woolen manufacturing business for many years in Fermangh and Scotland and continues under the fourth generation of family ownership to this day.

We have always found the Eadie family a pleasure to deal with, weaving is int heir blood and they show a love and passion for what they do in the high quality of their products.

This week we wanted to showcase the Ruana cape now available online http://www.thedonegalshop.com it’s a beautiful and versatile garment woven with soft lambswool and a little acrylic it’s a very elegant celtic timeless piece.

Measuring 54 x 72 inches it’s a long cape that can be worn draping over the shoulder, a celtic brooch like our Tara Brooch is an excellent accessory to wear along side it.