Delve into the daring wardrobe of PR professional and homewares maven Tara O’Connor which is bursting with beautiful brights, investment items and excellent dresses …
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Tales From My Wardrobe, a style series that explores the wardrobes of THE GLOSS community, is a love letter to the pieces we reach for again and again, the hard-earned investment purchases that make us smile with each wear and the items that supersede mere ‘clothing’ to carry memories and foster emotional connection.
In this instalment, PR professional, and founder of homewares brand The Designed Table, Tara O’Connor (Instagram @taradolloconnor) opens up her wardrobe which is filled with joyful, high-energy pieces that make a statement. A self-declared dress addict, O’Connor is partial to a whimsical Simone Rocha dress with puff-sleeves (and pockets!), a floor-sweeping Bernadette gown in maximal stripes (will anything else do for a fiftieth birthday party?) and even a (faux) fur coat at the school gates. Here, O’Connor shares her most meaningful buys, the luxe investments that were worth the spend and the items that never fail to spark joy.
My favourite item in my wardrobe is my pink and red George dress by Antwerp-based brand Bernadette that I got for my fiftieth birthday party, pictured above. It’s a party in a dress – lots of fabric, fun colours and pockets. My most recent purchase is a Taller Marmo blue fringed dress from the Brown Thomas summer sale. I got it for a wedding in Rome and it is so light and fun to wear, with lots of fringing. It also hides my lumps and bumps. I’m already planning to wear it for Ascot next year and get a hat made to match it.
The most sentimental piece I own is the Sylvia pin-tuck midi dress by Aje, pictured above. I wore it when myself and my husband renewed our marriage vows in January. I had planned to wear something else, but the morning of my fiftieth birthday I opened my wardrobe, and it was the first dress I saw so I wore it. I surprised my husband with the renewal of our vows on Harbour Island to mark my birthday, and my two sons gave me away. I’ll always know that dress will remind me of that special day – 50 trips around the sun and 15 years married. It was just myself, my sons and my husband Andrew: perfect in every way.
The best bargain I own is an Erdem floral silk dress I got at 80 per cent off on Matches Fashion, pictured above. I wore it to my eldest son’s communion and have gotten so much wear out of it since. The communion was during Covid-19, so I bought a matching mask to wear with it: such was the genius of Erdem during the pandemic! The day of the communion, I was standing outside the church after the mass. The path was on a hill and I literally fell backwards, legs in the air, and gracefully tried to jump up. My friend Rachel often reminds me about this story as her poor husband didn’t get the best view! At least my beautiful dress took the distraction off my fall.
I love dresses and think all of my Simone Rocha dresses (see below for one such dress) have paid for themselves in cost-per-wear: I wear them time and time again, season after season. Not only are they my go-to dresses for events, work and play, they all have pockets – what’s not to love?
The most money I’ve ever spent on a dress is my wedding dress from Pronovias (available at The White Room; www.thewhiteroom.ie). It won’t go near me now, but I might get a skirt made of the veil as it’s such beautiful lace. I love to upcycle things and, as I’ve no girls, eventually I will need to do something with my dress as it’s a couture piece.
One of my favourite way to nab hidden wardrobe gems is when I’m travelling as you always find beautiful local designers. Palma is one of my favourite cities for this. They have some great shopping on the side streets: there are so many boutiques with wonderful independent designers. I particularly love the concept store Rialto Living: it’s a lifestyle store with homewares, clothes and accessories. I never leave there without a few purchases.
The least ‘fashion’ thing I own that I wear all the time is a tracksuit. I love to wear them most days when I’m working from home, particularly tracksuit pants on the bottom and something chic on the top for video calls. I have some nice Pangaia ones that come in bright colours, pictured below, so you can see me coming at the school gates. In the winter, I am known to wear my (faux) fur coat over them!
I never leave the house without my black Dries van Noten cross-body bag. I got it in Paris in April, and it has not left my side since. It goes with everything and fits my phone, keys, wallet, and lip gloss. It has a beautiful green resin top handle so you can wear it as an evening bag, too. Speaking of accessories, my most hard-working one is my iPhone. I love Flaunt phone cases – I have them in so many colours and change them to match my outfits.
Lastly, the piece I am lusting after right now is Irish designer Colin Burke’s Lyster polo sweater from Havana in Donnybrook. I am waiting to see what colours he has for AW24 and I am hoping to treat myself. I love the split-sleeve option for when hot flushes appear.
