Originally from Canada, Ella De Guzman founded Siopaella in 2011 with their first location in Dublin’s historic Temple Bar. A huge fan of thrifting vintage (she’s been doing it since the 90s), Ella saw there was a real gap in the market when it came to consignment stores here, so she simply opened her own. Here she shares a week in her wardrobe.
MONDAY
Monday is usually a big buying day for Siopaella so I need to be comfortable. In fairness, comfort is super important to me – I think at my age I’ve suffered enough for fashion! Today I’m wearing my trusty silk-printed Helen Steele dress (originally bought from Costume) over a pair of wide-leg jeans and a vintage 1970s shirt. I’m a big fan of layering and some might think it looks mad but I think it works. Fall and spring are definitely my favourite times of the year because of all the fun you can have with layering. I have to carry my senior dog Louis around quite a lot these days, so hands-free bags are best – today it’s my reverse monogram Palm Springs LV backpack. Everything I’m wearing is preloved and all from Siopaella except for my boots which I bought recently during a visit home to Penticton BC, Canada, from a little store called Below the Ankle. They are vegan and waterproof and I wish I bought more pairs because they’re the comfiest boots ever. I’ve been wearing them to death!
TUESDAY
I was kindly asked by Elevate PR to participate in a panel talk about the Future of Fashion today. It’s funny because I can easily chat on camera to thousands of people no problem during a Siopaella Instagram live, but then when it comes to in-person panel chats in front of a crowd, I always get very nervous. In saying that, I’m a big believer in doing things that scare you and today it was public speaking! I decided to go with bright outgoing colours to match my mood so it’s a yellow River Island blazer with blue FRNCH Paris wide-leg cords that I think were only €30 and a silk €35 vintage blouse from the 1990s – all from Siopaella. My vintage suede and faux fur coat was a present kindly gifted to me by one of my lovely customers, Patricia. I think it was hers during the 1990s and I’m obsessed! If I had to describe my style in three words it would definitely be vintage, eclectic and colourful and this look pretty much sums me up. Because it was a panel chat and I didn’t have Louis with me, I wore my Onthego Louis Vuitton tote that I also got from Siopaella (I figured it looked quite business-like!). My black boots are also from the same Penticton BC store Below The Ankle. I find it really tricky buying shoes in my size in the pre-loved market as I’m between an EU 35-36.
WEDNESDAY
Today is the Siopaella Insta live day. We have been hosting Insta lives ever since April 2020 and even though the pandemic is behind us, we still love having them. Well definitely myself more than Steve who runs Siopaella with me! I feel like it’s my weekly therapy session where myself and the Siopaella community come together and chat all things bags and life in general. It’s going to be a 14-hour day today as we normally don’t get home until midnight. I’m wearing a Siopaella find. I have a client who lives part-time in Hong Kong and she always brings in the coolest pieces – this wool and denim deconstructed jumper is one of them. I’m layering it over a vintage 1970s dress I got from my bestie Naomi who owns Vintage Finds You. It was only €69 and the best find! Honestly, if you haven’t already, look Naomi up on Insta as she has the best style and really knows how to mix vintage with new. She’s definitely my style icon, along with this other gal I follow on Instagram called Venetia La Manna. They’re two very sustainable style queens!
THURSDAY
I often tend to style my entire outfit around my bag. This little LV one is actually a backpack but I switched out the straps and turned it into a crossbody bag. It’s small but mighty and fits a surprising amount of stuff. Tonight, my friends and I are going to see Tommy Tiernan live at Vicar Street so, again, comfort is key because we have standing tickets. To be honest, my days of high heels are long past me. My t-Shirt is from Chanel but was gifted to me by the loveliest customer, Siobhan, who I’ve known for nearly 10 years now. Here, I’m wearing it with a very Chanel-looking jacket from River Island, and a pair of stretchy trousers from Part Two – all picked up from Siopaella. Boots are the same trusty pair from Below the Ankle. I’m wearing one of my most sentimental pieces – a diamond tennis bracket that my mum gave me that was originally a gift from my dad to her. When they divorced she gave it to me, and of course, I was only delighted because it’s so beautiful! Another woman’s trash is another woman’s treasure, right?
FRIDAY
This is what I would consider my sporty look. There are loads of drop-offs today because we are hosting a Siopaella swap event so comfort is key. Customers bring in hundreds of pieces of clothes and trade them in for store credit and, trust me – it gets pretty intense in the office! I’m also wearing a hands-free bag – my favourite Louis Vuitton bumbag which is probably one of the most worn bags in my collection. It’s so handy for carrying Louis around as he can’t make it up and down the stairs on his own. I’m also wearing a vintage Japanese Champion zip-up that cost €35 and is probably around 30 years old if you can believe it! The 1990s is definitely my era – I think I’ve definitely been dressing as my 18-year-old self lately. I have recently shelved all skinny jeans (yay!) and it’s now only baggy 90s pairs thank goodness, hence these €89 Citizen of Humanity jeans (they were originally over €300 which is crazy!) Everything is from Siopaella except for my shoes which I bought from JD Sports in Wexford and my Rolex is from Matthew Stephens Jewellers in Limerick. Speaking of my Rolex – it’s from the 1980s and has honestly been one of my best investment buys to date. I only paid around €4,000 for it back in 2012 and they have gone up so much in price since then. I’ve worn it every day so the cost per wear as of today is around €1 per day. Not bad for a watch that is now retailing for over €14,000 – it’s so crazy how high they have gotten!
SATURDAY
It’s always so crazy on a Saturday in Siopaella but this one, in particular, was going to be manic because it was another swap day. We rarely do swap days at the weekend because it’s always crazy, but we need to restock both of our locations badly. I knew I needed a dress whereby I didn’t have to worry about getting the sleeves dirty. Believe it or not, I do a lot of cleaning at the shop, especially handbag cleaning and long sleeves are not ideal for this task. This H&M dress that I recently got in Siopaella for €25 worked a charm. Because it’s still freezing out, I wore it with the same pair of trousers that I wore on Thursday. When I’m not cleaning handbags on Saturdays, I am normally inventorying all the new arrivals so it’s a very labour-intensive day. P.S. Louis is wearing River Island!
SUNDAY
Ever since the pandemic, we have always closed Siopaella on Sundays and Bank Holidays and honestly, it’s been one of the best business decisions we’ve ever made. So this Sunday was our traditional beach day. We are so blessed to have our little corner in the sunny southeast part of the country which I like to call Wexico or Wexy (also known as Wexford). I bought this two-piece jogger set back during the height of lockdown from Siopaella. It’s originally from Pangaia and I swear I’ve worn it over 200 times! It washes like a dream. It’s a really cool sustainable brand that’s officially B Corp Certified. The camo jacket is also from Siopaella and I can’t remember where I got my knit hat from but the Ugg boots were bought in Brown Thomas back in 2012 and they are still going strong even though I’ve gotten them wet hundreds of times on the beach! It’s safe to say that this is quite possibly my most comfortable look, second only to flannel PJs. Louis is again a serial re-wearer and is still in the same River Island t-shirt that he’s been wearing all week long.
Photography by Ella De Guzman, @elladeguzman77. We may earn a commission if you buy something from any affiliate links on our site.
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