Odd Muse: Instagram’s favourite occasionwear has landed in Ireland for a limited time

by Holly O'Neill
02nd Jul 2024

Odd Muse, the luxury womenswear brand with a massive online following has a pop-up in Arnotts while stocks last.

Stuck for a dress for a wedding or an upcoming event? Odd Muse, social media’s favourite timeless occasionwear has landed in Ireland for a limited time only in a pop-up online and in store at Arnotts.

“The pop-up was supposed to be here for six weeks, but I think we’re now saying ‘while stocks last’ because it’s been a little bit crazy, I believe we sold quite a lot already,” says founder and creative director Aimee Smale. A former administrative assistant at ASOS, Aimee took the money she’d been saving for a house and turned it into her online brand Odd Muse, which sold out its first product, the Ultimate Muse Blazer, within days. Now, she says everything is a bestseller. “If we don’t see it flying off the shelves, we don’t stock it. So everything’s got a level playing field but the cap sleeve dress is insane – all day every day, it doesn’t stop. This is the one where people first discover us, they’ll get their cap sleeve and come back for something else. It used to be the blazer and the blazers still sell really well but now cap sleeve tends to be her first purchase and she comes back for the new launches.”

The Ultimate Muse Cap Sleeve Mini Dress, €155

The new launches include crisp whites and a resort colleciton, which you’ll find laid out beautifully on the second floor of Arnotts, looking comfortably at home amidst Rixo, Kitri, American Vintage, Ganni and more incredibly established brands. Pretty impressive for a still young brand, which runs a pretty tight team. “My dad actually drove here to set the Arnotts pop-up up, 11 hours from London to Dublin,” says Aimee. “We didn’t want to risk it not getting in here and he made it sound like it was around the corner, classic Dad, no problem at all. He set it all up last night when the store was shut and we were in the air. We gave him a little floorplan and a sketch and he designed the floor so I’d say he did quite a good job. Someone messaged me on Instagram, “I’m a visual merchandiser, and I need to tell your Dad well done.” I have so much help from friends and family, which is lovely and it always makes it a bit more fun. It doesn’t feel like work, this is like a fun weekend with my parents.”

Arnotts marks the brands first pop-up in a store. “We’ve done a standalone pop-up that led to our London store, but this is our first pop-up in a store like Arnotts so I’m really excited, says Aimee. “I think it’d be a good opportunity for people who follow the brand in Ireland to meet the brand in real life and a nice opportunity for people who don’t know anything about Odd Muse to discover us. We have a meeting every Monday about trade, and we always say Ireland is one of our top markets, I think it’s fourth behind Australia. We’re always talking about the charges she’s incurring to get her pieces and know that it should be a lot better so we’re really excited about Arnotts wiping those costs for people. So I’m really excited to make it a little bit easier for our Irish customer because she’s quite dedicated.”

Online and in store, you’ll find the TikTok famous pearl dress in white and black, the brand’s signature nipped waist blazers, sculptural dresses for every occasion and structured pieces that will elevate your wardrobe. Odd Muse does sell out in record time, so don’t hang around.