Our Easter Online Sale has STARTED!

Goose Island is holding a fantastic Easter weekend online sale!

From Good Friday 3rd April until Easter Monday 6th April, there will be 20% off ALL full price stock on our website!

You can click and collect at any of our stores.

Cowbridge: 50A High Street, Cowbridge, CF71 7AH - 01446 771072 

Mumbles: 69 Newton, Mumbles, SA3 4BE - 01792 368500

Swansea: 3 Plymouth Street, Swansea, SA1 3QQ - 01792 653060 

Or collect direct from our warehouse:

Unit 1 Penrice Court, Swansea Business Park, Llansamlet, SA6 8QW - 01792 795972

Visit www.Goose-Island.co.uk now!

Long Cardigans are Perfect to Add Layers to Any Style

As soon as the year rolls around to autumn and winter, all the fashion catalogues and adverts will be featuring layers in a big way. Layers can make an outfit look perfectly put together - and keep you warm as an added bonus!

We love the layered look at Goose Island, and fully subscribe to the Lagenlook, using beautiful, floaty, feminine layers to create a unique and individual bohemian style. 

In out latest blog, we talk about one of our favourite fashion pieces, long cardigans, and how you can use them to create this popular layered look.

"Whether it is two layers or five, due to their inherently long and flowing cut, long cardigans can instantly create a bohemian-style layered look. Simply wear one over a dress, add as a layer before a heavier coat, or even layer it underneath a vest or gilet. Long, wool cardigans are great to wear when the weather is still cold, and lighter, jersey material cardigans are a great choice when the weather is a bit milder, and are also great to use as a cover up over a bikini or shorts and t-shirt when you are on holiday."

Don't forget to take a look at some of our favourite long cardigans in stock! And we still have great prices available in our sale!

Where Can You Wear a Black Cocktail Dress?

We are in to the full swing of Christmas now, and with only a few days left before most people finish work before the new year, there are Christmas parties and nights out going on left, right, and centre. 

This is an exciting time of year, and we are certainly looking forward to entering in to the festive spirit of things, but a lot of women will be struggling with the age old conundrum of deciding what to wear to all of these social occasions! 

It can be a struggle at Christmas between choosing something comfortable and safe, or going for something sparkly that might be a bit out of your comfort zone, but, in our new blog, we think a black cocktail can solve more problems than you may think:

"Dresses are great to wear for any kind of party or gathering, but black cocktail dresses have a classic, sophisticated, elegance that will allow you to wear the same dress almost anywhere.
At first thought, a black cocktail dress may seem a bit over the top for some occasions, but if you start thinking of it as a normal black dress, then you will realise that it can be adapted for almost anything. For example, you can go with the traditional formal look by putting your hair up in an elegant chignon, adding delicate silver jewellery and matching black heels, or you can layer it with a soft waterfall blazer, fashionable statement jewellery, and flat pumps."

Don't stress too much about what to wear over Christmas, just make sure to concentrate on enjoying yourself. Merry Christmas!

Don't forget to pop in to Goose Island for your last minute Christmas gifts, and our early New Year sale with up to 70% off!

Tops you Can Wear to Party the Night Away

The festive season is upon us, and we know that everyone is thinking about their Christmas party, whether that is in the office or a night out with the girls. A lot of people are also starting to fret about what wear...

Dresses are the go-to for Christmas occasions, but we think you can look just as stylish wearing a lovely top, with trousers or a skirt. In our new blog on our website, we have laid out a few tips and suggestions when looking for a Christmas party top:

"As with all ladies clothing these days, there is a myriad of different styles, cuts, and colours to choose from; making it easier to find something that suits you and your individual style. For a Christmas night out, you might want to think about looking out for tops that feature embellishments, such as sequins or diamantes for a bit of seasonal sparkle, or tops that feature a sheer or lace overlay to add a some classic elegance."

A top can be just as formal appropriate for any occasion as a dress, not to mention, you're more likely to wear a top again, than a posh dress! We've even suggested a few of our favourite tops that were made in Italy to carry you through the festive season, including details like velvet flocking, lace crochet, and sumptuous plum colours.

Don't miss out on style by only looking at dresses this Christmas. 

How to Use Accessories to Change the Look of Any Outift

Most people have a few favourite items of clothing that they love to wear more often than others - those go to outfits that are thrown on when you can’t think of anything else to wear. Some people even have a ‘capsule’ wardrobe made up of a few different items that they can mix and match. But how do you stop yourself from becoming bored? There is only so much you can do with just a few items of clothing.

However, this does not mean that you need to stop wearing your favourite top and jeans combination, or you need to go out and buy 50 new outfits. There are other options that can bring to life boring outfits, or add a bit of personality back in to over-worn pieces of clothing.

Ladies’ accessories have such an incredible range and variety, you can find so many different pieces to suit any occasion, style, or mood. The right accessories can help you bring life back to old outfits, and even adapt them to certain occasions that you never would have thought of before.

Adding a necklace to an outfit can instantly change the entire tone and purpose. If you have a faithful black top that you wear often, try choosing a necklace that stands out against the black. Statement necklaces are extremely popular at the moment, and adding a beautiful, oversized necklace, with a bit of sparkle, against a black top would be perfect for a night out or special occasion. Additionally, add a long, simple, pendant-style necklace for a touch of understated elegance suitable for weekends or the office.

Similarly, other jewellery and accessories can create the same effect. Try wearing larger, brighter, and more ostentatious necklaces, earrings, and bracelets, when you are heading to a part or a night out, and simpler, plainer pieces for day-wear. However, try to remember to balance out your look – don’t wear large necklaces, bracelets, and earring all at once, it could be too much!

Another accessory that ladies can’t seem to be without is a handbag. Again this accessory varies wildly in style and quality, and can be used to make a significant change to any outfit. We all have a favourite handbag, one that we take with us wherever we go and is full of our daily essentials – as well as a lot of non-essentials – but as your styles and occasions change, it might be worth mixing up your handbag habits. A large black handbag is great for carrying around every day; it can fit your lunch in for work, and gives you plenty of room to carry around an umbrella, a hairbrush, and anything else you might need to survive the winter weather. However, you could try just changing the colour of your regular handbag if you are looking for a subtle deviation. Brown and tan colour bags are always on trend through autumn and winter. If you are heading out the evening, step outside of your comfort zone a little and opt for a glittery or sparkly mini clutch bag. This will instantly add glamour to your outfit, and the upcoming festive season is the perfect excuse.

Necklaces, rings, bracelets, earrings, handbags, as well as scarves and hats, can truly change the look of any outfit, and carry your style through day to night, and many other different occasions. When you are next putting on that same old outfit, take a moment to consider your accessories – change something, mix different elements up, and be creative – you could have a whole new outfit without buying a single piece of new clothing.

Karen's Italian Fashion Trip

During her latest fashion buying trip to Italy, Karen managed to take some time out to explore the countryside, which included cycling the cobbled streets of some picturesque local villages (and helping herself to some fresh lemons for her G & T from the hotel grounds).

 It all sounds fabulous fun and more like a holiday than a fashion buying trip. But the reality is far from the glamorous and glitzy image people have of fashion buying.

The challenges are continuous. Not only is Karen constantly searching for the best fashion designs to meet the demands of her customers, but she is committed to visiting suppliers herself to ensure the quality of the fabric and finishing meet her stringent standards.

At the moment, she is travelling to Italy on a regular basis to source top quality Italian designs for the many wholesale customers they supply throughout the UK and Europe, as well as to stock both of her boutiques and online shop. These buying trips are essential to enable Goose Island to be able to offer customers an eclectic range of seasonal clothing which is genuinely ‘Made in Italy’.

 Her day starts early to ensure she is able to oversee the selection of fabrics and ensure patterns and production is set up is correctly. Italy is considered to be the stronghold of the Italian textile industry and, when she’s there, Karen spends her days from 9.00 am to 8.30 pm, viewing designs, negotiating on prices, and placing orders.

To put this task into perspective, Goose Island is working with many manufacturers in Northern Italy where the factories are spread over a vast area which involves a lot of driving time and, of course, this makes Karen’s task to find the right products for her brand a huge challenge. Whether it is knitwear, which will include the very popular shirt/jumper, layered tunics, dresses, or tops, she has to spend hours visiting each different manufacturer to find just the right styles and colours.  She also has to organise the shipping and delivery to the UK within the tightest deadlines.

So bearing all of this in mind, Karen has earned her time out on her recent trip, and her G & T on the hotel veranda. Chin Chin!