New Goose Island Store Opens in Swansea

Goose Island is extremely pleased to announce the opening of our brand new store in Swansea.

The grand opening was held on November 1st, complete with champagne, nibbles, and a whole host of lovely new customers. Princess Jasmine and Alibaba, from the upcoming Aladdin pantomime at Penyrheol Theatre, also attended the opening and helped us welcome new customers, and even gave out their own personal fashion and style advice. Alibaba particularly liked our long red jumper dress.

We will be stocking all of our regular Goose Island favourites at our new store, such as our very popular shirt jumper and magic dresses, as well a whole host of new stock ready for the festive season. Look out for our new sparkly, glamorous clutch bags, soft tartan scarves, crystal bracelets, subtle tie dye dresses, dainty necklaces, and much, much more. We’ve even got a range of Christmas gifts ready to go.

Our new store is located on Plymouth Street in Swansea city centre, opposite the Eli Jenkins pub. This now means that we have three stores across south Wales, in Mumbles, Swansea and Cowbridge, and we look forward to meeting all of our new customers, as well as other exciting ventures in the future.

Women's Knitwear - It's not all about the jumper!

As we approach the tail end of October, and the temperature has started to drop, everyone is starting to add a few items of trusty knitwear to their everyday wardrobe. There is nothing better than snuggling up in a cosy jumper, whether you are out and about, or even just sitting on the sofa at home; there’s something about this time of year that demands cosy comfort from your wardrobe.

However, being cosy and comfortable can sometimes feel like you have to make style sacrifices. Big, thick, woolly jumpers are great for keeping out the cold, but can be overly cumbersome under a coat, and can also appear quite shapeless.

Women’s knitwear doesn’t always have to be about bulky jumpers; there are many more options that will keep you warm, but still remain stylish.

Cardigans

Women’s knitwear comes in a huge variety of styles and shapes these days, and cardigans are a great option to add some style while still staying snugly warm. The sheer variety of cardigans means that you can usually find one to suit any outfit or occasion, and they are great for layering.

Knitted Dresses

Knitted dresses are one of the chicest knitwear styles. They are almost an entire outfit in one, and there is freedom to style them how you want as you can dress them up or down. They are also a great transitional piece for when the seasons start to change; meaning you will get great wear out of them.

Statement Jumpers

Women’s jumpers do not have to be boring. Gone are the days when jumpers meant chunky, garish items that were knitted by your aunt.  With all the options available today you can certainly find a jumper to suit your personal tastes, whether you’re into flowers, animals, stars, stripes, or slogans. Imagine this floral jumper with jeans and slouchy ankle boots, and it would look just as good worn with block skinny jeans and strappy heels for a smarter look.

Ponchos

Ponchos are no longer just for the Wild West fans out there. Ponchos are making a comeback in the knitwear world, with a whole host of high street stores stocking them as a must-have item for this winter. Ponchos are an easy and relaxed knitwear choice, giving you a simple alternative to a coat or jacket. They can even be styled with a belt at the waist. Plus, a poncho is essentially like wearing a cosy blanket, and who wouldn’t want that on a cold winter day.

Goose Island currently has a huge selection of fashionable knitwear for autumn and winter, including a great range of jumpers, cardigans, ponchos, dresses, scarves, and everything else you need to stay cosy and stylish at the same time.

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!