Amy Griffin, following vintage fashion from Limerick to Italy

By Saoirse MacCarthy

And Again Vintage is an online vintage business based in Dublin and can be found at some markets around the city, such as Le Zeitgeist Flea Market in Phibsborough. Amy Griffins love of fashion is a core aspect of her being.  Amy is known for her unique personal style and love for everything vintage. She launched ‘And Again’ during the first year of the pandemic while living at home on the family farm. She has since travelled across Europe curating her collections for the business.

She moved to Dublin from West Limerick when she was 17, with a pink mullet and began working in Topshop. Amys experience working on the Highstreet taught her both the positives and negatives of the fashion industry. “I did enjoy it. But you’re just working for a fast fashion company and seeing the volumes of stock just coming in and coming out and going on the sale rails and going out.” After working for the “guys up top” and understanding the exploitation that goes into the production of the fast fashion industry, “I was like, that’s not sitting well with me anymore.”

 After 7 years of working her way up through the career ladder at Topshop, Amy and some friends decided to travel for a year. Two months into their adventure, while in India, Covid hit, forcing the group to travel home. Amy returned to Limerick and found herself with the opportunity to start something new.

Being the youngest of five, Amy’s family has had a huge impact on her, she dedicates her love of fashion and entrepreneurial nature all to them. All of Amy’s family have businesses of their own, her parents own a farm, her brother owns a gym, “my brother has, a successful business. My sister’s a hairdresser and my older sister’s a graphic designer.” So, when she decided to start her own business, it was only natural. Her parents reviewed her business plan, which included “the branding, the colours, the idea, like, the target market. So, it wasn’t just, like, for the craic or structured.” Amy is a self-described overthinker, to her own detriment, every detail must be meticulously planned from the name to colour pallet.  

Moving back to Dublin in 2022, it was time to start growing the business. Amy began selling in different markets and growing the website. Things haven’t all been smooth sailing while running a business on her own. before building a relationship different vintage suppliers, Amy would travel around Europe on the hunt for her A Grade vintage garments.

While being interviewed by Dierdre Macken, during Dierdre’s series of podcasts during Dublin fashion week, Amy told the story of being scammed by a little old man in Italy. She described the scene of the large shed in rural Italy, converged in cobwebs with a corrugated iron roof. In retrospect she sees the red flags while doing business with this old man, but as a fresh entrepreneur, it was difficult to be as discerning.

And Again, clothing is all A Grade vintage, “it’s guaranteed to have already been washed, been checked for faults.”  Amy has worked with 12 different wholesalers while on the journey to find the best quality of clothing she can provide. She selects each item of clothing by hand meaning thought and care has gone into each item on the website. “I create these colourful collections, which reverts back to my experience in retail, being a visual merchandiser, you have to build these trends around colour stories and maybe like a theme or textures” her vision is evident while scrolling on the website, each item compliments the next.

Amy is now 30 and has noticed in people in her age group, sustainable fashion is not a major concern. “My generation, I’m 30, so me and that gap are just in this fast fashion loophole I think still, where they’re just scrolling on those social media, or the fast fashion pages or websites and just like impulsively buying and really influenced.” Its they younger generation who are majority of her customers, she believes young people are much less susceptible to impulse buying fast fashion than millennials. “I think the younger generation like really are so much better with seeing the magic in second-hand vintage sustainable clothes.”

Two years ago, she was stocked in a shop called Curated, located just off Grafton Street, which has since closed. The positive experience of the concept store has left its mark on Amy and in years to come, she wishes to be in based in a concept store with a collective of other small businesses.

And Again is available online at andagain.me

On Instagram at and_again_ag

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