This week on Smart Casual: Finding your fashion tribe with Louise Stokes

Smart Casual is IMAGE’s first fashion podcast, in collaboration with Kildare Village. In our bi-weekly chats, we examine why we wear the clothes we do and deal with personal style in a way that speaks to you.

Has fashion helped you find your tribe in life? Fashion has the power to instil a sense of community in people, whether it’s following Fashion Week shows with friends, or even in the way we dress. This week, our hosts discuss how fashion has helped them find common ground and forge friendships throughout their lives. While many say that it’s difficult to forge real and lasting friendships later in life, Marie and Sarah agree that fashion has been the foundation of many of their most meaningful friendships, especially in their 30s and 40s. Édaein shares the pressure she felt in younger years to dress similarly to her friends, but how curating her personal style into adulthood has helped her to find other tribes in other places.

Our special guest this week is jewellery designer and founder and owner of Loulerie, Louise Stokes. Opening Loulerie in 2007, Louise has overseen the business go from strength to strength, and her wares, both her own designs and others, are favourites among the fashion set in Ireland. This week on Smart Casual, she and Sarah chat about her career to date, how her personal style has changed over the years, and her hopes and plans for Loulerie in years to come.

Episode 16 of Smart Casual, in collaboration with Kildare Village, is available now on SoundCloud and iTunes – make sure to like, subscribe and rate us wherever you enjoy your podcasts. Smart Casual is hosted by Dominique McMullan, Marie Kelly and Édaein O’Connell, and produced by Erin Lindsay. If you can’t wait to download, have a listen to the new episode below: