Irish shirts of distinction

Big Soda Clothing is a small design house making and printing T-shirts and sweaters that are giving Abercrombie, Superdry and the rest a good run for their money. The quality and design of the vintage-inspired range are seriously high-end and there’s a nice Irish twist.

Five years ago Jean Kelly, who had been head designer for Penneys for a decade before that, decided she wanted to create something truly Irish and the Big Soda Company was born in her home studio in Dublin.

Most of the stock is sold through the website, bigsodaclothing.com, and Kelly says a lot of their orders come from the US and Canada, where buyers like the subtle “Born in Ireland” reference on the clothes. Now Kelly has launched a slightly higher end range, James & Pitcher.

Big Soda Clothing can be found at Marlay Park market in Rathfarnham on Saturdays and at the People’s Park, Dún Laoghaire on Sundays.