The Lingerie Adventure - Northside Part 1: Henry Street's Offerings Part 1

I love Henry Street - you know it's the finest shopping street in Dublin because you have to navigate through swaths of people to get anywhere in it. There is a true balance between (as Wikipedia phrases it) "the Ilac Shopping Centre [with its] many interesting and lower budget shops" (which is an odd thing to say it has an Debenhams!), and then just odd little spots like super extravagant Arnotts and the adorable fabric shop, Hickeys. Oh and it has loads of shoe shops. Not to mention the library in the Ilac Centre. And Iceland (also in the Ilac Centre). So to stop myself fawning over my beloved Ilac (I saw an ad for it on TV and squealed!).

The Ilac Centre also houses Debenhams, which I am going to crown the best place to shop for bras in Dublin.

Vital Stats/Dating Profile:

Name: Debenhams, Ilac Centre
Location: Henry Street
Website: http://www.ilac.ie/stores/debenhams/
Sizes Available: I have seen from 28A to 30J and I'm sure they have more! Loads of 28 backs (the only place I have seen them on shelves! Sadly, 28s but only to G.
Brands I noted (note too that I have strong bias towards full-bust): Gorgeous, Freya, Fantastie, Wonderbra, Gossard, Shock Absorber.
Ordering Service: Yes.
Price: Very cheap - some bras are 5 euro reduced. Many Gorgeous bras are 25 or so. Everything else is standard enough though they seem to have good sales!
Fitting Service: Dire. Avoid!
Summary: Heaven for DIY fitters... the staff have never tried to help me! I'm just tiny girl with the giant pile of giant bras. I think they know me in there. Oh er! Erm! Shout-out!

The store is beautifully located where you can see a the Spire dramatically in the background of the picture (stolen from GoogleMaps oh er!)... shame about the lingerie section being up three flights of stairs.

Name: Arnotts
Location: Henry Street (right across the street from the Ilac!)
Website: http://www.arnotts.ie/aspx/homepage.aspx
Sizes Available: I don't know much about the smaller sizes, but a lack of 28 bands, 30 bands are rare enough. Mainly larger bands, but there are larger cups. There were 36Js.
Ordering Service: Yes.
Brands I noted (note too that I have strong bias towards full-bust): Fantasie (so much Fantasie!), Freya, Panache, Shock Absorber, Simon Perle, Wacoal (I have never seen Wacoal until now!)
Price: Sadly, not competitive, about 45 euro for a Panache Andorra. Not shocking, but even with their sale on out of my budget. No 28 backs anyways.
Fitting Service: Seems okay - I overhead them fitting a 34D into a 30F and she sounded surprised that her straps weren't falling down. Sadly I can't personally vouch for it. On the whole it doesn't sound bad! :)
Summary: Expensive but a pretty store with brands I haven't spotted elsewhere in Dublin - sadly no Cleo or Masquerade.

What a luxurious shop - the changing rooms are a beautiful silvery grey and massive (with two giant mirrors), with a transparent chair. I think I'll take a picture next time! It screams luxury! Arnotts has changed its design since Google Maps' picture.

Their is another lingerie shop on Henry Street - Marks and Spencers. They also have a store on Grafton Street - which I will discuss next!