Upper end of patrick street,cork

With Christmas fast approaching, we thought it might be an idea to give a few hints and tips about shopping in Cork.Needless to say we have a little bit to say about our own place of work as well.

The premier destination for shoppers in Cork City is Patrick Street. Historically it has always been the main thoroughfare through Cork, going back to the time when it used to ferry people and cargo up the river and through the gate of the Queens Old Castle. Patrick Street boasts the presence of all the top shops in Cork City. On the upper end are a lot of the international chain stores such as Debenhams and Marks and Spencer. Ireland’s most prestigious department store Brown Thomas is located here as  at the junction of Patrick Street and Winthrop Street. Across the road on the other side of Patrick Street is Easons book and stationary store and some womens’ clothing stores such as Awear. As you make your way up to the other end of Patrick Street you will pass a lot of womens clothing retailers such as Warehouse, Claire’s Accessories and Oasis.

There are four side streets that branch off Patrick street.The first of these is called Winthrop street and features a few nice cafes and jewellery shops.If you fancy stopping for a quick refreshment try the Long valley pub which is famous for its twin combos of toasted sandwiches and pints of the black stuff.As you move from he upper end of “Pana”as it is affectionately known to the lower end you will pass Cook street and Marlboro street neither of which has anything much to offer.The best and most shopper friendly of these side streets all of which lead on to Oliver Plunkett street is Princess Street.The main entrance to the old English Market is here as well if you would like to sample some of the delights of cuisine a la Cork.

It is at this point that a couple may want to split up, as Cork’s answer to Saville Row lies in wait for the discerning male shopper. After the turn off for the Old English Market you will come to Cork’s finest tailoring house, Tom Murphy Menswear.

Tom Murphy Menswear is one of Cork’s oldest menswear clothes stores and the signs of its significant history are there for all to see. All of the buildings along here escaped the burning of Cork by the Black and Tans, so the charm and character of these historical buildings still remains intact.They really are worth visiting as they retain the charm of a bygone era.

Inside Tom Murphy Menswear and some of the other traditional tailoring house  nearby, you will see a blend of the contemporary with the traditional. The merchandising of the stock is neat and the range on view is sharp and sophisticated. As you travel from the compact casual department, up the narrow winding stairs(it is the original staircase) you will pass by lots of old photos of Cork from 120 years ago.

Everywhere you go in this store history will greet you.As you make your way up the stairs old photographs of celebrity shoppers from times past catch the eye.The enormous  celings and Georgian windows give a huge impression of space and point to a style of architecture that belongs to another era.

If you have time and can ditch the wife for a good hour or so why not pop into the suit department and enjoy the experience of sifting through the endless array of ready made suits.If you are after something a little more bespoke ask Tom or Michael to show you the made to order collection and they will get cracking with the measuring tape.Whatever you are after and whether you come to look,observe or buy I am sure you will enjoy the experience of visiting Tom Murphys in the heart of Cork’s shopping district.

The all new shopper friendly Patrick street

Buy him christmas clothes online

It has reached that time of the year again when women come flocking into our shop looking for inspiration as to what to buy the men in their lives for Christmas. We thought it might be a good idea to give a few pointers in the right direction, as many of ye good female folks tell us it is impossible to know what to buy for your boyfriends, husbands, fathers etc…

We are also noticing that our online customers are having the same dilema and are not quiete sure what to buy from our website.We are a contrary ole bunch,us men,but there is nothing like a bit of good clobber to get us smiling again.The value that  out there online is great and if you are looking for some guidance we thought we might give you a hand.

Sometimes a gift voucher is the best option. However if you don’t trust your man to select something tasteful and trendy (which many of ye rightly do not) then park that option, unless you plan on accompaning him when he goes to town to do his shopping and use up the voucher.

A sensible purchase for Christmas is a nice warm, toasty jumper that will keep him warm over the festive season. Forget the loud, strong stripes and diamond patterns which represent the fasion of a bygone era and go for a plain, solid colour which are back in vogue again. A Christmas bestseller for us in always the Tricot Marine chunky jumper which is available in navy, red and blue. These jumpers are 100% wool and made from extra thick yarns which gaurantee your man will be all snugly and cosy over Christmas.

If he does not like a heavy jumper then go for something lighter from the Kellerman range which like Tricot Marine are designed and produced in Ireland.

These jumpers are a little lighter but there is a good palette of colours to choose from in both v and round neck.

If the man in your life has a wardrobe full of jumpers then perhaps a shirt in a gift box would make an ideal present. Our range of Andre casual shirts are always popular at Christmas and come in button down or regular collars. This season the Andre casual range comes in special presentation boxes which saves you the bother of having to gift wrap them. For the ultimate present get him a matching shirt and jumper from this range and get 15 quid off (which you will surely pass on to him and tell him to use it for a few pints at the weekend)!

With the recessionary onslaught continuing it is posible that your budget might not stretch that far however. Our Accessories Collection includes scarfs, cuff links, stud buttons and mens armbands which all come in gift boxes. The prices of these items make them very affordable and ideal gifts.For some more ideas for cost saving gifts visit the accessories page on our website.

Please remember that the option is there to have your present gift wrapped.

Matching shirt and jumper

Our Nomination for best Internet Start Up Company

First of all,apologies to all our regular blog readers as it has been a while since I have updated our weekly blog.It has been a very busy couple of months for me personally and my blogging duties have been neglected.I am hoping to get motoring again and keep you all updated on the riveting goings on and happenings in the world of mens fashion and clothing.Well maybe not quite the world but at least what is happening down here in Cork.

Since I last blogged a few interesting things have been happening.Firstly our company was nominated for best Irish internet start-up company of 2011 by the Irish internet association.Unfortunately we did not win the coveted first prize but it was a great honour to be the only representative from the fashion industry.We recieved great exposure from the nomination and I am sure it will lead to even more recognition for us.The publicity we recieved from the nomination led to a lot of extra ciricular work for myself.I appeared on a few radio programmes talking about the use of technology for small businesses and have to say i thoroughly enjoyed the experience.As well as that I was honoured to be asked by Social Media Ireland to give a presentation on the use of video to increase brand awareness amongst small businesses.The picture is included below.

Our online business is continuing to develop and it has been an absolute pleasure to see orders coming from all over Ireland and international countries as well.A recent article on the well known website Silicon Republic featured an article on us recently and genererated more publicity for us.This is what they had to say about us.
Online menswear store proves fashionable overseas

A Cork-based online menswear store that launched last April, www.tom-murphy.ie, has already had orders from overseas, including from Bolivia.

Its founder Tom Murphy said the site specialises in selling men’s suits, shirts, ties and shoes online and believes there is no other site like it in Ireland.

“We also offer an online made-to-measure service, where people have to wait eight weeks for a wedding suit of their dreams to be produced,” he said.

“It is early days yet but we have already made quite a few sales. We have sold suits to customers around Ireland and we have had sales overseas, as well. We sent an order for a couple of suits to Bolivia. We also have recently done a made-to-measure suit for a customer in the US.
Massive international potential

“We feel there is massive potential for an Irish menswear store to reach into other international markets, and the Irish-American segment is particularly interesting. We try to give a unique online service based on what the independents do best — service and quality”

For more of this interview,you will be able to get it on the Silicon Republic Website at this link

http://www.siliconrepublic.com/start-ups/item/18943-online-menswear-store-prove

Tom Murphy giving presentation on the use of video for business in Radisson hotel