Bringing the World of Irish Dance Dresses to America

Picture this: you walk into the Philidelphia Marriott Convention Center and are immediately attacked with a barrage of disco balls on legs blinding you from every which way. Each meal you encounter is tainted with tastes of spray tan and hairspray, not to mention the ringing sound of accordions and violins echoing folk music off every corner of the building. This is how you know you’ve arrived at an Irish dance competition.

I had the opportunity to attend the Mid-Atlantic Regional Oireachtas, an annual Irish dance competition in Philadelphia, with the owner of Doire Dress Design, Shauna Shiels. As I sat at the vendor table, awaiting her arrival, I began to take in the scenery within the convention center.

Crammed in between another dress designer’s booth and a team of dancers marking their routine in anticipation of competing. Dancers clomp around, in shoes that mimic a herd of horses, begging their parents for a new shirt at the clothing vendor that says, “Irish Dance ShamROCKS!” When suddenly, like a rainbow during a thunderstorm, appeared none other than the Irish Barbie from Derry, Shauna Shiels.

As she arrived at the table, fresh off a flight from Ireland with a Smirnoff pink lemonade seltzer in hand, I was instantly enamored and needed to know more. We spent the weekend chatting away and at the end of the competition, I was able to sit down with Shauna to get the full scoop on what’s coming next for Doire Dress Designs. Trust me, you’re not going to want to miss out on this.

Descending from 16th century Ireland, the art of Irish dance has started to slowly take over the world. However, when it comes to Irish dance, it’s easy to get distracted by the outside glitz and glamour that we see in the dancer's dresses. When in reality, the journey to arrive at the beautiful result of a dancer’s new dress is extremely complicated and can take months to complete.

One of the most important factors when creating a dance dress is the fit. A dancer’s dress must fit perfectly to help enhance the dancing rather than distract from it. However, not only does the dress need to fit perfectly, but it also needs to be able to represent the dancer wearing it.

“You must be able to understand the dancers themselves, which is not an easy feat.” Shauna says, “The process to me is most importantly about creating a dress that the dancer will love and feel good performing in.”

Irish dance dresses are often very elaborate and paired with thousands of brilliantly colored Swarovski Crystals. Typically, they are the same silhouettes, which is why having a dress that is personal, but also that stands out, can help drastically.

“My dresses are different,” Shauna says. “I often tend to be the one setting the trends we see at the next year’s competitions because I’m always searching for new styles and techniques.”

Throughout our conversations during the weekend, I noticed Shauna was constantly searching for new forms of inspiration. Whether it was fabric samples she was being sent from her connect in New York City or imagining how the Mugler blazer she scrolled upon on Instagram would look as a dance dress.

This observation even continued to be seen in her dresses being displayed at her booth. One was as she described “A Rockette as a Christmas nutcracker” studded in a green, red, and pearl suit jacket style. Another, she coined as the “Leopard Barbie Dress” which is every Jersey Girl’s dream.

Throughout the weekend, it was clear that Shauna’s method of having bold and eye-catching dresses front and center was very successful. Hundreds of potential clientele were stopping by the booth and showing interest as the activities of the competition unfolded. Unfortunately, there was only one official sale made, but don’t you worry, Shauna Shiels plays the long game.

“It’s not about making the sale at the moment, but being able to create the personal bond where they know they will be able to trust me in making their dress,” she says. “Most dancers who stopped by the booth already had dresses, but as kids tend to do, they’ll grow and are going to be looking for the best place to find their next dress.”

Irish dance dresses might be gorgeous, but it comes as no shock to anyone, with that number of crystals...the dress is bound to break the bank a little. Which is what makes working with Doire Dress Design even more special.

“The same way I want to be able to make each dress personal and special for each dancer, I want to make sure everyone has options depending on the budget they’re working with,” Shauna says.

Shauna is the founder and CEO of Doire Dress Design which began in 2006. The brand began to pick up the pace in 2011 when she invested a whopping 350,000 dollars into the company.

“I originally started this ‘business’ as just a hobby, making dresses for my children’s competitions,” she says. “I never would have guessed that it would get to the point that it has today.”

As I was chatting with Shauna, she revealed to me that she is in the process of bringing a branch of her business to the US in collaboration with another American Irish dance dress designer, Jack Puluka, as well as an American seamstress, Susan McDonald.

Jack Puluka grew up in the Irish dance community and as he put it was “dancing before he could even walk.” Similarly to Shauna, Jack began designing dresses as a hobby for the family. However, word of his designs quickly spread, and he started designing dresses for his dance school.

“And soon others began reaching out for me to design their dresses as well,” Puluka says.

Susan also had a similar connection to how she began as a seamstress for Irish dance dresses.

“My grandfather was a furrier in NYC [he was] quite successful and taught his only child, my mom, how to sew… She taught me and I never stopped,” she says.

“About 15 years ago, we dance moms were in a side room of a retirement home, helping the Davis students prepare for a St. Patrick’s Day performance,” she says. “One girl bent forward to check her shoes, and... rip…the zipper split. I took the dress home, fixed it, and the next day I was famous.”

The collaboration between the three is going to be conducted in New Jersey and “is still in the early stages of development.” However, “we should see a pickup in the production of the branch following this year's holiday season,” Shauna says.

When chatting with Jack about his part in the new partnership he states, “This collaboration is going to help bring Doire to the States in a way we’ve never seen before.”

“Overseas dancers are privileged with full glam hair/makeup on the day of their dress reveal that creates a memorable experience for not only the dancer, but for their family as well. This is the experience we’re aiming to bring to the States, a mirror of what Shauna already has been doing for years.”

As well as tackling the American dress designs, Jack will also be assisting in creating this revealing process of the dresses to help bring that little piece of Irish dance tradition to the US. The partnership with seamstress, Susan McDonald, will also provide another level to the experience. After the first fitting with the official dress and dancers are sent to hair and makeup, Susan will then make any alterations to the garment to ensure that the fit is Doire Dress Design qualified.

Having a Doire Dress Design location in New Jersey is going to completely change the game in terms of Irish dance within the US. Rather than having to fly to Ireland to be able to get the normal practice of a full glamorized reveal, it will be available right here, bringing the world of Irish dance dresses to America