Irish people are not getting suited and booted - and it is forcing menswear shops to change tactics.
The Covid-19 pandemic has put pay to so many of the big occasions that saw us putting on the glad rags.
And for Declan Mahon, who is known for kitting out top Dublin GAA stars in suits and tuxedos, diversifying from his formal wear Collar and Cuff store in Drumcondra, Dublin seemed the only option.
He told the Irish Mirror: “I knew I needed to start something else to keep us going.
“I had a small amount of casual wear in the shop, people were looking at that as opposed to the suits.”
There was a vacant store across from his premises and he set up a Menswear clearance store there.
He said: “I could see this shop was going to find it tough.“
"Christenings, confirmations and black tie events, all those gigs with large gatherings of people are off."
Declan offers heavily discounted stock and is happy with the response so far.
He said: “It’s been very good, we’ve been there for over a month. I was shocked at how well it went for the first few weeks.
“People were calling in and excited to see something new.’’
The fact that weddings are remaining at reduced capacity means that Declan has had to push back many of his events.
He had planned for three weddings at the beginning of last week:
“The first was cancelled, the second was postponed until late next year and the next put back until 2022.”
He is confident though that if he can maintain what he is doing now, it will keep his business alive, saying: "If it wasn’t there, I’d be looking over my shoulder.”
From a family perspective, Declan, his wife Aine and daughters did things together as a family that they would never have had the time to do previously.
“During that period, I had more time to spend with them.
“Kids are very resilient, we had a family meeting with my wife Aine explaining to them about not seeing their friends or grandparents for a while.
“They understood it and had no face to face contact with their friends for eight weeks.
“When the restrictions eased, I was delighted to see them back interacting with their friends and hearing the voices of kids out on the streets.”
The key thing for Declan is to survive until January and then he has high hopes for 2021.
He added: “Irish people love a big wedding.
“You could have 300 at a wedding, once people are allowed at gatherings, that’s when we can claw back but it’s not advisable to do that at the moment.
“Until they start back, it is survival mode.
"Next year will hopefully be a great year but we have to get there first.”
