Family is the focus in the home of former BT fashion director Cecily MacMenamin. Eoin Lyons talks to her
At first glance, Cecily MacMenamin might seem quite similar to many affluent women living in Dublin 4. Long associated with Brown Thomas , she has the well-coiffed hair, the high-toned voice, and the smart wardrobe.
But there is nothing bourgeois about her. She is good old-fashioned fun and guaranteed to be the life of the party, keeping other guests in stitches with her candour and earthy humour. Hers is not a glacial elegance and this translates into the home she shares with her husband, Joe MacMenamin. Although their nest is empty, the atmosphere is all about family.
They have two daughters, Sarah and Anna, who last week gave birth to a daughter, their first grandchild. If she talks about her career without fuss, others universally identify MacMenamin with fondness. She gave direction to fashion at Brown Thomas for the better part of three decades, bringing back the best of international design and personally matching it to the store's customers.
Born and raised in Killiney, style was fostered by her father. Sitting at her kitchen table, she lets out a husky laugh, punctuated by a cloud of cigarette smoke. "My father was the most stylish man I've ever met. When I finished school he thought - what are we going to do with Cecily? It was a different time from today, you understand. He knew the designer Irene Gilbert and, because I was tall and skinny, Ms Gilbert gave me a go as a model."
Eventually, she started selling for Gilbert and honed her skills further when she worked with Donald Davies, another Irish designer. David Mlinaric decorated his shop in London and soon a second shop opened, followed by another in Paris. Within two years there were eight shops.
MacMenamin played no small part in this success: "People forget they were so big - always in Vogue, and Jean Shrimpton in the shop on Saturday mornings with David Bailey. I was demented in those days, quite wild. I wore white Biba boots, the shortest skirt and my eyebrows still haven't recovered from all the plucking."
Throughout this time MacMenamin knew Hilary Freyne and Galen Weston, whose father owned Fortnum & Mason. It was she who introduced them to one another. "Galen bought Brown Thomas in 1969 and asked me to do something with the fashion. It wasn't easy because there was so little money about in those days." Although 30 years have passed, she still sits on the board of the Brown Thomas Group, attending the first meeting at Selfridges when Weston bought the department store last year.
Decorating isn't a central pastime for MacMenamin. "When I was working I never bothered much with the house, I was too busy, but we've just finished extending the kitchen and I'm having a de-cluttering moment. Although my daughters have moved out, they still have so much stuff here. Every time they visit I give them a sack full of things to take away!"
Joined by Millie, the family pet, Cecily sits in her bedroom wearing a favourite coat by Dries Van Noten: "A woman in Paris wanted to buy it off my back for $4,000!" Ah, clothes. One might think she can't get enough but here's where the MacMenamin dichotomy comes in: "You see, I was never particularly interested in clothes for myself, that's something people never understood about me. But I knew exactly what would work on everyone else."
A kitchen dresser holds all sorts of things, including gifts from friends: the pint of Guinness moulded from rubber was a joke shared with Miranda Guinness; a dozen Tipperary Crystal votive holders were a present from Louise Kennedy and painted French plaques arrived via Hilary Weston.
Also in the kitchen is a painting by Ken Moore. "The best friend I've ever had," says MacMenamin. "He decorated the Beatles' homes in the 1960s and we met while I was working for Donald Davies. When Hilary and Galen married he did their home in Roundwood and designed the Brown Thomas interior in the 1970s. We worked like the devil in those days, but looking back, it was the best fun. Anyway, a year after my daughter Sarah was born, he came through the door with this painting and said it was Sarah in my tummy."
In the drawingroom, on a table between two chairs, is a photograph of Cecily's father. Above this is a 19th century painting and elsewhere, not visible, are examples of mid-20th century Irish art by Colin Middleton and Arthur Armstrong as well as a sketch by Jack B Yeats. The cushions on the sofa were made from the fabric of a Ralph Lauren dress and the coffee table is Chinese. Meanwhile in the hall, a large glossy red lampshade echoes the deep red walls.
In the diningroom, a mirror that once hung in Cecily's family home now rests above the chimneypiece. Two chairs on either side of the hearth are original versions of the gilt chairs synonymous with fashion shows: these were used from the 1950s to the 1980s at Brown Thomas. Sisal flooring and a simple dining table play down any sense of grandeur. In the foreground, a Foxford throw lies across the sofa armrest.
A retailer from her toes up, Cecily MacMenamin stands for something - principally, generosity. She is fulsome in her praise of Brown Thomas and its new managing director, Dalton Philips: "The future of shopping is about ease of getting what you want and that's one of the things we do best. Brown Thomas is a store that compares well with department stores around the world."
