A|Wear is an Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 chain of clothing stores that operates in the Republic of Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

, Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

 and more recently in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

.

History

A|Wear (previously Gay Wear) launched on Irish high-streets in 1985 as part of the Galen Weston

Galen Weston

Willard Gordon Galen Weston, OC, OOnt , is a Canadian businessman and philanthropist. He is the Chairman and President of George Weston Limited...

's successful retail empire. Gaywear had first opened in Limerick in 1966. Up until the mid-2000s the stores were operated by the Brown Thomas Group

Brown Thomas

Brown Thomas & Company Limited is a chain of four Irish department stores, located in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick. Owned by Wittington Investments, Brown Thomas is an upmarket chain, akin to Canada's Holt Renfrew chain and Britain's Selfridges stores, which are also controlled by the Weston...

. In May 2007 a consortium lead by Alchemy Partners
purchased the company for €70m from the Brown Thomas Group. The new company continue to operate 25 stores in the Republic of Ireland, three in Northern Ireland and more recently five stores have opened in the United Kingdom.
On 17th October 2011 the company was purchased by Hilco Ireland.

Clothing Range

Previous fashion designers who have designed for A|Wear include John Rocha

John Rocha

John Rocha CBE, is a Hong Kong born fashion designer of Chinese and Portuguese descent who is based in Ireland.-Personal life:...

 and Quinn and Donnlley. Prior to 2000, A|Wear stores in Ireland also had a range of men's clothing. Today, stores primarily focus on female clothing and accessories.

A|Wear's spring/summer and fall/winter ranges are also available to purchase online on its website.

Stores

• - Republic of Ireland
• Carlow
  Carlow
  Carlow is the county town of County Carlow in Ireland. It is situated in the south-east of Ireland, 84 km from Dublin. County Carlow is the second smallest county in Ireland by area, however Carlow Town is the 14th largest urban area in Ireland by population according to the 2006 census. The...
  
  
• Castlebar
  Castlebar
  Castlebar is the county town of, and at the centre of, County Mayo in Ireland. It is Mayo's largest town by population. The town's population exploded in the late 1990s, increasing by one-third in just six years, though this massive growth has slowed down greatly in recent years...
  
  
• Sligo
  Sligo
  Sligo is the county town of County Sligo in Ireland. The town is a borough and has a charter and a town mayor. It is sometimes referred to as a city, and sometimes as a town, and is the second largest urban area in Connacht...
  
  
• Cork
  Cork (city)
  Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
  
  
• Donegal
  Donegal
  Donegal or Donegal Town is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. Its name, which was historically written in English as Dunnagall or Dunagall, translates from Irish as "stronghold of the foreigners" ....
  
  
• Dublin
• Kilkenny
  Kilkenny
  Kilkenny is a city and is the county town of the eponymous County Kilkenny in Ireland. It is situated on both banks of the River Nore in the province of Leinster, in the south-east of Ireland...
  
  
• Limerick
  Limerick
  Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
  
  
• Galway
  Galway
  Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...
  
  
• Kildare
  Kildare
  -External links:*******...
  
  
• Offaly
• Kerry
  County Kerry
  Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...
  
  
• Waterford
  Waterford
  Waterford is a city in the South-East Region of Ireland. It is the oldest city in the country and fifth largest by population. Waterford City Council is the local government authority for the city and its immediate hinterland...
  
  
• Wexford
  Wexford
  Wexford is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. It is situated near the southeastern corner of Ireland, close to Rosslare Europort. The town is connected to Dublin via the M11/N11 National Primary Route, and the national rail network...
  
  

• - Northern Ireland
• Antrim
  Antrim, County Antrim
  Antrim is a town in County Antrim in the northeast of Northern Ireland, on the banks of the Six Mile Water, half a mile north-east of Lough Neagh. It had a population of 20,001 people in the 2001 Census. The town is the administrative centre of Antrim Borough Council...
  
  
• Down
  Down
  Down may refer to:* Relative direction, where down is the direction towards the centre of gravity of a celestial object.* Railroad directions, where down and up have locally significant meanings...
  
  
• Armagh
  Armagh
  Armagh is a large settlement in Northern Ireland, and the county town of County Armagh. It is a site of historical importance for both Celtic paganism and Christianity and is the seat, for both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland, of the Archbishop of Armagh...
  
  

• - United Kingdom

• Glasgow
  Glasgow
  Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
  
   (Scotland)
• Bristol
  Bristol
  Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
  
   (England)
• Leicestershire
  Leicestershire
  Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
  
    (England)
• Staffordshire
  Staffordshire
  Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
  
    (England)
• Swansea
  Swansea
  Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
  
  (Wales)