If you imagined that performing on stage is all about glamour and image, think again. Sorcha Brennan, frontlady for Dublin up’n’comers The Butterfly Explosion, can attest to the fact that it’s anything but.

“I’m mad into shopping, so I’ll see items and think they’ll be great for gigs, but I generally end up wearing what comes out of my wardrobe first,” she laughs. “Sometimes I don’t even get time to change and end up wearing whatever I wore to work.”
However, when she does have the time to change for the occasion, she’s not afraid of going the whole hog – she admits to having a number of hotpants that she wears onstage.
“They’re completely outrageous and I do have to mentally prepare myself to wear them!” she recounts.
And in the shoe department?
“I like wearing heels but obviously it’s quite difficult to run around in them, so I’d end up being quite static. But the problem is that if I’m wearing flats, they get uncomfortable because I tap my foot quite a lot. So I think kitten heels are the way forward.”
It also reduces the chances of a heel breaking in the middle of a gig, which is one of her ‘wardrobe malfunction’ fears.
“My other big fear is that I’ll wear something which ends up being see-through,” she reveals, shuddering. “It’s not happened to me yet, but I can imagine it will at some point, especially with stage lights everywhere.”
When Sorcha’s off duty, she’s got plenty of threads to suit her mood. She owns so many clothes that she’s broken a three-drawer chest because of it, and happily admits to being a hoarder.
“My whole family are against throwing things away – and I’m so glad they didn’t,” she explains. “My grandmother passed her clothes on to my mum, and my mum passed them on to me, so I’ve got all these original ‘50s clothes in my possession. A few of them were even tailor-made.”
Her heirlooms sit side by side with vintage dresses that she buys in specialist and charity shops.
“I love wearing them, especially if I want to feel girly. I sometimes wear them to work, and people think I’m…eclectic,” she says, choosing her words carefully. “I wouldn’t wear dresses all the time, though. I go through phases, and if last year was my phase for dresses and skirts, this year is all about jeans.”
That said, she was a late bloomer when it comes to jeans. Having spent her youth wearing trousers, skirts, dresses and combats, once she discovered the world of denim, her first pair were skinny fit.
“I keep going back to skinny fit, not only because I have a soft spot for them now, but also because I’m a little short and they address that. But I’ve worn all different types, like flared and bootcut.”
And in the undergarment department – is she a stickler for matching underwear?
“No, I’m not really concerned if they’re co-ordinated. But I do like nice underwear. Again, I like vintagey-looking things, and lacey items. Ones which hopefully won’t ever show onstage!”