Twenty-three-year-old Tipperary Rose Aoife Kelly beat off tough competition earlier this month to become the 49th Rose of Tralee.
In real life she is an occupational therapist at the National Rehabilitation Hospital and has suffered more than her fair share of fashion mistakes. “For the first disco I ever went to, my mother dressed me in fake leather trousers and an Aran jumper. It was terrible, really loose fake leather trousers – she couldn’t have gone more wrong. I’m mortified when I think of it! She is great usually, she is so into fashion. But I would say my dad had a bit of an influence over her on that one. Even worse, my school uniform was all navy and I wore white knee-high socks one day to school – my nickname for four years afterwards was ‘socks’.”
Luckily no fashion mistakes were on show for her Hot Press shoot. “I love this dress, it’s beautiful. It’s really simple. It is so versatile you can dress it up and wear it to a wedding but it’s also an everyday outfit. It’s really nice and comfortable, and most importantly it hides what needs to be hidden! People have commented on how simple yet eye catching it is.”
But was it expensive? “Yes! But this dress was sponsored, I wouldn’t normally spend a lot of money on clothes, or labels. If it was for a special occasion, I would spend the extra few euros. It’s lovely to look nice and to look different but I think if you pick something up from Penneys and dress it up with a nice top you’re almost there. I visited a designer before I went to Tralee and straight away she asked where I had gotten my outfit – I had literally picked up a skirt in Penneys, taken the belt off it, which was material, and tied it around my neck, matched it to a top: that was my outfit and she loved it. You can be creative without spending too much money.”
Here favourite shops are well of the beaten track ensuring she always looks unique. “I love shopping in Nenagh, because all the boutiques are original. There are no big stores like River Island or Oasis, so you get to find a piece that nobody else has. Down in Tralee I could recognise some of the dresses, whereas everything I had was different because the shops I buy from might only order two of each item. I also love going into a shop where the staff know you. It just makes it more personal. I’m the same with my hairdresser, I love to have my hairdresser come to my house just because I am more comfortable in my own environment and we can sit down and have a cup of tea while my hair is drying.”
With her reign as Rose of Tralee just beginning Aoife has a busy year ahead, “I’m going to be travelling all around the world. I get to pick where I want to go and the people I want to meet during the year, and the Rose of Tralee organise it for me. I will definitely be visiting Australia, New Zealand, Dubai, Canada and America.” Nice work if you can get it!

Aoife wears:
Dress from Cameo Boutique, Nenagh about €500
Shoes from Shoe Flaire, Nenagh about €150