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Meet The Rebecca

New to our Women’s Collection, the Rebecca dress is a standout piece this season. 

Our fresh take on the timeless shirt dress, the mid-length Rebecca features a button through front, pockets and fabric belt and offers a classic silhouette with beautiful movement. 

This versatile summer style is available in two Irish Linens, designed, woven and finished at our mill in Donegal, and a vibrant Liberty of London print.  

These are colours and textures inspired by the coastline of Donegal, designed to transport you to a sandy shore on a summer’s day, looking out at the wild Atlantic Ocean.⁠  

“I have been working through our weaving archives and planning different, more casual ways to use our luxurious fabrics. I love linen, it is so versatile and comfortable, yes it creases a little, but it is one of the characteristics of this natural and sustainable fabric and that’s ok – it has that lived in and loved look!  

I don’t wear dresses very often and wanted to create a piece that I would wear – something that works from Spring through to early Autumn. I love the shape; it drapes beautifully and features a self-fabric belt (or mix it up with one of our stunning English bridle leather belts) and pockets. I am very excited about the Rebecca, of the three gorgeous fabrics, the delicate blue herringbone is my favourite. I hope you love this dress as much as we do!”  

Charlotte Temple, Design Director Magee 1866

Natural fibre fabrics are central to our collections and this season is no exception with Irish Linen making up a large part of Spring Summer. The ultimate versatile fabric, linen is synonymous with summer and perfect whether you’re relaxing at the beach or working in the city.   

Designed, woven and finished at our mill, the calming blue shade and classic herringbone pattern make this a sophisticated addition to your warm weather wardrobe.  

The oat-grey base of this 100% Irish Linen is striped with shades of chalky green and pale blue giving a nautical feel to this relaxed style. 

A statement piece, the Rebecca makes summer dressing a breeze, simply style with trainers or heels, whatever suits the mood. 

Evocative of summer sunsets, the dreamy Liberty of London print ‘Cloud Nine’ is a soft cloud pattern in delicate watercolour shades of pink and blue with hints of gold. 

The print, coupled with the distinctive hand-feel and translucent softness of Liberty of London’s Tana Lawn Cotton make this dress a comfortable and feminine style. 

Shop The Rebecca

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Introducing Spring/Summer 2022

Introducing the Magee 1866 Spring/Summer 2022 Collection – COAST  

Inspired by over 1,000 kilometres of Donegal coastline, where we have been designing, weaving and tailoring luxurious fabrics for five generations. 

“Spring Summer 2022 was designed with hope in mind following the long months of a pandemic that has turned the world upside-down. While working on the collection we had taken time to watch spring slowly appearing following a winter of uncertainties. The idea of a fresh start and new life are the core elements in our colourful and optimistic collection for SS22.    

We have looked at how we have adapted over the last couple of years, especially what we are wearing. The emphasis on casual wear has accelerated and we have embraced this more relaxed, comfortable approach in this collection with Irish linen shirts and drawstring trousers, luxury cashmere jumpers, sweats and colourful cotton polos and t-shirts.  

However, we are looking forward to dressing up again! Our tailored collection includes classic lightweight tweeds and summer weight jackets, but with a focus on unstructured silk and linen blend jackets styled with lightweight cotton chinos and printed shirts.” 

Classic patterns sit beside bold and oversized checks in this collection with the colour pallet inspired by the sea and land. Sea blues, mossy greens, earthy oats, peaty browns are accented by the colours of local flora like gorse, fuchsia, blackberry, moss and montbretia that were historically used to create the colourful speckles synonymous with Donegal Tweeds. “

-Design Director, and 5th generation family member, Charlotte Temple reflects on the design process.  

Cheerful, bright colours of raspberry pink, sunset orange, naval and sea blues are contrasted in this collection with timeless, neutral shades of natural linen oat, sky grey, olive and forest greens. While the fabrics focus on natural fibres – silk, cotton, cashmere, linen, merino and lambswool, much of which is designed and woven at our mill in Donegal, Ireland.  

Women’s Collection

A new addition to the range of knitwear is a luxurious cotton cashmere blend in four styles This season sees a host of new additions to the women’s collection. The Aoife is a preppy, short unstructured jacket in a micro houndstooth silk and cotton blend tweed and is complemented by a beautiful range of luxurious lightweight cashmere knitwear. 

The Rebecca shirt dress is a standout piece, available in three colours ranging from calming pale blue Irish linen to a vibrant Liberty of London print. The Liberty of London pieces don’t end there, the new Patty top will add a burst of colour to your wardrobe and the easy to wear Tessa tunic will become your go-to top for trips to the beach. Women’s collection favourites like the Emma and Grace coats return in fresh, new lightweight tweeds, designed and woven at our mill. 

 

Men’s Collection

Ireland’s unpredictable weather is taken into account in the Men’s collection, the timeless Glenveigh quilted jacket is joined by a new style, the Dingle, a 4-pocket showerproof unstructured jacket, available in two colours.   

Familiar tailored styles like the Liffey Jacket are reimagined in a summery mix of linen and silk blends, woven in house, with a new addition, the Adare, a soft unstructured jacket that offers a comfortable, put together look. Making a triumphant return to the men’s collection after a long absence, men’s shorts, in cotton chino or linen, are accompanied by a selection of t-shirts, polos and the softest cotton sweatshirts.  

Irish Linen

Natural fibre fabrics are central to our collections and this season is no exception with Irish Linen making up a large part of Spring Summer for both men and women.

The ultimate versatile fabric, linen is synonymous with summer and perfect whether you’re relaxing on the beach or working in the city. Crafted in Irish Linen, woven and finished at the Magee weaving mill in Donegal, highlights include the Rowan overshirt for men, the Mourne boyfriend fit jacket for women, drawstring trousers for both and for the ultimate in summer chic, the Finn suit in a dark inky blue linen, perfect for a special occasion.  

This collection is designed to maximise your summer and as always, each quality piece is made with longevity in mind.  

Shop in store or online from February.

Photography: Suzy McCanny  

Videography: Ciarán Carty  

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New In – Magee 1866 X Irish Wool Throws

A really exciting addition to our Home Interiors Collection, just in time for Christmas gifting, Irish Wool throws have arrived. 

A truly sustainable choice crafted in 100% Irish wool, this launch represents a milestone as the first home interiors pieces in the Magee 1866 X Irish Wool collection.   

At Magee 1866, we are committed to developing and using Irish Wool in our textiles. Over the past number of years, we have been working closely with Donegal Yarns, a local yarn supplier just up the road in Kilcar, and farmers to source finer wool from Irish sheep to re-ignite positivity around this fantastic and ‘local’ raw material. 

The wool is then spun by Donegal Yarns, ready to be woven into fabric at our mill in Donegal Town where we have been weaving for five generations and over 150 years.  

Designed, woven and finished at our mill in a contemporary oversized houndstooth pattern, the Irish Wool throw is available in two colours and finished with thick tasselled fringing. The perfect piece to showcase this unique fabric.  

This is a truly sustainable home accessory that is made with longevity in mind.

Shop Magee 1866 X Irish Wool throws.

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Magee 1866 x Irish Wool Vol. II

In a continuation of our commitment to developing Irish wool for use in our textiles, we are proud to present the latest additions to the Magee 1866 X Irish Wool collection.

At Magee 1866, we are part of a wider movement to develop and use Irish Wool in our textiles. We have been working with Donegal Yarns, a local yarn supplier just up the road in Kilcar on sourcing wool from Irish farms across the country.

Patrick Temple, CEO of Magee Weaving has also teamed up with sheep farmer James Lorinko to develop fine Irish Wool on the family farm at Rathforker, just outside Donegal Town and with fields overlooking the Atlantic.

The wool is then spun by Donegal Yarns and designed and woven into fabric at our Mill in Donegal Town. The tweed is washed in the peaty waters of the River Eske resulting in a beautifully soft finish.

This season sees three new styles in Irish Wool.

The Irish Wool Jessica is a classic swing coat in a bold, oversized charcoal, red and white check, the perfect style for winter race meets or days outdoors. 

The Irish Wool Milly is an unlined, unstructured blazer style jacket in a charcoal and red houndstooth Donegal Tweed. This easy to wear piece will quickly become your new go-to jacket.

The first men’s piece to launch in the Magee 1866 X Irish Wool Collection is the Erne. A bestselling style, this short, contemporary Donegal Tweed overcoat is woven in a rich red, green, grey and navy check and is perfect for layering over suits and jackets. Coming soon…

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Autumn Winter 2021

Introducing Autumn/Winter 2021

Introducing the Magee 1866 Autumn/Winter 2021 Collection – ‘Home’

The inspiration behind the Magee 1866 Autumn/Winter 2021 collection is ‘Home’ – home being Co. Donegal where we have been designing, weaving and tailoring luxurious fabrics for five generations. 

Design Director, and 5th generation family member, Charlotte Temple reflects.  

“Working on this collection in 2020, in the depths of a global pandemic, has made us appreciate where we live even more than ever. The various lockdowns, in a way, forced a new familiarity with our immediate surroundings and offered a new opportunity to observe and engage with the landscape. Details one would gloss over in the hustle and bustle of regular life came into sharp focus, the bright red autumn berry peeping through the hedgerows, the changing colour of bracken on the hills – summer greens to a burnt rust, the reflection of the sun on the sea in the early morning light.” 

“These are the same landscapes that have inspired our tweeds for decades. This collection embraces our own natural fibre fabrics, designed and woven at our mill in Donegal Town. We have delved into our archives and reinvigorated the classics. Herringbones – an age-old pattern inspired by fish bones and Salt & Pepper, a simple yet intricate pattern rich with colourful flecks – the true Donegal Tweed.” 

Classic patterns sit beside bold and oversized checks in this collection with the colour pallet inspired by the sea and land. Sea blues, mossy greens, earthy oats, peaty browns are accented by the colours of local flora like gorse, fuchsia, blackberry, moss and montbretia that were historically used to create the colourful speckles synonymous with Donegal Tweeds. 

The Men’s outerwear stands out as an exclusive selection of Donegal Tweed overcoats, classic wool city coats and quilted jackets, one of the highlights being the new Brosna coat, an oversized tweed belted overcoat in a statement plaid check. In a continuation of the commitment to developing Irish wool for use in their textiles – with wool sourced from Irish sheep and spun and woven in Donegal –  the latest addition to the Magee 1866 X Irish Wool collection is the Irish Wool Erne, a short, contemporary Donegal Tweed overcoat in a rich red, green, grey and navy check. 

   

A new addition to the range of knitwear is a luxurious cotton cashmere blend in four styles and four timeless colours. Lightweight and soft, these pieces pair beautifully with one of the Donegal Tweed jackets or Gilets in the collection. The Pettigo ribbed crew neck, a two-tone contemporary style, makes a statement.  

Casual styles like the Corlea grandfather collar shirt in the Liberty of London print “Ernest’s Adventure” sit alongside Handwoven Donegal Tweed jackets and our signature, sophisticated suits with a focus on fit and comfort. 

 

Two new styles join the women’s outerwear collection- “The Josie” is a contemporary short Donegal Tweed coat in a warm red herringbone, a bright and easy to wear number for your winter wardrobe.  

In a continuation of the commitment to developing Irish wool for use in our textiles – with wool sourced from Irish sheep and spun and woven in Donegal –  the second new style is the “Irish Wool Jessica”, a classic swing coat in a timeless red plaid, the perfect style for winter race meets or days outdoors. Classic styles like the Emma, Linsfort and Grace, a long, hacking style coat, return in new tweeds, designed and woven in Donegal. 

This season, preppy short tweed jackets and printed shirts are complemented by a beautiful knitwear collection featuring luxurious cashmere blends and chunky Donegal handknits. Cashmere/merino knits, made in Scotland, offer cloud-like softness in three different styles – crewneck, funnel neck and a casual Fair Isle. Light enough to style under a Donegal Tweed Jacket, these luxurious, versatile pieces are designed to seamlessly integrate into your wardrobe and keep you cozy on long country walks. 

Shop in store or online from August.

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Spotlight On: Irish Linen

One of the oldest fabrics in the world, the tradition and history of weaving linen in Ireland goes back hundreds of years. 

It is made from the flax plant, which is a really versatile crop that’s cultivated for yarn and food (flax is where linseed comes from).  

Linen is a sustainable, natural material, known for its cool, fresh properties. A staple for the summer season. It’s easy to dress up or down, taking you from workdays and warm-weather weddings to casual weekend adventures. 

At our mill in Donegal, we design and weave linen namely for tailored garments – suits and blazers and for our range of fabrics by the metre. Suitable for use in apparel and home furnishing projects, this season’s Limited Edition collection features a muted pallet of soft, light colours in glen checks and herringbone weaves. 

For shirting, we look to our friends Baird McNutt, another long-established mill in the north of Ireland. A timeless hopsack linen is used in our women’s Ella tunics and beautifully tailored men’s shirts. These are truly investment pieces designed and made to last. 

Explore our Irish Linen pieces online. 

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Dreamy Summer Florals with Liberty of London

Another long-established brand, founded in the 19th Century like us, Liberty of London have brought unique design and beautiful fabrics to the world since 1875. 

We love working with the iconic Liberty of London and have been incorporating their original prints into our collections since the late 1990’s.  

Luxury fabrics are at the heart of what we do at Magee 1866 with our own tweeds and linens, which we design and weave at our mill in Donegal, so it makes sense that we would look to Liberty of London to collaborate. 

This season, Liberty of London prints complement the collection with watercolour and hand-painted florals, providing pops of unexpected summer colour in Liberty’s signature Tana Lawn™ cotton. A masterpiece of fabric technology, this fine cotton has a distinctive hand-feel and translucent, silk-like softness. 

Highlights include the Hannah shirt in ‘Felda’, a dreamy watercolour print of meadow flowers, available in a delicate blue or soft pink.  

Equally suited to the beach or weekend wear, the casual Ella Tunic brings summer vibrancy with the colourful prints ‘Oleander’– a tropical pink and green floral – and ‘Jungle Trip’ – a layered tangle of flowers and foliage in blues and yellows. 

Explore all Liberty of London pieces.  

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Introducing the Magee 1866 Summer 2021 Collection

Introducing the Magee 1866 Summer 2021 Collection ‘Halcyon Days’. 

Summer always brings forth feelings of nostalgia for carefree days gone by, long sunny afternoons spent outdoors, the halcyon days of our youth. This year we harnessed this calm nostalgia and used it as inspiration for our Summer 2021 collection.

Living in Donegal we are spoiled with stunning landscapes – wonderous beaches and magical forests. In this collection we are capturing the freedom of the outdoors with bright colours combined with misty shades in our natural fibre fabrics, designed and woven at our mill.

Our men’s collection evokes an effortless calm with suave silk blends and casual Irish linens. This collection pays reverence to the nature we enjoy on our doorstep through colour, texture and the celebration of our own beautiful fabrics sustainably woven in Donegal. 

Sage and mossy greens are accented with earthy tones in our stand-out silk and cotton blend herringbone Liffey Jacket, a lightweight alternative to Donegal Tweed. Our popular Cavan Gilet returns in a silk blend oceanic blue and pairs beautifully with a casual linen shirt for effortless summer style. 

   

Lightweight tweeds are complimented by soft casual shirts in fun vintage prints and sun kissed hues. Combined with our range of bright cotton knits, this is an easy to wear collection with lots of personality.  

Our blushing women’s Collection is inspired by the fragile beauty of woodland flowers and sun-bleached shades. A world in dreamy soft focus.  

Key pieces include the Emma Coat in two misty shades of blue and grey, the first pieces in our new Magee 1866 X Irish Wool collection that sees wool sourced, spun, designed and woven in Ireland. 

 

The longline Moyne Silk Blend Jacket in sky blue herringbone, offers a confident, tailored look when styled with the matching Tina Trousers. This suit looks just as put together paired with heels or crisp white trainers. 

Liberty of London prints compliment the collection with watercolour and hand-painted florals, providing pops of unexpected summer colour in Liberty’s signature Tana Lawn Cotton. 

Sustainability is at the heart of what we do at Magee 1866, and we are constantly inspired by the beautiful landscape that surrounds Donegal. Irish linen features heavily throughout the collection, in our range of men’s shirts as well as the fabrics woven at our mill in Donegal.

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Behind the Scenes – Magee 1866 X Irish Wool Vol. I

Irish sheep are synonymous with our landscape, but are not known for their soft wool. At Magee 1866 we are part of a wider movement to develop Irish Wool for use in fine textiles and have been working closely with our yarn supplier, Donegal Yarns, on an exciting journey to introduce Irish Wool into our collections. 

This all began in 2016 with Patrick Temple, CEO of Magee Weaving, having a conversation with Chris Weiner of Donegal Yarns. It was the 150th anniversary of the company, and Patrick had been reviewing the extensive weaving archives and noted that in the past, Irish wool had a strong presence in our collections.  

With that, the idea was born to work together to encourage Irish farmers to breed sheep for their wool.  

Wool as a natural fibre has been used in textiles for centuries. Magee was founded on handwoven tweed in the 1800’s. This hardwearing, coarse fabric was handwoven across Donegal by part-time fishermen and farmers as the perfect fabric for dissipating the damp and cold weather, so often found in North-west Ireland, a far cry from the luxurious cloths being produced today.  

Our ethos as a company has always been slow fashion and to use natural fibres, with the global drive towards a more sustainable future this has never been more relevant. Wool encompasses this aim perfectly – it is natural, biodegradable, recyclable and renewable. 

Due to our climate, wool from Irish sheep traditionally has a rougher handle (the fibres are shorter) than their southern hemisphere counterparts and is more often used in carpeting than in clothing, but unfortunately the demand in recent years for this product has been steadily declining.  

In Ireland sheep are bred for their milk and meat. There are over 2.5 million sheep here and their wool is currently classified as ‘waste’ with little to no value. Over the last year spinners, weavers and designers are looking to new ways to use this natural product and re-classify its use in order to give it value and properly develop the end use.  

Today, we are working closely with farmers and Donegal Yarns to source finer wool from Irish sheep to re-ignite positivity around this fantastic and ‘local’ raw material. The wool is sourced from across Ireland and spun in Kilcar, ready to be designed and woven into luxurious fabrics at our mill in Donegal Town. 

For Spring Summer 2021 the Emma Coat is our first piece to showcase Irish Wool. This contemporary, oversized coat with patch pockets is available in two soft, misty colours. Our design team have drawn inspiration from our natural surroundings in Donegal for this unique fabric – blue-grey skies, the sea, rocks and lichen. Launching in Spring (more associated with lighter-weight fabrics) we wanted to create colours and a piece that would work all year round in a wool – a soft grey & cream and blue & grey.  

We have been weaving for 5 generations, like us, Irish Wool is not here today and gone tomorrow. We are in this for the long haul, and look forward to making Irish Wool a part of our future across our collections.  

Shop Magee 1866 X Irish Wool.

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Introducing Magee 1866 X Irish Wool

We are excited to announce the introduction of Irish Wool in our collections. A project very close to our hearts and something that has been in the pipeline for some time.  

At Magee 1866 we are part of the wider movement towards a more sustainable future and we are committed to developing and using Irish Wool in our collections. We are working with Donegal Yarns, a local yarn supplier beside us in Kilcar, on sourcing wool from Irish farms across the country.

The raw wool is then spun by Donegal Yarns into fine yarn and designed and woven into luxury cloth at our Mill in Donegal Town. 

Our commitment doesn’t end there, Patrick Temple, CEO of Magee Weaving, and fifth generation family member, has also teamed up with sheep farmer James Lorinyenko to develop fine Irish Wool on the family farm at Rathforker, just outside Donegal Town with fields overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. 

For Spring Summer 2021 the Emma Coat is our first piece to showcase Irish Wool. A contemporary, oversized coat with patch pockets. Available in two soft, misty colours – inspired by Donegal skies, the sea, stone walls and lichen. A blue & grey and grey & cream Donegal tweed. We hope you will love these pieces as much as we do.  

Irish Wool is not here today and gone tomorrow, we are in for the long haul and this movement will evolve season after season through our collections. Keep an eye out for more in our AW21 collection. 

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