A number of well-known ladies – Olwyn Enright TD, Gillian Quinn, actress Holly White, DJ Shona Ryan and model Irma Mali - sported little red dresses today (20.04.10) at the launch of Buy My Dress 2010 where Mona Atkinson a third year student frrom NCAD was chosen as the winner of the Kellogg’s Special K Design a Little Red Dress Competition.

As we hope you all know (!) , Buy My Dress is Ireland’s largest one day charity dress sale taking place in Dublin (Royal College of Physicians), Cork (School of Music) and Galway (Meyrick Hotel) on 20th May. We are inviting Irish women of all ages, shapes and sizes to donate a dress which they no longer wear to help us reach our target of selling 5,000 dresses on the day.

Well-known Irish ladies who have contributed dresses include Mary Kennedy, Miriam O’Callaghan, Cathy Kelly, Elaine Crowley and Colette Fitzpatrick. To mark the launch of Buy My Dress 2010 and Kellogg’s Special K as title sponsor, students of NCAD were invited to enter the Design a Little Red Dress competition. The designs of the five NCAD finalists were modelled at the event with Mona Atkinson’s emerging as the winner. Each of the five dresses will go on sale at Buy My Dress on 20th May.

Sheila Campbell, CEO, Down Syndrome Centre, said:”Buy My Dress has enabled us to fund Ireland’s first Down Syndrome Liaison Nurse to AMNCH Tallaght. When a child with Down syndrome is born in a Dublin maternity hospital, our nurse is contacted to provide advice, support and guidance and offer a positive outlook to new parents at an emotionally challenging time. Funds raised through this year’s events will be used to fund further Down Syndrome Liaison nurses to hospitals in Cork and Galway.”

Claire Hague, Kellogg’s Special K Brand Manager said: “Buy My Dress was a tremendous success last year and we hope that our support will help to make it even bigger and better this year. Women love nothing better than finding that fabulous, special dress and with all funds raised going towards Down Syndrome Centre, it’s a winning combination.”

Drop-off points for dress donations include Peter Mark salons in Dublin, Cork and Galway and a large number of credit unions countrywide. Unislim is also supporting the event by running an in-class dress collection for members. Log onto www.buymydress.ie for a list of drop off points. Alternatively dresses can be sent by freepost to us at 62-63 Lower Mounttown Road, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin or call Down Syndrome Centre on 01 – 661 8000.