Listen: The Irish shapewear brand celebrating a range of sizes

Vacious is Ireland's answer to the new generation of shapewear and the two sisters responsible for it, Mary Tierney and Sinead O'Brien, join Brendan from our Limerick studio. Listen back above.

Just two years after the launch of Kim Kardashian’s shapewear brand in 2019, an Irish label Vacious, launched its own line of gently sculpting undergarments; giving women across Ireland (and soon in the UK) the opportunity to embrace their curves in shapewear created by an Irish-owned brand.

It’s a passion project for two sisters Mary Tierney and Sinéad O’Brien, who spoke to Brendan Courtney about the genesis of the business and their mission to inspire confidence in women of all shapes and sizes.

The younger of the two sisters, Sinéad, began fashion blogging 10 years ago after friends and family encouraged her to share her personal style online:

"It was just pictures back then, I’d just share pictures and write a little bit about putting an outfit together. It was really just my friends and family – like Mam, would you throw me a few likes there on Facebook, you know!"

We need your consent to load this Instagram contentWe use Instagram to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences

When one particular photo of Sinéad in a jumpsuit went viral, her Instagram following exploded and an influencer was born. Sinéad says there is a great demand out there for fashion tips that are size-inclusive:

"My niche was that I was on the curvy side. I was a size 20 – I still am – and people used always say 'Oh my God, wow - how do you always look so good?’, almost like it was a mystery; you know you can be curvy and still look good!"

In 2014 after winning a modelling competition, Sinéad began modelling professionally. She says that the fashion world still had some catching up to do, in terms of serving women of all sizes. There were times when she’d been booked for a modelling job, and yet the client didn’t seem to know what to do with a plus size model:

"They’d say ‘she has a lovely face’ and I’d say, yeah well what about the rest of me?"

By the time she was modelling, Sinéad's confidence had grown sufficiently that she didn’t take it personally. She says she thinks that some stores were losing potential business by not being size-inclusive:

"I knew that I was curvy and I knew that I had something to offer and I knew that, as I’ve said, just that those shops were missing out."

As things changed and shops began to embrace more sizes, Sinéad says the reaction to a size 20 model has been very positive:

"You could see people’s reaction when I would come out, you know, they were just so excited to see your everyday size. I hate the term ‘real women’, you know, I believe we’re all real women – of every shape and size."

Sinéad’s audience grew organically on Instagram and her fashion videos had built up a lot of engagement. She knew that her next move was to launch her own label:

"The obvious choice for me was to bring out my own product and it was always going to be shapewear – always."

As a long-time fashion presenter, stylist and designer, Brendan is familiar with the territory, but he asked Sinéad to explain what exactly ‘shapewear’ is for those not in the know. She says it’s not about stuffing yourself into something that makes you "smaller" or restricts your breathing – it’s more like a ‘second skin’ that accentuates, rather than hides your natural curves:

"Shapewear is about making you feel good, supporting you, just giving you confidence. It’s Like it’s the foundation to your wardrobe. It’s what begins your whole outfit, it’s what ties it all in together. So if you’ve got your favourite dress, you pop on your shapewear first, you know you’re going to feel that bit more secure, it makes you feel good."

Sinéad’s older sister Mary is a co-owner of Vacious. Their late father ran a pub and Mary says Sinéad takes after their Dad in terms of confidence and his ability to take risks. She says they bring complementary skills to the business:

"Sinéad definitely has my Dad’s attitude, confidence and risk-taking. I mean you need to be a risk-taker if you want to do well in business, whereas I kind of hold her back a little when she needs to be held back and I’m there to push her when she needs to be pushed. We work really well together; we both bring very, very different qualities to the business."

The sisters say they’ve been inspired by the work ethic of both of their parents, who have encouraged them all the way. Sadly, they lost their Dad only seven months ago, but he got to see their business up and running - and thriving - before he passed away.

A listener asked if there was any conflict between shapewear and the promotion of body confidence in young girls? Mary says that her two daughters have grown up seeing their auntie Sinéad looking fabulous and being happy with who she is. It's not about making everyone conform to the one standard, she says:

"My two girls have seen Sinéad from day one and they see that Sinéad is confident, regardless of what she is wearing. So that confidence is there – it doesn’t come in to the shape."

Sinéad echoes what Mary’s point and says that lots of women have told her they can now wear outfits they never thought were for them, and finally wear pieces that have been hanging in their wardrobes for years.

She says shapewear is designed to make you feel good in what you are wearing, whatever your size and shape:

"It’s all about accentuating what you have that’s already good."

For more great interviews and an informative sixty minutes of morning radio, check out The Nine O’Clock Show page here.

Listen: The Irish shapewear brand celebrating a range of sizes

More stories on

Recipe Search

Read Next