Thursday 21 July 2011

The Trends We Will Be Seeing This Spring/Summer in Aust!

Colour Colour Colour!

Colour blocking is huge right now in the US and for our spring/summer we will be seeing the same thing.
Think brights on brights.  Last season we seen pastels coming in, now this trend has been taken on step further for the new season, and we are seeing pastels and brights being worn with other bright and pastel pieces.  We are talking solid colour pieces! Single colour one pieces, skirts, tops, dresses, you name it!

There will be a lot of hot pink, purple, emerald, sky blue and orange coming in the next few months.

I personally like colour blocking with a little stripe to give it a little edge.  The whole point of colour blocking is to use the colour as a double statement as avoid prints.  Let the colour be free!

Colour blocking can be done with any fashion item, especially accessories.  Don't forget about your nail lacquer.

Wedges!

Wedges for summer are back, and in a big way! Expect to see a lot of nautical rope, coloured heals, printed heals and bright straps.

Wedges are more fun as there is more room to play with.  As there is more heal there is room for playing with prints, colours and themes.  This way you can match them beach bags, hair scarfs, beach towels, sunnies and bangles.

Nautical!


Nautical means summer in my mind.  When you see rope detailing and blue and white stripes on a bikini or a beach bag it makes the imagination wander off to thinking of summer on a yacht off the coast of Monaco.  Nautical theme always oozes class.  Blue and White stripes are flattering on most body shapes.

We will be seeing the return of nautical this coming summer with rope detailing on wedges, heals, dresses, beach bags, and accessories.  Blue and White striping will be all over maxi dresses, summer dresses, beach bags, summer hats and bikinis.

White Blazers!


White Blazers are going to be all the rage this coming spring/summer season as all winter we have been rocking our black blazers and in summer we will want to brighten and soften this look.  Blazers will be cropped and have the tuxedo detailing at the front.  Pair your white blazer with a colour blocked dress for evening drinks by the coast.

This coming spring/summer season we will be seeing a lot of fun trends.  You can mix and match trends and the best part about summer is that its all about enjoying the warm weather with family and friends.  Remember to always be sun smart and rock a bright coloured summer hat :-)

xx

Tuesday 12 July 2011

Guide to Shopping in Melbourne

There is a reason why Melbourne is the fashion capital of Australia.  However, when visiting Melbourne, the shopping isn't streamlined and it can be confusing as not all the great shops are in the one place.  I have put together a comprehensive guide to shopping in Melbourne below:


Melbourne Central Shopping Centre.


Melbourne Central is a great shopping centre, you can buy from all ranges, from Armani Exchange to budget stores.  On the ground level there are many asian clothing stores which are great for an individual style.  This is a great shopping centre to start your shopping as you are likely to find the stores that you are after.  As this shopping centre is mostly dedicated to clothing, it can be quite confusing as to where your favourite stores are.  You may need to get a map from any of the electronic information boards scattered over the centre.


Bourke Street

The famous Bourke Street, and its Mall, are insanely busy as this is the main entrance to the department stores, being Myer and David Jones. There are the main stores like Zara, Sportsgirl, Diva, Roger David, Bevilles, Bardot, Forever New and many other jewellery stores.  There are also a few laneways which I will expand on later.  Bourke Street Mall is actually quite small. It runs between the blocks of Swanston Street and Elizabethe Street.  However, the surrounding shops along Swanston Street and Elizabeth Street make it a great place to start.





GPO

The old GPO mail centre was given a facelift and was converted into a small shopping centre.  The centre has mostely upmarket labels and is a gorgeous little centre and is worth a walk through considering how the have tastefully renovated a heritage listed building.




'The' Department Stores

You may have been to Myer or David Jones before, however, if you havent been to the newly renovated stores in Melbourne ,than you have not experienced department store shopping at its best.  The brand new world-class centres are very shopper friendly and have several cafes scattered throughout the stores to make for a great little break, and you will need it, the stores are huge and they are only half open at the moment as the other half (split by a laneway each) is currenly being renovated.  Dont let these renovations detrure you from checking these centres out as they are totally worth it and you wont even notice that there is renovations going on next door once you are inside.

Elizabeth Street

Elizabeth Street has shopping stores located on it from Flinders Street to around LaTrobe Street.  However not every shop front is a store, although a huge chunk of them are.  The best shopping is from around Collins Street to Lonsdale Street.  This is where you will find stores like Cotton-on, Octavia & Grace, Payless Shoes, Woodstock as well as a few specialty stores.

Swanston Street

Swanston Street has shopping from Flinders Street all the way to Vic Market, although when you get to around that end there is only a few scattered stores.  The Flinders Street end is more dedicated to tourist stores with 'Australian' souvenires which are actually made in China... The best shopping is from around Collins Street to LaTrobe Street.

Collins Street

Collins Street can somewhat accuratley be divided into 2 halves.  One being 'the Paris' end, home to Luis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel, Ferragamo & more, and the other half over Swanston Street down to Elizabeth Street you will find other luxury brands like Rolex, Tiffany, Hardy Brothers Jewellery as well as everything down to budget chain stores.

Other Small Centres

There are several other small shopping centres in Melbourne.  These centres may be small but you can find many of the stores you are used to and any independant stores too.  You will find these walk-through centres placed between a major road and its smaller counterpart, Collins Street and Little Collins Street, etc.




Chapel Street


Chapel Street is definitely the heart and sole of Melbourne shopping.  You will find many of the main players in the Melbourne shopping scene, although you will find many more independent stores and much more creative designer styling.  Chapel Street retail runs along the majority of the road as well as a mix of a few bars and restaurants.




Melbourne is the place to shop in Australia.  Chapel Street is where you want designer flair, Collins Street is where you go for luxury items and Melbourne CBD is where you can go for everything else.


Happy Shopping.