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.

Wardrobe Must Haves: 6 items every women's wardrobe needs

During though economic times, it is important that we have items in our wardrobe that aren't only suitable for that current trend of season but items that we can wear season after season, day after day.  We need items that we can dress up, dress down and pair with other 'trendy' items to suit that season.

Here are 6 staple items that every women needs in her wardrobe:

Black Dress! Something that you can wear on several occasions and style a new way everytime. You want something that you can wear to an important meeting, night out with the girls, or something less fun like a funeral.

Black dresses that you can wear for many occasions

Jeans!  You want jeans that are fitted for your body type.  You want a pair of jeans that you can wear every Saturday with your favourite cardigan, jacket or hoodie.

A few different styles of jeans that you can wear season after season

Black Boots!  You need a pair of black boots that you can wear season after season.  Avoid ones that look to be seasonal or in a current trend style. Go for genuine leather and to what ever height that suits your style and personal taste.  I personally prefer the height that sits just under your knee.

Basic style black boots with various heals

White T Shirt!  A white t shirt is a must have as it goes with everything.  You want the t shirt to stay fresh, so you may need to update them reasonably frequently depending on how often you wear it.  It doesn't hurt to have several in your drawer.  To take this one further, you should try and have a few white singles, 3/4 sleeves tops and a least one long sleeve top.  Try and keep them motif free.

White basics to wear with everything

Summer Dress!  Even in Melbourne you need a summer dress.  Summer dresses shouldn't need any work in dressing up.  As long as you choose a dress that is flowy and with bold colours

Pretty Summer dresses

Trench Coat!  When I say trench I am not talking about a coat to your knees, just a basic black trench coat that sits around hips, one with double breast buttons and a belt.  This classic style never goes out of fashion and re-appears year after year for winter.

Various styles of basic trench coats

Guide to Online Clothing, Shoes and Accessory Shopping

If your not shopping online yet, you are missing out.  If you are not sure what all the hype is, let me teach you.  You have the potential to be shopping from all over the world at prices that you could never imagine back home.  The GFC is still hitting the western world and prices have never been better for the consumer.  However, there are many tricks, scams and problems that you can incur while online shopping.  I have prepared a guide to online shopping which will help smooth over any problems which you may encounter and how to avoid scams.

1:     Newbies to online shopping should start with EBay. There is a reason why EBaying has been so popular over the past 10 years.  There is definately tips and tricks to EBay but generally the format is very simple.  The reason I say to new online shoppers to start on EBay is because it gives you a general overview of what online shopping is while in a secure and protected environment.  You will learn currency conversion, postage details (including worldwide postage) and general online facilities available to shoppers and sellers alike, eg PayPal.

2:     Before anyone does any online clothes and shoe shopping, however, you need to know your measurements!!  Its one thing that sizing is different all over the world but it is another when the sizing isn’t always correct with standard conversions.  For example. my shoe size in AUS is 8 and in European sizing I am anything from a 39-42.  You just need to know what you are in cm or inches.  The other measurements that you should have written down with you while online shopping is your clothing sizes.  Especially your bust size when buying any tops and dresses which have zips.  We have all tried to put tops and/or dresses on that wont zip up.  You really dont want to have to be sending something back (including postage costs twice) as you have brought the wrong size.  This shouldn’t be a deterrent from online either; you just need to know what you are buying.

3:     Now you’re ready to start shopping online.  You may have no idea where to start, but the only way you will find the right online stores is by checking them out.  Here are a few things that can help you determine whether the store is trustworthy or not:

a:     If they are affiliated with PayPal or not (not sure what Pay Pal is? see below);

b:     Change the domain to https from http.  This security enables your page and prevents scammers stealing your credit card details.  If an alert pops up telling you that there was a problem when you tried doing this, the site should be avoided at all costs.  Sites that that automatically change to https are the most trustworthy. This usually happens at the 'checkout' stage; and

c:      postage; when you are shopping online, 99% of the time your item will need to be posted to you.  There are numerous ways for this to happen.  The sender could use express postage, registered postage, Standard post, International Airmail, International Seamail or possibly courier, although the latter is unlikely.  Ultimately you will be paying for the postage. Be cautious when free postage is offered on a single item (particularly EBay), the postage is generally incorporated into the items selling 'price' and therefore is more expensive that its worth.  It is not uncommon for larger online stores to offer free shipping if you spend over $100.00 etc. If you intend on spending that much then go for it.  Be sure to check shipping or postage information o each online store's website.  This should tell you what postage companies they use, expected delivery time and how much it costs.  Some of these new online stores are just 'middle men', they ultimately hold no stock and sell on behalf of the wholesaler retailers.  Once the sale has finished, they give the sale numbers to the wholesaler who in turn send them the items to pass onto the customers.  In the end, the customer save some money but has to wait 4 -6 weeks for thier item.

Here are my suggested online shopping wesites:    

Strawberrynet.com  This is Hong Kong based website which stocks make-up, skin care and hair care products as well as fragrances.  Delivery is usally 1 week and all items are sent via registered post and its FREE. All prices are cheaper than you will find in any department store.


Sportsgirl- Stocking the same items as you can buy instore, they also have a 'sales' section where you are likely to find items that you wont be able to buy instore.  This principle is the same for any retail store which also sells online.

Supre online has an enormous sale section and for really cheap. If you shop at Supre, shop online. They also offer free postage if you spend over $100.00.

Buyinvite.com.au is a good one for sales of items that are currently in store but you get to buy them on sale.  You will need to wait around 4-6 weeks to receive your item as it is a 'middle man' website.

For those who are not familiar with PayPal here is a brief explanation; PayPal is an independant website from Ebay, yet they are affiliated. You are allocated with a secure online account which you can transfer money in and out of. This makes it especially easy when you are selling online and then making purchases, as your funds will be paid to you into your PayPal account and you can just as easily make payments with this money.  The best part as the transfers are instant as you are dealing with real money.  Your funds are also guaranteed which makes the site very useful and reliable.

How to Shop and Be Fashionable on a Tight Budget

When you are on a tight budget it is easy to believe that you cannot be fashionable. These days that couldn’t be further from the truth. There are so many options available and tricks to know. You just need to know where and when you look.

Firstly, shopping on a tight budget is nothing to be ashamed of, it is actually quite smart. Fashion comes and goes so quickly you dont want to be wasting money on a quick trend. Secondly, sticking to a budget means you could have money left over to buy some accessories to match your new outfit.




Here is my guide to tight budget shopping:

1:   It really pays to know what is in trend and the look you are after.  This way you wont be walking from store to store aimlessly looking at every item that is discounted. Go shopping with an objective, even better, take a list or even have pictures of looks you are after. Also, check your letterbox catelogs and familiarise yourself with the general/average price in which various stores charge for thier clothes.

2:   It is also important to know if 'basic' pieces are needed to be worn with an item you are looking at buying. E.g. if your going for a faux fur vest, you are likely to need a tight long sleeve top to wear under it. You will either have it in your wardrobe or you may need to purchase one. Depending on your budget, this could be a deal breaker on whether you can purchase the item or not.

3:   If you realise you need your basic pieces, here are a few shops which are great for cheap basic items: Cocolatte (singlets $3), Tightrope (singlets $4), Kmart (long sleeve U neck tops $8), you may also see Cotton-On with cheap items, they are cheap but not the cheapest, unless you can get them on sale and cheaper than the above prices (occasionally happens). It is best to buy your basics last, after you have brought your main piece. You may get unlucky and be unable to purchase the item(s) your were after.

4:   Now you’re ready to look for the outfit that you are after. Go to the mid-priced stores first.  Go into the stores and go straight to the sales racks. Go there with intent to find the pieces to make your outfit, but keep an open mind as you may find that a similar, or slightly different, piece is on sale.  In effect, once you get home you will still feel like you got the look you were after and ultimately a new outfit.  The retail and fashion industry is suffering from poor in-store sale, and because of this, they are very regularly having large sales and marking down items which are still very much in season.  This is why going straight to the sales racks can be very beneficial J.

5:   If you have been unlucky while trying the mid-priced stores, here are my picks of how and what to buy from the budget stores.

a.              Kmart!! You will be very surprised with how much Kmart has picked up their game in their clothing department.  You will find some items that are a tacky rip-off of their designer counterparts, but if you have a good look you will generally always find a copy of something that you have seen in a designer store.  Quality is never as issue when buying at Kmart.  I have actually found that they have a very high quality of clothing standard.  A bonus of shopping at Kmart is that they have a very good returns policy if you do encounter a problem with an item that you have purchased from there.

b.              Tightrope.  Tightrope is a store that we have at several shopping centres/malls but you wont find one at every centre.  They have very in-trend clothing at crazy cheap prices.  The quality is mostly good, but there are a few threads that you may need to snip off.  If you by-pass the tacky rip-offs you will almost always find something in there.

c.              Cocolatte.  As above, Cocolatte is a store that you wont find at ever shopping centre.  They have similar clothing to Tightrope and at similar prices.  They are forever having sales on their ‘new arrivals’.

d.              Millers.  Millers, for older women, is great.  They often have all their tops on sale for around $15.00 - $20.00.  Keep an eye one these sales.  I haven’t noticed that these are too frequent though.

e.              Target.  I don’t consider Target to be a bargain store by any means.  When they do have a sale on clothing though it is generally worth checking out.  Particularly during stock-take.

f.               Valleygirl.  There is ALWAYS something in there! You will have to have a decent look though.  Check out their sale racks with tops for $9.95.  There is always one in every store.

g.              Diva.  Diva jewellery, in my opinion, is only worth buying if it is on sale, and when I say sale I mean 3 for $8.00 etc.  The quality is actually really poor if you intend on wearing the pieces daily.  You just wont be able too.  They are great for buying items that you will wear a few times or to jazz up an outfit.  When you see their boxing-day sale, buy up!!

The key to shopping on a budget is knowing when to shop.  Sales are about every month or so these days and they last for longer than they used to.  There is no need to wait for the stocktake sales anymore.  You can either wait for the item you like in the mid-priced stores to come on sale or you can wait for the cheaper stores to stock items similar to what you are after.  The cheaper stores don't tale as long as they used to, to get into the same trends as their higher priced counterparts.  Patience is the key!

Don't be buying items that are sale for the sake of buying.  If it doesn't fit in your budget or in the outfit plan then avoid them.  If you find that after you have purchased your whole outfit and you have some remaining money, then you can consider this.  If this happens, make sure you only purchase items that you will actually wear and ones that you can piece together with items that you have at home in your wardrobe.



Happy Shopping :-)