Saturday morning C and I had breakfast in Fitzroy and I realised that Queen Clothing was just around the corner. Perfect! Early on in the shopping experience they pointed C to a chair and even gave him a box as a footrest when he got cheeky with them.
I tried on a few different items and in the end settled on a couple of Strange & Strange 100% merino cowl necked tops. I am always on the looking for layers of wool to wear and these are a little more stylish than my Icebreaker outer layers. I purchased one in black and one in charcoal. I forgot to check where they were made before I purchased, I was relieved to find that they were Made in Melbourne.
We went for a wander up Smith Street and did not find much to tempt us until I saw in.cube8r. I had read about this store so was curious to see what was in there. C was not particularly impressed (no power tools!) but they had some lovely wall decals and I found a gorgeous organic cotton jumper I had thought to buy for a friend’s new baby. That is, until I asked and found out that the jumper was made overseas and the local content was the screen printed car on the front. I was happy to pay the price they were asking if it had been locally made but was not so keen given its unknown origins and misleading labelling – it said “Designed in Australia”. To be fair, the philosophy of the shop is to showcase local designers so most of it is made in Australia. I just have a talent for picking up the outliers!
We headed back into the city to catch up with C’s mates in anticipation of an afternoon of drinking before we went to the game. A couple of text messages from NM (she spent last year in Melbourne and ferreted out lots of great clothing stores!) and I was under Flinders Street to find The Cats Meow. They had some great clothes, but I was focussed on wool and bought myself a Wool/Cashmere/Linen/Cotton skirt by Kylie Jane. They also had more great wool and wool blend skirts but the fabric was not as heavy and the cute owl and flower details would make them more for casual wear rather than work clothes.
Sunday morning and we headed to the Sunday Arts Market. I had decided that I wanted a new bag and was keen to check out the Mattt bags if I got the chance. They had a stall at the market and I spent some time deciding on style and fabric. In the end I bought an A4 shoulderbag with Ink & Spindle Gingko fabric. There were many beautiful prints to choose from and a particularly gorgeous green suiting fabric. Yay! The bag looks sturdy and well made. The main fabric is backpack material and the zippers are YKK so hopefully it will take whatever I throw at it! There is a zip pocket for my purse inside and also a pocket for my mobile phone. The gingko panel hides an outer pocket. Other than that the inside of the bag is a cavernous pit for whatever I wish to carry. It will be great for serious shopping expeditions and I may even be able to fit my lunch in it to carry to work.
That was it for my spending on locally made and designed items. Not a bad effort for a quick weekend trip!
Some great finds! I really love that skirt! I'm visiting Melbourne in August, so I'll pop in an have a look for myself. :)
ReplyDeleteThey had lots of lovely skirts to choose from at The Cats Meow. They do not open on Sundays thought. It's in an underpass you get to from Flinders Street.
ReplyDeleteI love shopping in Melbourne. A good thing I only go once or twice a year.
My sister E and I will be in Brisbane at the end of July so keen to see what we can find. We have your guide as a reference. Should be fun!