Skirts love

I had been intending to buy another skirt or too from Kelda Leigh, ever since I bought my purple and black patterned skirt when I went over to Sydney.

I managed to time my decision to buy a couple of new skirts with a Kelda Leigh sale, so I got extra bang for my buck! I selected this lovely blue patterned skirt, and also ordered the skirt in the brown checked pattern that I had received a sample of back in April!

I especially love the pattern in the fabric of the light blue skirt and every time I wear it I am struck by the colours and the pattern.

Nelson Molloy

I am pretty excited. E and I found a new designer when we were over in Brisbane - Nelson Molloy! We followed Kylie's Brisbane guide to the West End, and fell into the Nelson Molloy Boutique.

They had some lovely, funky pieces. All flowy and floaty and creative. I admired the dresses but I am on a dress diet for the moment - at least until my expensive white one is made and worn!

I picked up these two pieces. The first, brown skirt was a sample off the sale rack (score!) and the second was brand new from the workshop (downstairs to the boutique). It has pockets on either side and a different shape to what I normally wear. The sizing is quite small, either that or I have really eaten too many meat pies.

Both skirts are wool, my current favourite fabric. They are unlined, and I am guessing that is due to the climate in Brisbane (it was 27C last Saturday!).



I have enough skirts now. I have to stop buying. (I have a couple ordered that I am still waiting to be delivered and that will be it. I promise.)

More on our Brisbane shopping adventures to come.

Mount Lawley Expedition

E and I went into Mount Lawley for lunch after our visit to Made on the Left. I hadn't been for a while and thought it would be good to see what the shops there had on offer!

I found this gorgeous silk top by local designer Lin Pin at Libertine. It is brighter green in person and I love the silk detail. (My wedding dress will be Lin Pin, and I am already a fan!) Libertine stocks local designers and there are always interesting and unusual and gorgeous clothes to admire.

We also dropped into Store where I picked up a couple of pairs of Metalicus tights (Made in Australia). I am looking forward to making a statement with the red ones!


Other stores of interest where E spent her hardearned money include:
- Ruck Rover
- Zakka Box

Inuk love!

After I wrote about the cool tees from Perth based seller Inuk Designs, she contacted me to say "WOW Thanks!!".

I received these back in March and have been waiting to gift them... A second birthday present for a girl who loves trains, and a gift for a newborn seemed to me to be perfect excuses to order some lovelies from Inuk!


How cute it this steam train? The tshirt is organic cotton and Australian Made.


Oh, and this little snail, what a sweetie. The onesie is also organic cotton, Made in China.

Check out the Inuk Design Etsy store for some more inspiration!

Photos from Inuk Designs

Monster Alphabets on Etsy!

Mum and I admired the Monster Alphabets clothing at the Upmarket on Sunday, especially their capes! They were just a little bit different and I tried to think of excuses to wear one. It was just a little crowded at the market though and we moved on as they had many admirers.

Monster Alphabets now have an Etsy store where you can buy yourself a gorgeous cape. The fabric looks nice and heavy and they would be a lovely addition to the wardrobe. Monster Alphabets have only a few items up as yet and I am keen to see what the future holds.

The Monster Alphabet flower that I purchased was the only crafted item that I bought from the Upmarket this time. I thought it was so pretty that I had to buy it!

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Melbourne expedition

Last weekend we went to Melbourne to watch the Dockers beat Carlton. Thankfully they did, although I was on the edge of my seat in the last quarter as they let Carlton back into the game. For the boys, it was a football trip. For me, there is no way I could go to Melbourne without doing at least a little bit of shopping...

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!

New clothes

C knows that the way to a girl's heart is with food. At least that usually works for me. This week he tried a different angle.

Last year we went skiing/snowboarding and he had to buy a new outfit for carving up the slopes. With this in mind he headed to the outdoor stores and ended up buying most of his gear from Main Peak, including snowboarding boots, trousers, jacket, thermal top, goggles and socks. I also bought a pair of trousers but made do with the gear that I already had collected.

We ended up spending a large amount of money at the store and they gave us a voucher for $50 to encourage us to spend more money at their store. It expires soon and this week C decided to go and spend! He suggested buying us both a pair of skiing/boarding socks and I pointed this out as not being very practical as we are not planning to hit the snow in the near future. His next idea was to buy me a top, and he chose a nice bright blue Icebreaker tank. I love my Icebreakers and wear them daily, even during the summer months.

Icebreakers are one of my blips, they are lovely NZ wool but made in China. If anyone can point me to a similar product but made in Australia or NZ please let me know and I will investigate and consider transferring my love!

Image here

Cordless drills...

Chad's drill shirt arrived last year and was in the largest size that Shiften offered - XL. I thought that we would give it a bash, Chad is usually an XXL, but the sizing looked like it could work.

He likes the shirt (or so he tells me) but it is a little tight across his shoulders. I noticed just now that the shirt as advertised on the Shiften's madeit.com.au site now comes in sizes up to 4XL, so we are covered!

Maybe I should get him a screwdriver shirt next...

PS Chad's shirt is grey. Green clashes with his eyes!

Image here

Socks!

I was sent sock shopping the other day for black socks. I was in Myer practicing other wifely duties (buying wedding gifts for C's friends) so thought that I would poke around in the men's section and see what they had on offer. For some reason the men's clothing is in the basement at Myer Perth, and I felt a little bit like a pervert walking by myself through the aisles of men's jocks.

There were many black socks on offer, and the King Size socks (11 to 14) were all conveniently located together. There was quite a variety to choose from, and I took a while as I was trying to find socks that had reinforced toes. C tends to go through the toe of his socks.

Eventually I found a few Aussie made brands. The Lafitte socks were the only ones on the rack that had reinforcement, and they boast on the packaging that if your sock gets extra holes within the year then you should send it to them with the original packaging and your receipt. They do not actually specify what happens to the socks afterwards but I would be game to find out! The other socks are Humphrey Law and I purchased a total of three pairs for C to test drive.

Local designers

A shout out in The West this week about the local WA designers heading over to Sydney for the Australian Fashion Week!

According to the article they include:
- Aurelio Costarella by Ray Costarella
- Ae'lkemi by Alvin Fernandez
- Breathless by Robin Alexander
- Flannel by Kristy Lawrence
- Garth Cook
- Carly Hunter
- Kooey Swimwear

Perth boutiques

Last night I had a look in a couple of Perth boutiques, tu and Miin.

Tu is in Shafto Lane next to Pigeonhole. Last night I learnt that Tu is moving to 218A William Street, Northbridge shortly. They are currently having a sale at their store, and there are lots of interesting items in their store - clothes and accessories. They sell their own label Tu as well as lots of other Australian labels.

Miin is on Murray Street, closer to the malls. I have had a few Miin pieces in my wardrobe. They are locally designed and made, and I was also scouting out to see if they had any dresses that could be suitable for a bridesmaid or two! Miin are opening up a new store in Mount Lawley on Walcott Street.

Image here

On the road to Launceston

On my first full day in Tasmania I set off on a road trip to Launceston. It is around 200km away from Hobart, and on the way I stopped off to have a look around Ross, a small town roughly halfway between the two cities. Ross is rich in history of Tasmania, and here I had my first taste of the convict past. The bridge was built in 1836 by convict stonemasons, and you can stand at the site of the Ross Female Factory (shortened from Manufactory) and was a work house for female convicts.

I went into the Tasmanian Wool Museum, and learnt some of the history of Ross as well as about sheep and wool and there were also samples to touch. I bought myself a beanie that had been knitted locally. I love beanies but they just don't seem to make sense here in Perth!

I made it to Launceston before the shops shut, and after checking into the motel I went for a wander. The Design Centre was full of interesting local artwork, and I wrote down a page of artists in my notebook in order to look them up when I got home! My favourites were the different sized pegs by Brad Latham, complete with working spring!


I was getting towards closing time for the retail shops, but I still managed to find Chloe Boutique and buy a new Natasha Gan top. It has more frills than I would normally wear - I thought that I would give it a go and see if I could pull it off!


I did a lap of the Launceston main mall. Most of the shops were closed at that stage and I ended up in Myer on a quest for tights!


Image of pegs here

Tights and more tights!

My friend N spent most of 2009 living in Melbourne. Along with yummy food and stylish clothes she also introduced me to the concept of funky tights. I have been used to wearing stockings, usually skin coloured although more recently I have branched out and started wearing black! The concept of brightening up my outfit with interestingly patterned stockings had never really registered until N showed me how it could be done!

The upshot is that I bought one pair last year of striped black and brown tights, but that was as far as my adventurousness went. This year I have decided that rather than buying more stockings I will try to find some interesting tights and see how they wear. This selection I purchased in Tasmania. As you can see I have not been very radical in my selection of colours however I cannot bring myself to buy luridly hued clothing. I will keep looking and try to push out of my comfort zone a little bit more.

Stockings from L-R
Levante Chevron Dog Tooth Tights [Tall]
Leona Edmiston Leggings [Med/Tall]
Metalicus Babushka [Small to Medium]
Voodoo Fashion Tights [Med/Tall]

I was happily surprised to find that only one of these pairs was made in China. The Levante are made in Italy, and the Metalicus and xx were made in Australia! For some reason I had assumed that stockings would be one of those items that were always made in China so it was a pleasant surprise to find otherwise.

I was advised by the lady at the Stocking Shop in Hobart to buy my stockings on the large size if I was on the fringe of a size range. My previous experience with stockings has led me to do the opposite, as I have found that if I buy the larger size then they will be loose and annoying!

I shall have to see how they all wear!

Notes: The Voodoo tights are comfortable to wear however I managed to snag a hole already in them. Not a good start. The Metalicus tights are comfortable and I would like to buy the same in different colours!

Handmade Baby

I feel somewhat in the midst of a baby boom, my cousin has just had her second child and I have at least five friends who are expecting this year. Not to mention the babies and toddlers who are already out there!

I really like the range of handmade baby clothes currently available. I accept that these are not necessarily the best clothes for a parent to buy on a budget, however they can make lovely gifts, and will hopefully make it through a few families!

These funky and sweet clothes are by MadeIt seller Impish. The elephant is so cute!

There is nothing that I can see on the profile page to give insight into the person behind Impish, just a location of New South Wales.

Fashion WA

I found a new local site, FashionWA.com, that showcases local WA designers! There is a blurb on each designer, many who are newly formed and working to establish their label.

There is also an online shop, and link to the designers website for more information on their collections.

Groovy Head Band

I ordered some items from Thea & Sami a few weeks ago, including these two head bands. They are made from the off cuts of the organic jersey fabric that is used to make leggings and tops. I love mine! I think that I have worn one of them every day since they arrived a week ago.

(That is not me by the way, the photos are from the Thea & Sami Online shop.)

A flying Melbourne trip - November 2009 - Day Two

It has been a month, I am going to struggle now to remember where we went! However that is the point of this blog - helping me to remember where I have shopped - so I will give it a go.

We started with breakfast at Birdman Eating in Fitzroy. I had the yummiest Black rice, coconut, yoghurt and mango dish, and I am inspired to try and replicate the flavours at home! We then went shopping! We went to Queen Clothing, where both N and I bought items. They stock local labels as well as their own! We also wandered into Zetta Florence and Kami, two lovely stationery shops. We checked out the funky items at Third Drawer Down and enjoyed some of their more unusual items. There was a visit to Wilkins and Kent thrown in as well, a store with lots of interesting items! I had found their Little Bourke Street store on a rainy day when C and I were over, and bought a great Otto & Spike beanie!

Our (eventual) goal for the Saturday was the Rose Street Markets. My sister had visited Melbourne recently to my trip and had recommended a visit. I was happy that we did - I bought a couple of skirts from So! indesign and also ordered a t-shirt for C from shiften. The style of skirt that I bought is shown in this picture from the designers website. The t-shirt for C is similar to this picture from the designers madeit page, with a more appropriate tool. I cannot remember what colour I actually ordered, I suspect grey and blue! I have to catch up with N's sister and get that from her hopefully this week.


E kindly lent me her copy of the Melbourne Design Guide, a great resource for Melbourne design and art! It contains maps of many areas of the city and references designers of clothing, accessories, textiles, furniture and all sorts. I am so jealous that we do not have anything like this for Perth - at least that I am aware of! N and I made use of it while I was there to read up details on some of the stores that we visited. Read a review at The Design Files, the source for the picture below.


It was a fairly humid day, and pretty soon we were in need of some more sustenance - churros! N took me to a little cafe and we shared a dish of chocolate and churros. Yum! I took this opportunity to consult the Melbourne Design Guide and see if we had missed anything of note on our travels.

I am in the hunt for a bridal dress, and my friend D had suggested a place in the area that I would like - Gwendolynne. It was nearby to the Churros so we set out there to have a look. The dresses were gorgeous! They were however well out of the budget that I had set for the entire bridal outfit so for now it is a matter of looking and admiring.

Our walking finally led us to Dizingof, a collection of bold colours and styles. I found a dress that was my style, lovely soft fabric with a beautiful silk panel at the front. I justified the purchase of this dress by earmarkig it for a wearing to a wedding next year. We have three weddings to attend next year, as well as our own, so lots of excuses to dress up!

I now had two dresses, two skirts and a top, so it was definitely time to slow down the clothes shopping! I was happy though, as I had some more clothes to add to my work wardrobe, as well as a dress for a special occasion.