KSUBI DAISY 1 BOOT

Most Australians I know seem to have a pathological hatred of Ksubi. I guess it's because of the over inflated presence on the Aussie fashion scene and their irritating 'hipster' manner. I have some sympathy with that view, having had the misfortune to visit one of their achingly hip stores in Melbourne (made to look like a garden shed for some reason) where the sales team all stood around like they'd been lobotomised as well as tattooed within an inch of their life and acted like I was inconveniencing them massively by asking to see the sunglasses in a locked case. IT'S YOUR JOB PEOPLE. YOUR JOB. YOU'RE MEANT TO BE SELLING STUFF. 

But anyway, these boots did not come direct from a Ksubi store, they came from Six Showroom on Farfetch.com in the sale. So there. Take that Ksubi. 

Top - Zara

Jeans - Topshop 

Socks - Topshop 

Shoes - Ksubi from Six Showroom via Farfetch.com

My Australian Shopping List

Gorman afro pants $229 

These amazing boots by Melbourne designer Kate Carnegie in which to live out all awesome pirate fantasies. I can't find a website or stockist page, but she does have an email, katecarnegie@live.com 

Sass & Bide snakeskin print jeans

Bonds stuff - just because. I love these high waisted knickers, although I know they'd look rubbish on me. Still, their tees and jersey lounge pants are great. (images from Bonds.com.au) 

Treat size bag of Carmello Koala chocolates to make fitting into the above trousers and things all the more difficult. And plenty of issues of Grazia and Shop. 

Go The Pies!

Just Desserts

In Australia earlier this year many of the restaurants we ate at offered a shared dessert plate with some / all of their desserts in mini form for the table to share. They don't do this in the UK (to my knowledge...if you know somewhere give me the heads up please), but they should. It stopped the um-ing and ah-ing over what to choose, and as everyone knows that dessert is the one thing at the end of a meal that everyone tucks into ("can we have spoons all round please") it seems a very sensible option for restaurants to add, plus you can accurately decide which is the dessert for you if you happen to visit again...


This pic was taken at Charcoal Lane on Gertrude Street in Melbourne, a restaurant that tries to use as many native Australian ingredients in their cooking as possible. They also run a training scheme for local aboriginal & disadvantaged young people looking to get into full time employment. So you're eating great food and helping people at the same time. I'd recommend it. 

Ron Mueck at the NGV

In recent days I've become a hound for galleries and museums. I just felt the need to see more new stuff...


In Melbourne back in March I went to see the Ron Mueck exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria. He only began making 'art' in his late 30's, after working in film and television for many years, and his mother in law is Paula Rego. That in itself is enough to make me a fan. I mean, who wouldn't be a fan of anyone even distantly related to her? I'd be fascinated if you told me you knew her milkman or postie. 


Regardless of his family connections you can't deny that this retrospective, starting with the famous Dead Dad is a  hit with a normal (and I use that term in the loosest sense of the word) audience. The place was packed. The life like nature is hard to tear yourself away from. But is it the filmic quality to his work that really transfixes. This is real life, or as close as you can get when confronted with a 12 ft baby - it amplifies everything that is good or bad about the human body and invites you to create a narrative of your own. Makes everyday scenes monumental and unnatural scenes everyday. I just love the two old women having a conflab together. I can spend hours just imagining what they are talking about, what they popped out to get and what they are doing tonight (Mecca Bingo? Wetherspoons? Fish And Chips? Plotting the murder of their husbands?). 


If you want to see really lovely photos of this exhibition check out this blog...

Why Don't You...Customise Your Boots?

Walking along Gertrude Street in Fitzroy, Melbourne, last month I spied these shoes in the window of a vintage shop. 


I think it's a great idea - cutting and turning over old cowboy boots and wrapping mismatched belts around them...I will be taking this as inspiration for old boring boots (perhaps without the cutting - me + leather + craft knives = hospital, usually) very soon. 

Koala Happiness

Face it. Koala's are the cutest animal ever. 

When Swimming Rocks - The Adelphi Hotel, Melbourne

Whenever I'm in Melbourne I just stay with my brother. But the next time I go, I'm going to HAVE to stay at The Adelphi, with it's glass bottomed roof top swimming pool that overhangs into the street. Awesome. 

Purikura Fun in Melbourne

Am I the only one in the world obsessed with Japanese photo booths or 'purikura' (picture club) as I think they're called there?


I just can't get enough of them.


I can't find any in London. There was once a short lived place on Endell Street, but where can you get these done in the UK? If you know please give me a heads up!

Adventures in Australia - Maldon, Castlemaine and surrounds

On this trip to Australia I finally got to get out to 'The Goldfields' - the cities and towns that sprung up in the wake of the goldrush of the 1850's in the East of Victoria. Initially the only reason for me wanting to go was the prospect of prospecting (not in any seriousness, just for fun), but as I read about the area there seemed to be much more to it. 


We stayed in a lovely miner's cottage built in 1860 on the outskirts of Maldon, a small and spookily preserved mining town about 15 minutes from Castlemaine and an hour or so from Ballarat. It's like walking through a time warp, except the shops all stock high end foodie porn and patchworking material. 


It turned out that on top of all the gold business there were three great reasons to visit; 1) the history (mines, architectural gems, lovely old streetscapes), 2) the secondhand bookshops (especially Book Heaven in Campbells Creek just outside Castlemaine and The Known World in Ballarat) and 3) the charity / 'op' shops and second hand stores, which if I lived in Australia would have found themselves pretty much cleaned out (an honourable mention to the Restorers Barn in Castlemaine). 


Oh, and I did try my hand at gold panning. I found about 3 flecks of gold. Not even enough to decorate a high end cupcake. 

Melbourne Street Art

 

Melbourne is well known as a hub of street art. Across the road from the ACMI and the Ian Potter Centre is a street at serves as an outdoor art / statement arena - there are many other places to go, but there is something interesting about the opposition of the formal art on one side of the street and the 'underground' stuff on the other. On the day we took a shortcut down this alley there was even someone there in broad daylight with a step ladder working on a new piece. It's forever changing as visiting street artists from around the world come to put their mark down for a while. In London you tend to get the odd Banksy but to have entire streets just laced with different works brings a new scale to the proceedings. On the whole I can't say I'm mad about graffiti, for me it's filed in the same category as Manga or RPG's - why would you want to spend your time obsessing over these things when there are shoes, films and food? But the alleys in Melbourne's CBD and Fitzroy are always fun to explore when I'm over. I'm especially loving the pink kangaroo!

The Biggest Bag Ever? Chip Chop XXXXXL Bag

How utterly fab is this bag? It's by an Australian brand called Chip Chop in collaboration with a creative agency called Jane. I just love it. It's hilarious. The best part is that I can totally imagine someone lugging it around on Brick Lane whilst looking totally hipster. Imagine them trying to fish out their lip balm from the bottom!

Shopping in Australia

As the cold continues in London I keep thinking more and more about getting on that plane and being in Oz. But what will I do when I'm there? Aside from my brother's wedding I will be mostly shopping, eating pho and going to the cinema (I love the cinemas there for some reason, they really float my boat).

This is Brunswick Street in Melbourne's Fitzroy - my brother lives just off the street itself, so it will be prime hunting ground...as you can see it's a great mixture of independent boutiques and yummy cafes (and a kebab shop you'd go to when sober).


Gorman is one shop I always enjoy. It's a brand founded in Melbourne that has that very laid back Aussie style, but also stocks other great finds too - shoes and accessories from around the world that always seem to catch my eye and then hook in my wallet. Plus, as the brand isn't really known in the UK you know that anything you get from the clothing line will be pretty a much a one off here. 


I'm hoping that with a bit more time there we'll really get to hit the charity or 'op' shops too. My bro says S, his girlfriend is on first name terms with the assistants there. Cross fingers that means good buys!

In just under 3 weeks I'll be in Melbourne...

The last time I went to Australia about 2 years ago I had just missed summer - hence wearing thermal leggings in this picture. Hopefully this time there will be a smidge of heat around. I am bursting to wear shorts! sandals! and tee shirts - without a million layers.


Oh yeah, and also shopping. Minor detail. Bonds underwear end of line stores on Smith Street, Chapel Street boutiques, Myers and Brunswick Street in general.