Many months ago, I emailed a girlfriend with a picture of bag.

‘What do you think? Can I pull off this colour?’ I asked her.

The object in question was the highlighter pink Cambridge Satchel Bag. In shocking pink and made of gorgeous leather, the satchel was something I felt I needed to brighten up the coming winter darkness and bring some sunshine into my life.

At about $150AUD for the smallest one, I was okay to have this on trend piece (fluoro is SO in) flown in from the UK to satisfy my shopping desire.

But then the friend replied:

‘Do you really need it Sare? I mean, it won’t go with much after this season….’

And just like that I was convinced not to buy it. Instead I channelled my need for a coloured bag with this ASOS tote, coming in at $127AUD and have been lugging it all around Melbourne (I love it, but it weighs a TON and I carry a lot of stuff…).

But the shopping gods work in mysterious ways and while surfing the interwebs yesterday, I came across this picture of Mia Freedman, holding a fluoro pink satchel. I had to know – was it the Cambridge?

A quick post on Twitter and I asked Mia directly – WHERE CAN I FIND ONE?

The delightful Mia replied – and to my surprise, the answer was Typo. Yes, the stationery store.

$39.95 and while it’s not leather, it will serve it’s purpose of being awesome and bright on a cold rainy day in Melbourne this winter. 

You can get one online here or head into a Typo store – they also have one in Tiffany Blue, and at that price, I could probably justify both!

I know it’s kinda early to be thinking ‘bikini’ body – but if this video doesn’t inspire you to put back that second serving of lasagne, I don’t know what will.

Nookie Beach will be on shelves in 2 weeks (yes, Summer IS just around the corner) and this year the collection features some gorgeous florals and Moroccan style prints.

This is the first collection to offer separates (hurrah!, cry the big busted ladies!) and you can get your hot little hands on them before all the good sizes go at www.nookie.com.au.

For about three years, I worked up the ‘New York’ end of Collins Street, which is just far enough away to make it impossible to get any decent shopping up the ‘Paris’ end of Collins Street in a lunch break.

But, to my delight, the Southern Cross Station DFO (Now rebranded the Spencer Street Fashion Station) was a paradise for an hours’ shopping, of which most of my time was spent in a store called Barkins.

At the time, Barkins was a baby sister or cousin or close friend of fashion label Table 8, whose store I had frequented on Bridge Rd on many an outlet shopping trip. Barkins offered on trend casual and work wear on graduate salary prices. 

For a while, my wardrobe looked like a Barkins store – and then I branched out a bit, moved jobs and the Bourke St Mall became more of my local shopping haunt.

This week, Barkins re-entered the mainstream shopping precinct, opening a store at Melbourne’s QV. The relaunch party featured all the favourites – champagne, discounts and candy – and enticed my favourite people to come out of their winter hidey holes to mingle and talk shop.

Me with Christopher Rivera, Irish Rivera, Jennie Estrada and Ilker Kale . Pic thanks to Meagan Harding Photography.

The offering is back to the good old days, with a little added klout now they are operating next door to the big guns of QV. 

Visit:
L1/20 Albert Coates Lane
QV – Cnr Swanston & Lonsdale st
Melbourne, 3000

I think the wardrobe people at Channel Ten are doing an awesome job.

Remember the awesome Jolet dress that I saw Carrie Bickmore wearing a few months ago and had to have? Well, the lovely Leigh at Halcyon State sorted me out on that one and I wore the Jolet frock to a recent wedding, to the tune of many compliments. 

And now I have spotted this fabulous Watson X Watson digital print that is pretty schmick.

Digital printed silk cdc, block fused to support the shape with zip front detail and fully lined with over-skirt shape and neon piping detail. SWOON. The Hyper Floral Whalberg Dress is just begging for some sunshine, heels and a spot in a marquee on Oaks Day.

Amazing.

While Angela and Sarah MacFarland are not exactly new to the fashion accessories scene, their style and flair continues to impress.

You can check our ANGI MAC for yourself at the aweome warehouse sale this coming Friday, in Collingwood.

With fab discounts and giveaways, drinks and nibbles, you’ll be sure to pick up a bargain and meet some great people while you’re there!

One of the things I discovered in ‘The Move’ was just how many Glomesh bags I am in possession of. 

I counted seven, but there are still boxes yet to be unpacked – I have them in ivory, navy and burgundy; in delicate purse style handbags, and sturdier clutches.

I love them all. Glomesh has that vintage feel, without being dated – and now Glomesh is back for todays generation. 

Daniel Goldberg, the grandson of original Glomesh founders Louis and Alice Kennedy, has bought the fabulous metal mesh bags back and reintroduced them to a whole new audience.

The Alice bag is the first to be released, in 4 colours (3 pictured here) and a whole collection will follow.

RRP $695 for Navy, Burgundy and Ivory (not pictured), $849 for 24C Gold
Available at www.glomesh.com

I was recently told that moving house is one of the three most stressful things you will ever do in your life. I have to assume that resigning from a job and the boxing day sales are the other two, since I have never experienced the levels of anxiety and angst that these events bring on as I have in the past week or so.

Carrie & Big’s Penthouse in SATC, The Movie.
Note: the only similarity between this apartment and my townhouse, is the light.

I am, however, pleased to report I am now settled in my new place. I am blogging from the kind of lounge room Carrie Bradshaw claimed ‘was where they hid the light’, and the balcony from my bedroom somewhat resembles that of the Parisian windows our favourite fashionista first spied the Eiffel Tower from in Season Six – except I can only see the Eureka Tower and I realise that is not quite the same.

Carrie in SATC Season Six, in her Paris hotel room.
Note: the only similarity between this balcony and my balcony is that you can see a tower. Must get some flowers…

The process of moving one’s life possessions from one place to another is never easy – no matter if you are only going five minutes up the road, or across the world. Everything needs to be wrapped, stacked, boxed and labelled.

This whole experience for me was made somewhat more complicated by a number of elements, including but not limited to:

– My significant collection of shoes and magazines
– The sheer volume of my clothes, bags, scarves and belts
– My tendency to have kept everything that has passed through my hands for the past three years
– The fact that I am slightly obsessive about organisation and that everything should be unpacked prior to the start of the working week

And so we moved and our new house is nothing short of amazing. I actually WANT to go home at night. I don’t want to leave in the morning.

Pro of living together: The merging of possessions… and I am totally going to Ikea on Saturday.
The rest of this cartoon (which is nothing short of hilarious) can be found at The Oatmeal.

But I do realise that I have been in quite the nightmare for the past week. And that I myself have probably – oh, screw it – KNOW I have been quite the nightmare. I got frustrated at the drop of a hat, I cried at the drop of a hat and when I did actually have to ‘drop a hat’ (apparently I don’t need that many…) I was a little bit crazy.

I have to assume that experiencing the stress of moving together, and remaining together, is one of those ‘what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger’ moments.

Well, I hope so anyways.

Thanks to all those who put up with my nuances for the past week. Love you to bits.

I Love Lemon
SABA Spring 12/13

One for all the Uni kids; those who aspire to work on Fashion Runways; those who have done the hard yards as a vollie at the Fashion Festivals.

Everything is on sale at the moment – it kind of makes me feel a bit cheap shopping around, but some sales are worth waiting for and the Alice Euphemia one takes the cake.

Get your designer on at the Alice Garage sale – I’ve previously picked up some fab pieces (my Ansdorf leather jacket is a fave) at great prices.