So at lunch today I picked up this skirt at Zara. I confess to loving the top as well, but unless I win the lottery, I think my shopping quota for this month is done.
It’s totally awesome, with pockets, and wonderfully full and fifties fabulous. So me.
And now I want these shoes to go with it. Somebody stop me.
Zara Flared Studio Skirt, $139
ASOS Holborn Heeled Sandal, $81.67
A little over twelve months ago, I flew all the way to Paris and shopped up a storm at H&M on the Champs Elysees. Last night I simply hopped on a tram and headed to the city centre of Melbourne, where H&M Australia launched their first store, at the iconic GPO.
There were lights and music as the entire VIP set of Melbourne (and then some!) turned out for what would be the party of the year. They sorted us by surname as we entered the red carpet, and ushered those who were unknowns behind the back of the media riser where we happily took instagram photos of our own by a media wall perched for that specific purpose.
Inside, the beautiful GPO building has been transformed into a gorgeous retail space and it’s hard to believe that once many shops and cafes filled the space. Now every square inch of this incredible store is filled with clothes, shoes, handbags and accessories for men, women and children, and things for the home. So many things! And I want them all.
The prices are ridiculously cheap for Australia, given they are on par with their European counterparts and the quality of the garments is astounding when you consider the price. I was in wonderland. With cocktails by 1806 to my left, and a brand new shopping mecca distracting me to the right, it was hard to know where to look – or who to talk to. EVERYONE was at this party.
With 20% off for one night only, I purchased the Australian Exclusive collection berry knee high boots (genuine leather, $199), a monochrome strapless dress ($79), a pair of jeans ($27) and some lingerie ($30). Knowing that there will be queues to get in for weeks kinda of puts me off going back anytime soon, but I will be back (and probably sooner rather than later!)
I look forward to hearing what you get when the store opens at 10am tomorrow, April 5.
Fun Facts! There will be 250 staff working at the store tomorrow! Plus H&M bought over 50 of their fabulous London staff to help get things going at the start in Oz.
Finally! The last day of the carnival. My knees hurt. My back hurts. I’m tired. But the show must go on and the last hurrah of the Spring Racing Carnival for 2013 would bring rain, wind and a whole lot of fun.
The weather was proving difficult to dress for and so I committed the fashion crime of the century – I wore pants to Emirates Stakes Day. At seventeen degrees with predicted showers and with two rather bruised and battered knees from my fainting spell on Oaks Day, I felt there was no better time than now to break the fashion rules. Thursday afternoon saw me scouring the wardrobe for alternate options and after a quick trip to the tailors, my pants were ready to go.
Keeping my colours light for Spring, the pink ASOS pants, white ZARA top and nude Sachi heels made for a fresh outfit on a blustery day. Amusingly, my oversized Morgan & Taylor summer hat went very well with my Wayne Cooper coat, H&M gloves and Kmart clutch – all in black!! I love the contradiction of Melbourne weather. The poor kids entering Fashions on the Field stood in line with bare arms and legs shivering through the cold, with smiles on their faces the whole time.
After the merriment of the competition was completed, our team headed to the Birdcage for a well earned champers at Bar Schweppes by Broadsheet, downing bubbles and boutique cocktails like water and munching on the gourmet delights like we hadn’t eaten in a week. Much dancing was done, until the music stopped and the carnival was over.
A final hurrah in the carpark rounded out another amazing week at Flemington and the Spring Racing Carnival for 2013. My many thanks to Emma and Olivia for being such great teammates, and MiNC Events for being such wonderful facilitators of the Fashions on the Field competition. To Sachi Shoes for my super comfy heels for the week, Morgan and Taylor for my headpieces and Sol Hermana for dresses – I am a very spoilt girl and it was my pleasure to wear your beautiful things!
And to all my concerned friends – I will go to the doctor this week!!!
xxx
I’m a Tar-jay girl from way back. I can still recall a pair of khaki coloured shorts I picked up at Target for my Year 9 school camp – I wore those things to death for the next two years. Similarly, now I own three navy blue target cap sleeve tee shirts (yep, they are all the same!) just because I never want to be without a clean one.
The ads for Target featuring Gok Wan hit our screens a few weeks ago, and I got into the spirit of things, making suggestions by yelling at the TV, and making ‘in’ jokes about bangers (and as a girl with girls, I can do that. I hear what Gok is saying!)
So I headed along to the Gok Wan meet and greet last week, just a little bit star struck, and a lot excited about the realm of possibility for the Target of the future.
The Target Australia PR team gave us buyers and designers to chat to about the latest in store collections, but we were all truly loving Mr Wan, whose charisma and enthusiasm for working with Target was evident – and then he spilled all their secrets.
We talked about the Aussie love of basics, about how Target wants to give teens ownership of their outfits and that in time, Target hopes to put together collections that compete with the likes of Zara, TopShop and H&M.
Image thanks to Meagan Harding Photography
Gok made us laugh, shared his fashion wisdom and his ‘must haves’ for this season: a stiff white collared shirt; a pair of straight indigo jeans; a pair of good flats!; something slightly unusual, with disconnected tailoring and a masculine pair of trousers, 7/8 length.
Anything in yellow and black is big this year, so check out the Hot Options, Free Fusion and Maax collections at Target to get a fashion forward look for Spring Summer.
