Melbourne September 2012
Melbourne is most-known to be the fashion capital of Australia, and more importantly, the holder of the title of “world’s most livable city”.
I personally immediately associate Melbourne with two things. One would be, of course, TRAMS! The second would be Melbourne Spring Fashion Week, which I sadly missed by a few days. Now that I’ve been able to experience the city and immerse myself in it, I now associate this place with everything that has to do with art. I found out that they actually have a ton of events that celebrate all things creative (Melbourne Music Week and Melbourne Carnival, other than Fashion Week, to name a few). Around the city, you can also find a lot of street art, and the tourist center can even provide a special map that’s only specific to all the good street art in the city. How truly admirable, yes?
About these pictures… I’m quite impressed with my new 40mm f/2.8 lens, which is the lens that I used throughout this whole trip. I didn’t go to Melbourne for work so I wanted something that didn’t weigh a lot so I could relax and enjoy my time without worrying about my back and shoulders spontaneously snapping and dying on me. Happy with how it’s half the size of the nifty fifty (50mm f/1.8 II)! All the members of my family are all open to taking my pictures now! The 24-70L never fails to tire them out after the 3rd click or so. I don’t know where I found the strength to carry it (attached to my 5D Mk II) for 10 days straight in London and Paris. Maybe I have hidden muscles somewhere. :P
Now, enough of me yapping, and let’s get started with the pictures!
This was my view from the hotel window. I stayed somewhere along Little Collins, a street which I grew to love! Super convenient place to stay at because it’s near everything!
Winter just ended and spring has finally arrived! Australia being Australia, the seasons run opposite of those in (North) America and Europe.
Cute window sticker display while I was walking.
Typo. I used to always go to the one in Wisma in Singapore because they have the best stationery ever! They sell house decorations, gifts, accessories, laptop bags, wallets, and postcards, among others. It’s part of the Cotton On group, and we all know that Cotton On just opened here in Manila recently. I hope they don’t forget about bringing Typo here too!
Tram cables all over the place!
Sneaky ninja photographer mode because I really liked the print of her skirt.
This is in GPO, which was originally a Post Office built back in the 1850s. Now it is one of Melbourne’s most favorite shopping destinations! It houses some really good local designer brands like…
MANNING CARTEL which I am a fan of.
One of my favorite Manning Cartel coordinates. I would wear this in a heartbeat. Sadly I couldn’t take pictures of the recent collection inside the store, but boy, was it absolutely breathtaking!
SASS AND BIDE! Obsessed with their newest collection which showcases a lot of black and white with color accent. You could faintly see on the racks that they have a lot of gold, neon orange and blue mixed with our favorite classic black and white.
Way to create something new out of something old! They still kept the facade intact, so it could still very much pass off as a Post Office if you didn’t know what it was.
Afternoon coffee on the day of my arrival. I took a red-eye flight from Manila to Melbourne via PAL, and headed straight to touring around the city in the morning. Kind of gross, but I swear I wasn’t stinky and no one knows me in Melbourne anyway, LOL.
ANYWAY, I had about 4 cups of coffee that day. Apparently, coffee is one of the things that people take seriously in this town! I never tasted bad coffee during this trip.
Reflections.
Body chain, and a chance to not wear a coat because the sun was being nice and cooperative at noontime.
The girl on the left was wearing some fabulous Senso Neve boots! I met my ninja match because she immediately suspected that someone was taking her picture from far away. Oopsies!
Flagstaff Gardens, the oldest park in Melbourne.
Not-so-fresh from the airport. My mom and her friends went to Harbor Town Shopping Centre in Docklands for an afternoon of discounted outlet shopping!
If you follow me on Instagram and Twitter, you might find the dress on the left familiar! This was the dress I wore to the recent Aranaz x Rags 2 Riches event. So many people were asking me where I got it, and ta-dah, here it is! It’s from a store in Harbour Town called HiddenAgenda.
GLOBALIZE! There’s a newer store that just opened in the Central Business District, and I got a few nice stuff from there. The saleslady turned out to have a Filipino boyfriend and she gave me further reductions on a pair of Her Majesty silver shoes that was on sale.
Brands such as Elwood, Motel Rocks, We Love Fairground, Evil Twin, Mink Pink, Nana Judy, Stussy, and Eleven Raindrops can be found here!
Waterfront area which comes alive at night. Lots of nice dining areas that serve fresh seafood!
Walk of Stars at Waterfront City. It’s a tribute to some of Australia’s best entertainers.
Sooo, I had Asian cuisine in Chinatown almost the whole time in Melbourne. What *is* Australian cuisine anyway, if it even exists? I asked around and people only answered with either pie or fish and chips.
Speaking of pie… PIE FACE, I MISS YOU. This place has the best cheese sticks! I had cheese sticks for breakfast for 3 days straight. Death by fat and cholesterol, but I REGRET NOTHING.
Here’s something that you can’t really miss in Melbourne. The Flinders Street Station is a cultural icon in this city! The facade has been maintained perfectly, and up to this day, it still serves its purpose as a railway station.
Across Flinders Street Station is the Federation Square, Victoria’s second most popular tourist attraction. When I went there, I found a lot of people enjoying the heat of the sun since they had a long winter!
Sigh. Something I can never bring myself to do. *embraces the cold*
St. Paul’s Court in the background. It took me a while to get some decent solo shots from this place because there were cyclists in the area who kept photobombing me and smiling while they pass by the camera.
And, right then and there, I declared my love for this city and its people.
Bourke Street!
Animal print mannequin I found at MYER, Australia’s largest department store chain.
Cruella de Vil figurine at one of the stores in Queen Victoria Market, the largest open air market in the Southern Hemisphere!
Obligatory mushroom photo because they are my favorite.
Mom and I took a quick coffee break here. Different kinds of pastries being served in the morning, somewhere in the market.
Happy school kids (in the most adorable uniforms) dancing to some performers in the market.
Queen Victoria Market from outside. You would think that the sun was cooperating during this day, but little did everyone know that it rained cats and dogs about 10 minutes after I took this picture. My mom and I were heading towards Flagstaff Gardens to take some outfit photos but because of the erratic weather, we ended up freezing at some random place in the market instead.
Layering is your friend! Denim blue top from Pull and Bear, sweater from INGNI, and coat from Warehouse.
By chance, we stumbled upon this immensely colorful artwork in the market. I swear these were everywhere in Melbourne!
A wonderful quote on a window display that I was lucky enough to see every morning, on my way to the central business district.
Unique designs on some shoes for all the feline fanatics out there.
On my last day in Melbourne, I wore this outfit. Let me take this opportunity to be self-absorbed and ask everyone DON’T YOU JUST LOVE THE COLOR OF MY COAT? It’s an in between red and violet, which has the tendency to lean toward one color or the other depending on lighting.
(Top from Sportsgirl, sweater from Zara, Yesstyle skirt, coat from Warehouse, DKNY boots, Mango bag, from Japan socks) Hype this look on Lookbook here.
I had time to curl my hair! You only get to have your photo taken in a foreign place like this very seldomly, so I really try to wake up extra early and make an effort to prettify in the morning so I could at least look decent in these immortalized photos.
Boots that go with everything - a must for travelers! These particular ones keep my feet warm without compromising on style.
Another wall I saw along Lonsdale, on my way to a Greek restaurant called Stalactites. My cousin and her fiancee (who are both based in Sydney) strongly recommended that we try it…
…and it did not disappoint! Lamb festival for lunch.
St. Patrick’s Cathedral, a leading example of the Gothic Revival style of architecture! I wasn’t able to go in because the weather was getting pretty bad and this was a long walk from my hotel, but I just had to see one of Australia’s largest churches with my own eyes.
Figurines at the Royal Arcade along Bourke St. Took my time taking pictures while waiting for fellow Lookbook-er Chloe to arrive!
Russian matryoshka dolls in Australia?
Guess who?
HELLO CHLOE T (and her amazing 7-inches-high JC boots)! We had the most amazing time bonding over everything at Koko Black, where we had the yummiest hot and iced chocolate. She is officially my first and only friend whom I know originated from Brunei. I’ve always loved her very quirky take on street style, so I was lucky she agreed to meet up with me for a short chat before I left the city of Melbourne. I must say that our 2 or so hours of bonding definitely wasn’t enough because I really had fun talking to her. I couldn’t have ended my trip better than this!
I hope you guys enjoyed my recent travel diary. As usual, following My Own Fashion Week/MOFW Singapore, I’ll be wearing some Aussie brands after this entry and posting them as MOFW Melbourne. I’ll also be in Hong Kong next, so expect another travel diary and MOFW in November!
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