Showing 1-50 of 50 results
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Alannah Hill
Somehow greater than the sum of their (cheap-fabric and often slapdash, repetitive-cut) parts, the clothes of theatrical, ever-lippied Miss Hill have an enduring, widespread appeal. Her outré shops and even more outré runway shows draw on her gift for meta-narrative and her kookily conservative but oddly comforting vision of womanhood, which may explain the attraction.
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Alice Euphemia
Karen Rieschieck and Caroline Price's Alice Euphemia dresses the hippest Melbourne girls. Art-school cheek abounds in local labels Claude Maus, Mad Cortes and Sydney's Michelle Robinson. The cabinets in this intriguing girlie space shelter Lost in the Wood 's collectable kidult pins, glam savage jewels by Alexander McQueen -anointed William Llewellyn Griffiths, and Wolfgang and Vincent's heart-unfastening silver keys. Check also for exhibitions by artists/designers/illustrators.
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Architext
Even if you're not looking for a text about houses built on cliffs, this shop is dang swanky. Architext covers the gamut of design and architecture-related titles, including environmental architecture, urban design, photography, theory, journals and magazines. It also stocks the best range of Melbourne-specific books: look for titles by author Philip Goad or photographer John Gollings.
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Basement Discs
Apart from being music specialists, supplying an exemplary range of CD titles across all genres, Basement Discs has regular in-store performances by big-name touring and local acts. Descend the long narrow staircase to the basement for a browse; you never know whom you might find playing.
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Bernard's Magic Shop
Australia's oldest magic shop (open since 1937), Bernard's sure knows a good fake vomit, whoopee cushion or fly-in-the-ice-cube when it sees one. But, practical jokes aside, there are items for the practising magician, such as rope and card tricks, as well as instructional videos.
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Brunswick Street Bookstore
Upstairs at this enduring and loved bookstore is a specialised selection of well-sourced art literature, from books on skateboard stickers to Caravaggio. A large white ottoman gives this space a gallery feel and a place for people to browse the pages of the display books. Downstairs is stocked with recent releases, classic contemporary titles and a smattering of theory.
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Cactus Jam
Split along us/them, princess/practical lines, one side of Cactus Jam stocks global heavyweights Cloë and Cacherel and other OS lovelies like folksy-modern Tsumori Chisato and celebrated Brit Duro Olowu. Cute cardies and singlets from Paris by Vanessa Bruno are also a real find. The other side features antipodeans Karen Walker, Zimmerman and TL Wood and casual wear.
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Chalk N Cheese
Make your little darling look just like you did when you were little, by buying them the same clothing styles. Chalk N Cheese brings the city's sympathy for vintage to kids, with gorgeous button-neck skivvies, tunics and scarves. The limited but stellar range is beautifully made, so clothes will likely last until the next time '60s and '70s styles come round into fashion.
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Chambermaid
An inspired retailer. High St, Armadale: once the place to shop for a chesterfield or bid at Sotheby's, picturesque High St's core demographic has recently got a whole lot hipper.
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Chapel Bazaar
Noddy eggcups, 1950s couches and yellowing lace: as long as it's retro, it earns a space at this giant undercover market. Permanent stallholders sell off their hoarded treasures at marked prices. Even if you walk out empty-handed, you'll have a whole new appreciation for the city through its past fashion fancies and follies.
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Chiodo
Chiodo subverts classic male fashion, so that army-style khaki shirts are deliciously embroidered with pink tulips. A business shirt will be perfect except for that inside-out piece, designed to reference the construction of garments. Chiodo is clever, cheeky and chic, and accessorises with fab local designers. The postmodern shop fitout (shirts displayed on a table made from stacks of shirts) is worth a squiz too.
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Christine
The toile and tartan entrance of Christine Barro's legendary basement hints at the brave but spot-on style within. Art doyennes and architects, race-going Toorak types and club kids all come for the inspired mix of stalwarts (Sonia Rykiel, Etro, Longchamp) and edgier locals and newcomers (Adrian Lewis, Kerry Grima, Out with Demons). Look for Parisian Sophie Digard and Melbourne's Moya Delany - both blur the boundaries between jewellery, craft and fashion and create affordable but precious wearables.
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Chronicles Bookshop
It's elbows in and neck out while looking for books among Chronicles' walls of tightly crammed titles. Contemporary fiction is the thing here, particularly Australian literature and crime fiction. Nonfiction specialities include travel and cooking. Savvy staff at this compact store can help find your perfect read. Or grab a card and pen and scrawl a greeting home from the recessed courtyard café next door.
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City Hatters
For those dapper gentlemen thinking of attending the Melbourne Cup, stop at City Hatters, downstairs at Flinders Street Station, before taking the train to Flemington Racecourse. Top that outfit with a bowler, fur felt, pork pie or that Australian icon, the Akubra. You can also pick up a simple cap to keep the sun off your face.
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Collette Dinnigan
Looking for a special-occasion frock? Look no further. New Zealand-born, Australian-claimed and internationally renowned Collette Dinnigan dresses celebrities every other day for premieres and parties. Signature delicate lace gowns and underwear, as well as shimmering satin pieces, celebrate the feminine form.
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Counter
The retail arm of Craft Victoria , Counter has a range of handcrafted, locally made jewellery, ceramics, textiles, wood and glass. We're not talking ashtrays and frilly tissue-box covers either - this is classy stuff. What better Melbourne memento than an original crafty art piece? Add a notch to your karma belt, too, for supporting local artists.
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Crumpler
Crumpler had humble beginnings, making bags specifically for Melbourne's bike couriers. Its products impressed everyone, so it made more. The bags are durable, practical and have unique designs, and they're now sold all over the world. An extensive range includes bags for cameras, computers and digital things.
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Cyberia
Cyberia keeps moneyed misses and misters clothed and attired in designer threads. Smart basics, like jeans and jumpers, share the racks with something-for-my-party frocks. And tall glass cabinets can make an instant ensemble, with sunnies and jewellery, and even screenprinted undies. Local and overseas designers crowd the racks of this well-stocked store.
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Dot & Herbey
Grandma Dot and Grandpa Herb smile down upon this tiny corner boutique from a mural-sized photo, right at home among the vintage floral fabrics and retro styles of their era. Dot & Herbey keeps a small range of treasured dresses and tops, plus floppy hats and jewellery. Rings and bracelets fashioned from knitting needles recall the domestic bliss of the era evoked in the store's frocks and blouses.
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Douglas & Hope
Douglas & Hope carries its own range of quilts and cushions. Made in Melbourne from pieces of vintage fabric, the quilts are so soft and dreamy that it's hard to resist curling up on them and going to sleep in the store. Overseas and local designer clothes, sympathetic to the soft-edged smart aesthetic, embellish the racks.
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Eg Etal
With a collection of pieces from over 80 antipodean designers, this unique retail space holds many little treasures. It's a place where fishing wire and metal piping are precious metals, and where aesthetics and meaning are given equal consideration, with symbolic pieces preferred over the purely contrived. A second branch in Flinders Lane (9639 5111; basement, 167 Flinders Lane) exhibits gold and gem jewellery, as well as larger conceptual/exhibition work.
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Empire III
Pretty vintage clothes, accessories, soft furnishings and furniture spill out the doors of Empire III. In which other single store could you pick up a rose-printed quilt, a chandelier, a nightie and a sumptuous evening gown? Empire III also has its own range of girlie bags and purses created from vintage, floral fabrics.
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Fat
The clothing in Fat stores may not make the international fashion catwalks, but that's the point. And it's not because Fat's thinking-person's offerings are for larger sizes. Local designers and Fat's own line fill the space between high fashion and antifashion. Pieces are conscious, irreverent and playful. Individual bags and accessories complete the offerings.
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Flinders Way
There's a definite sense of theatre as you teeter down the sloped wooden entrance, and the cerebrally cool designers on offer (like Eley Kishimoto and Karen Walker) will turn heads off the racks too. Up the back, for the boys, are Tsubi and Rogan's subversive-lite T-shirts and distressed denim. Most compelling of all though are the sublime rare scents by L'Artisan Perfumier and Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle.
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Foreign Language Bookshop
Read Paulo Coelho in Spanish, pick up a Scrabble board in French, or perhaps some tapes in Russian for those long car journeys. The Foreign Language Bookshop has more than texts to help you learn German grammar or Japanese kanji; it's a den of surprises, and stocks a range of travel-related titles, international magazines and educational aids for kids.
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Genki
Stocking funky Japanesey clothing for men, women and little rascals, Genki is a haven for all things cute, pink and quirky. Check out Genki's signature range of T-shirts with slogans such as 'I Love Kissing' and 'I Love Frisbee', as well as accessories and next-big-thing labels from London and New York.
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Greville Records
This den of music has been proffering advice, specialised titles and tickets for over 25 years. It's seen the street move through stages of grit to glitz and survived the download phenomenon. There's always a plum corner position in Melbourne for independent music and advice, and Greville Records is the pin-up example.
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Gwendolynne
A favourite for special-occasion dressing with a particular kind of Melburnian (soap stars and footballers' wives need not apply), Gwendolynne Burkin's historically referenced, precision-cut clothes are darkly feminine and seriously elegant. This back-street Fitzroy salon does nothing to distract from the general air of affected mystery.
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Hoss
Hoss carries a great range of designer clothes, boots 'n' all. Men's and women's jeans, shirts, dresses, knitwear and boots walk out of here on the bodies of many St Kilda-ites. Hoss' sister store, Milla ( M0358; 9537 1750; 210 Barkly St) specialises in stock for ladies, including bags.
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Hudson
Stocking a range of local designs and handpicked items from Japan and the US, Hudson can be relied on to source modern, lo-fi clothes with a twist (think baby trucker caps or killer knee-high socks). Local artists are regularly showcased in the front window (a Gorillaz-style cartoon of 'The Hudsonettes' appears from time to time) and choose the decorative novelty sticky tape when gift wrapping. Go for the one with baby elephants - it's '70s cute.
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Hunter Gatherer
Hunter Gatherer takes the work out of trawling through numerous racks of mothball-scented clothes. Run by the welfare organisation Brotherhood of St Laurence, Hunter Gatherer filters through its 26-odd op shops to bring you the hippest secondhand gear. It also stocks its own vintage-inspired label. All profits go to programmes to assist low-income families, the elderly and unemployed.
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Husk
This jewel-box version of the mini-empire's larger concerns in Albert Park and Toorak highlights the building's original Victorian ecclesia but evokes Persia and Paris. The curatorial range here is also eclectic - the unifying factor is luscious fabrics and a loving attention to detail. An early champion of the boho-luxe look, beloved of Melbourne's intelligentsia, it's the place to find Vixen, Easton Pearson and Gorman. There's also a small selection of own-brand teas and home wares.
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Jasper
In a city where coffee rivals football as 'the religion', many pray at the temple of Jasper. The smell of roasting beans lures you along Brunswick St and into these mouthwatering environs. Jasper selects the best coffee beans from around the world, with a heavy leaning towards organic and Fair Trade coffee, then roasts and blends them with heavenly results. You can pick up a take-home stash for the week, have a cup and a handmade chocolate in-house or fixate on the coffee machines and accoutrements.
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Kleins
Every inch of Kleins is packed with oils and unguents, charming scents and irresistible potions. In this tiny paradise you can feed an Occitane addiction or smother yourself in divine local Aesop products (you must have the Resurrection hand balm). Friendly staff will help you to navigate the cornucopia and will even wrap your precious finds. If you're stuck southside, don't despair - a second store awaits in St Kilda.
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Le Louvre
This is a Melbourne institution, and as with most institutions, many of us are too scared to step inside. Behind the classic and enigmatic façade, moneyed women are measured up for the likes of Westwood, Givenchy, Stella McCartney and Galliano. Society lady Lillian Wightman founded this treasure in 1935; it's now run by her daughter, Georgina Weir.
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Little Salon
Part art gallery, part retail outlet, this little store is an aesthete's heaven. Wearable art, such as bags woven from seat belts, knitted corsages and button bracelets, shares space here with pieces for your wall or shelf. Everything is locally made and extremely well priced.
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Marais
Calling something after a Parisian neighbourhood may smack of parochial insecurity, but happily this venture delivers as much subtle sophistication as its inspiration. Stealthily signposted on the secluded upper floor of the otherwise workaday Royal Arcade, the airy space is a delight, with raven-stained parquetry, glossy white panelled walls and witty fittings. The stock is challenging but elegant. International labels include Preen, Blaak and Balenciaga; fashion editor darlings Josh Goot and Toni Maticevski represent the locals.
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Melbourne Central
This shopping centre complex (with 300 stores, a cinema complex, bars and eateries) subsumed a number of Melbourne's arcades and alleyways when it was built, as well as a lead shot tower dating from 1889. The old brick chimney props incongruously beneath a great glass pyramid, a staid structure in a fast-moving retail environment.
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Mimco
Melbourne-based accessories label Mimco has made adjuncts like jewellery, hats and bags a main event. Oversized, soft, feminine and functional, Mimco's seasonal bag designs make a sassy statement. Hair clips and jewellery acknowledge that it's often the little things that count.
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Northside
Northside stocks everything from straight-up funk to Bollywood soundtracks, much of it on vinyl. When you've finished choosing your music, be sure to check out the store: it's like being inside a wave. Northside will also track down rare albums on request.
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Polyester
If Charles Manson had a personal library, Polyester Books would be it. Specialising in literature, magazines and audiovisual materials on topics from satanic cult sex to underground comics and everything in between, Polyester Books detests censorship. Its pride in its product and outspoken stance have attracted the attention of police, with Polyester facing legal battles.
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Queen
One of a number of independent clothing stores in the immediate area, Queen offers a range of bags, jewellery and clothes that you won't see on the backs of every second person you pass. The store has its own label but also stocks other Melbourne designers.
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Qv
Taking up a whole city block, this development is on the site of the old Queen Victoria Women's Hospital. It's a medley of apartments, commercial and retail space designed by three different architects to give the impression that the block was built up over time. It's like a parody of the city, with artificial laneways and arcades. The complex's retail residents comprise supermarkets and food stores (including Max Brenner, for those with a serious chocolate addiction), hairdressers and some of the city's finest boutique stores.
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Readings
Readings invites…well, reading, with beanbags in the kids area and bench seating in the literature section. Service goes beyond posting recent reviews and imparting well-founded opinion. Readings' side-window is a community service, displaying handwritten calls for housemates. Readings has a unique supply of Australian poetry and fiction, CDs and DVDs, and hosts regular in-store events with local and international literary speakers and musicians.
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RG Madden
Affordable style is RG's ethos. Eschewing already-established names, RG sources new design products from around the world. Whatever your designer want, it's likely you'll find a solution here. Kids' designer furniture, beautiful bins and cotton clothes - RG Madden's sharp range of home wares, furniture, jewellery, bags, stationery and electronic gadgetry will bamboozle even the most seasoned browser.
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Route 66
Nestled in Cathedral Arcade, Route 66 has been a vintage clothing stalwart for years. Menswear leans towards bowling shirts and sharp pants; womenswear is decidedly '50s va-va-voom: pencil skirts, cardigans with embroidered skulls and seamed stockings. Jewellery is heavy on the dice motif. Route 66 can also sort you out for a tiki mug, a book on hot rods or an eight ball for your gearstick.
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Scanlan & Theodore
Admired far and wide for consistently wearable, sexy clothes made with fine, unusual fabrics, this veteran label helped define the ultra-girlie (but not quite demure) Melbourne-girl look of the '80s. Idiosyncratic casual wear and far from sombre suiting are strong, but the label truly delivers when it comes to delightful dress-you-up dresses. Scanlan also has a store in South Yarra.
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Tl Wood
Teresa Liano and Christopher Wood have been outfitting Melbourne's style conscious from behind the scenes for many years. Their long-awaited love-child label gives us what we want (and really, really need): classic, stylish ladylike clothes, using the loveliest silks and wools, and cuts that flatter the female form, which are surreptitiously attention grabbing.
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Vegan Wares
Vegan Wares makes shoes from microfibre rather than leather so they're perfect for people who eschew animal products but still want something durable, comfortable and fashionable on their feet. The funky footwear comes in a broad range of styles for men, women and unisex, and can be made to order. Belts and wallets are also available.
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Zetta Florence
Zetta Florence specialises in long-term preservation for photographers and artists, as well as Australia's national archives. Its impressive showroom has been artistically arranged to display practical products, such as binders, folios and designer archive boxes, alongside exquisitely bound notebooks, quality papers and cards.
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