History repeated

The Department of History, in Thornbury, was quite the discovery. Cool as ice, but the prices were ever so slightly steep. On the shop's fashion racks, a '70s polyester kaftan - not unlike this beauty I picked up for $25, was 10 times the price! Yup, '70s is the new sought-after vintage, mostly because everything else is gone.
Not to worry, the uber-cool store served as both fashion and interior inspiration and gave an indication of what is hot, what is getting hotter and how much some people will pay for secondhand finds.

More marvellous Melbourne

Ganesh in Flinders Lane; large, colourful and removing obstacles. 

Bikes are many Melburnians' mode-of-transport of choice, as the wheels lined up outside Journal Canteen attest. For late lunch I downed a delicious tomato and basil bruschetta at my little round window table for one. 

Craft Victoria is a fabulous gallery and retail space that elevates and shines a light on Melbourne's many many makers. So much great jewellery, knitwear, books and more.

ChinChin is reasonably new, but was full whenever I walked past it. From the outside (why didn't I go in!?), it appears similar to a vast, but kind of sparsely industrial Parisian bistro. Cumulus Inc, a favourite, is always busy, but not the outside tables on this particular cold Melbourne day.

Northcote tales

The cool kids are heading north, or they've already left...depends on who you're talking to, I suppose. Either way Northcote is a lovely destination if you're cool or not. Beaufort 8 Group and I headed there to check the scene, do some shopping and eat some snacks. The Estelle was our chosen food venue, and I'm glad we went - it was lovely and our waiter was a treat.
High St boasts lots of good vintage shops and cool spotting. We both felt our Northcote trip was made complete when we spotted Dan Luscombe who the Beaufort 8 Group declared was the unofficial mayor of Northcote. Cool? Yes.

Food and coffee at The Estelle...

Another great coffee in beautiful crockery.

Goats cheese and beetroot salad. Yum.

Potato tortilla with salad and some kind of jamon.

How much is that groovy in the window?

Yup, it's another simply fantastic vintage shop in Melbourne. Can there be too many? Nope.
Global Objects & Retro is in Albert Park, and while it wasn't open on the Saturday we stopped by (probably for the best, really), its big windows full of mid-century retro boasted plenty of groovy goodness. Hmmm...looks a hell of a lot like a home I know.

That Mother In Law's Tongue is so 1970s! I love it and I actually have a plant on order. 

Wardrobe wander: ciao, bella!

Here she is! Thank you for patiently waiting for my second Wardrobe Wander installment.
I'm sure you'll agree, sharing a few moments with beautiful Bianca Loiacono was worth the wait.
A style plate in her own right, Bianca also focuses her well-trained vintage collecting eye on pieces for Birdy Popcorn, a cool collection of kids wear and vintage lifestyle pieces Bianca and her friend Emma curate through their website and sporadic pop-up shops (keep your eye on their website  for the next pop-up).
Wilf, Bianca and her partner Michael's little boy (and my nephew!), is pint-sized inspiration for his cool mum (as his his buddy - Emma's fashionable Frankie) and Bianca and Wilf make a stylish duo around the streets of Melbourne.
Bianca has also left her cool and quirky touch on her's and Michael's home. But it's the kitchen which is truly Bianca's domain - she's a domestic goddess who regularly pumps out healthy, tasty treats for her boys all the while looking effortlessly chic and down-to-earth beautiful.
Thanks Bianca.

Bianca wearing one of her favourites - a silk '70s floor sweeper. Bellisimo!

Retro fabrics bursting with colour and pattern.

Bianca sports her mum's gorgeous vintage late '60s leather and fur coat. Lucky girl.                  

Another beautiful '70s frock and she wears it well!

This little piggy...was pretty happy with himself!

Fabulous industrial-style storage.

  

And in this suitcase...

   

Even Wilf's room gets the eclectic style touch. He loves his room.

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A selection of fabulous Birdy Popcorn finds for kids.

Play-doh time.

Bianca sports a pair of overalls like nobody's business. Tell it like it is, Wilfy!

Parlez vous Francais?

I can't read French (well with any kind of proper ability, at least), but it appears these photos are from a collection, on Paris Vogue's website, of fashion identities' interiors.

Images from Paris Vogue. Nice, huh?

Could I do this? Orchid I do that?

While the flowers are divine, I'm rather inspired by Kelly Wearstler's ON SOM BLA. She's a stylish chica, that Kelly.