Any Australian members?? How do you feel about Australia's fashion?

[zolaisabella]

I think we have a handful of good designers (Lover, Karla Spetic, uh... can't think of too many more off the top of my head). Shakuhachi does some nice stuff but it's very influenced by overseas designers, as are most other brands.

I actually dig NZ designers a lot more. Lonely Hearts, Karen Walker, Deadly Ponies, Twenty Seven Names...

Just have to jump in here and say that I share the NZ sentiment. I have noticed that a number of rather mid-priced Aussie brands are getting popular at least in online retail though - like stylestalker, minkpink.

The thing about the Australian consumer market is that support for local designers and brands is really strong, which is great but in terms of being on top of global trends then I think it makes it a lot trickier. If editors are primarily shooting Aussie brands for their publications, then the consumer is not well-schooled on international brands and I feel that makes it hard for global brands to enter the market and possibly for Aussie designers to break out of the local market. Of course, this is my opinion but I'm curious if anyone else agrees or is completely against this?

 

[mrsjamesdean]

I just went to Cue in Melbourne today to buy a business suit. In case anyone is interested, they're having sales right now and much of the Dion Lee stuff (yes, many of the nice pieces) are 50% off.

Oh interesting I must check it out asap. Plus in terms of chain-stores I like Cue, Country Road and Witchery all of which offer great alternatives to some of my favourite international designers with a classic style at reasonable prices albeit some pieces are blatant copies. Ever since Zara opened that's slowly morphing in my wardrobe.

I can't help but rolleyes when I see a Australian blog or tumblr, especially tumblr. It all pretentious to me and they think they know fashion just because they try to emulate models or Abbey-Lee or a ed from Russh or something like that and unfortunately a lot of local designers with exceptions to some, cater or continue to cater to this kind of taste.I think Australia just lacks in variety and why we see abundance of certain looks that is enamored by the mass . Anyways I'm just a rambling b*tch.

 

[rox_yr_sox]

^Speaking of Russh, it used to be great; a magazine that you could be proud of as coming from Australia. Now, the quality has slipped and every half-hipsterish person reads it. I feel like they used to lead, now they just follow trends and it's all so same-same in terms of the vibe. I barely flick through it once now and I have a subscription. I'm seriously considering giving up on it.

 

[cup-of-tea]

Lots of the Dion Lee for Cue (almost all of it) is heading to 70% I believe, quite a bit of it is already there.

My fave aussie labels/brands/stores are Bassike, Country Road, Claude Maus, Fleur Wood, Kirrily Johnston etc.

I find the biggest mistake that boutiques and stores make is lack of variety. I know stores like Fat etc. can only buy and therefore stock so much but anyone of those stores i walk into have 4 or 5 pieces from each brand. Im a fairly regular shopper, always wondering around and browsing so its not like im in there once a month and they've sold out. I believe this is why people head online too.

Also, on the RUSSH front, even though a lot of people adore her, I really really really disliked the turn the mag took when Stevie dance became editor. She's leaving so hopefully it will be returned to its former glory. I use to be in awe at every single turn of the page but in the past year its just gone down down down...I really miss the beauty pages they use to have with the icons from the past.

Onto the hipster note, im SO sick of everyone from 13-18 wearing denim shorts, cropped knits and shirts, doc martins or similar and skirts that are basically underwear. I went through that phase a little, because i dress pretty casually but I just felt uncomfortable so got over it very fast!

As a few others posters have said...Id like to see more about classic Australian style. Its a little parisian mix with american preppy but very much still australian.

 

[dollydagger]

It takes me a few months to 'come down' after OS shopping as the stuff here is just... crap.

Too many people miss the mark with current trends(sportsgirl) & end up looking like they are playing dress-ups.

 

[bern70]

The biggest problem here is cost
Everything is far too expensive
I want to support local designers that I love, like Willow, Lover, Yeojin Bae etc, but I just can't afford too. Even our mid priced clothes are over the top in price

 

[zolaisabella]

The issue with the price-points are key I think. If I was going for fast fashion - Sportsgirl, General Pants, Bardot, Forever New etc, I'd definitely rather buy from ASOS or Nastygal since they have way more variety, are cheaper and the quality is pretty much the same. And as for designer items - I've never bought anything from a retail store here (I live in Brisbane) basically it's either unavailable / it's last season and the prices are ridiculous. So I end up going to Shopbop, even for contemporary stuff like Marc by Marc, Acne, Rag & Bone...whoever's in Syd and Melb definitely have it slightly better.

Just curious, where do the rest of you Aussies shop online?

 

[dollydagger]

Asos & Revolve are my favorites. But I also keep an eye on Buyinvite, Estile, Reebonz & Brandsexclusive.

 

[sambatsas]

Asos & Revolve are my favorites. But I also keep an eye on Buyinvite, Estile, Reebonz & Brandsexclusive.

I was really into these sale sites (ozsale, reebonz, brands exclusive) but so often I felt like i was buying things for the cheap price and not practicality.

So I manned up and cancelled my email subscriptions and now I browse online stores mainly from the US because the $$ is so unbelievably good.

stores that I frequent farfetch.com, matches.com, theoutnet.com, revolveclothing/forwardforward, neiman marcus, saks, mackage, YOOX, mycatwalk.com.au (hardly buy anything from there though)..

Has anyone else noticed that everyday there seems to be a new article in the news about shoppers going online and 'ditching myers and DJ's'. Apparently when DJ's went on sale last week there was hardly anyone shopping in the store and Myers originally wanted to cancel their stocktake sales because it cheapens their image after re-positioning themselves as 'High-end'. For me personally, there is no point shopping in-person because the customer service is just not there anymore. I think customer service is pretty much the only aspect of offline shopping that drives me into stores, when its not there what is the point?

I agree about RUSSH magazine, its terrible and after I flick through I feel like i got nothing out of it, just a bunch of grainy pictures with skinny girls wearing one peice bathing suits. Interestingly, Kim Ellery used to be the fashion editor so maybe this coincided with the time it was a popular and well respected mag?

I read Harpers Bazaar - better than Vogue IMO and I like that they reference online stores in their editorials. Very helpful and realistic

 

[bunburyist]

And as for designer items - I've never bought anything from a retail store here (I live in Brisbane) basically it's either unavailable / it's last season and the prices are ridiculous. So I end up going to Shopbop, even for contemporary stuff like Marc by Marc, Acne, Rag & Bone...whoever's in Syd and Melb definitely have it slightly better.

Try going to the Acne store in Melbourne. It's nice but the mark-ups are just crazy. They had a pair of dress shoes there for $600 that I got about a month later on ASOS for a shade under $200

I sympathise with the retailers here to an extent, as there seems to be little they can do regarding markup, but the reasons to buy here are few and far between and something has got to give.

 

[*Bianca*]

Witchery, and 99% of other Australian chain stores, are so ridiculously overpriced. Who exactly do they think they are?

I definitely experienced the 'come down' after returning from a short time in NYC. I swore I'd never buy anything from Australia again.

Of course, I have bought stuff (now that I've been back in Aus for 3 months), but the prices just make me sick, particulary the chain stores (I won't even get into our designer wear... it's hard to bother with Aussie designer wear when even our own chain stores aren't affordable).

I shop online from ASOS, Topshop, Shopbop, Revolve, Neimen Marcus and the Outnet.

and I'm constantly looking at Urban Outfitters, YOOX, Net-a-porter, Matches - but I've yet to actually purchase anything from those sites.

 

[lucy92]

are the high prices due to a high duty rate on clothing?

where do your family/friends buy clothes?

this may be a stupid quiestion, but what about the seasons issue? do stores have collections in 6 months after europe/america? or do you think that australia gets "leftovers" (ie stuff that doesnt sell elsewhere) somehow?

 

[purplethistle]

^ At the moment there are sales for the winter 10/11 and summer 2011 came in a week or two ago.

But shops here are generally pricier here. There are times when I'd really rather buy stuff online because it'd be cheaper to buy something from the other side of the world after the currency conversion and adding shipping costs. Also the variety here seems to be a lot smaller and I constantely feel like I see the same thing on ten different people on any given day.

 

[mrsjamesdean]

Witchery, and 99% of other Australian chain stores, are so ridiculously overpriced. Who exactly do they think they are?

I definitely experienced the 'come down' after returning from a short time in NYC. I swore I'd never buy anything from Australia again.

Of course, I have bought stuff (now that I've been back in Aus for 3 months), but the prices just make me sick, particulary the chain stores (I won't even get into our designer wear... it's hard to bother with Aussie designer wear when even our own chain stores aren't affordable).

I shop online from ASOS, Topshop, Shopbop, Revolve, Neimen Marcus and the Outnet.

and I'm constantly looking at Urban Outfitters, YOOX, Net-a-porter, Matches - but I've yet to actually purchase anything from those sites.

Yeah they're def. over priced when compared to others and it just comes to economics & all that jazz.Anyways I always buy my stuff on sale and Country Road lately are always doing special or limited sales with cardholders. With Zara opening and their prices significantly lower than the actual local chainstores, I hope this changes the landscape of Australian shopping soon.

 

[misspistol]

I think the fact that items are so overpriced here is because they can get away with it (or COULD get away with it before internet shopping came along). Sure, the prices would be slightly higher because of duty etc. but look at cosmetics. Most items sold in Aus are at the very least double the price. It's ridiculous and until a few years ago their only price competition was within the country.

 

[purplethistle]

^^ Read something, somewhere today that Zara is going to open in Melbourne and possibly other cities latter on. Hopefully this will make the other chains bring down their prices to something that is actually reasonable.

 

[lucy92]

are sales schedules in stores similar to europe or are they anytime like in the US?

don't hold your breath about zara being cheap, prices are doubled for the US. and i can imagine that zara's prices for australia would be doubled as well.

 

[*Bianca*]

The major sale periods are June and late December (Boxing Day). But there are sale offers throughout the year, depending on the store (ie. Witchery and Country Road always have some sort of member sale going on - so I'd never ever buy anything full-price from those two. The 'sale' price bumps it down to what it ought to have been priced... so you don't actually feel as though you are getting a sale bargin... well, at least not to me).

Purplethistle, Zara opens on the 15th in Melbourne, and has already opened in Sydney. I'm not sure what the prices are like though.

I really wish H&M would come down here. It seems to be everywhere in the world, except for Australia. What's with that?

 

[*Bianca*]

Perhaps just rumours, but there's some hope

April 14, 2011, 2:49 pm

A slew of international retailers including Topshop, Forever 21 and Uniqlo are reportedly set to open up shop in Australia in 2012/13.

The news comes ahead of Zara's imminent opening in Sydney's CBD next week, which has ignited interest from overseas brands looking to expand their market.

"It is understood that Topshop has secured a new local partnership with Next Athleisure and would like to open their first flagship store in Sydney CBD in 2012," Knight Frank's associate director, Alex Alamsyah, told the Sydney Morning Herald.

And while the closure of Borders bookstores across the country left many feeling despondent, the empty stores might be put to good use.

"Forever 21 from the US has recently met major shopping centre owners to discuss takeover of some stores of embattled bookstore chain Borders in Australia," explained Alamysah.

In addition, Japanese store Uniqlo, US retailer Abercrombie & Fitch, and Swedish department store H&M are reportedly eyeing Australia for their next ventures.

"The order appears to be Zara next week, Topshop next year with F21 and Abercrombie & Fitch likely to arrive in 2012/2013, while Uniqlo and H&M may follow in 2013/2014," said Alamysah.

"Fashion fans like to see great showdowns of highly anticipated and long-speculated battles of heavyweight brands in prime Sydney CBD locations. They're likely to see a face-off between Zara and Topshop, F21 and H&M, and A&F and Uniqlo."

au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/marie-claire

 

[lucy92]

what about the big department stores? is there an aussi equivalent of macy's? what brands do the department stores carry?