I've just returned from four great days in Melbourne. I caught up with my sisters who flew in from Canberra and Sydney (me from WA). I just wanted to tell interested people about a great tour I did with Hidden Secrets tour of Lanes and Arcades. It was a 3 hour tour which took in Melbourne's fantastic arcades and showcased a lot of Melbourne's independent designers. We stopped at shops like Body, Kinky Gerlinki, Shag, Alice Euphemia and lots of others. There was also a stop at Koko Black to get a hot chocolate (delish). The tour also gives you a little box of 52 cards listing the various shops which is really handy because you obviously can't visit them all at once. There was a real mix of stores - retro, vintage, modern (for all ages but mainly aimed at 20s/30s). Fiona, the tour guide, is a fashioner designer herself who is wanting to promote this aspect of Melbourne. There was also lots of interesting info about architect and history. I loved going to see the button-maker who has been hand-making buttons for over 20 years.
I have no connection with the company, just a very satified customer. The website is www.hiddensecretstours.com if you want to check it out.
Mac123
Shopping in Melbourne
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What's your age group Mac123 as I think that some of the shops would be out of my age group range and therefore boring as B........ as Margo says.
On the other hand in the right age group this is a terrific way to get to find the best the city has to offer.
Hi LizF. We are sisters aged between late 30s and early 40s (how's that for giving a general but evasive answer?). One of us is very, very thin and the other two are normal sized. I don't think age really matters, we all just want to look fashionable regardless of that. One of the stores, Hanni (across from Alannah Hill) makes clothes to order for any age or shape and reasonably priced. And the trendy shops always have interesting shoes and accessories so that even if you can't fit into the size 6 clothes or you don't want to show the midriff or the arms, there is plenty else to look at. There were two other ladies on the tour that were in their late 50s and they loved the tour and were very enthusiastic. As I said previously I also found the information on the architecture interesting. She also talked about the art aspects of several locations which until she pointed certain things out I realised that I was just walking past buildings/lanes without really noticing the art (a lot of it quite quirky) that the City of Melbourne is promoting amongst its artistic community.
Cheers Mac 123
Mac123