On our Australian Thanksgiving adventure we decided to bookend our trip with cities, kicking off the first leg in Sydney and the final leg in Melbourne. No, not “MEL-born”, “MEL-bin” ;). We figured this would be the best way ease in and out of vacation. Well due to the crazy AF weather Melbourne has, it sure warmed us up for the Seattle grey, rain and cold. But, we made the most of it.

The first day happened to be sunny, but just really cold. I had just splurged on several coats back home (obviously leaving them out of my suitcase) and so I was determined to face the 60 degree weather and avoid buying any additional while there. Dresses and accessories however, got the best of me. This outfit is a product of that.

After a day of resto-hopping and getting our lay of the land by foot, Trevor and I got ourselves lost in some pretty crazy shopping malls on day two. I had heard Bourke Street was great for shopping and holy whoa it was. At first we were confused as to where all the people were in the CBD (Central Business District) on Sunday, but we quickly learned they were just spending their money at the shopping centers. Literally, we’d walk into one and then be in another another. The stores were endless and they were somehow all connected, whether by bridge tunnel or adjacent. See for yourself here. Crazy right???

Check them out and the stores in each:

• Melbourne Central
• The Strand Melbourne
• Melbourne’s GPO
• Galleria Shopping Plaza
• Royal Arcade
• Bourke Street Mall
• Block Arcade
• QV Melbourne

Well, as much as I wanted to spend fifteen days visiting them all, we only had one (and not all the monies) so I tried my hardest to power shop / research places to shop online when I returned home. Poor Trevor played on his phone for the whole duration but hey, if you give the man snacks along the way, he actually does pretty well with shopping ;).

Because I’m so excited for what I found, I wanted to share with you all so you can online shop for the holidays and get in on the latest and greatest in #aussiefashion:

• Nobody Denim – amazing denim right out of Melbourne
• Kitx – high quality, high fashion
• WItchery – great for basics, where this dress is from
• Bardot – trendy, flirty and fun
• Seed Heritage – the Madewell of down under
• C/MEO Collective – fun and sexy everything
• Super Glue Store – a curation of all the fave brands from adidas to MINKPINK
• David Jones – their Nordstrom where you can buy designer items
• Tony Bianco – great for shoes
• COS – Swedish but amazing, part of the H&M group – fun, structured items
• Talulah – amazing dresses
• Camilla and Marc – great staple pieces, high quality
• Seafolly – the best swimsuits, literally obsessed (blog post on the one I got coming soon)

Now to the outfit.

I actually didn’t buy any of these items in Melbourne, rather Noosa Heads which had a ton of cute shops along the beach. As it’s completely opposite seasons there, it was hard to find winter items, but still made do. This black cut-out jersey dress is SO comfy, super bouncy material and just comfy to wear. Unfortunately they don’t have black anymore 🙁 only a summer stripe, but still cute. I found it at Witchery, which Trevor actually discovered while I was on another power hour of shopping in Noosa. He walked past it and said it looked like a place I’d like. Cute right? Check them out.

The sneaks – just love. My sister in law and I actually stumbled upon these snakeskin Adidas shoes while outlet mall shopping – two pairs for $80! Right?! If you want to try and snag a pair at this price we went to the Seattle Premium Outlets, otherwise their at Urban and linked below. They’re like my new Fall/Winter standard white sneak. Basically the Converse for Winter. Grab them.

The grey choker, I’m pretty much obsessed with. I know the new tie look resembles a bolo, but this is just so damn cute! And you can wear it so many different ways! I couldn’t decide on a color because I’m the most indecisive person on the planet, so of course I had to buy all three and proactively Christmas gift shop ;). Choose your fave color.

The Vince bag I scored at my fave place next to Nordstrom — Nordstrom Rack. Love those finds and love Vince. 50% off! Score :). It was the perfect travel satchel and I wore it just about every day in Australia (which I didn’t plan out well since black and leather is so not summer… but hey, black – it’s my fa-vo-rite co-lor. Unfortunately I can’t find it anywhere online, but a similar one in another color here.

And last, but certainly not least – the sunnies! Quay Australia people. The COOLEST. Nordies started carrying them which is where I learned about the brand. Before the trip I scored these for only $25 and loved wearing them down under. Everyone had mirrored lenses. Snag them before they sell out!

Enjoy your shopping mates!

// cb ✌????

THE EDIT: Cut-out Jersey Dress | Adidas Snakeskin Superstars | Grey Tie Choker | Vince Crossbody | Quay Mirrored Sunglasses | Black Watch