Spring Racing Hats....have you got yours?

Last weekend saw the official start of the Spring Racing Carnival and apart from the wonderful horse races, the ladies were out in force with their colourful outfits, complete with some terrific hats.  Have you got your outfit totally together?  The hat of course makes the outfit...don't you agree?  Do you have your hat yet or is that a last minute decision?  I hope it's not a last minute decision, but if it is why not have a look at the wonderful Australian made hats from The Essential Hat in High Street, Prahran East... here

Susan Drerup has owned and run The Essential Hat since 1987, that's a lot of experience and a lot of hats. Susan has a very gentle, sympathetic approach with her customers and in conjunction with the lovely ladies who are on her team, provides a relaxed atmosphere to suit individual requirements.  I think all this culminates in a hat to really suit her customers.  It is, of course, about getting the right colour...and the right hat that suits the outfit...but most of all the hat has to suit the wearer of the hat...her colouring...her face shape...and getting it all to come together is not an easy task and this is where I think the team at The Essential Hat come into their own...here

There is an enormous range of ready made hats to choose from, or if you prefer a hat can be made to order.  As you can see from the images here, there are many different shapes and colours.    Have a look at this dear little fascinator below...made to order with lovely beading of a dragon fly...so feminine and very flattering for a young lady... they cater for everyone at The Essential Hat...here

Now is a very busy time for milliners, and if you haven't made your choice yet, I'm sure there is enough time before the Caulfield Cup and the Melbourne Cup to contact The Essential Hat or visit them at 610 High Street, Prahran East or online...here

Hats by The Essential Hat

Have lots of fun choosing your hat...Wendy

Fresh food online...Where does the food come from?

Following on from my blog on Australian fashion, many thanks to those lovely people who sent emails to me regarding Australian designers and manufacturers...I am following up on them and will be writing about them in the near future. For now I would like to discuss the fresh food online quandary...many of us are online shoppers for all sorts of products, but are you a fan of online shopping for food?  There seems to be a flurry of online stores popping up brandishing the organic, fresh, fast food and so on.  The question arises, where does the food come from?  Is it Australian?  It is one of those questions where it takes a bit of research to discover the sources of the food we want to purchase.  

There is also the other factor of the supermarket...and for many of us supermarket shopping can be a real pain and oh sooo time consuming. I really don't like supermarket shopping and over nine years ago I started buying my groceries online...I find it fast, efficient and a big cost saving...no more browsing the aisles being trapped by all those temptations for me...I browse online and it's very easy to skip to the next aisle...believe me, just a click of the mouse!

  

However, buying fruit and vegetables, meat and fish is a different ball game I think.  I think most of us like to see the fruit and vegetables etc...feel, smell and perhaps we just like to be the one to pick the fruit and vegetables up, and make the choice ourselves.  I did weaken a while back and I started researching the suppliers out there, which I think is the trick to getting online food shopping right.  I decided I would source the fruit and vegetables online first...that was a hard one for me but after doing my homework I discovered what has now become one of my favourite Australian online sites Aussie Farmers Direct...here

Aussie Farmers Direct is an independently owned, multiple award winning, home delivery food business that sources fresh 100% Australian owned, grown and produced food, and delivers it direct to the doors of more than 130,000 households across six states of Australia.  In 2005, Aussie Farmers Direct was founded on the principle of helping Australian farmers by conveniently delivering their quality food to customers through re-inventing the local ‘milkman’.  With one van and 100 litres of milk, word quickly began to spread of the convenience and service and Aussie Farmers Direct were able to expand and add more products.  They have quickly grown to include more than 170 different products...from fruit and vegetables, to a range of dairy, bakery, deli, meat, chicken, seafood, pasta and fresh gourmet meals...see their website...here

I love the way their deliveries are made overnight and placed into esky bags left out on the doorstep by their customers before 7am, so the food is always fresh.  Fruit and vegetables are delivered in recyclable boxes in the afternoons...it's all so easy isn't it?

Aussie Farmers Direct  operate through a franchise system, and they have more than 200 franchisees servicing metropolitan areas and regional centres in Victoria, New South Wales, ACT, Queensland, South Australia  and Western Australia...plenty of opportunity for those of us who don't want the hassle of the supermarkets to take advantage of Australian produce...that's what we want isn't it?

And by the way, if you think  it is a while until we need to order our Christmas hams...have a look at Aussie Farmers Direct website...yes, there it is, the Australian Christmas ham and pudding ready for order now...

Images - Aussie Farmers Direct

Enjoy your food shopping online...Wendy

Spring Fashion Week & the Melbourne Racing Carnival...

The Melbourne Spring Fashion Festivals have begun in earnest and no more so than the Melbourne Spring Fashion Week events.  Have you got your tickets?  Have you been?  There are only three days left...click here.

                                       

Image - MSFW

The array of colours is just wonderful...feminine dresses, skirts, tops and pants.  But can you believe...the jumpsuit has made a come back...does anybody else remember these?  Of course fashion is a cycle and new trends are not really new are they?  They are just recycled ideas from times gone by with a slightly different slant.  What do you think?

Image - MSFW

Then of course, it's not only the spring fashion festival that's all the go at the moment, but also the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival is almost upon us...the early part has started...soon the main racing calendar of events will commence and those girls who are very keen to put their best foot forward will already be out there looking for their special outfit now and there is an abundance of wonderful Australian designers to choose from and some of them  have their garments made in Australia and that's what we want to find.

Image - Collette Dinnigan

One of my favourites is Collette Dinnigan she has a wide variety of very feminine clothes and some of them are made in Australia so keep a look out for them...she has some lovely laces and silks at the moment...click here

Another of my favourites is Shirley Keon...here.  Shirley has been in the fashion industry for over 25 years designing and manufacturing spring racing outfits, casual and tailored weekend separates and many other beautiful dresses.  She recently had a spring fashion parade at the Sofitel and it was a big hit with a huge variety of lovely garments full of colour and particularly designed for the forthcoming racing season all made in Australia at her showroom in Flinders Lane, Melbourne.

Image - Anna Fiori

Of course it's not just about the dress, pants, jacket, it's also about the shoes...I think this is where Anna Fiori comes into her own.  Anna is located in Block Arcade in Melbourne and all the shoes are made in Australia.  If you don't see the colour you want, they can make the shoes for you in a particular colour...brilliant if you really want to get the exact colour.  Have a look at the website...here  Don't forget if you want comfort and fashion, Bared Footwear has an excellent array of shoes with of course, those wonderful insoles that are sooo comfy for a long day at the races...here

Image - Zuzana Vranovska

Then there are the accessories.  The jewellery and the hat...one such milliner comes to mind...Zuzana Vranovska who not only makes hats, but also some exquisite jewellery which is very reasonably priced...it's a one stop shop and you can get the jewellery and the hat made to compliment each other...  Zuzana Vranovska has a lovely little shop in Kings Arcade in Armadale.  Zuzana has had a fascination with beads since she was a child and the combinations she creates you will not see elsewhere...and her hats are quite unique and can be made to order...but you'll have to get in quickly if you are to have that hat for the races...here

It is quite an exciting time at the moment in Melbourne, with the fashion scene abuzz with what's new and the racing season commencing...so I can't help but keep pounding the pavement looking for goodies to purchase for those special events and will keep you posted on my finds...and if you have any special places who make Australian products please leave a comment or email...would love to hear from you...

Melbourne Spring Fashion Week...here

Collette Dinnigan dresses...here

Shirley Keon dresses...here

Anna Fiori shoes...here
Bared shoes...here

Zuzana Vranovska jewellery and hats...here

Happy shopping...Wendy