I was extremely excited for Melbourne's boutiques and European high street shops (speak Zara, Mango, Topshop) but was utterly disappointed when I got there. The high street fashion just isn't up to speed with what's going on back home (amazingness!) and the little boutiques I remembered were all turned into super cheap disposable clothing shops.
Let's face it: Everyone is copying each other, every boutique or Australian owned young and hip online shop stocks the same cheap designer knock offs and I have had a gut full. I really feel there is a market for affordable clothing that is different to what everyone (everyone!!) is selling at the moment.
Remember 10 years ago, when you went into a store and they stocked completely different clothes to the store around the corner? You could tell straight away where something was purchased from and every store had a different image attached to it.
I kind of miss that.
It's a bit scary to think that all retailers would like us to become conformists, chasing after one particular trend at a time, then declaring it "unwearable" by putting it on the sale rack and introducing another trend item so desirable, everyone must own it.
So if you are expecting a solution to this problem, well prepare yourself for a big disappointment. I don't really know. I am still feeding off clothes I systematically accumulated over the two weeks I was in Europe for in September. I buy bits and pieces here and there, but it's mostly accessories and I have become extremely hesitant about purchasing things, especially statement dresses. I bought a backless dress a couple of weeks back that is yet to be worn, but I will most likely try to get rid of it on eBay. "Why?", you might think. Well, in the last 2 weeks I have seen it in 12 (!) different stores.
Thankfully I have a super sweet mother who loves receiving and then sending over parcels of clothes from European retailers that are yet to ship to Australia. It makes me quite happy seeing nobody else in a dress I didn't have to empty my bank account for.
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| I would pay $ 150 for this. I don't wear reverse crosses or satanic symbols though...so there goes the dress and its subtle but SAAAW UNIF symbols. Man, I am too scared of becoming possessed and even more scared of exorcism. Phew. via dollskill.com |