The Other Side of the Coin

When people tell me that they’re taking a year off and decamping to Australia, I don’t feel envious. In fact, I usually feel sorry for them – they’re going to have to deal with the heat and the sand and the weight gain that is an inevitable result of the beer and barbies and then they’re going to have to wear a bikini, despite the weight gain, because of the heat and the sand. I think to myself how happy I am to reside in Ireland where it’s never too hot and I don’t have to worry about revealing all in a bikini. I also smugly presume that they don’t have much by way of culture or fashion over there in Oz and congratulate myself on my northern hemisphere superiority.

But in the last few weeks, I have begun to realise that maybe there is a side to Australia that I have hitherto ignored and perhaps there is more to the Antipodes than Alf Stewart and Irish expats. I have come across a few nice Aussie blogs, such as Capture the Castle, and I’ve noticed that I actually wear a lot of Australia-based or Australian designers. One of my favourite dresses is by Virginie Castaway, a French woman who liked Australia so much when she went there on a year out that she decided to set up shop there. And barely a week goes by when I don’t wear my Antipodium floral blouse. Granted Antipodium designer, Geoffrey J. Finch, lives and works in Shoreditch, but he cites his Queensland childhood as major influence on his work. Top that off with the beautiful photos that street style snapper couple, Garance Dore and The Sartorialist, have been taking on their trip to Australian Fashion Week, and you’ve got yourself a convert. Maybe I’m not quite ready for an entire year Down Under, but perhaps a little trip would be a nice place to start.

Images from The Sartorialist and Garance Dore