My recent trip to Melbourne gave me the prefect excuse to give my wardrobe a little update. As South Eastern Australia had been experiencing a heatwave, it wasn’t so much an excuse as a necessity to get some summer items.
Enjoying the early morning sun in Melbourne.
Erm, okay, so yeah it was a bit of an excuse. Even so, my wardrobe was low on summer items so it seemed like a good idea to invest in some. With summer on its way at home, I would at least get some good use out of them.
Let us, however, not get too carried away. Before even setting foot in Australia, there was a mammoth journey to undertake, around 22 hours from London to Melbourne.
Having undertaken the journey once before, I knew what to expect. Last time I only took one pair of shoes: brogues.
These weren’t ideal for a long-haul flight and they gave me massive blisters when I explored the city on foot. I wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice and so I decided to get a pair of Converse trainers that would be good for walking and easy to take off or leave loosely done-up during that flight.
Having seen some great patterned Converse shoes on Pinterest, I took a look to see what I could find. I eventually settled on these patterned Chuck Taylor Converse hi-top trainers from USC costing £25.
The patterned Chuck Taylor hi-top Converse trainers I took to Australia.
Once in Aus, I thought I’d need some lightweight trousers. Zara is a store I have long admired and in all the images in this post I’m wearing Zara’s micro print chino trousers (£29.99). They are made of a thin cotton fabric so ideal for the heat and being ankle length, are perfect for showing-off your footwear.
Zara’s micro-print chino trousers. Made from a lightweight material, they are ideal for hot weather.
I allowed myself a second pair of shoes in my case. These are the Biker style boots in white from Dutch manufacturer Wolky.
Those Wolky Biker-style boots in close up.
When I first saw them, they simply screamed “Melbourne” to me! I’m probably taking a huge gamble getting something pure white in colour but hey, they look cool and they are incredibly comfortable. With a zip fastening, they’re also very easy to get on and off so ideal for us parents who sometimes need to throw footwear on very quickly.
The Biker-style boot in white from Dutch manufacturer Wolky.
That’s not all, however. What sort of person would visit Australia without sunglasses?
Jason Wayfarer Ray-Ban sunglasses, available from Mainline Menswear.
Not this individual, oh no. In all these images I am wearing the Jason Wayfarer style shades in grey from Ray-Ban (available online from Mainline Menswear and costing £98).
Catching some sun: the Jason Wayfarer sunglasses from Ray-Ban.
I also accessorised with an orange Paisley-style bandanna from my own collection. The idea was that I might wear it on my head in the powerful Aussie sun but instead chose to wear it around my neck. I should add the t-shirt is a basic crew-neck available from Espirit.
The entire ensemble put together.
That’s what I chose to wear during my recent visit down-under. As it happens, I arrived in Australia on the first day of their autumn. Even so it was still deliciously hot and I will get to put the clothes and accesories to good use during the British summer.
I hope that’s given you a little inspiration as summer will hit these shores in a few months time. Do please leave a comment below with your thoughts on the clothes. I would love to know what you think of them.
Disclosure: Some items in this post were provided for review purposes. Thoughts and opinions entirely my own.
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