Samson Girl in Sydney: Fashion Blogger Market

As a full-blooded Melburnian I always thought it my sworn duty to belittle Sydney as our less hip and more-try-hard rival city, but after my short vacay in the wannabe capital, I only have positive things to report. I know, what blasphemy! Over the next few days I'll be posting about the Sydney markets, cafes, fashion and food that led me to disregard the weird one-way streets (seriously what's with that?) and over-priced public transport. Sydney, meet your newest fan.

After a flight, some people might want to unpack, look at a map and take a shower, but not me! Why would I waste time on showering WHEN THERE'S SHOPPING TO DO!? Upon arrival I hit the ground running, making my way straight to The Winery Fashion Markets in the oh-so-hip Surry Hills. Nestled in the laneway behind the Winery Bar lies a monthly market that boasts stalls from some of Sydney's most notable fashion bloggers, stylists and designers who have decided to clear their wardrobes of last seasons Sass and Bide. It's basically like having several incredibly stylish friends who have generously allowed you to raid their wardrobes, which just happen to be full of enviable international and Australian labels. 

 Making an appearance last weekend were Elle and Tash from They All Hate Us, Sara Donaldson from Harper and Harley and Carmen Hamilton of Chronicles of Her, who regularly contributes to Vogue and has worked with brands like Ksubi, Bassike and Manning Cartell. There were more fashionistas, bloggers and instagramers here then you could poke a stick at, all rummaging through the racks heaving under street labels like Talulah, ASOS and Witchery, while higher-end wares such as Camilla and Louis Vuitton also made an appearance. 

The Winery Fashion Market allows those of us who dream of becoming a successful fashion blogger to do the next best thing...raid their totally awesome wardrobe offcuts! If dreaming means I get to wear a pair of second-hand louis Vuittons, then that's fine by me!

My Best Friend Barry

Isn't it great when you find that special someone that you know will always have your back? Someone who'll have the perfect remedy to your hangover, give you a tasty green smoothie after your gym workout, always leave you feeling satisfied and will really just, well, show you a good time. Well I've found that special someone - Barry. Ok, technically Barry isn't a someone he's a something (bear with me, I'm not a crazy person who makes friends with inanimate objects). Barry is Northcote's newest cafe that's drawing crowds with good-looks, charm, superfoods and peanut butter.

Barry's light-filled interior and soaring white walls sets the scene for this hip yet friendly cafe, with scatterings of pot plants adding touches of colour around the large room dotted with communal and individual tables. Barry is always a busy guy, filled with Eastern-suburb hipsters, fitness gurus carrying yoga mats and chattering mums baring babies. But don't worry, the attentive staff make sure there's plenty of Barry to go around.

Head chef Stephen Svensen from Pillar of Salt has created a menu that pushes the boundaries of the traditional cafe brunch and looks outside the smashed-avocado-box to tempt it's customers. I must say, I was a little taken aback when I saw 'crunchy peanut butter with heirloom tomatoes' on the menu followed by a cheeky little "trust us" in brackets. But you know what, I probably would. I'll take their word on the peanut butter tomato thing, but it's little quirks like this that make me dig Barry - I really do feel as though I'm just chilling out in my best friends lounge room. The menu has a focus on healthy foods, vibrating with freshness and quality ingredients that makes super foods a party, not a penance. I couldn't resist ordering the Californian Superfood Salad with tri-coloured quinoa, shredded kale, charred corn, puffed black rice, black beans, heirloom tomatoes and a limey jalapeño vinaigrette. I have to say that this is, without a doubt, the best cafe salad I have ever eaten. It was a textual sensation with the soft quinoa contrasting the crunchy black rice and a flavour bomb showcasing smokey charred corn, zesty lime juice and fiery chillies. My Cafe Companion chose the raw zucchini lasagne with cashew, kale and sun-dried tomato pesto and this I can also highly recommend. I'm always a little hesitant to order raw food, but in this case do yourself a favour and be brave. The pesto was wonderfully flavourful and sweet and the raw zucchini added the perfect little crunch; light, fresh and delicious!

If the mention of quinoa makes your toes curl, don't worry, because it's not all kale and Kumbaya at Barry. Oh no, he's a dude that caters for everyone. Fans of cholesterol can opt for a gleaming golden omelette wrapped around mushrooms bathed in havarti cheese and truffled hazelnuts, traditionalists can get around eggs benedict with potato rosti and apple cider hollandaise and sweet tooths aren't forgotten with brioche, pistachio marscapone and raspberries. Hungover? Barries got the cure for that too; a waygu beef burger with pickles, cheddar, spicy relish and thick-cut chips, or maybe the crispy Korean chicken sub with nori mayo.

So there you have it, my new best friend Barry. I'm expecting our friendship to be long and ever-lasting, filled with relaxed tasty breakfasts, engaging nourishing lunches and, who knows, one day he might even convince me to eat tomatoes and peanut butter on toast. I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship...

Australia's First H&M lands in Melbourne

H&M Australia. H&M Australia....one more time, H&M Australia. Sorry, I was just having a moment there. Today, my dear friends, is a particularly sartorially significant day because today is the unveiling of the new Melbourne H&M. Now If you're some kind of freak who doesn't understand the importance of the Swedish retail giant opening its doors in Aus (I'll forgive you because I'm in a good mood) then I shall elaborate further. Since 1948 the Swedish brand has been designing "affordable high-quality fashion" and has only continued to grow into the retail megastar it is today, with 3000 stores spanning 53 countries. And now Australia, the wait is over, with the store opening it's doors in Melbourne today! Seriously though guys, it's about time.

The new store occupies one of my favourite buildings in Melbourne, GPO, and spans a mind-blowing 5000 square meters across three levels. That's 5000 square meters of affordable fashion-fulled fun right there people! A staggering 3000 people turned up today to witness the 10 am opening of the bright, open-plan flagship store, with many shoppers arriving from 9 pm the night before to secure a sacred place on the red carpet that wound its way down Bourke Street.

But the question is, will the hype and my excitement be worth it? I was like a kid in a candy store when I entered any European H&M, snapping up cheap basics and fashion fixes faster than you can say 'holy high heels!' But I must say, that when the Australian counterparts of Topshop and Zara arrived, I couldn't help feeling a little cheated. Where were the styles I had loved so much in Paris, Barcelona and London? But my fingers are crossed and my faith is strong, come on  H&M show Melbourne what you got!

Runway 1 at Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival

Designers and models and runways, oh my! That's right folks, Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival (or VAMFF for those in the know...or if you're just just lazy like me) is in full swing and this years program is proving to be the biggest and best line up the festival has seen! Beggining on the 17th of March, runways will, err, run, until the 23rd. But if you missed out on a ticket don't despair, because the festival's Cultural Program is packed with more exhibitions, workshops and talks than you can poke a sartorial stick at, and many of these events run until the end of March.

My Fashion Festival started off with a bang at Runway 1, presented by Miss Vogue, on Tuesday night. An excited and fashionable crowd gathered around Central Pier, queueing outside the L'Oreal tent, people watching and getting photos with the Dulux Dog...not entirely sure why he was there, but he's so adorable it doesn't really matter. But we were all really there to lay eye upon designs by Scalan and Theodore, Bassike, Josh Goot, Christopher Esber, Strateas Carlucci (winner if this year's Tiffany and Co Designers Award), Willow and Maticevski. 

When dressing for a Runway show, one needs to strike the perfect balance between the 'I'm very chic and fashionable' look, with the 'I didn't try to look this good, it's just natural' approach. Never an easy task. For the evening, I selected a flowing pastel skirt for a feminine touch and a simple cropped black singlet for nonchalance. A fierce statement necklace and furry clutch added a bit of necessary tuffness to the look.

The show was impeccably styled and produced, to match the perfectionist ideals of these designers, and filled with the obligatory Melbourne black. Scalan and Theodore opened the show with the sports lux look that had the audience hooked. Black was the main colour of choice, broken up with an occasional metallic sheen and there was not a sky-high heel in sight, with models strutting their stuff in Nikes...much to their delight, no doubt. I gotta say that I found Josh Goot fell a little flat with a slightly monotonous and, dare I say it, dull collection. Things really picked up for me with Willow, who brought a little bit of femininity to the show with polka dots, sheer and the hallmark classic wrap-over designs. These guys know there drapery. And of course, the show stopper - Maticevski. This was the highlight of the night for me. From his opening piece, a ruffle-hem party dress in a pale lilac, his collection showed creativity, control and structured elegance. The structured ruffles were a constant theme to the pieces, striking the perfect balance between masculine and feminine. In a nut shell, nailed it!

 

 

 

What I wore:
Skirt: Zara
Top: Bardot
Necklace: Zara
Clutch: Backstage
Shoes: Target

I Scream Nails Pop-Up Bike Launch

Unless you've been living in a cave with a bunch of dudes who grunt and wear loincloths, you will have noticed that nail art has become a pretty big thing. Like, huge, actually. This global phenomenon, which began about two years ago, has grown in popularity world wide and has moved from simple designs on digits to full blown pieces of art utilising everything from glitter and studs to Swarovski crystals. Melbourne Nail Art group I Scream Nails is perhaps one of Melbourne's best known nail art companies, who regularly provide pop-up funness all over Melbourne! Two weeks ago they held a pop-up nail art fiesta complete with free ice cream and, of course, free nail art, to launch the new nail art bike which will now be cruising its way through Melbourne's streets. And if that wasn't enough, they also organised an appearance from the How Two Live girls of fashion blogging and Instagram fame. Needless to say, I was there faster than top-coat dries.

The talented and chirpy nail artists worked their magic, the How Two live twins chatted away to the crowds and girls happily slurped away on soft serves. Seriously, an afternoon with free ice cream, free manicures and special blogging guests - its no wonder nail art has become so popular...I was half expecting a unicorn to turn up!

Samson Girl Goes Insta

If there's one thing I'm terrible at (apart from resisting the temptation to window shop, eat fro-yo and watch countless hours of Sex And The City) it's using technology. No, really, I don't think you understand how bad I truly am. Honestly, when it comes to anything that beeps, involves buttons or requires me to up-load, down-load or side-load, I'm more oblivious than all the Kardashians put together. It's really a marvel that Iv'e managed to keep this blog going for so long without the computer exploding in my face. So I was more surprised than anyone when I decided to jump on the Instagram band-wagon a few weeks ago: that's right folks, Samson Girl's gone Insta! Apparently it's a pretty big thing - who would have guessed! 

I'll be posting Samson Girl's life in pretty pictures, including my outfits of the day, fashion I'm loving, coffees I'm drinking and food that I'm hurriedly taking a photo of before I shove it in my mouth. I'll also be posting updates about new blog posts! So if you feel like following a fashion savvy Melburnian dedicated to finding the best shops, markets, coffee and food in Melbourne (however tech-tarded she may be) follow me on Instagram at samsongirlblog! Here's a peek at some of my pics...

Kinfolk: A Cafe with a Conscience

Everybody gets it - that warm fuzzy feeling inside when you have the very first sip of your latte in the morning. As you wrap your hands around your warm, comforting glass you can't help but get the sense that everything is right with the world. That everything is how it should be. At Melbourne CBD cafe Kinfolk, they're taking this feeling to a whole new level by donating 100 percent of its profits to four development projects, both in Australia and around the world. So as you take your first swig of daily caffeine you can be happy in the knowledge that you're giving back to a cause in need. 

Kinfolk was the first of its kind when it opened its doors in 2010, and has since paved the way for social enterprise in Melbourne. But don't be fooled into thinking that Kinfolk is anything less than a great city cafe. The volunteers run the joint like clockwork, serving a long black here and clarifying the blackboard-based menu there. Kinfolk has recently undergone a major renovation (made possible through Crowd Funding), allowing for more seating space and a commercial kitchen where the chefs churn out a new menu daily that features fresh, healthy and seasonal food. Every lunch menu will feature a soup, meat dish, fish dish, vegan-friendly dish, as well as a selection of side salads, baguettes and toasties. So whatever you're looking for, whether it be a take-away sanga as you rush between meetings or a leisurely sit-down lunch, there's something for everyone.

We were spoilt for choice when we arrived at the always bustling cafe, with a menu filled with so many deliciously appealing choices (why do cafes keep doing this to me...it makes my life so hard!). After much consideration I selected the pan fried ocean trout fillet with pea pureè and wild rice and broccolini salad. I gotta say, If I closed my eyes on the hippy-esqu, recycled interior of Kinfolk, I could have been eating in a good quality Melbourne restaurant. My trout was cooked to perfection, the purée added the perfect sweet note and the salad was texturally wonderful. To accompany this dish we ordered two side salads; the chickpea, roast pumpkin, rasin and pepita, and the Asian-inspired coleslaw with soy and sesame dressing. Both were fresh, delicious and made interesting with the addition of seeds and dried fruit. My Kinfolk companion selected the meat option, which was pork belly and pork terrine with morgrabieh and apple. There was a thick hunk of belly with impressively crispy crackling and smooth silky terrine, which got an added zing of crispness from the sweet apple.

Safe to say that Kinfolk generates a wonderful sense of good-will and hospitality. It is a warm, open and friendly space filled with people who just generally want to be there. Though they do all they can to support their development projects, they also aim to please you, the customer, by serving up delicious food in a healthy and very delicious way. Believe me when I say that giving back to the community never tasted so good!