Melbourne Darling’s Top 5 Picks for the Queen Victoria Wednesday Night Market

The Queen Victoria Night Market is back to excite your Wednesday night plans from now until the end of Summer. But before you race on down and make a bee line for the spiral fries like everyone else, read my wrap up of the top  5 things to do at the Wednesday Night Market this season:

1. Hammer and Tong’s Soft Shell Crab Burger

Last week I reviewed Hammer and Tong and their ever popular contribution to Melbourne’s gourmet burger scene with the Soft Shell Crab Burger. Well firstly, I advise you make the first thing you do when you arrive at the Night Market is to pinch yourself a table early, while you still can. I find the Night Market only gets busier and busier each year and the later the night gets, the increasing number of people flock to the dining areas and begin their hunt for a seat.  So before you go exploring the market stalls, I suggest you find a table with your group first and eat early in the evening.

That being said, if you were looking forward to trying the Soft Shell Crab Burger for yourself, the Wednesday Night Market is a great opportunity to do so. Hammer and Tong’s market stall is especially dedicated to pumping out those delicious burgers all night, so you’re getting the same delicious meal as you would if you were to order it in their restaurant, but for a few dollars cheaper too!

Hammer and Tong Soft Shell Crab Burger at the Night Market

Hammer and Tong Soft Shell Crab Burger at the Night Market

2. Vintage Hub

Among the sea of regular market stalls at the Queen Victoria Night Market – cheap sunglasses, handmade soaps, band t-shirts and jewellery - coconut watches anyone? This year it was refreshing to see the addition of the ‘Vintage Hub‘. Hosted by Vintage Garage, The Vintage Hub is a cluster of stalls selling an assortment of all things vintage from pre-loved and reworked clothing to retro homewares. Check out Grandma-Funk for her one-of-a-kind collection of vintage European leather patch jumpers and Vonruby for a gorgeous Vintage hairdo and makeover.

Vonruby

Vonruby Vintage Hair and Makeup at The Night Market

 3. Live Music

Your perfect summer evenings at the Wednesday Night Market are made complete with festive tunes hosted by Multicultural Arts Victoria. Each week features a selection of the diverse mix of performers. From my experience, some bands are extremely funky and engaging and will invite the crowd to get up and dance. A couple of sangria’s later and you may just be more than eager to get up and join them! You can view the full program of gigs for the 2013-2014 season here.

4. Dessert

After all that walking and talking (and perhaps after the last point, some dancing too?) you would have most likely worked up your second (or third) appetite for the night, and with so many exciting and exotic variations of food on offer, you’d be glad you did! There are so many food stalls you are bound to find something to tickle your fancy, but if you are having trouble deciding, try the Creme Brulee or Lemon tart macaron from Macaron De Paris, the Dutch Pancakes or the French Crepes (just look out for the giant tubs of Nutella)

Macarons from Macaron De Paris at The Night Market

Macarons from Macaron De Paris at The Night Market

5. Sangria!

It just wouldn’t be right if you didn’t put Sangria on your list of things to do at the Night Market! Not only do Running Bull Sangria offer a red and white wine variety, but they now have a couple of stalls set up around the market space, so you can sip on your fruity wine mix whilst browsing the market stalls in delight until…

oh! Whats that? You’ve finished your cup already and you’re already on the other side of the market by now? Oh look! There’s another sangria stall conveniently located two stalls down! And on it goes…

(Or for a non alcoholic sipping treat, try the original Lemonade stands instead!)

Running-Bull-Sangria-at-The-Night-Market

Running Bull Sangria at The Night Market

The Queen Victoria WednesdayNight Market

Every Wednesday night from 5pm-10pm

November 6th – February 26th (excluding December 25th & January 1st 2014)

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Style Notes – Spring Racing Carnival 2013

Spring Racing Carnival is in full swing and Melbourne Cup is just around the corner, but every Melbournian knows that it’s just as much about people watching as it is watching those horses. Spring Racing fashion can end up being a bit of a gamble in itself if you’re not entirely sure on what to wear, but these simple style suggestions should see you taking a punt on the fashion sweepstakes with great confidence.

Here are my top five bets on Spring Racing style:

  1. Key trends this season will be futuristic fashion with sharp monochrome pieces or graphic prints and patterns, pinches of metallic statement pieces and detail in unexpected twists and turns. You may find yourself not just saving the black and white for Derby Day this year.
  2. There will also be a fusion of futuristic fashion with ladylike details such as higher necklines, pastel colours, shift dresses and girly accents like diamonds and pearls as well as flower crowns!
    Wayne by Wayne Cooper Harlequin Chain Detail Dress. Available here.

    Wayne by Wayne Cooper Harlequin Chain Detail Dress. Available here.

    Jayson Brunsdon Black Label Transparent Floral Body Con Dress. Available here.

    Jayson Brunsdon Black Label Transparent Floral Body Con Dress. Available here.

    Seduce Diamond Girl Shift Dresss.  Available here.

    Seduce Diamond Girl Shift Dresss. Available here.

    Seduce Hypnotize Dress. Available here.

    Seduce Hypnotize Dress. Available here.

     

  3. Put those statement necklaces and earrings away girls! Unless your head wear is extremely simple or understated, you don’t want to overdo it with large earrings or a necklace that would clash against your choice of headpiece. A splendid cocktail ring or a collection of dainty and elegant gold, rose gold or silver rings may be all the bling you need to complete your race-ready look. I love Samantha Willis’ Fine China cocktail ring collection which uses white opal as the centrepiece, set off with a vintage, art deco flair.

    Samantha Wills Fine China Art Ring. Available here.

    Samantha Wills Fine China Art Ring. Available here.

  4. Its seems that this season you cannot get away from the two-strap stiletto heel, it is hard to find a single shoe store that has not started selling their own take on this popular style. With that in mind, do not forget you’ll most likely be sinking those thin little heels in grass all day, so my advice is to ditch the stiletto and go for a dressy pair of wedges (like the below metallic silver pair) or at least go for a thicker heel that will make it much harder for your tootsies to start sinking like they’re in quick sand! If you still have your heart set on wearing a pair of stilettos, take a look at Starlettos. Starlettos are rubber heel protectors you can slide onto the bottom of your stiletto heels to literally stop that ‘sinking’ feeling.
    Love Nikki by PeepToe Madrid. Available here.

    Love Nikki by PeepToe Madrid. Available here.

    Jo Mercer Chance. Available here.

    Jo Mercer Chance. Available here.

    Gorman After The Chase Heel. Available here.

    Gorman After The Chase Heel. Available here.

  5. My money on the millinery for this racing season will follow on from the key trends, in that we will see the futuristic and modern fashion trend through strong shapes and monochrome colour in fascinators or alternatively, soft pastel colours, flower crowns and Gatsby-esque 1920’s style headpieces. My word of advice is, don’t go for over the top, crazy expensive choices in headpieces (exhibit a). Instead, go for unique or custom-made. Looking at previous fashion on the fields’ choices, it’s not hard to see that most of the time, less is more, or more modest and elegant pieces beat over the top, eccentric headdresses that just start to look costume like. If your choice of millinery starts becoming a sculpture in its own right, think about how heavy and annoying that thing if going to be perched on top of your head for one long day. Instead, I strongly recommend not just picking a fascinator ‘off the rack’ from any department store or accessories stop, but if you are creative enough, head down to your local craft store such as Spotlight or Lincraft and make your own! If you’re not too much of a creative or crafty type, check out local designers selling gorgeous one off pieces. You can find styles that certainly won’t cost a fortune and be guaranteed a truly unique piece you won’t see anyone else sporting on raceday! Local Melbourne designer Horus and Harper have a selection of dainty headpieces with an ethereal quality you can buy via their Facebook page, as with Brock and Eddie who stock a gorgeous selection of modern, colourful and truly chic fascinators. For beautiful flower crowns, head to Lady Petrova, or for an especially authentic flower crown, head to a florist like the lovely Jaclyn Roma who can pick out flowers and a design to perfectly match the rest of your outfit and create a flower crown especially for you!
  6. Brock & Eddie Millinery. Available here.

    Brock & Eddie Millinery. Available here.

    Horus and Harper Headpiece. Available here.

    Horus and Harper Headpiece. Available here.

    Lady Petrova Flower Crowns. Available in store or enquire online.,

    Lady Petrova Flower Crowns. Available in store or enquire online.

The Spring Racing Carnival is a great excuse to try something new or be a bit experimental in your fashion choices, so have fun with it! Don’t forget to add a generous dose of SPF in your make up to ensure you don’t end the day with unsightly sunburn and whatever you decide to wear,  make sure you’re comfortable! You don’t want to look back on your day with your only memories being of how annoying that heavy fascinator was or sinking pair of heels were. Above all, you not only want to look gorgeous, but feel gorgeous too! Hope you fond these simple style tips helpful when putting together your race-ready outfit, now giddy up and happy shopping!

Love,
Melbourne Darling xo

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Melbourne Central One Day Shopping Festival

Melbourne Central One Day Shopping Festival

Melbourne Darling’s Top 5 picks for the Melbourne Central One Day Shopping Festival:

  1. Treasure Hunt – If you’re super keen on getting the most out of the One Day Shopping Festival, and plan to get down to Melbourne Central early in the day, then make your first stop the Information Desk where the first 200 shoppers can receive a treasure hunt pack with discounts and goodies to help shoppers get the best buys of the day.
  2. Cotton On, Typo and Rubi Shoes – All offering 30% off. With that extra incentive, its time to finally snag one of Typo’s StagHeads I’ve had my eye on since they arrived in store a few months ago. Then its time to make my way to Rubi Shoes for what I think is the best buy for this summer’s footwear craze (no not jellies, the other footwear craze – clogs.) At $39.95, the Palm Springs Heel are already a steal, but at 30% off at the reduced price at $27.90 you simply cannot go wrong with buying a pair of these wooden clogs, and with a fantastic range of colours to choose from, these shoes should come with a warning: You may just  find yourself buying more than one pair! )
  3. Valleygirl – Valleygirl is one store not be overlooked this Spring. Their feminine, playful and colourful new collection will put a spring in your step and their prices are fantastic, not to mention the 30% off they are offering for today!
  4. Witchery -  No doubt the store that I believe has the best Spring fashion offering in Melbourne, Witchery has an abundance of wonderful pieces that hit the mark when it comes to soft, classic and neutral colours that are classic enough to see you through different seasons yet manage to add that small pinch of  difference with the refined edginess and hint of futuristic fashion as seen in the asymettrical features, laser cuts and leather additions to their designs.
  5. Gorgeous Cosmetics – These gorgeous people know their fake eyelashes and lipliner! Their Scarlette lipliner is a favourite of mine, its long lasting, easy to use and the perfect colour that allows you to get away with using it for a variety of pink and red lipsticks. I’m taking up this opportunity to stock up on this fantastic lipliner with 40% off.

Check out Melbourne Darling’s top buys:

The Melbourne Central One Day Shopping Festival is on September 4th, 2013. For more information and a listing of all offers and events, visit the Melbourne Central site.

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