Jan 21, 2013 02:25
by Angie Fox
Welcome to Bondi, where the shorts are shorter, the mummies are yummier and the girls are skinny and they carry serious baggage (not of the emotional variety).
In Bondi, Sydney’s iconic beach haven, where hedonism rules and Lara Bingle is the queen, your Louis Vuitton can be teamed with Havaianas, you’re nobody without balayage tips and, this summer, an Ecuadorian fedora is compulsory.
In Bondi, which, Lara aside, boasts the highest rate of out-of-work-actors and models per capita (perhaps more a reflection on Australia’s entertainment industry than the suburb itself), every street is a catwalk and every day is a new opportunity to flaunt your wares. Just don’t look like you’re trying.
With its history steeped in surf culture (think Puberty Blues) and an internationally renowned clothing and jewellery market on weekly rotation, anything goes in the fashion stakes, from budgie smugglers and boardies, to ethnic kaftans, D.I.Y clothing, rockabilly get-up and surfie chic.
But if you really want to look like a local (and by this I mean an international traveller from almost every nation on earth … no one is actually from Bondi) make an effort, but make it look effortless.
Throw a pop of colour around your neck or on your feet, mix your mediums and your patterns, wear leather in summer, own at least 10 Bassike t-shirts and as many pairs of their cotton harem pants, and above all else, get a tan (preferably fake).
But Bondi isn’t just a place to see and be seen; you can do some serious shopping there too. Gould Street has the trendiest stores including Tuchuzy (both the men’s, for your guy or for some divine unisex sunnies by Retro Superfuture; and the women’s for Alexander Wang, Helmut Lang, Chloe, Equipment, Bassike and more). There’s also Me and Moo for Purl Harbour, Velvet and J Brand, Carousel for the fashion savvy and Milk Bar for an array of Aussie designers.
Let’s face it, though, if you’re in Bondi you probably need a bikini and there’s nowhere better than Bikini Island on Campbell Parade, where, this year, neon has made a comeback and retro styles channelling the 1960s are popular. But in Bondi, nothing beats the string bikini.
What do you think of these looks?
