LIM College

Now of course, one of the first things I was curious about in Melbourne were the shopping and fashion scenes and how it would differ from iconic New York.One of the things I was warned about is how expensive Australia is compared to back home. So for those who are planning to come, be sure to budget yourself.

If I could offer any advice, it would be to be sure that you pack everything you need for all seasons. This will save you from spending a bunch of money on clothes. Although, I do support the idea of treating yourself to something now and then. But for me, needless to say, there was not that much shopping while I was in Melbourne, but there was a bit of time focused on window shopping.

As much as I want to say the fashion scene is different from New York, to me it really didn’t come across as that different. I mean, besides the fact that New York is really known for having a lot of black-colored clothes all year round in stores and you don’t see much of that here. From what I’ve witnessed, there is a lot more color and more patterns in Aussie wardrobes.

Even the guys are a bit more fashionable. A lot of my friends are into uniquely patterned socks, which is always a laugh when all the guys are comparing the different ones they're wearing.  

For when I do some shopping, the places that I usually go to are Cotton On, Louisa, Sportsgirl, and I may or may not have purchased a new pair of shoes at a store called Basement. It's also cool to check out the thrift stores in Melbourne. You come across the most interesting pieces, along with some great deals. (I scored a varsity jacket for $10 and a flannel for $7.)

You can get a real sense of the fashion here just by looking through one of my favorite places, Melbourne Central. Let me tell you, they have everything.

Melbourne Central is basically equivalent to one giant mall with hundreds of stores. Put it this way, anything you are looking for, they have it...clothes, jewelry, shoes, food, a movie theater, bowling, and more.

And if by the slight chance they don’t, there is a train station connected to Melbourne Central so you can take a train basically anywhere to look somewhere else.