This is a fantastic little boutique - the clothing is by a local designer and her family runs the…read moreshop. Their dresses will flatter any figure, plus they will do free alterations on your purchases (if needed) The staff is genuinely helpful without being pushy - I originally overlooked a couple dresses that wound up looking the best on me! They have many fun girlie accessories, too - jewelry, fascinators, patterned tights, etc. Prices are very reasonable - definitely go in if you need a new dress (for pretty much any occasion).

Exy as hell, Nom*D Inc is more art gallery than retail store for me. I go in, walk around slowly…read moreand look at every piece intently. Better than an art gallery though because I get to touch everything and even try stuff on. This New Zealand designer store is full of gorgeous clothes suitable for the confirmed urban fashion outsider with a heavy wallet. The look is dark and sombre with a wearable colour palette of black, white, grey and dark blue. Carrying international names like Bernhard Willhelm and Rick Owens, and accessories labels AF Vandervorst and Company of Strangers, Nom*D is a heavy-hitter for the lover of edgy, left-of-centre fashion. For such an upmarket store, the staff are actually really nice and don't seem to mind that I'm often in there wandering around but have never bought anything. I'm sure it isn't just me who does it. They must get that a lot.

The clothes in this store are interesting - I get a Zen sense of Japanese style meets cutting edge…read morefashion from Europe. Funnily enough the brand is from New Zealand. One of my favourite labels can be found here: Rick Owens (hooray!). There are jackets, skirts, dresses, tops, boots, jewellery and more in here. Luckily the store is enormous and so the merchandise is displayed beautifully in the space and I agree with the previous reviews, its almost like walking around an art gallery. The sales assistant when I dropped by was on the phone, but she still managed to smile and make me feel welcome while she was in the middle of the conversation - I was quite impressed. Nom*d is the perfect destination if you are after clothing that is different and bold. It's tough and well made from the leather boots in the front window to the draped dresses that hang around the store.

Pink, being a girlie, glittery, feel good colour is the perfect name for this shop. It's the best…read moreif you like feminine styles that are cute and adorable. Trench coats, military jackets, mini's, sleeveless vests - all in fabrics and colours that are so now; tweed and cashmere to name my fave's! A lot of the coats and jackets are very like the Coco Chanel collections, I just cannot describe how gorgeous the clothing in here is!! Cute as a button suede and fur ankle boots, court shoes, leather pumps, plain reading glasses, mobile phone accessories, this shop stocks everything in style at better prices than the high-end labels, that to be honest look just as good if not better. The staff are friendly and beautiful. It's just a good, all round shopping experience.

irresistible that I'm pulled into the store by the force its beauty. Unfortunately, it's usually…read morehad this effect on many other women before me and is sold out in my size. C'est la vie. The store itself caters to a broad range of ages and sizes, with an emphasis on brightly coloured, flatteringly-cut, stiff fabric summer dresses in the warmer weather and staple of more loosely fitted top/skirt combinations throughout the year. There's always a selection of semi-formal to formalwear, with a few basic blacks thrown in for good measure. On the whole, the store does lean towards a more mature clientele, but some of the summer stock and the odd winter number will appeal to the youth market (such as the aforementioned summer dresses). Prices vary considerably from one shelf to the next, with fabric and design quality generally accounting for the differences (though not always), though a good portion of the stock falls between the $60-200 mark. The service is friendly and understanding, but occasionally can feel like a very gently delivered hard sell. Also, there are no mirrors in the change rooms, forcing you to go outside to check yourself. On the whole, a decent shop to browse when killing time or when you've got a bit of disposable income to burn.

As I'm fairly sure most Melburnian women are aware, Sass and Bide is the must have Australian…read morehigh-end label. The designer icon has recently opened a store in Melbourne Central and it is FANTASTIC!! Sure to make any fashionista happy, the current collection has an emphasis on bohemian, chic, free flowing, feminine designs. Alas, as with all brilliant couture and great fashion labels, be prepared to pay through the teeth for the privilege. But, what a privilege it is to wear a Sass and Bide piece.

Hello Gorgeous is a unique women's clothing store, tehy have a great range of fashionable dresses,…read moreskirts, blouses and coats. Their range is very girly and feminine lots of soft, dusky colours, flowy material and sweetly patterned garments. The store is set up well making it very easy to browse through the entire collections, the garments are usually separated into colours and arranged accordingly. Hello Gorgeous also has a range of quirky shoes and accessories that are all very unique in appearance allowing the shop to have a real boutique and chic kind of feel. The staff here are also very friendly they don't harass you like some clothing stores, but are happy to help you out or offer suggestions.

From it's smallish front window on Chapel Street, you'd be forgiven for thinking that Dakota 501…read morewas a small boutique that you could likely finish in 5 minutes. Step inside and you'll soon discover the large warehouse style vicinity that gives Dakota 501 its unmistakable ambience and allure. The fact that this style depot has been on Chapel Street since 1976, illustrates its success in the fashion industry and its obvious patronage by stylish folk from generation to generation. Stocking a wide and ever evolving line up of Australian and International labels, including one of Melbourne's best loved denim selections has given this store is unrivalled advantage. With brands like Stolen Girlfriends Club, Alternative Apparel, Autonomy, Bec & Bridge, Fluxus, Neuw Denim, One Teaspoon and Zanerobe - it's obvious that this store caters to guys and girls who love quality threads and are not afraid to pay for it. I love Dakota 501 because you can always find the something kooky and different from what everyone else is selling. Think Karen Walker jewellery, Nudie denim and Fred Perry sweaters. Also check out their colourful collection of happy socks from Sweden and Havaiana flip flops (must-haves for summer).

So I'm a little biased towards this shop. They helped me purchase a dress I'd seen on the Evil Twin…read moreClothing website, however could not find online or in General Pants Co ect. And I was very desperate for this dress (as you get when you hate everything else available in shopping centres and have somewhere important to go). I rang the store, they had my size, they also held the particular dress for me, and were very warm about it all. When I arrived in store - which is very easy to miss when you've never visited before - I was very pleasantly surprised by the wide range of clothing they had to offer. All of it had a lot of character, a very different feel to it. I didn't spend a lot of time there however it looked like they may of had vintage clothing as well as some current local (well Australian anyway) brands. The employee who served me was also very friendly and seemed very passionate about Australian clothing and designers. I therefore left without a second hesitation to my very poor bank account (the dress wasn't really expensive but I still couldn't afford it), and walked away very happy and satisfied indeed. Determined to become a regular of this place.

A refreshing haven from the overstuffed racks of the local op shops and knock off chains, Rred does…read moreboutique beautifully. A stark, light filled white space wreathed by lipstick red on the building's outer shell; Rred instantly pushes the focus onto its' stock and it's stock alone. All this is generally supplemented by the sounds of indie-electro-pop-alternative, depending on the day and season, which is as good a reflection of the clothing on offer's style as anything else. As for the clothes, Rred produces only a few simple basic clothes designs each season, but makes them with one off or limited run textiles and fabrics, so there's only a couple of each particular garment. Annoyingly, many of the clothes are often 'one size fits all' with all the usual ambiguity as to what exactly that size is, but the stiffer fabrics are generally utilised for the looser cuts and stretchy fabric for the tighter fitting items. There's also a rack of retro/secondhand clothes that throws out some real finds. Among the things that Rred does best is shoes, with a range of boots and/or footwear each season in a wide range of colours, but often themed around a similar, modern-idea-of-an-old-time-y-cobbler's-work aesthetic. Prices generally fall between the $20 to $150 bracket. The clothes are all well cared for, and the staff helpful without being too pushy.