One of the biggest and hardest-to-miss shops on Racecourse Road. Savida is a large…read morehiggeldy-piggeldy (well by Racecourse Road standards, anyway) shop stocking clothing, shoes, large hats (see photo), jewellery, accessories, homewares, and all kinds of things you never knew you needed. If you need a present for your Mum, Aunt, or Grandmother this is a one-stop shop. Definitely aimed at the middle-aged ladies, but liable to have a few hidden gems that someone under 30 may even appreciate. A little on the pricey side, but not outrageous. Reminds me of that shop in the city called Essensuals, but the staff here are friendlier and there aren't the 100000 signs saying BREAKAGES MUST BE PAID FOR so that adds a nice welcoming touch. A veritable jackpot of Mother's day gifts.

When I'm looking for something special for my girls Duck Duck Goose never disappoints. With a…read moregreat selection of designer brands the options range from pretty to cool and trendy. It's always my first port of call for a gift for a new baby or birthday presents for kids parties. Gorgeous books and toys and so many beautiful gift ideas. I NEVER leave empty handed. I wish we had a Duck Duck Goose on my side of town!!

From the owner: Duck Duck Goose children's boutique in Ascot is where fashion savvy mums shop for original designer…read moreclothing, shoes, accessories, toys, books and more. Located on Lancaster Road in a little row of shops, Duck Duck Goose's twin rooms are full of fabulous fashion for babies and tiny tots to teens including Australian labels like Zimmerman, Munster Kids, Taksi and Tutu Du Monde - exquisite handcrafted, hand-dyed dresses by Andrea Rembeck (who designed for Collette Dinnegan and Fleur Wood before starting her own label). Fashionable footwear for little feet includes Salt Water sandals, an American cult classic for more than seventy years, and Australian owned Walnut; while stunning sterling silver jewellery by Jane Maria Phillips and bright beaded bracelets by Cat Hammill make a perfect gift for tweens and teens. Other great gift ideas include Penny Scallan backpacks and lunch boxes for little boys and girls and Flatout sheepskin teddy bears for bubs. As far as toys go, there's soft toys, wooden toys and retro-style tin toys; as well as traditional toys like spinning tops and jack-in-the-box. Otherwise, there's educational games, marbles, juggling balls and plenty of puzzles. Or for a unique, one-of-a-kind gift - handcrafted Indian head dresses.

Cinderella's Closet is one of Brisbane's few and far between second hand designer stores. It…read moredoesn't really house any huge names in fashion, but it does have some seriously nice threads from locally and nationally known brands. Hello Maiocchi, Kerrie Craig and Cooper Street. You wouldn't guess that Cinderella's Closet was a second hand store unless they advertised it. The store is prim and proper, everything in it's right place. The displays of accessories are simply charming, darling. The clothes are well categorised and the store is easy to browse through. If you'd like help looking for a particular item, ask the staff, or as they like to refer to themselves- 'fashion consultants'. They'll find you the right shoes for that dress, and the perfect accessories to wear with that bag, sweetie puff. They have clothes for all seasons here. Shoes, accessories and jewellery are all taken care of too. The clothes seem fairly priced- most of the items I picked up were around the $60 mark. A Maiocchi dress for $55? Snap. You won't pay less for such good quality. This is a great place to come if you're looking for something special but don't have the big bucks to go spending in town at the real stores. Cindarella's Closet has quite the collection and I'm sure you'd find something to your liking. You'll probably have a ball being fussed over too. It's all part of the service, peach.

This shoe studio is one classy shop. The staff are eloquent and softly spoken, the shoes are…read moretasteful and the location at Portside is just a little classy as well. There is even a chandelier! I really like browsing in this store, it is one of a few along the Portside strip. I am yet to buy anything but there are quite a few that have taken my fancy including some cute black and cream flats and a pair of dangerously high black heels. They have a large range of decorative flats, which I really like. Despite the fact the I am fairly short, I still much prefer flats to heels. There are sensible, strappy and sparkly flats, heaps to choose from and most have at least 3 or so colours to pick from. I have always found the staff to be friendly but not pushy. It can be fine line sometimes. Parking at Portside is almost always easy in the undercover area, except when there is a cruise ship docked, then you might run into trouble.

Flash Boutique is one in a long line of very similar looking boutiques on Racecourse Road. Most of…read morethese boutiques are aimed at the 40s and up age group, although a few cater to a younger clientele. Flash Boutique is a bit of a conundrum because they don't seem to know what their target demographic is. Most of their stock (which is made up of clothes, jewellery, shoes, handbags, scarves, and other accessories) is probably more suited to an older woman, but then you come across a few things for somebody a bit younger. Because Flash Boutique itself doesn't seem to be sure what they're about, it's a bit hard to review them because I'm not sure quite what they're aiming for. What I will say is that if you're passing, have a browse inside. You'll probably see what I mean about their identity issues, but that's not to say you won't find something you like.

I helped with the launch of Portside Wharf back in the days I worked for a radio station, but might…read moreI say, this little gem of a mall has come from strength to strength since. The shops on this little mall are very posh. Back in the day, if you wore a top hat and a puffy hoop skirt, this would be the place you would shop. Even the news agency seems a little better than your suburban one. What I love about this place, that not very many people know about is the Dendy Cinemas. You can watch a movie and have something to eat. Whether it's the fancy Sono Japanese Restaurant upstairs to your Fisherman Seafood place downstairs... and ice cream at the Movenpick. It's a pretty great day out.... especially when there's a ship ported. Those ships are massive and it's one of the few places you can go to see how big these cruise ships truly are. They also have many little markets and expo's during the year if you go at select times. Great little place with a great atmosphere... very romantic too at night time. Wink wink nudge nudge.

I used to work on Hercules st last year in a horrible cubicle desk job for 3 months. I couldn't…read morewait until lunchtime when I could walk down to Portside Wharf and sit outside near the water. It makes such a difference to the day! I would stroll down the road, buy a snack from the IGA and make myself a space on one of the seats right on the water. The view of the water and the city are a great combination and it makes you feel lucky to be in Brisbane. Trendy shops, up market restaurants, relaxing cafes, a cinema and markets on the occasional weekend, Portside has everything I like best for a relaxing weekend day. There is plenty of undercover parking or street parking on weekends. The only time you will run into trouble is when a cruise ship is docked. You might have a bit of a trek by the time you park down the road.

When you visit Petrol Paddington you are instantly reminded of what a boutique is not. A boutique…read moreis not just any dress shop, it is not any small store, it is not automatically expensive and it is not part of a chain. A true boutique is exactly what Petrol Paddington is - a collection of incredible clothes, sourced from a number of suppliers based on the owners design vision, not on a stockist contract. The clothes are arranged in colours and are supplemented by an extensive range of shoes and accessories. The most amazing thing about Petrol would have to be its price range. You can find a $50 dress hanging next to a $500 dress, and walking out with either of them will be a win for ladies who like to be ahead of the fashion pack. TLDR: don't wish you had a stylist, go to Petrol Paddington and take advantage of their style vision instead. You will end up with an amazing outfit for an amazing price and never have the fear that somebody else will be dressed the same as you.

I've heard a lot of people say how much they love Petrol but to be honest, I can't really see all…read morethe fuss. I feel like what people were telling me and what I saw in the flesh was quite different. I was picturing more of a boutique with trendy clothing and seasonal pieces but walked in and found I probably would only wear a few (if any) of the clothes they had on show. I'm not giving their shoes justice in saying this because there was a pretty good selection at reduced prices. The clothes I would say however are more suited to formals and possibly for slightly older ladies (what was in store when I went in, at least). There was a lot going on in the designs with bedazzling bejewelled dresses in particular. I'm sad to say I walked away a bit disappointed. I'd been saving my money and being sensible about other shops along Latrobe, thinking that I'd want to buy far too many and dent my bank account once I'd gotten to Petrol but I actually walked away with nothing. I'm sure there are some gems within the range but I was a little disheartened and didn't make the effort to find them. Like I said, this is probably an excellent place to look for formal dresses but didn't quite appeal to my particular taste.