Frocks & Frou Frou

Dress: Dorothy Perkins http://www.dorothyperkins.com/

Shoes: Zensu http://www.zensu.com.au/

Today Melbourne's suffering a strong hot wind - what my Mum used to refer to as "Dragon's Breath".

It's dry and forceful and gusty and exactly the sort of weather you don't want to wear a dress out into, unless you envisage a Marilyn-Monroe-in-The-Seven-Year-Itch moment.

But, damnit, I just received my first ever Dorothy Perkins (http://www.dorothyperkins.com/) order, and come hell or high water I was going to wear something from it.

I'm not sure whether I'm completely sold on Dorothy Perkins. I bought a few things in my first order - an unmemorable striped top, a rather adorable belt, an unwearable blouse that's as comfortable as a shirt made out of tinsel and this cute dress.

It's made of a dense jersey (not the thin clingy kind that you find in most stores) and the cut's great, even if I may have been a bit ambitious with my sizing. The back is a lovely deep vee, which means I can't wear my beloved Unbelievabra, but it does help cool off on nasty hot days like today.

The clothes at Dorothy Perkins are wonderfully stylish, and classic. I'm pretty impressed with the quality, and I'm delighted that there aren't two ranges: one for "normal" girls, and one for the rest of us. Everything comes in sizes from 6 to 22.

Watch out for hem lengths though - I have it on good authority that the models they use online must be midgets, because the hems hit a few inches north of where you expected them to be.

The good news is that their prices are excellent, and their shipping (ten pounds flat rate for international orders) puts US stores like Kiyonna and Torrid to shame. It took exactly seven days to reach me.

Keep your eyes peeled for my new belt and top, too. They're burning a hole in my wardrobe (along with a new pair of Embody's and some red(!) knee-high boots)

Dress: Crossroads http://www.crossroads.com.au/

Shoes: Zu http://www.zushoe.com.au/

Oh God! Surely it's not Christmas-shopping-time already?

Christmas in Melbourne seems to officially start after Cup Day, which is.... Tuesday. So I guess that's yes. It's time to start the Christmas shopping.

The one thing I love better than getting presents myself is giving them to other people. It's such a buzz when you find that perfect something-special, and nothing makes me happier than seeing people open a gift that I know they're going to love.

Present-giving is a very important part of my family's Christmas routine: We open them one at a time, with great pomp and circumstance, in front of the whole family. I love this, because there's nothing worse than spending days hunting for that amazing one-off gift for someone, only to miss the big unveiling.

Of course, I get that the only reason we can do this extended (there's always at least seven of us, so it always takes hours) present-opening ritual, is because the youngest sibling is twenty-four. Even I don't expect the average six-year-old to patiently sit quietly while there's brightly wrapped boxes of goodies with their names on it going to waste!

But I digress. I love giving presents, but I find shopping for them agony. Which is weird, right? I mean; I love presents and I love shopping, ergo I should love shopping for presents. But the pressure of trying to find that amazing, perfect, once-off, didn't-even-realise-you-wanted-it-until-you-opened-it gift is stressful to the point of giving me a breakdown.

With the Aussie dollar barely clawing back ground after its dramatic nose-dive earlier this year my usual go-to place for special presents - etsy (www.etsy.com) - is probably more or less off the list.

However I still like to support craftspeople, and those amazingly creative local designers whose handmade wonders really do make the best presents of all.

So here's a couple of Australian alternatives to etsy:

has over 130 independent Australian designers and sell everything from toys and clothing to jewellery, craft supplies and home wares.

The quality of the product can be a bit iffy, and it's a bit of a marathon to navigate, but if you have the patience to wade through the dross there's a few treasures to be found:

"Felt Storage Box" - 049design

"Mix & Match Brooch Set" - Shelbyville


"Babushka Cushion Cover" - Sketch

Has slightly more maneuverable search options, and there's a couple of items that caught my eye, including:

"Purple Robot" - MyLittleOogabooga

(I should add the totally irrelevant disclaimer here that I find the seller's name almost annoying enough to discount how cute the brooch is. Almost. Not quite, but almost.)

I think the pick of the bunch though, is the delightful GeorgieLove www.georgielove.com.au which was the first online store specialising in Australian handmade gifts. Sally (or maybe her gorgeous dog, George) handpicks the product that the store stocks, so the quality of the range seems to be heads and shoulders above the others.

"Blue Crane Bangles" - Madz Has Runway

"Boy and Balloon Brooch" - Allira Tee

Personally, I'm thinking I might have to splurge on this fantastically red sheath dress from Sportscraft www.sportscraft.com.au