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Australian Members

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bhall41

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Originally Posted by Geoffrey Firmin
I thought I was condemned to walk the earth forever in RM Williams boots, not that there is anything wrong with that. But about a year ago I discovered Herrings shoes via SF and the other mens site and have picked up a nice couple of pairs of Oxfords and Longwings by Church. I would love to get some AE but the sizing of US shoes is a mystery to me and that is even when I have used a Brannock Device. And also Sydney is just **** these days for mens wear. Melbourne, aside from where it is, has it all over Sydney in terms of fashion and style choices.

Not sure that Melbourne does have the upper hand over Sydney TBH. What's your issue with the location?
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Just because you guys have the harbour...
 

tone76

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Originally Posted by Prince of Paisley
what motivated you other Aussie-based coves to register on a largely *****-dominated Internet forum?
I was originally seeking more info on the LRL suits from STP. I'd just lost my job and figured that maybe 1-2 new 'court suits' would help me land another one. I kinda got sucked in from there. The worst part is now I hate the way I dress but I can't do jack about it until I get another job (which, happily should be soon). I can't believe that I thought that my square bicycle toed Julius Marlows were a perfectly good dress shoe. And let's not get started on the pair of brown Rivers loafers still taking up space in my wardrobe ...
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The most horrific part is that in my previous line of work (Commercial Banking), such shoes - along with those nasty $30 Pierre Cardin shirt and tie packs from Harris Scarfe - were (and probably still are) considered to be smart and businesslike ...
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blahman

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Originally Posted by Yika
Would love to see a pic
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Pic of suit done by Katrina's or the Boss stuff?
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appolyon

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Originally Posted by TheWraith
Yeah, Melbourne does. Sydney-siders may/may not disagree, but it's nevertheless true.

Not too sure about that. Sydney has been attracting greater high end brands as of late e.g. Canali, is a more cosmopolitan city and Melbourne very much suffers from the 'Melbourne Uniform Syndrome' i.e. wearing all black. And when it comes to females, though it pains me to say this as a Melbournian, Sydney wins hands down. In general I think Sydney-siders just try harder.
 

blahman

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Originally Posted by appolyon
Not too sure about that. Sydney has been attracting greater high end brands as of late e.g. Canali, is a more cosmopolitan city and Melbourne very much suffers from the 'Melbourne Uniform Syndrome' i.e. wearing all black. And when it comes to females, though it pains me to say this as a Melbournian, Sydney wins hands down. In general I think Sydney-siders just try harder.

I'm not too sure about Sydney being more cosmopolitan. From what I gather, Melbourne is very more of a cultural melting pot where as in Sydney is less so with cultures intermingling a bit less.
 

__PG__

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I would wager that the majority of Sydney siders who walk into the Canali boutique completely bypass the casual wear room and head straight to the suit room to get a charcoal/navy office uniform.

Sydney has a different climate.... in the summer you wear shorts and t-shirts every day you aren't at work.

Melbourne is a much more cosmopolitan city. 90% of the white population of Sydney resembles the Melbourne 'Brighton Brigade'. The 'rest' (i.e. Arabs) are marginalized. Sydney has very little of what Melbourne people describe as 'north of the river' -types... i.e. urban and suburban hippies (and hipsters).

Sydney to me seems to be still wrapped up in the ideas of conspicuous consumption. There are areas of Melbourne (primarily in the north) where this hasn't happened.

PS I can't remember how I found style forum. I just had my sartorial awakening late in 2009 and was googling "Canali, floating canvas, bespoke, Saville Row" and anything else I could find.
 

CHECKstar

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I was planning on keeping out of the whole Melbourne v Sydney conversation as I work in a team that is half located in Melbourne and half in Sydney and often it turns into a vicious slanging match. Disclaimer - I am born and bred in Melbourne but do spend a bit of time for work in Sydney, and while I have seen some Sydney suburbs, its mainly for me the conservative business dress. However these are my observations on the topic:

Style wise, Sydney is more about flaunting what you have. I think that this in some part comes back to the natural beauty that Sydney has over Melbourne. Let's face it, Melbourne is not naturally endowed with beauty, rather everything that to me about Melbourne the is aesthetically pleasing is man-made. A couple of months back I was down at Circular Quay having some after work drinks at a function and was taken back with how naturally beautiful Sydney is. As I sat there sipping my beer, having a bit of a chat and doing some people watching, one thing that stood out was the way people would try to flaunt their wealth, from the way they tried to dress to the logos on their clothes and accessories. It was as if people were going out to been seen. Later that night we went out for dinner and we went to a "˜trendy' restaurant. My Sydney colleagues kept telling us how good the place was. After dinner I made the bold proclamation that the food was **** and their response was "but look at the restaurant" - it was at that point I realised that they were more interested on the look of the venue and the other people there then the food.

I think in many ways Sydney to me is like a super hot supermodel, who is naturally beautiful and is quite superficial and materialistic and probably lacking in personality but everybody still loves because of who she is. Melbourne on the other hand, to me is like the ugly *********, but who has a great personality. Melbourne is all about toning things down and being subtle.

The weather in the respective cities I suspect also play a big part in why Melbourne is considered more "˜cultural' then Sydney. I am sure that if Melbourne got the type of weather Sydneysiders take for granted, I would spend more time at the beach and less at art galleries!

Anyhow, that is just my thoughts. I might have to spend a lot more time in the next few months up in Sydney, so we will see if my views change.
 

__PG__

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Originally Posted by CHECKstar
I think in many ways Sydney to me is like a super hot supermodel, who is naturally beautiful and is quite superficial and materialistic and probably lacking in personality but everybody still loves because of who she is. Melbourne on the other hand, to me is like the ugly *********, but who has a great personality. Melbourne is all about toning things down and being subtle.

The weather in the respective cities I suspect also play a big part in why Melbourne is considered more "˜cultural' then Sydney. I am sure that if Melbourne got the type of weather Sydneysiders take for granted, I would spend more time at the beach and less at art galleries!


I think you are correct, and its no co-incidence that the beach/bayside suburbs of Melbourne resemble Sydney the most.

The problem with Sydney is that they presume that they are the centre of Australia. The worst of Australia's politics and media all come from Sydney at the moment.

I've lived in Melbourne most of my life and I can tolerate it. I couldn't live in Sydney. Living in semi-rural Oxfordshire in England for two years was more my cup of tea. I may emigrate to Hobart when I get older.
 

Selvaggio

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I have lived in both places and Melbourne is a more stylish city than Sydney - on average.

Here's why I think this is the case - money and climate.

For most of the 20th century Melbourne was a much wealthier city than Sydney. It was the financial and commercial centre of Australia until Sydney started to overtake it in the 80s. So Melbourne has had a larger and more stable middle class than Sydney - and crucially it had this when Australia started opening up to the world (including the world of style and fashion) in the 60s andf 70s. This influenced the culture of the city.

Secondly, in recent history (say, 1980 to 2005) Melburnians have enjoyed salaries similar to Sydney-siders doing the same work, but had much lower mortgages and rents. They, therefore, had higher disposable incomes - more cash to spend on nice clothes (also, eating out, going to the theatre...luxury expenditure generally). SO you had a big middle class who could spend money on middle class stuff.

Finally, Sydney is hot and humid most of the year and not even particularly cold in winter. We take many of our cues about what is stylish dress from the industrialised countries of the Northern hemmisphere and a lot of that inheritied style is quite hard to wear in Sydney - less so in Melbourne. eg, long-trousers (not in the office) in Summer, sports coats, flannel, wool generally, scarves, over coasts, layers, heavy closed-in footwear, ties, raw denim...these things require a bit of style-victimhood to wear in Sydney much of the year. For a more extreme example ...see Brisbane.

Important to note that I am talking averages here. There are well-dressed people in both places and Bogans will be bogans.

...and that's all I have to say about that.
 

jaypee

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Melbourne V Sydney is the dumbest argument. It's chalk and cheese. Just be thankful that it's just the best country in the world
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Selvaggio

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Originally Posted by jaypee
It's chalk and cheese.

You reckon? From my angle there is far more in common than there is different - which makes the differences interesting (to some) - though I acknowledge that it is hard to have a more cliche-ridden conversation than M v S.
 
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