A Stylised Point of View

When organising an interview with Sarah Willcocks, creator of fashion blog Style Melbourne, she suggests meeting at Coco Cubano in Prahran. A search of my trusty Urbanspoon account brings up nothing. A Google search links me to the website that notes Coco Cubano Prahran is “coming soon”. Trust a blogger to have the inside scoop on a Melbourne cafe that has only just opened its doors!

It’s her up-to-the-minute content and exceptional networking skills that have helped Sarah, in four short years, become one of Melbourne most successful and sought after fashion bloggers.

Sarah is very busy these days, juggling multiple projects, including her newly designed bar scene site Drink Melbourne, so it’s no wonder she runs on high energy and enjoys a cafe-based interview.

“Google calendar is a life-saver,” she muses over a large flat white. “It’s all about scheduling specified time for each project.”

Sarah can claim to be one of the original Melbourne blogging alumni. After working in fashion journalism for a number of years, she noticed a distinct lack of Melbourne-centric content, both online and in print.

“Publications were flooded with fashion news and reviews from Sydney, London and New York; there was nowhere to source Melbourne fashion events and news until after they’d happened.”

And so Style Melbourne was born. Featuring the latest fashion news out of Melbourne as well at boutique profiles and fashion event listings, the blog is the local fashion-lover’s online bible.

“I try and make as much original content as possible. Even if I receive PR pitches that I’m interested in, I’ll always try and put my own voice to it. I like to look for a story angle in every piece. The result, I suppose, of my journalism background.”

Keeping that single, authentic voice is key to attracting and retaining an audience, says Sarah.

“Readers can recognise when you’re not writing authentically and will switch off immediately.”

She believes Melbourne has the potential to make a big impact on the world fashion stage, with our ability to mix trends and be daring in our sartorial choices.

“Anything goes in Melbourne; we’re quite mature in our choices and are aware of what’s going on in the world. We pretty much have every fashion style covered here, from hipsters, to brand-lovers, to the Mary-Kate Olsen bag lady look.

“If Lady Gaga wasn’t famous and she was walking down the street here, sure she’d get stopped by a blogger for a photo, but no one else would blink an eye.”

And what would be a piece about a Melbourne blog, on a Melbourne website without an insight into Sarah’s favourite Melbourne haunts?

Coffee – “It was Milton’s on Greville Street, but that’s recently closed. So now I’d say St Edmonds, just around the corner.”
Brunch – Auction Rooms, North Melbourne.
Bar – 1806.
Boutique – Alice Euphemia.
Brand – Yeojin Bae.

Find out more at stylemelbourne.com