A Vintage Outing

I’ve always loved the thought of all things vintage. But time and time again find myself overwhelmed by the smell of mothballs, polyester fabric and furniture of bad apartments past.

Then in dawned on me: what I needed was my very own vintage tour guide!

And I was in luck one such Sunday, when I joined a bubbly group of ladies for Hidden Secret Tour’s vintage extravaganza, A Vintage Outing.

Hosted by the most stylish Danielle, A Vintage Outing ferries Melbourne collectors and style mavens around in luxury to some of the city’s best vintage fashion and home wares stores.

Ready and raring, with credit card in tow, we were collected promptly at 10.30am by Danielle and her dapper young drivers, and were whisked away in 1960s Fiat 1500’s to our first destination.

Trash on Bay in Port Melbourne was our first port of call. Run by the fabulous Russell, Trash is one of the last remaining vintage home wares sellers left in Melbourne. His collection of antique crockery, mirrors and collectables had the girls’ wallets open in an instant.

Industrial-style antiques by Empire Vintage in Albert Park was our next stop, followed by brunch at the magical Madame Brussels, where we were treated to lunch packs, Pimms and parasols.

Fashion lovers were treated in the afternoon to the incredible work of seamstress and vintage historian Nicole Jenkins at Circa Vintage, where I drooled over potential wedding and race-day dresses, followed by a stop at De Mille for vintage designer fashion accessories.

No vintage tour of Melbourne is complete without a stop at The Junk Company, home to the most extensive collection of vintage and recycled home wares I have laid my eyes on.

With my new vintage arsenal now in place, I feel I can safely go toe to toe with the best retro fanatics in town. Mad Men cocktail party anyone?

Vintage Shopping tours run every Sunday. To find out more visit vintageouting.com.au.