Discovered

I have a habit of wandering the city when I get a bit restless on the weekends.  Myer and David Jones are practically in my back yard, but walking the grounds of both of these deparment stores can get a bit boring as well.  Melbourne's CBD (Central Business District) is comprised of arcades, hidden alley ways and cafes - the coffee is always good, the arcades are abuzz and the alleys serve as a canvas to the street artists of the Melbourne-area. Melbourne is also rife with horse culture, as this part of the country celebrates the races on a grand scale.  The Kentucky Derby seemingly has nothing on the Melbourne Cup!  SJP, Dita Von Teese, Elizabeth Hurley and countless other celebrities made appearances throughout the week; the skies may have been gray, but it didn't dampen the spirits of those who took time out to attend the races.

In preparation for what's to come, stores go all out with their visuals and displays.  Some shops miss the mark and others, well, sport the whimsy and frivolity of the light-hearted nature of the weeks' events.

Giallo is a shoe store located a few blocks away from where I live and during one of my aimless wanders, I happened upon their store.  The tights above had me at hello; I really just had to have them.  What Giallo doesn't carry is tights - they were just for show.  So, I walked into the store and asked the associate where I could find these lovely, pink and aqua spotted tights.  "Across the street" she said and off I went.  Upon arrival I saw them on the back wall, but something was different; they lacked the dusty pink colour and looked much more like the bright tutu from above.  Apparently, Giallo layered the spotted tights over a black pair to create the look; however, for me, layering tights is out of the question. Wearing two pairs of tights? In Spring?  I think not.

There's this thing about Melbourne and a saying to go along with the phenomenon - you can experience four seasons in one day; Crowded House even has a song by that very name.  One second it'll be as hot as heck and in the blink of an eye the temperature might just drop dramatically.  Oh well, I thought and plunked down $25 AUS for Pepto Bismol pink and aqua polka dot tights.  Wear them I did, with a khaki skirt and plain white tee.