Unlock Brisbane’s style secrets
Start the new year in style with a shop and drop itinerary on the city’s most fashionable street
IF YOU want to see a city in style, trust a stylist.
Spree With Me founder and director Imogene Whittle has enlisted a team of personal stylists as tour guides, picking Brisbane’s most fashionable pockets for hidden treasure.
Small groups of up to four can embark on style trails in James Street, Brisbane Arcade or Paddington for a VIP shopping experience spliced with stopovers in drinking and dining hot spots.
I meet Imogene at The Calile’s chic sidewalk cafe ahead of exploring James Street’s ivy-draped laneways.
She has all the warmth of a best friend, but she’s sworn to style honesty.
She explains the tours can serve as a confidence boost for anyone in a post-lockdown style rut or returning to the workforce, or an introduction to local designers and artisans for visitors or new residents.
Based on a Q&A filled out in advance – what you love and what your wardrobe is missing – Imogene’s fashion fairies have skipped ahead, stocking VIP change rooms with tailored suggestions.
The emphasis is on local or ethically produced labels, with Aje, Husk, By Baby, Molten and Calexico on my trail as I shop for workwear staples.
For those pining for the comfort of lockdown PJs at work, Imogene guarantees Silk Laundry’s buttery loungewear is the next best thing for the office.
We weave through laneways to find stores I would have missed if exploring on my own.
In one, designer Tracey Watkins emerges from behind a puff of hot-pink tulle, coiffured canine at her heels, to show us around the racks of her personality-packed White Label Noba pop-up.
There’s no pressure to buy anything, but if you do Spree with Me Have negotiated discounts.
Your stylist will also email through a lookbook after the appointment, showing you exactly how to put their advice into action.
It’s not all wardrobe work. The tour finishes with lunch, where we are introduced to another local legend – Harveys Bar + Bistro’s chicken
salad with peanuts, tamarind, coconut, Vietnamese mint and chilli.
If the plan is to shop and drop, Brisbane’s most fashionable hotel is just steps away.
The Calile is a pastel paradise of beguiling curves, gold tapware and pink marble, its European style balconies gazing at its cabana-fringed pool.
It’s also a chance to check in on the Gold Coast’s most successful culinary export.
Simon Gloftis’ Hellenika forms the hotel’s heart, his generous brand of hospitality spilling out poolside on a balmy summer evening.
The restaurateur’s James Street empire is set to expand this year with Sunshine Mediterranean Eatery and Sushi Room joining the already humming SK Steak & Oyster.