I visit every time I'm in Melbourne for a browse, and when I was in there last year, I got chatting to her in the store while I admired some beautiful costume jewellery in one of the display cases.
The store stocks all manner of things from umbrellas and hats to bags, sunglasses, scarfs, gloves and jewellery…. and after a lot of though I bought a long necklace, made by a Paris atelier called Goossens. Christine brings in all sorts of unusual things, and Goossens, it turns out, have an interesting history. They produce the famous Sautoir necklaces for Chanel, and have done so since they were first designed in conjunction with Coco Chanel in the 1950's. I had been drawn to the necklace in the display case and had commented to Christine that it was very Chanel like, minus the logos, so it was no surprise to then find that they made the costume jewellery for Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, Dior and many others. If you're ever in Paris they have a showroom at 380 rue Saint- Honore to visit, which is definitely my kind of specialty shop.
So in terms of "Orchids on your Budget" I've stayed strong in the face of overwhelming numbers of emails entreating me to buy in the Internet Sales (and I've spent a lot of quality time unsubscribing from lists), and I've yet to set foot in a physical shop in Adelaide for the January sales… but I did buy one thing in the Netaporter sales. I'd been keeping my eye on it for weeks, waiting patiently until it dropped to 70% off. I have a feeling my Grandmother would have approved. It's a Lela Rose sheer lace coat (above). Not exactly a practical day-to-day item, it's definitely more a special occasion thing… but I think it's a timeless cut and will jazz up a plain black dress or trousers and top combo and providing I don't stack on the weight will be something that I'll be able to wear for many years to come.
