Anything goes in Sydney's colourful winter fashion scene

Sep 3, 2009, 12:07 GMT

Sydney - A Saturday morning in Paddington, a trendy section of Sydney. A guy with red-dyed hair wearing a knitted sweater leans casually on a counter at a hot location called the Fringe Bar. His girlfriend sips sparkling wine while flipping through a chrome rack of vintage clothing. It's winter in Sydney, Australia's multicultural metropolis.

While people in Europe take grey wool coats and corduroy pants out of their closets for winter, a colourful fashion world blooms Down Under during the cold months of the year. That's because when it's summer in the northern hemisphere, Australia has winter, but temperatures can reach a summery 19 degrees. Thus, anything goes in terms of style mix and range of colours, particularly in Paddington and other hip sections of the city such as Surry Hills and Bondi.

In the summer it's so hot in Australia that people typically wear very little clothing - surfing togs, flip flops, shorts and T-shirts, Kirsty, a 32-year-old Australian woman explained. In the winter people want to show what they have in their closets and be really creative, she added. That's when ankle-high Ugg boots made of lambskin combine with miniskirts, sleeveless shirts and brightly coloured wool scarves.

Kirsty recently made her way to Paddington's Saturday market in flip flops, jeans shorts and a tweed jacket, her oversized pink wool cap pulled down far to the back of her neck. She combined all that with 20-year-old Ray Ban sunglasses.

The motto seems to be 'whatever you like is allowed.' The result is a fresh, innovative breath of fashion through the streets of Sydney. Mild temperatures contribute to the city's fashion sense. Even in the winter months people can take a walk barefooted on the beach in Bondi and Coogee and end up in a street cafe drinking a latte under the Australian sun.

Apart from that, the country seems to be completely uninfluenced by the fashion capitals of faraway Europe.

'Aside from the everything-is-allowed style, I'm impressed by the enthusiasm for colour,' said Julica Jungehuelsing, a German journalist writing about life in Australia.

Paddington is the section of Sydney in which fashionistas like to shop best. Vintage shops and colourful boutiques line the streets. And on Saturdays shoppers have access to the most extensive flea market at the foot of Paddington Uniting Church as well as in the popular Fringe Bar.

It converts on the weekend from a nightclub to the Fringe Bar Market where designer labels, second-hand sunglasses, jewellery and vintage-style cocktail dresses can be found in row after row of fashion items for sale. Sparkling wine and coffee are served at the bar and '70s music to match the retro look drones from the loudspeakers.

Typically, it is women who show the most fashion diversity on the streets of Sydney. Most men prefer to wear gym shoes, jeans and a T-shirt in their free time during the Australian winter.

'How boring,' said Rachel, a Briton who has lived in Sydney for six months and is experiencing her first Australian winter. She just bought a tulle skirt at Bondi's flea market that she plans to put together with black leggings and high sandals. The colourful fashion scene on the other side of the world is contagious and it makes the season's few rainy days colour-happy.