Lifestyled by Paula Joye

I have a confession. Until two weeks ago I had never been to Adelaide.

When South Australia Tourism invited me to the Adelaide Fashion Festival as their guest I jumped on the plane in a flash. During my four days there (I stayed in the city at the gorgeous Medina Grand Adelaide Treasury) I walked just about every inch of the city and took over 200 photos on my iphone. I was in awe of its beauty and peaceful city life.

The team at South Australia Tourism provided me with a great suggested itinerary. I did everything on the list.

Here’s the highlights from my trip.

Chelsea xx

The Fashion Shows.

Adelaide may be small in comparison to Sydney but they still know how to put on a show. I attended both the TAFE SA 2012 Fashion Graduate Parade and the Advantage SA Young Designers Showcase and was impressed with the talent and production.

The Tafe Fashion Show was held in the Tafe’s carpark and opened with a drag queen dressed in a structured Egyptian-inspired metallic design by Scott Faulder. It was dramatic and a great way to kick off the night.

The Advantage SA Young Designers Showcase wrapped up the 2012 Adelaide Fashion Festival with an exclusive event held in the Adelaide Train Station. I loved the locations for these shows. So basic yet done so spectacularly. Taking out the award for Emerging Designer was Lachy Lang, and other faves for me were the circus-inspired swimwear from see&ell and the couture gowns (not to mention a nude lace jumpsuit) by Paolo Sebastian. The ultimate highlight was the candy bar set up beside the runway. Genius.

The Jam Factory.

Not to be confused with the Jam Factory in Melbourne, or an actual jam factory, this is where local artists get their creative on. You can watch artists blow glass in their workshop, browse the latest exhibition or even purchase some of the local artwork.

After you’ve explored the Jam Factory, make sure you take a walk along North Terrace. It’s lined with other cultural finds like Government House, Art Gallery of South Australia and the Adelaide Botanic Garden.

Glenelg Beach.

You can’t take me anywhere without letting me pop by the beach. I jumped on the tram from the city to Glenelg Beach on a beautiful Sunday morning and was blown away by the beauty of this beach. There was so much sand and it was practically deserted. The water was calm, clear and absolute tranquility.

Once you’ve soaked up the sun on the sand, be sure to wander around to the Marina where there’s great restaurants, a ferris wheel and a fabulous kids arcade called The Beachouse.

The Shopping Streets.

Every city has a street that provides hours of walking and shopping. In Adelaide I loved King William Road and Rundle Street East (past the top of Rundle Street Mall). On Sunday Rundle Street East was especially bustling with people wining, dining, licking gelato and shopping. It had a great vibe.

My Friend Louis.

As part of my Fashion Festival schedule I jumped on the ‘Vintage Is The New Black’ Op Shop Tour mini bus and spent the day checking out some of Adelaide’s finest. At the end of the tour our guide, Bronwyn from Vintage Fox, treated us to afternoon tea of scones and coffee at My Friend Louis.

This café and homewares store in one was a pure gem. The homewares had a retro meets modern pop art vibe that I was utterly in love with. The courtyard out back was the perfect place to chillax.

Adelaide On Instagram.

Follow me on Instagram @chelseatromans for more Adelaide snaps plus behind-the-scenes shots from LifeStyled HQ.

I flew to Adelaide as a guest of South Australia Tourism. Thank you for an incredible experience.