As a lead up to the Perth Fashion Festival, I had the pleasure of meeting up with the legendary Australian fashion designer Melanie Greensmith.

She established her label Wheels and Dollbaby in 1987, and over the two decades since, it has developed “cult label” status amongst its dedicated followers.

Wheels and Dollbaby can be described as an electric mix of Hollywood sex-kitten glamour, bad-girl rock and roll attitude, and old style Parisian elegance.

If you’ve never tried on a Wheels and Dollbaby dress, you should! It’s quite an experience!

Imagine putting on a quality body corset, where the strength of the material, tailoring and boning literally sculpts your body, with enough stretch to keep things in the right place and make it comfortable to walk and breath in.

These dresses were exactly that. I slipped one on and I immediately could feel myself standing taller, with my back straighter, shoulders pulled back, and emphasis in all the right places – bum, boobs and the curves of my hips. It made me chuckle as I remembered the label’s tag line – “clothes to snare a millionaire”.

On the left, I’m wearing the Club Dress in Leopard Skin, and on the right I’m wearing the Rose Scallop Dress.

I tried on quite a few garments, and I found that they all seemed to have “body sculpting” attributes – even the tops and skirts. They are very fitting and tight, with a good amount of stretch.

On the left, I’m wearing a military top, with a high-waisted satin skirt, which was just divine to wear. On the right, I’m wearing a black encrusted diamonte tank, with my own jeans. Even the tank top felt great on.

Her boutique in Perth is very cool too. Nestled in the heart of the King Street fashion precinct, the shop is adorned with chandeliers, Parisian antiques from the 1920s, velvet drapes and of course the leopard skin carpet!

There is also a Wheels & Dollbaby shop in Sydney, and an online shop.

Melanie also gave me a sneak preview of these yummy designs in the yet-to-be-released Wheels and Dollbaby Spring/Summer 09/10 collection.

She will be launching this latest Wheels and Dollbaby collection at the upcoming Perth Fashion Festival, with her own show at Fashion Paramount on Sunday, 6 September. Tickets are on sale now for $55.

Wheels & Dollbaby
26 King Street
Perth, WA 6000
tel: +618 9481 8488

Wheels & Dollbaby
259 Crown Street
Darlinghurst, Sydney
tel: +612 9361 3286

Also available in selected boutiques worldwide – full details on the Wheels and Dollbaby website.