Wellington just has that kind of a feel about it – more relaxed, less hurried. And for someone that has been immersed in fashion for an entire week at NZ Fashion Week, there appears to be more colour in Wellington than you can poke a stick at…
I lived in Wellington in my single years (which I have to say feels like a very long time ago), so whenever I visit Wellington it kind of reminds me of those days, all care and no responsibility. But then maybe Wellington just has that kind of a feel about it – more relaxed, less hurried.
And for someone that has been immersed in fashion for an entire week at NZ Fashion Week, there appears to be more colour in Wellington than you can poke a stick at. The slick black feel of Auckland is missing. Wellington is more vintage, more patterned, and just generally laid back. We like. So we thought we would share some of our random thoughts, and places we visited while in Wellington to review WOW.
While on holiday there are only two things that REALLY matter, and that is food and shopping. Wellington has both in spades. We love that Wellington is so compact and you can pretty much walk anywhere in the downtown area. Lambton Quay has a more upmarket feel to it and has the good old-fashioned Kirkcaldies and Stains if you want to have a wander around. Most of the stores on the Quay have a mainstream feel to them – there are all the standards with Workshop and Zambesi tucked around the corner.
Our favourite is of course Cuba Mall and all its vibrancy. For those of you who live in Wellington it would be incredibly easy to be blasé about Cuba Mall and the surrounding shops but you really are incredibly lucky to have such a vibrant place to shop, eat or generally just people-watch.
In terms of clothing we loved the sweet store S’Wonderful on Victoria Street with all their pretty, flirty and girly dresses. And we were very taken with the gorgeous Frutti once we got to Cuba Mall. They stock a great eclectic range of labels and such. They stock lovely vintage kimonos starting at a very reasonable $80. They also have the label Who is Dead Martin which has such a sense of fun to it. We loved the short jacket pictured top left. The designer of Who is Dead Martin also did the amazing changing room curtains above, and an art installation behind the counter. We loved.
There was also a fabulous range of bright wool coats from Vietnam – we particularly loved the blue one. Coats are obviously a must-have in Windy Wellington and that one is pretty close to perfect.
Also watch out for Miss Fancy Pants, which is worth a look for the name alone.
We spent most of our time trawling through The Paper Bag Princess, which also has a store in K Rd in Auckland. We got a fabulous silk tartan blazer and teal wool cardi for $34 for the both of them. Couldn’t have been happier.
For all things NOT clothing try PopUp Gallery at 57 Ghuznee St. They are also on line at www.popup.co.nz and they have a huge range of Kid Robot and other fabulous figurines that are hard to find. We tried to go on a Sunday only to find it closed. We had to content ourselves with pressing our noses up against the glass. We also visited Madder and Rouge at 19 College Street, and the vintage-y Magnolia who have great Chinese lanterns in their windows at the moment.
One of the highlights of the trip was the discovery of the Underground Market under Frank Kitts Park right on the waterfront. It operates on Saturdays and each month has a specialty market running alongside the regular traders. For those of us with long memories there will always be a place in our hearts for the long-closed Wakefield Markets. This newer market – undercover to keep you out of the slightly inclement Wellington weather – hits just the right note. Lots of great handcrafts and food. The girls all had Henna tattoos done – much to their great delight!
The stalls that we loved were Bobby Soxer (www.bobbysoxer.co.nz), which does divine vintage style dresses up to a size 22 – and simply the BEST stuffed animals and monsters we have seen in a long time!
We adored the red polkadot dress (I mean really – what has come over me with all this colour?)
We loved Stitch Bird with everything a fabric lover could possibly want. If you are out of Wellington try www.stitchbirdfabrics.co.nz they have amazing lampshades made with their fabrics. But our absolute favourite was FILIOKUS (as in Hokus Pokus Filiokus which is what they say in Scandinavia). Seriously the most adorable bright, happy and inspired children’s clothing and dress up range we have ever seen. I got a bit frantic buying beautiful bits and pieces for my god daughter Lily. We bought a red dress and hat made to look like a slice of watermelon.
There was a hat that had a periscope on the side – and dress ups to make your child into a spider or a dinosaur – and seriously cute and very well designed and made. I wish they had been around when my children were small. If you can’t get to Wellington look on their website, www.filiokus.co.nz. I promise it will make you smile!
We can’t finish without mentioning all the gorgeous food and restaurants around. We nearly made it to Floriditas – and it is my only regret of the weekend that we didn’t actually make it. Sweet Mama’s Kitchen- everyone had just the nicest things to say about this cheap and fun eatery. We had a fabulous brunch with friends at Wellington favourite, Scopa.
The locals tell me that Matterhorn is great but for an amazing meal out you can’t go past Logan Brown. We managed coffee at Espressoholic (which has moved, or got bigger than where it was 20 years ago) just for old times sake. They still do a mean milkshake.
We are coming back next year – same time – looking forward to what we will find next time… if you have any suggestions, be sure to let us know.
Words and photos Anya Brighouse
15 September 2011
Leave a Reply