A guide to clothes shopping in Auckland

Bet you didn’t think about how hard clothes shopping would be moving to a new place! What shops will you like? Where are they? What shops are for what age? Is it worth the trip to check it out? Well we’ve put together a guide to help you navigate the different stores and shopping districts in Auckland. So you can either leisurely peruse the shops or know exactly where to go without fluffing around.

Let’s break it down by clothing category…

Pricing guide

$ - Bargains

$$ - Average pricing

$$$ - High-end pricing

Where to go to find work wear / smart clothing

Glassons (women - a popular go-to) $ - $$

Caroline Eve (womens) $$

Forever New (women) $$

Seed Heritage (women & children) $$

Cue (womens) $$ - $$$

David Lawrence (womens for approx ages 35-55) $$ - $$$

Hallenstein Brothers (mens - a popular go-to) $$

Barkers (mens - a popular go-to) $$ - $$$

Working Style (men’s smart & tailored suits ages 20+) $$$

Crane Brothers (men’s custom suits for early 20s to 70+) $$$

H&M (men, women & children) $ - $$

Country Road (men, women & children) - popular with the younger corporate crowd) $$ - $$$

Zara (men, women & children) $$

Trenery (men & womens) $$ - $$$

Where to go to find casual wear and lifestyle

Mirrou (women - approx ages 20-30) similar to Primark $

Glassons (women - a popular go-to) $ - $$

Caroline Eve (womens) $$

Max (women) $$

Forever New (women) $$

Decjuba (women) $$

Country Road (men, women & children) - popular with the younger corporate crowd) $$ - $$$

Flo & Frankie (women) $$ - $$$

Hallenstein Brothers (mens) $$

Barkers (mens - a popular go-to) $$ - $$$

I Love Ugly (mens) $$ - $$$

yd. (mens) $$

Warehouse (all clothing items and footwear for men, women and children) $

K-mart (all clothing items and footwear for men, women and children) $

Cotton on (men, women & children ages 12-65) $ - $$

Jay Jays (men & women but more teens / young adults) $ - $$

H&M (men, women & children) $ - $$

AS Colour (men, women & children - simple style clothing without logos etc) $$

Seed Heritage (women & children) $$

Jeanswest (men, women & maternity) $$

Just Jeans (men, women and children) $$

Zara (men, women & children) $$

Trenery (men & womens - older crowd) $$ - $$$

Bonds (women, men & children lounge wear) $ - $$

Where to go to find underwear / sleepwear

Warehouse (all clothing items and footwear for men, women and children) $

K-mart (all clothing items and footwear for men, women and children) $

H&M (men, women & children) $ - $$

Bonds (women, men & children) $ - $$

Bendon (women & men) $$

Farmers (men, women & children) $$

Peter Alexander (women, men & children - specialise in sleepwear) $$ - $$$

Where to go for footwear

Forever New (women) $$

Mi Piaci (women) $$ - $$$

Working Style (men ages 20+) $$$

Number One Shoes (women, men & children of all ages) $

Footlocker (men, women & children - has the big brands in) $$

Merchant 1948 formerly known as Overland (men & women, typically ages 25+) $$

Hannahs (women, men & children) $$

Sketchers (men, women and children) $$

Timberland (men, women & children) $$ - $$$

Where to go to find sports wear

Rebel Sport (men, women & children) $$

Stirling Sports (men, women & children) $$

Nike (men & women) $$

Where to go for outdoor/adventure wear

Kathmandu - during the frequent sales (men, women and kids of all ages) $$

Macpac (men, women and kids of all ages) $$

Torpedo7 (men, women) $$

Best places to grab a bargain

Dress Smart (A shopping outlet for all clothing items and footwear for men, women and children) - this one even has a free shuttle to get you there from the city. We highly recommend this place for some big brands at super low prices, just because they’re out of season) $

Savemart (Second-hand clothing item and footwear for men, women and children) $

Warehouse (all clothing items and footwear for men, women and children) $

K-mart (all clothing items and footwear for men, women and children) $

What are the department stores here?

Farmers $$

Smith & Caughey’s $$ - $$$

David Jones (Wellington only) $$ - $$$

DFS $$$

Popular overseas shops that do cheap/free shipping to NZ?

Note: A lot of people will recommend this option

Next free delivery on orders over $30 (men, women & children) $$

Asos (women $ men) $$

The Iconic online only (men, women & children $$

What are the designer shops in New Zealand?

Designer Wardrobe - (men & women) where you can buy or rent your designer clothes $$-$$$

Karen Walker $$$

Trelise Cooper $$$

Ethical/sustainable fashion

Shjark (women’s casualwear and work wear) $$ - $$$

If you’re reading this and you know of something we’ve missed off, we’d love your input! Just click the button below.

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Shopping malls in Auckland

Westfield Shopping Malls

If you are looking for multiple stores all under 1 roof, then look up your closest Westfield mall. Here you can find many different womens clothes stores and mens stores. We tend to separate male and female clothes here. A lot of the times, there will be a supermarket, a food hall as well as a movie theatre in this one spot. These malls are great, if you are happy to spend a few hours looking through the different shops, but they do get very busy on the weekends.

Where can you find Westfield shopping malls in Auckland?

• Newmarket (the newest built, with a great restaurant eatery on the roof)

• St Lukes

• Manukau City

• Albany

• Sylvia Park This mall (not part of the Westfield group) boasts of being the largest mall in NZ. Some very big claims here, but really not hard to beat in New Zealand. Sylvia Park has a large movie theatre, some great restaurants, bars, high market shops, H&M and Zara among the big overseas brands. The train station leaving from Britomart in Auckland Central, drops you directly at Sylvia Park in Mount Wellington.

A guide to shopping the suburbs in Auckland

If you haven’t figured it out by now then we should tell you that Auckland is not your average city! Don’t expect the CBD (Britomart) to be your go-to shopping district. Imagine Auckland like a series of little towns all joined together, and each of those towns (suburbs) have a different personality and style, perfect for some occasions but not others. Here are a few you should know about…

Newmarket

For your very high end stores. All stores are along the main road and down side alleys. But some great designer stores, boutiques and dining here. You’ve also got a cute little mall called the Rialto Centre with a cinema and Nandos if you need a break from the shopping.

Britomart

Hosting top New Zealand designers, like Karen Walker, WORLD and Trelise Cooper and International designers such as Tiffany and Co. This area is surrounded by cute little cocktail bars, fancy restaurants and is a common hang out spot after work.

Ponsonby

Your old rich area, where you can find quirky second hand items for quadruple the price. There is a mixture of arty stores, nouveau second hand stores and hip clothing brands. This is where the young and rich like to hang out.

K-rd (Karangahape road) - may as well be it’s own suburb, very unique

You’ll experience some rich culture on K-rd, which you’ll find at the top of Queen Street and runs from Grafton up towards Ponsonby. At one end is host to a line of adult stores and the closer you get into town there are retro, cool, hipster, hippie stores selling both new and secondhand clothes and items. This road has also been known for its alternative vibe and has a quite a few popular bars frequently visited by students and travellers.

Takapuna

Nouveau riche area, with all your standard stores with a subtle tone of designer fashion and a lot of boutique stores. This area has a lot of beach stores, where you can get a nice pair of togs (swimming costumes) and hit the beach after a day of a shopping. Don’t forget to pick up an ice cream from the well-known Takapuna Beach Cafe on the way down to the beach.

New Lynn & Henderson

You’ll find a lot of owner operated stores, with an ethnic influence. This is where you’ll find your Indian, Pacific Island, Chinese and Middle Eastern clothes and food shops.

A bit more about our go-to shops

Warehouse

Where everyone gets a bargain. The Warehouse is one of the most iconic stores for New Zealanders of every age. No matter what you’re looking for, you’ll most likely find it at The Warehouse. Furniture, home appliances, gardening tools, clothes, books, DVD’s, toys, jewellery, food and the list goes on. The prices are the best in town, but the quality on some things are not so great and things don’t last as long. So if you’re here just for a couple of years then this would be your best bet for stuff! That or if you want to just play it safe with your investments, like a $5 gym top. There’s currently 8 Warehouse’s in Auckland but your closest to the city centre would be Newmarket.

K-Mart

A similar shop to The Warehouse, but less iconic and maybe slightly more upmarket. It’s great for a late night shopping urge, as it’s open from 8am until 12 at night. It’s pretty well known for their home decor products, so once you find a place to live, be sure to hit up your closest K-Mart to help make it feel more homely! You can also find a good range of make-up, clothes, toys, stationary, cheap cutlery etc and my personal favourite - kind-of-useful kitchen gadgets that you don’t particularly need but are fun or cute to have. The closest one to the centre would be beside St Lukes Westfields Shopping Mall.

Look Sharp

If you are putting on a party, then this is your one stop shop for all decorations, costumes, trinkets, cake supplies, you name it. Everything is from China, so it’s similar to a $ store, where you can get knick-knacks and cheap things. It’s famous for Halloween and Christmas decorations, as well as, costumes.

Kathmandu

If you’re preparing to explore the outdoors or endless hikes New Zealand has available, then Kathmandu is your one-stop shop. A great thing about these stores are they are the best at sales. Other shops will have 20% off things, but here you are looking at 70% off a full feather-down puffer jacket.