While Beach Hut at Takapuna specializes in swimwear/ beachwear, the main reason I go there is…read morebecause they are one of the only stockists of the Australian fitness and activewear brand: Lorna Jane in New Zealand. I had just been buying all my gear off their site online but when I found out that they actually had a physical store in Taka, I raced down there to get my hands on this finely constructed work out gear. They have a good variety of this range available in store and there always seems to be some dealio or sale going on at the Hut! The shop is family owned and has an awesome vibe going on. I always feel good when I purchase things from these guys as I know I am supporting the local Takapuna community in turn. Warm n fuzzies!

I HATE buying bikinis. I can't buy a matching pair because I'm different sizes top and bottom. I…read morerefuse to spend huge amounts of money because they're tiny bits of fabric that are to be destroyed by salt and chlorine. I've managed to find a few decent bikinis at Beach Hut. At first I thought it was only going to have 'old lady' swimwear but was surprised to see one or two bikinis I quite liked. The sales assistant was incredibly helpful in finding different styles and sizes to best fit my body and when I went to the counter with my two purchases I received a HUGE discount as part of some crazy sale. All in all... great experience at the Beach Hut!

Teresa is an expert in lingerie and fitting. you won't be disappointed. I have recently been…read morerefitted and so happy with my bras. as is my mum. Recommend using her bra fitting service, my size has changed and my new bras fit perfectly.

The service given at Rich Lingerie is amazing. The owner is lovely and her knowledge in this field…read moreensured my daughter came away with properly fitting Sports bras and daily wear Bras, this as always been so difficult to achieve due to my daughter needing a FF cup. I couldn't recommend Rich Lingerie enough. Great quality and choices.

Orewa is no shopping hub. There are a few stores for ladies probably 50+ but otherwise selection is…read morepretty slim. Chances Surf looked like my only hope, but my hopes weren't high. Within 5 mins of being in there however I was heading toward the fitting room with 5 or 6 dresses. The selection is surprisingly good, especially if you are after beachwear. It was sale time (which probably encouraged me a bit) but I ended up leaving with two new dresses and a straw hat for $100. They have a random selection of labels, some surf such as Roxy and Billabong and some of the Asian shop lines (pretty girl etc.). They have variety, but not a great amount of stock. I think both a 19 year old and a 90 year old could find something in here; if that helps explain it...

For surf and street wear, with sale racks a feature any season, don't miss a visit to Chances. Just…read morein case you forgot your togs, sundress or boardies you can pop in and pick up the essential beach wear. They carry all the top brands like Ripcurl, Roxy, Element and Billabong and even if it's not on sale the prices are pretty reasonable for label brands. This store is a favourite of my kids and will always get our attention when we are visiting the island. We pop in on our way down to or back from Oneroa beach because it is right there.

I think the days of shopping at surf shops are behind me. Whenever I walk into one I get a wave of…read moreform 1 socials and trying wy to hard to impress boys. Still, for the odd thing, it doesn't help to look. I really like Amazon Takapuna because it's on the road, meaning not in a mall, meaning 100x better. I often waltz into here when i'm walking down this street, just to have a wee lookie. The staff are super friendly and chilled in the way you'd expect from a surf shop and leave you alone until you start to look like you might need some assistance, which i really like. There is a good range of boys and girls surf stuff in the fron and a pretty massive surfboard selection out the back. Theer are also wetsuits, shoes, sunnies, beanies and other surf and skate stuff. plus a few gears for the snow. The store is fun and vibrant and is perfect for the products. Being just up the road from Takapuna beach, it always feels pretty summery and relaxed in here which sets the scene nicely for the place.

This is a gem in Browns Bay. The clothes are fashionable and pretty unique. There's a small…read moreselection of sizes in each item so you can almost be sure you won't turn up to a party in the same outfit as someone else. I've recently done a few trips down in an attempt to find something awesome to rep to the 21sts I have coming out of my ears. I've yet to be so lucky. This is the kind of place you need to sift through the racks and you're either going to find something great that happens to be in your size or find nothing at all! I always head down to the back where the sales racks are! There are pretty darn good prices on some of the dresses. But there are also pretty horrendous prices on other things. Again - you have to search and find. My sister just bought a great bikini from here and a friend of mine was looking stunning last night in a blue peplum dress she found hiding in the sales rack!

I went into Tigerlily yesterday and the first thing I noticed was that the place smelled fricken…read moregood. They were burning some kind of scented candle in there and it was amazing. Such a good smell. Secondly, I got greeted straight away, asked how I was in a genuine, non-condescending tone. Good service man, good service. The clothes at Tigerlily aren't really my thing but they do some pretty good swimwear. It's all sort of resort wear, a lot of boho-esque stuff - a lot of patterns, very 'LA' or Sydney-esque clothing. It's an Australian brand so that sort of explains it. Go in for the smells man, the place smells great.

Awful and inconsiderate customer service. My oldest daughter had bought a laptop cover for her…read moresister's birthday. Unfortunately she got the size wrong and so went in their to see if it could be swapped for one the right size. The cover was completely unused and in the original store bag. Even though there was a price differential between this cover and the correctly-sized one, we were quite happy to pay the difference. Even so the manager of the store, after umming and ahhhing for over 10 minutes, finally said very curtly "sorry we cannot either refund nor exchange your item, goodbye!" Can you believe that? So RUDE!

A trip to the island isn't complete without browsing the shopping strip in Oneroa. Waiheke's Zola…read moreResortwear has a stylish range of summery dresses for every occasion including as the name suggests, resort wear. No matter what your age bracket there really is something on the shelves which will take your fancy, my mum whose in her 70s liked the look of quite a few frocks, same for me, the middle-aged mum, and as for the teenager girls, they were spoilt for choice in the bikini and bathing suit department. In fact best friend of daughter number two chose to spend her Christmas money on a darling little bikini which was promptly changed into for the afternoon swim.

Gorgeous women's clothing! This place would be great to spend ample time just trying on the ample…read morerange of cocktail dresses and designer threads made to impress. There are some really fabulous items here. If you have a daughter, or are that daughter, needing a formal gown, or want to look your best on that special date somewhere romantic, then let this be the place to for you to shop. There is also a selection of sophisticated hats available if the races are your thing. The mature lady at the counter was helpful and friendly when I went in, polite and ready to help if needed. I didn't have much time to fully engage myself in all the wonderful stock, however I will be sure to keep it in mind for future reference and will recommend it to friends. Please note that the range is made up of designer samples, seconds and end of line items. Serendipity is open 7 days week, no website unfortunately.

I have been a regular at Serendipity for over 10 years now and would have to say this is my all…read moretime favorite shop! I love their ever changing range of designer overseas samples and I regularly buy the Sabatini at a fraction of the normal retail price. Great friendly staff with excellent prices. I highly recommend this shop for discounted designer clothing.