This is as unlikely a review as I would ever expect to be writing. If I had passed Jessica Bridal…read moreon the street I would have maybe got a little bit sick in my mouth. No offence it's just these kinds of shops are pretty cheesy ya know? However I first found it on the Internet and boy am I glad I did. It was here I first got the inspiration for wearing a ruby red dress on my wedding day. Indeed, I nearly bought one that I saw featured in the "After Six" section of their website. But it wasn't quite right and luckily for me my friend the up-and-coming brilliant fashion designer Kiri Nathan was prepared to do it for me at mates rates. But. Finding the right fabric in the right colour proved to be darn near impossible and I hunted high and low in all the nooks of crannies of Auckland where such a thing as ruby red silk chiffon might be found. To no avail. I then remembered where it all began - Jessica's. I looked online again - yes, all their gowns were available in the full colour range of silks, satins and SILK CHIFFONS. I went in and explained myself and she said it was no problem at all; they would be happy to supply me with the fabric only. True, the colour samples were tiny but it was closest I had got by far and the price was RIDICULOUS. (Many capitals here - it's that kind of story.) Three weeks later as promised my package was ready to collect and I had my fabric. Even Kiri was amazed at such a resource - we had literally been to every trade fabric house in the city, along with many others and clever Jessica Bridal has a fabulous quality source straight from China at excellent prices. And she was lovely to deal with and so happy to help. And she does do some nice dresses if you can get over the whole "bridal" thing, which I never really did. I just don't like being told how I SHOULD do things but I'm sure Jessica would never do that; she's deeply choice.

Lovely dresses and a very helpful staff. I was the bridesmaid so had the easy job but the whole…read moreexperience was almost like you see on TV (without the champagne). I'd recommend it to other brides and bridesmaids.

When I was looking for a wedding dress there was nothing in stores that really caught my eye, I…read moreliked a lot of the dresses online but never really trusted buying one of them. I took a few ideas to ashleigh and together we came up with exactly what I wanted! Ashleigh was so great to deal with, from the first photos I sent her to the drawings and final fittings! She made the whole experience exciting and easy! Ashleigh produced a very high quality garment and I would highly recommend her.

I was really happy with my consult at Astra. The stylists were super helpful and made me feel…read morereally good in everything I tried on. The range was also extensive so I had options at different price points. I would recommend Astra for a wide selection of well price gowns.

I wish I could do no stars. I am incredibly appalled at the customer service. Read the fine print…read moreof their contracts carefully. This company does not deal in good faith whatsoever. They are incredibly arrogant. They don't care about their customers, only their money. Just find another store, literally any other company will give more of a shit about you. It's your special day you're planning, and no one deserves to feel the way they treated me. Find ANYWHERE ELSE to buy a dress from.

This has always been one of the go-to's in the back of my head. It stocks an evenly split…read morecombination of things I think are awesome and things I think are rather hideous. The hideous things include dresses forty-year-olds would wear, un necessary frills and excessive netting or bows. The awesome things are affordable and cool dresses and funky tops. I once bought a dress to wear to a wedding from here. It was the perfect dress for the occasion... dressy but not OTT. There are actually full on ball dress type things down the back but I never really venture into that lot. I start on the sales racks to find the $15 bargains and then I make my way around the perimeter. Some of the stuff is really cheap and some of it is slightly more expensive but totally worth it for the items you'd be getting. I think it's refreshing shopping here and checking out the different and unique items that aren't mass produced and pawned off to shops like glassons. It may not be designer or high end or fancy labels but it's got some cool stuff that's for sure!

We had made an appointment. This was a new kind of shopping for me... actually having to book a…read moretime to look at clothes. But I guess that does make sense, these aren't just your average every day clothes these are very expensive and crazy beautiful wedding gowns. I wasn't the one getting married so I was there to give my opinion and input. But once I walked in and got a glimpse of all the stunning gowns I was captivated. I don't have plans to marry anytime soon but here I was looking longingly at the dresses and wondering what I would look like wearing them. It's kind of embarrassing to admit now but at the time I was like a moth to a flame. My sister, who actually got to try the dresses on, thought they were just as beautiful as I did. She tried on a huge number of dresses and figured out which parts she likes and which she didn't. Then, after trying on every possible dress style you could find, a sketch was drawn up including all the aspects of the dresses she liked. This created her own "ultimate dress". Very cool I thought. Obviously the idea was to then pay a huge amount of money to have that dress specially made. It didn't get quite that far because it was quite pricey, but the experience was a damn good one!

Since when did craft fairs become sooo cool? I'm pretty sure that back in the day craft fairs were…read morejust full of knitted jumpers and painted eggshells. Well, that is certainly not the case these days. At Crafternoon Tea specifically, you'll find cool terrariums and succulents, beautiful prints of pencil drawn animals (look at the photos), modern jewellery and these adorable woolen hot waterbotttle covers (ok, so that's sounds a little nanna-ish but trust me, they're cool). The fair runs one Saturday a month from 10am - 2pm in the old church at the top of Bond St. Head along first thing and then stop in at one of the many cafes nearby to refuel. Perfect Saturday morning activity!

Crafternoon Tea is such a good market to visit. It's held in Kingsland in the Trinity Methodist…read moreChurch Hall in Kingsland, a great hub for lots of creative and crafty people. It's usually packed with loads of stalls and people milling about them. There's everything from soap, to clothes, cupcakes, jewelry and more. And the best thing about it is that anyone can have a stall for around $30. However, they stress that it needs to be handmade or retro and nothing imported can be sold. I think this is such a good idea to keep the market, well, a market. It's so great to see local people using local resources to create awesome Kiwi products. They also have lots of tutorials on their website that show you how to make some of your very own handmade delights.

My experience with Bridal Brilliance was a dream come true, as I found my beautiful dress here…read more Having heard from my fiancés sister that this wedding boutique had some very special dresses, I was drawn to South Auckland, even though I live miles away on the North Shore. Communicating via email with Belinda the owner of the store, she was more than happy to slot me in for a 1:30 pm session that Saturday. I arrived at a gorgeous home overlooking Flat Bush, with a stunning driveway of palms to welcome me. An uninterested German shepherd sniffed us hello, as we walked past the front door of the home that the store adjoins and shares location with. I tried on about six dresses, all of unique and individual style, my first pick was the dress to be, and I got to try it as many times as I wished before deciding I had to have it. Not only is there a variety of styles, colours and sizes, but also beautiful accessories too. I felt very relaxed, and at ease with my visit, and I really can't believe I have my dress!

Surman's is a menswear store near the more well stocked mall in New Lynn. With a mall almost…read moreentirely composed of well stocked fashion stores it begs the question of why I should go out of my way to this shop? The majority of clothes on stock are made for the larger sized male. The price is not reflective of the quality of ugly baroque patterned shirts and white suit combinations. The staff sat clearly in sight, smacking their lips during a lunchtime meal and ungraciously ignoring me. So I couldn't think of a good reason why you would want to go out of your way to visit this rather poorly organized store. Stick to the more mundane mall stores where at least you are guaranteed service.

I'm not usually in the market for buying men's clothes, but I have been in here a few times and am…read morea fan. The first time I was looking for the post office, which is theoretically on Great North Road but in reality isn't, and the kind chap who is the proprietor here gave me very good directions. I've also been in here with someone who did want to buy men's clothes, and again, the owner was very gracious and helpful. This is the sort of clothes shop where everything is good quality; most of it isn't absolutely cutting-edge fashion, but if you dressed exclusively from here, you'd be bound to be classically well turned out all the time. They can also tailor clothes here as well, and I'd bet that they do a good job at that too. I wish there were woman's clothes shops that were more like this place.