Shopping in Sydney
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FEATURED
Queen Victoria Building
Unbelievably, the grand ol’ QVB (1898) was repeatedly slated for demolition before it was restored in the mid-1980s. It’s a high-Victorian masterpiece occupying an entire city block. Sure, the 200 speciality shops are great, but check out the wrought-iron balconies, the Byzantine copper domes, the stained-glass shopfronts, the mosaic floors, the replica crown jewels, the ballroom, the tinkling baby grand and the hyperkitsch animated Royal Clock (featuring the Battle of Hastings and an hourly beheading of King Charles I). Outside there’s an imposing statue of Queen Vic herself; nearby is a wishing well featuring a bronze replica of her beloved pooch, Islay (which disconcer…
reviewed
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The Rocks Market
The promoter’s line goes, ‘Choose something you like, somewhere you love’. Under a long white canopy, the 150 stalls here are a little on the tacky side of the tracks (fossils, opals, faux Aboriginal art etc) but are still worth a gander. Maybe what you choose to like will be the buskers and a beer at the pub.
reviewed
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Original & Authentic Aboriginal Art
This trustworthy gallery specialises in works from four specific regions – the Central and Western Deserts, Queensland, Arnhem Land and the Kimberley. There is info available on the artists, and some more unusual stuff for sale, such as painted glass and traditional sand paintings preserved on canvas.
reviewed
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C
Red Eye Records
Entering this red-walled rock refuge is like waking up inside a huge, hung-over eyeball. The shelves are stocked with a rampaging collection of classic, rare and collectable records, CDs, crass rock T-shirts, books, posters and music DVDs. New music is at the city centre branch. Rock on!
reviewed
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Queen Victoria Building
Unbelievably, the grand ol’ QVB (1898) was repeatedly slated for demolition before it was restored in the mid-1980s. It’s a high-Victorian masterpiece occupying an entire city block. Sure, the 200 speciality shops are great, but check out the wrought-iron balconies, the Byzantine copper domes, the stained-glass shopfronts, the mosaic floors, the replica crown jewels, the ballroom, the tinkling baby grand and the hyperkitsch animated Royal Clock (featuring the Battle of Hastings and an hourly beheading of King Charles I). Outside there’s an imposing statue of Queen Vic herself; nearby is a wishing well featuring a bronze replica of her beloved pooch, Islay (which disconcer…
reviewed
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E
Strand Arcade
With its stained-glass windows and iron-lacework balconies, this quirky centre makes for a truly atmospheric shopping trip. Built in 1892, this is the city's only Victorian arcade to survive in its original form and it rivals the QVB in the ornateness stakes. Three floors of designer fashions, Australiana and old-world coffee shops will make your short cut through here considerably longer. Top Australian designers commune and collude on level one: Leona Edmiston, low-cut, butt-hugger jeans from Bettina Liano, devilishly daring gear from Wayne Cooper, Sydney’s best swimwear from Zimmermann and fishnets and flounce from Alannah Hill. Jeweller Love & Hatred is also here.
reviewed
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F
Westfield Bondi Junction
Vast. That’s the only word to describe Australia’s flashest shopping mall. Expect to get lost; the space–time continuum does funny things as you explore the 438 stores set over six levels. It’s even worse in the mazelike underground car park. Big-brand fashion outlets include Morrissey, Bracewell, Calibre and Leona Edmiston, alongside the big internationals such as Hugo Boss, Armani and Versace. Australia’s two big department stores – Myer and David Jones – do battle here, plus there are cinemas, bars, food courts… Everyone’s spending up big, but the vibe is oddly depressed – smiles on faces are rare here.
reviewed
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Penny Arcade
This unusual concept store from well-known Sydney designer Michael Bracewell brings together his own label and vintage women's clothes he's sourced from Paris and London. It then adds to the mix a funky collection of retro furniture, particularly sought-after Danish and Australian pieces. You'll find straight-up Bracewell stores at Westfield Bondi Junction and 274 Oxford St, Paddington, and a factory outlet in Market City .
reviewed
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Holy Moley
You can’t miss this one: its murals of Bob De Niro in Taxi Driver and Jack Nicholson axing down the door in The Shining are the first things you see as you exit Newtown station. Inside it’s all spunky-punky T-shirts, studded belts, baby-doll dresses and sexy lingerie. ‘Don’t be shy!’ say the girl staff, ‘You can come in – we’ve got bras on.’
reviewed
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Queen Street
Despite its status as the premier antique-shopping strip in Australia (its first antique shop opened in 1957), refined, tree-lined Queen St retains a village vibe, with pricey boutiques, delis, summer chestnuts hanging heavy on the bough and kids who say, ‘Hey, nice Ferrari!’. There was once a famous annual street fair here, until noise-phobic residents shut it down in the early ’80s.
reviewed
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Simon Johnson
Simon Johnson is the place to fill your high-class picnic hamper. You’ll find the tastiest olives, the creamiest French and Italian chocolates and the crispiest English biscuits, along with imported olive oils and vinegars. There’s also a whole-room fromagerie, and complimentary coffee to sip as you peruse the shelves. The store in Pyrmont hosts cooking seminars.
reviewed
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Bonsai Exotique
OK, so maybe you won’t be able to fit a foot-high, $7500 miniature Japanese maple from 1978 in your luggage, but this shop is amazing to check out even if you don’t buy anything. Japanese temple tunes caress the airwaves as you wander between diminutive 1994 Rhodesian wisterias and 1979 Himalayan cedars, while earnest staff issue instructions on preventing fungal infections in root systems.
reviewed
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Enlightened Elephant
This progressive pachyderm scores high on the feel-good scale, selling ‘gifts that give twice’: intricately beaded toys, jewellery, coasters, beaded beer cans and bags constructed from recycled car tires are all made by HIV-positive and impoverished women in South Africa, Bangladesh and East Timor. All are sourced from not-for-profit community-based groups that channel money directly to the artisans.
reviewed
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Myer
At seven storeys, Myer (formerly Grace Bros) is one of Sydney’s largest stores and a prime venue for after-Christmas sales. It’s marginally less swanky than David Jones (the difference between Jennifer Hawkins and Megan Gale), but you’ll still find plenty of high-quality goods and some slick cafes. There’s another branch at Westfield Bondi Junction.
reviewed
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Wayne Cooper
Top Australian designers commune and collude on level one: Leona Edmiston , low-cut, butt-hugger jeans from Bettina Liano , devilishly daring gear from Wayne Cooper , Sydney's best swimwear from Zimmermann and fishnets and flounce from Alannah Hill . Jeweller Love & Hatred is also here.
reviewed
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Orson & Blake
Sydney’s most stylin’ homewares emporium will make your house look cool even if you’re not – everything from notepads to garden statues at the height of chic. Head upstairs for clothes by top-notch Australian and Kiwi designers, plus opulent scarves, handbags and jewellery. The branch in Surry Hills has a cafe, more furniture and kooky books.
reviewed
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Title
Offbeat and downbeat, Title is a left-leaning book and music store focusing on distinct pop-cultural streams, seemingly determined at random (but probably at the owner’s whim – how very High Fidelity ). Jazz, hip hop, Latin, classical, electronica and soul CDs and vinyl shoulder up next to imported Neal Cassady biographies and Courtney Love’s diary.
reviewed
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Leona Edmiston
Leona Edmiston knows frocks – from little and black to whimsically floral or all-out sexy. Her exuberantly feminine, flirtatious and fun designs are cut from the best cotton, silk and jersey fabrics in colours that range from luscious, sophisticated reds to pinstripes and polka dots. Also at Westfield Bondi Junction and the Strand Arcade.
reviewed
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Iain Dawson Gallery
A hip new gallery is just what Paddo needed – the old school has been on top for far too long! Iain Dawson specialises in emerging Australian and Southeast Asian artists (Hugh Ford, Anna Lochtenberg Williams) in their first five years of professional artistry. Sculptors, photographers, painters and screen printers – buy ’em now before they make it big!
reviewed
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Herringbone
Combining Australian design with Italian woven fabrics, Herringbone produces something surprisingly English-looking – beautiful men’s and women’s shirts with crisp collars and bright colours. When the stock market went south in 2008, suit sales took a king hit, but ‘Bone boys have somehow endured. Also at the QVB in the city.
reviewed
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Gould’s Book Arcade
Possibly the world’s scariest secondhand bookstore, the floor-to-ceiling racks and stacks seem in perpetual danger of burying you under a tonne of Stalinist analysis. All manner of musty out-of-print books are stocked, with owner Bob’s leftie leanings displayed along one very large wall. Cassettes, 40,000 records and old video tapes, too (VHS and Beta!).
reviewed
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Martin Browne Fine Art
The clientele here tends to be more bourgeois than bohemian, but it’s nice to know that there’s still art in the famous Yellow House. Focusing on the contemporary, Browne represents several prominent Australian and international artists. ‘It’s not just about image-making, ’ says a surly sexagenarian in the doorway.
reviewed
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Done Art & Design
Ken Done is like George Michael – he peaked in the ’80s but he just won’t go away. His optimistic, colourful images of Sydney icons are primed for the tourist market: they’re emblazoned on everything from T-shirts to handbags. Strewth Ken, not another Opera House mouse pad… For more, check out his nearby gallery.
reviewed
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Gleebooks
Gleebooks is generally regarded as Sydney’s best bookshop. The aisles are packed with politics, arts and general fiction, and staff really know their stuff. Its annual literary program attracts big-name locals (such as Tim Winton and Michael Leunig) and international writers. Children’s and secondhand books are at their other store.
reviewed
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100% Mambo
Bold, off-the-wall, comic-bookish graphics adorn street-, skate- and surfwear for men and women at this popular store. Mambo artist and musician Reg Mombasa is a local legend - he even designed the shirts for the Australian Olympic team in 2000. Expect a wide range of goodies (including watches, backpacks and coffee table books). Also at 80 The Corso, Manly.
reviewed
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House of Priscilla
Not only is Priscilla the queen of the desert, she also has her own boutique – not bad for a cinematic bus. Run by some of the city’s leading drag artistes, Priscilla is the place for feathered angel wings and boas, naughty nurse outfits, wigs, kinky thigh-high boots and sequinned frocks to fit front-row forwards. Very camp women also welcome.
reviewed
