Long time lurker, first time poster here.
I was wondering where the good spots of Auckland are to get some smart casual clothes from? Important factors could be quality vs price? And if you're gonna say dressmart onehunga, naming the store would be super helpful.
Posted May 1, 2020, 2:52 AM UTC
Budget?
Barkers has good quality/price (CONSIDERING NZ OPTIONS). Problem is you'll bump into people that have the same shirt as you.
Ditto for Barkers. Best option in their price range IMO
Smart casual clothing in NZ can be pretty hit or miss. Barkers and Hallensteins are probably the most popular guys but they are just too common. I swear I've seen the same black shirt with purple dots at parties, work functions, casual fridays etc. Ezibuy, KMart, The Warehouse are probably your budget options but again, they're pretty grim.
If in NZ, I usually wait until Rodd and Gunn does a sale. However for the most part, I just buy my stuff from overseas. Banana Republic, JCrew, and Bonobos all sell the same quality shirt as your Barkers and Hallensteins but at much cheaper prices and designs that at least won't make you look the same as two other guys on your work floor.
The US retailers also have multiple fit options for people that are short and round, tall and lanky, athletic around the shoulders, thicc thighs etc. where as NZ retailers just have a one size fits all shirt.
Check out Bonobos now. I just bought some shirts on their Final Sale page at about $9USD for a long sleeve button up shirt. Shopping to NZ is about $35 and they usually don't charge tax.
Rarely see people under 40 wearing RnG, which tends to not be Reddit's demographic
they have some good stuff, when they get the color right. Like their linen shirts.
depends what you mean by smart casual. Its pretty broad. Are you just talking about the standard 'minimalist' look with a oxford shirt and some chinos/slacks/jeans? if you are under a strict budget you can't go wrong with Zara, H&M or Barkers/Rodd and Gunn etc.
If you have some $$ to use, I'd wait until lvl3 is lifted and see what COS has to offer. They had the unfortunate timing with COVID-19 but they have some unique silouettes but still minimalistic casual wear. You can take a look at their US store to see what kind of stuff they have. Not sure what the NZ stores will stock though.
If your still in your 20’s I reckon you can still find really nice affordable’s at cotton on
Slightly OT but fully recommend signing up for onceit.co.nz and checking out the clothing sales. Helps to add a bit more variety to your wardrobe, and part of the fun is forgetting what you've ordered then getting a surprise courier delivery 😆
If you wanna splurge, Edit. on Vulcan Lane and Newmarket is a NZ owned small business that specialises in Italian/international casual wear.
There’s some more contemporary street wear stuff but also stock a semi-formal range of blazers (softer shoulders, less structured so you can wear without looking like your wearing dads shit), shirting and trousers that would probably tick the necessary boxes.
Once lockdowns dropped to level two I recommend checking out the Vulcan Lane store - prices aren’t cheap but its a beautiful product and there’s a clear vision behind its curation.
For me smart casual is jeans and a button shirt. I prefer black jeans and Kmart jeans are really nice for the $20ish they are. I don't know if it's because I wipe my hand sweat or not but the thighs fade in around 2 years. Have had a pair for 7 years now and it still holds up (with a belt lol).
AS Colours are my go to for button shirts and just plain coloured shirts. They also have pants if you want to have a look at those. The bonus for AS Colours is that they are local made in NZ clothes. They have a few stores but the only one I know of is on the corner of Symonds and Mt Eden in the city
AS colour is great I agree. NZ company, but not made in NZ tho.