Shopping in Sydney

I know I've said it about 75 times--I fell in love with Sydney. I had only heard wonderful things about it before we left for the trip, and I was looking forward to every minute of it, especially the shopping. Or, "window shopping" I should say. Sydney is expensive. VERY expensive. And I had my eye on all the dazzlingly cute designer boutiques full of stuff that I'd never be able to get my hands on in the U.S. without having to order online.

Starting with the shops in the Strand Arcade, a three-story Victorian-style building right in the city center.

 

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Fleur Wood

I just loved moseying around all the cute, carefully decorated shops. One of my favorites would have to be Fleur Wood--every piece of clothing was so romantic and delicate. I don't wear a lot of slinky, fluttery dresses, but these I wanted to wear. The sea foam skirts and peachy slip dresses were so tempting. I also loved the way the store was designed with the beautiful ballerina wall art, ceramic bunnies, and clean, white furniture. And I'm bummed that I didn't grab a picture of the fitting rooms! Each door was a book shelf, and you had to move the entire shelf as if it was a secret door in order to get in and out of the fitting rooms.

World

Along with a few shops in the Strand, I really enjoyed checking out the boutiques along Oxford Street in Paddington, one of Sydney's surrounding neighborhoods. We walked the entire block back into the city center and stumbled across an interesting little store called World along the way. This shop is VERY interesting. The clothes were one thing--retro print dresses, sheer silk collared blouses, and bright pinstripe suits. But the clothes weren't even the most interesting part. It had to have been all the accessories, decor, and housewares, like the huge collection of vintage china plates with little curse words written on them.

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Gorman

And then there was Gorman. I'd been looking forward to visiting one of these shops during our stay and hoping maybe I could talk myself into buying just one thing. And that I did, after lots of deliberation. I probably wanted every look from the spring/summer collection. The predominant shades of purple, orange, and blue were vibrant yet subtle, and styled perfectly with some great neutral pieces. I finally settled on a high-waisted, multicolored velvet skirt. How crazy does that sound? I can't wait to put that outfit post together.

And those were just the highlights. I feel like I spent a good portion of our time in Sydney scouring the shops rather than sightseeing. Perhaps this is just my kind of "sightseeing."

Do you like to shop when you're on vacation?