This story is part of the Ensemble Wellington edit, thanks to WellingtonNZ
A few years ago I was in Pōneke vintage store Thrift, and saw a dream sweater hanging on the racks. It was a deep blue, the fabric worn in perfectly and printed with two otters, cuddling, and the words ‘I Love Otters’. I didn’t buy it, but I still think about that adorable vintage sweater.
I knew that it wouldn't still be there when I revisited the store again recently, but I had hopes for some fresh kitschy vintage goodness (perhaps an ‘I love cats’ T-shirt?). I was on a brief but busy visit to the capital, but doing the Cuba Street vintage circuit was top of the priority list. For fashion obsessives, a trip to Wellington without a pilgrimage to the likes of Hunters and Collectors and Ziggurat and other vintage spots is simply out of the question.
Whether it’s designer consignment, charity op shops or secondhand American streetwear, vintage is a key part of Wellington’s style identity (alongside windy weather ware, and bureaucratic suiting). Many of these places are retail and fashion institutions, beloved by locals and out of towners alike.
Chloe Hill, a Wellington-based stylist and one of the most stylish people I know, regularly shares her local opshop clothing and homeware finds on Instagram and TikTok. She says that locals are great at op shopping and the stores themselves offer good pieces - which is a reflection of Wellington's long standing appreciation of individual expression. It’s also about the pieces that circulate in vintage stores.
“My favourite purchase is a layered burgundy and metallic dress I got at one of Hunters and Collectors’ infamous sales. It was [owner] Chrissy's and she had treasured it and worn it to her birthday party, and before that I believe it had belonged to a friend of hers,” says Chloe. “These special pieces move between wardrobes and get treasured by various people. We care for them, wear them and then pass them on so they can continue to be loved.”
There are plenty of other reasons that Wellington is so good at vintage. It is a city that deeply appreciates creativity and the arts, and with that comes a certain type of person who also appreciates self-expression, rejecting the mainstream and is happy to spend the time finding the perfect piece. Wellington’s student culture also has a big part to play, particularly with the more affordable vintage and secondhand stores across the city.
We must acknowledge here the wider conversations surrounding the gentrification of vintage and op shopping, and how it being ‘fashionable’ drives up prices and makes affordable clothing inaccessible to those who really need it - an issue for Pōneke, Aotearoa as a whole, and across the world. I don’t have the answers or a solution, despite regularly overanalysing my own vintage consumption, other than to say that like with all shopping, it’s about being mindful of what you’re buying and only taking what you really love and will use/wear.
With the various options across Te Whanganui-a-Tara, it is easy to get overwhelmed, but having spoken to different locals and vintage fans, the key for visitors is to focus on certain neighbourhoods which offer their own specialties.
Cuba Street and its surrounds is a good place to start for vintage fashion; walkable and with lots of options. They’re all very much of the curated vintage persuasion, with more expensive designer options, including the iconic Hunters and Collectors and Ziggurat, Emporium for vintage streetwear, Tangent (groovy vintage menswear with a focus on the 70s), Spacesuit, and Thrift.
Nearby is Recycle Boutique, including its fancy new opening on Ghuznee Street, and City Mission on the corner of Taranaki and Abel Smith Streets. Bizarre Bazaar is in walking distance on Tory Street, with a wonderful edit of designer vintage like the 2000s Paul Frank singlet and divine Courrèges coat when I paid a visit, alongside pieces from independent designers.
Chloe says that if you prefer to rummage for homewares, head out to Petone and up and down Jackson Street; while CBD stores like Add+Vintage and the Salvation Army Family Store on Taranaki Street are good for furniture.
If you have a car, head out to op shops in Upper Hutt, Kaori and Johnsonville. Take Me Back in Upper Hutt was suggested to me several times as a particular treasure trove.
Other spots that I wasn’t able to visit myself (next time!) but were all recommended to me by some trustworthy Instagram friends with great taste included Aunty Dana's Op Shop in Newtown, with funds raised going to Wellington-based but nationwide transgender organisation Gender Minorities Aotearoa, the Karori op shops (the St Johns behind the library got a specific shout out), Helter Skelter vintage market in Gracefield, Lower Hutt, Te Omanga Hospice stores, various Mary Potter Hospice stores (there’s one on Cuba Street, but lots around the city), the Newtown Vintage & Craft Market on the first and second Saturday of each month, and the St Vincent de Paul stores in Petone and Aro Valley (near restaurant Rita, the Garage Project Tap Room and Aro Video with its vintage signwriting outside, if you’re making a trip of it).
I know that I will be missing somebody’s favourite, and that in itself is the true beauty of Wellington’s vintage offering - there’s something for everyone, and it’s about the unexpected joy of discovering something, or somewhere, unexpectedly.
