Interesting women's clothes shops in Sydney?
 

A friend from Europe is coming for a visit (I live near Sydney) - she's really into clothes and wants to go shopping. She likes quirky, innovative, creative design at reasonable prices. She's not into expensive name brand stuff and never shops in a department store.

All I can think of is to tell her to walk around Paddington, Darlinghurst and Surrey Hills and find little boutiques there, but I actually don't have a clue.

Anyone help with stores or areas?

Here's some suggestions, they are all Australian designers.

Sark in Crown st Surry Hills has quirky, interesting clothes, not too expensive. Although, I've only ever bought things on sale.

There's a cluster of shops in Darlinghurst on Oxford st (near Flinders st): High Tea with Mrs Woo, Gorman, and Alphaville.

Then heading away from the city, Alistair Trung in Oxford St near Glenmore rd Paddington, also in QVB. http://www.alistairtrung.com.au/

Jack + Jac have good jumpers, that's next to Trung.

There are a number of boutiques in William st, Paddington. At the very end is the consignment shop, di nuovo, that sometimes has bargains.

Akira is more expensive at the very top of Oxford st, corner of Queen st Woollahra.

The Urban Walkabout guides are quite useful for shopping:
http://www.urbanwalkabout.com/sydney/

If you are able to be in the Paddington area on a Saturday, the markets there have a lot of interesting clothing - many stallholders are just starting out in the trade and trying out ideas & making themselves known.

The markets begin at 10am in the church grounds at 395 Oxford Street. See www.paddingtonmarkets.com.au for details. Di

I second the idea of the Urban Walkabout guides - an excellent guide to local businesses and quirky neighbourhoods. Also Balmain, in the west, has some interesting shops. Paddington is probably the best anyone can recommend for innovative fashion but as a shopping centre it has come off the boil a bit. When you drive through nowadays there are many empty shops. The shops there now have to compete with the Westfield shopping centre in Bondi Junction, which has a lot of high-end fashion and of course better parking than Paddington - Woollahra, where after all, you can only compete for street parking. Even Double Bay, which used to be the centre for high-end fashion, is suffering because of the Westfield. I am not really shopping for interesting clothes much nowadays, but it would be hard to go past Paddington, even up as far as Queen St.

Lavandula

I should probably have mentioned that the shops from Paddington leading up to Darlinghurst are interesting as well - that funny part of the world we call 'Paddinghurst'. No closed shops in that area.

Lavandula

Thank you - great information which will keep her busy for at least a week or three.