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Sydney's shops vary from those with international cachet to Aboriginal art galleries, opal shops, craft bazaars, and weekend flea markets. If you're interested in buying genuine Australian products, look carefully at the labels. Stuffed koalas and didgeridoos made anywhere but in Australia are a standing joke.
Aboriginal art includes historically functional items, such as boomerangs, wooden bowls, and spears, as well as paintings and ceremonial implements that testify to a rich culture of legends and dreams. Although much of this artwork remains strongly traditional in essence, the tools and colors used in Western art have fired the imaginations of many Aboriginal artists. Works on canvas are now more common than works on bark. Much of the best work of Arnhem Land and the Central Desert Region (close to Darwin and Alice Springs, respectively) finds its way into Sydney galleries.
Australia has a virtual monopoly on the world's supply of opals. The least expensive of these fiery gemstones are triplets, which consist of a thin shaving of opal mounted on a plastic base and covered by a plastic, glass, or quartz crown. Doublets are a slice of mounted opal without the capping. The most expensive stones are solid opals, which cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand. You can pick up opals at souvenir shops all over the city, but if you want a valuable stone you should visit a specialist. Sydney is also a good hunting ground for other jewelry, from the quirky to the gloriously expensive.
This relaxed and friendly beachside market at Bondi is the place to go for clothes—vintage and by up-and-coming designers—plus handmade jewelry, organic cosmetics, art, retro furniture, and secondhand goods. Look closely at the faces in the crowd—you'll often find visiting celebrities lurking behind messy bed hair and dark glasses. The markets are on every Sunday 10–4.
The city's largest department store maintains a reputation for excellent service and high-quality goods. Clothing by many of Australia's finest designers is on display here, and the store also sells its own fashion label at reasonable prices.
About 200 stalls crammed with clothing, plants, crafts, jewelry, and souvenirs fill this busy churchyard market (sometimes called Paddington Bazaar). Distinctly New Age and highly fashion-conscious, the market is an outlet for a handful of avant-garde clothing designers. Go early as it can get very crowded.
This should be the first stop for serious bush adventurers heading for wild Australia and beyond. Maps, books, and mounds of gear are tailored especially for the Australian outdoors.
This is a splendid Victorian-era building with more than 200 boutiques, cafés, and antiques shops. The building is open 24 hours, so you can window-shop even after the stores have closed. Guided history tours, which run 45 minutes, cost A$15 and depart 11:30 am Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Book at the concierge on the ground floor.
The place to go for riding boots, Akubra hats, Drizabone raincoats, and moleskin trousers—the type of clothes worn by Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman in the movie Australia.
This ornate three-story shopping arcade built in 1891 runs between George Street and Pitt Street Mall and is one of Sydney's most elegant shopping strips. Beautiful Victorian-era floor tiles, magnificent cedar staircases, and charmingly old-fashioned shopfronts help make the shopping here refreshingly chain-store free. The upstairs galleries are home to high-end Australian fashion designers and jewelers, while the ground floor has a charming mix of cozy specialty tea and cake shops, beauty and gift stores, and fashion boutiques. Strand Hatters is the best men's hat store in the city and the place to buy an Akubra or fedora. The arcade is bookended by two of the country's iconic chocolate stores—Haigh's Chocolates at George Street and Koko Black on Pitt Street—and both are virtually irresistible.
This sprawling covered bazaar transforms the upper end of George Street into a multicultural collage of music, food, arts, crafts, and entertainment. It's open weekends 10–5. Be sure to check out the new Rocks Foodies Market with delicious fare, on Friday 9–3.
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