The Department Store

The brainchild of Kiwi designers Karen Walker and Dan Gosling (who teamed up with stylist Stephen Marr), this centrally located concept store bills itself as the "Colette of Auckland." This is a bit of an exaggeration, since shopping in New Zealand is a far cry from that in Paris. But the selection offers an interesting – and quite personal – edit of favorites, ranging from haute independent labels to lots of cool Australasian designers. Beauty and home accessories round out the offerings. It's located across the Auckland Harbour Bridge, about a 20-minute drive from the Sofitel, in the coastal northern suburb of Takapuna, so this is really just a destination for committed concept store fans.