Karen Walker

Ooooh. Drool. Just not on the clothes. I love Karen Walker more the accessories, rather than clothes. The jewellery, the sunglasses. Oooh the sunglasses. This store in the fantastic Britomart complex is exactly what you’d expect — they stock all the ranges, the store is pretty and styled, and the the staff are snobby bitches who will make you feel like you don’t earn enough or live in the right part of Auckland or you’re not wearing the right clothes or they can tell you dyed your hair yourself and you don’t belong in their shop. Well screw them, Karen Walker is worth all that rubbish. I do love the Britomart store and even when I’m not looking to buy, I enjoy having a nosy and browsing through the store because it’s just that pretty.

I’m a Karen Walker fan so this review is going to be biased. As you’ve probably gathered, Karen Walker stocks Karen Walker — all the ranges. Karen Walker, Runaway, Hi There by Karen Walker, Karen Walker Jewellery (all the lines), Karen Walker Eyewear, Karen Walker x Beau Coops shoes, etc. There’s no denying it — she’s a bloody empire.
The stores are completely on brand — clean, quirky, cool. The prices are reflective of the fact that she’s one of New Zealand’s leading fashion designers. That being said — you can buy in at every level. You can get socks for $ 30, a silver ring for around $ 60, a tee for $ 95 or go high end and grab a diamond ring for $ 50,000. That’s what makes her so successful. Generally speaking, the clothes are classic with a twist — I hate that phrase but it’s true. There’s generally a lot of suiting in the collections, great dresses and her prints are ubiquitous. Walk down any street in Auckland’s CBD and someone will be wearing something from Karen Walker — eyewear is hugely popular, as is the jewellery.

I like Karen Walker. But she’s definitely not my favourite New Zealand designer. For what she charges, you could do much better (her sunglasses are my faves…) The stores are small, intimate and clean… well representative of her general aesthetic, and the store people are always very well trained. If you are a tourist who’s into fashion you should explore one of her stores as she’s one the leading international fashion designers in New Zealand. Sales don’t happen all to often and when they do, they’re not so great. Topshop is also now affiliated with Karen Walker in Auckland, but keep in mind, the Topshop items she stocks are limited to what looks good with her collection and they are marked up 3 times what you could get on the online.