Southwest Trader came to my attention as I was captivated by my brother's wedding ring because of…read moreits exquisite uniqueness and he told me about South West Trader on Oxford Street. Brazillian snakewood curved in thick sterling silver bestowed him eternally and I knew I had to visit the designer of such a striking piece of adornment. South West Trader is on Oxford Street at the Darlinghurst end and the store is frequented with visitors either searching that unusual fashion piece with my many visits I have shared the store with what seems like groups of rock bands. Most come to admire the collection of both Native American jewellery and independent Australian designers. The Indian tribes of the South West including the Navajo and Zuni are mostly known to craft jewellery from sterling silver, gold and stones. The most popular stones used are turquoise, coral and different shells. Southwest Traders stock many Zuni and Navajo crafted pieces. Rare wood jewellery are made from Brazilian snakewood or ebony wood which is one of the hardest materials to shape from given that these types of wood can break easily. Each piece of jewellery whether it be a ring, bracelet, cuff or necklace is hand designed - most of the pieces also have a story and each as mesmerising as the other. Individual design collections showcase the works of designers River Wilks and Siobhan Way. It is a store that has many stunning stories in each individual piece and it doesn't require over the top recommendations because the stock simply speaks for itself.

Is Hugo the Boss? In the fashion world he is certainly one of them. I had a browse in the Hugo…read moreBoss, Bondi Junction store and although I don't have a spare $160 to spend on a T Shirt, but it's Hugo Boss, that's what you expect. The clothes have such a strong and distinctive sense of style and are beautifully made. At least unlike other high price fashion ranges, Hugo's clothes are of a level of quality that will last a long time and have a sense of style which will not go out of fashion after a season. I feel a little awkward in the Hugo Boss shop, going in I know it is beyond my price range and the shop feels so high end, I feel like I shouldn't really be here. I don't like wearing suits, but if I had a Hugo Boss suit I would be happy to wear it. I would love to own a Boss jacket or Jeans, maybe one day. It's nice to have a dream.

One of the leading brands in clothing and accessories that everyone wants in their wardrobe is Hugo…read moreBoss. And their store in Bondi is definitely a great place to shop for clothes that fit your personality and style. With a wide range of products from the Hugo Boss collections, just browsing through the store is a joy in itself. Clothes for men, women, and children are all available. If you want luxurious and elegant, there's Boss Black. If you're looking for hip and refreshing, you can check out the Boss Green collection. And if you don't know what exactly you want, there is a very friendly staff who's more than willing to assist you in making a purchase. Hugo Boss in Bondi always comes highly recommended.

Best designer shop in Sydney. You honestly could be in any major design savvy city in the world,…read moreand this beautiful shop would still be hard to beat. I've had the most wonderful customer service, and the gifts through to the art and furniuture is first class, and really quite unique. They're always doing something different, so you can pop in regularly and still be suprised.

I can't find my camera. I left it somewhere and I don't know where. Calling around to the places…read moreI visited, I contacted the store manager at Becker Minty, Woollahra. He was the most helpful man and even though he didn't see it in the shop he was going to contact the worker who was there the day before and call me back (all of this not even knowing if I left it in his store or not). I eventually found my camera and contacted the store manager thanking him for his efforts. The store itself is situated in the courtyard where patrons of Bills are dining. A sister store to there location in Potts Point, this store is much more compact, but has a great variety of beautiful items. I've purchased a couple of gifts here and there unique selection of items and beautiful gift wrapping make it such a great place to get one of a kind item gifts. The last time I was there I was looking at a selection of beautiful designed silk scarves. The store manager pulled out a number of designs for me to see and we had some fun trying different styles and colours. There is always such a great vibe about this store and the staff is helpful without being pushy or salesman-like. If you are on the look out for a sophisticated and unique gift for someone or just want to find something to pamper yourself, Becker Minty is a great place to look.

I hate the term 'recycled fashion'. It immediately conjures up images of sifting through smelly…read moreclothes for the odd something that just might be salvageable. Blue Spinach is the antidote to this preconception of mine. The best of the best in 'recycled fashion', Blue Spinach is a designer consignment store located in the depths of Darlinghurst (well not really, it is just off the main drag of Victoria Street). These guys have a beautiful range of rescued clothes and accessories for both men and women, with a real focus on quality. I bought a beautiful Juliette Hogan silk blouse ($135). It is so unique and the quality is so fantastic I have never once thought of it as 'recycled fashion'.

This store is as weird as spinach would be if it were blue. The store lady was nice enough but not…read morewarm and the men and women's clothes there, along with the shoes, kind of imitate their owner's style. They're nice enough but not warm - a description which is enough to scare off most of Sydney's trendy, pretty young things who like to feel comforted (definitely not comfy) in their clothes. In Grease analogy that would mean that Sandy would never go here (not even in her sexy end-of-movie phase). But Rizzo? Most definitely. And if you like paying less for big-brand name items you're in good territory. But keep mind that the stuff (most stuff? Perhaps some stuff?) here is recycled. I didn't walk out of here with anything but like I had mentioned (warned?) this is not my kind of store. I'm not Rizzo, folks.

Come As You Are, but leave looking like everyone else? I guess you run the risk of being…read morecommonplace if you shop at stores that carry the big name brands. Many of these brands are based the States, however, so not necessarily everyone in Australia will be looking like you after shopping here. J Brand jeans has finally got with the picture and started cranking out an array of different color denim. WIth your hip primary colors, as well as the more reserved basic denim blues, J Brand are worth the money.They will give you an arse lift as quickly as you can say Kim Kardashian. Some other brands at Come As You Are include True Religion, American Vintage, Rock and Republic, Old Molly, Velvet and Masons. Although the style isn't ground-breakingly innovative, there are some fun separates and classic jeans in here that might find a spot in your frequent rotation.

As the name would suggest, Come As You Are is a place to come for individual style. Come As You Are…read morestocks some of the hottest international labels like Nolita, Rare, J-Brand, American Vintage. They defiantly have an ear to the ground when it comes to what's in demand - they were one of the first places J-Brand jeans were available and I saw recently they've got cult blouse label Equipment in stock. The overall style is eclectic glam. This is the sort of place you'll want patience to sort through the racks. The kaleidoscope of colour and labels means that you need to take the time to look through each piece.

Onituka Tiger is a Japanese Clothing design company best known for their very popular footwear…read moreline, no gym would be complete without people everywhere wearing these shoes. Onituka Tiger pride themselves on making products of high quality and this attention to durability is to be respected if you are making shoes. The Bondi Junction Onituka Tiger store in Westfield offers their full range of clothing products and cleverly in their displays throughout the shop they coordinate their clothes with their footwear to show you what has been designed to suit each other. I would rather make these choices for myself and try to avoid wearing an entire outfit consisting of one brand name, Although I like Japanese design, these clothes are not so much for me, but I do very much like the shoes.

There are many vintage clothing stores around Sydney, however many of them would be more…read moreappropriately categorised as overpriced junk shops. I am blown away sometimes by how some of these shops stay in business as they are not selling good clothes and what they are selling could be picked up at any St Vin's or Salvo's shop for a fraction of the price. Reuze Vintage in Paddington does not fit into this category but is rather offering quality vintage stock. A relatively new shop, Reuze is more geared towards women and with much lacy garments and formal clothing for both men and women, it is not a shop, which particularly appeals to my sense of style, but none the less their clothes are high in quality and providing a fashion style many people will love.

I stumbled upon this place last week and fell in love. With everything. The owner has done a…read morewonderful job of collating a killer wardrobe full of clothes, jewellery, shoes, hats, bags and collectables. Girls who like vintage clothes will be in heaven - there's actually so much to go through that I had to take a time out and go back another day. While some dresses are around the $100 mark (some worth it, others only racking up the dollars because they're old), there's also a great range for $25, which is a steal considering all the love and effort that went into making clothes back in the day. Yes, you could probably spend your weekends trawling op shops to find similar items at a fraction of the price, but here all the hard work has been done for you and it's definitely worth supporting a local shop owner taking a brave leap.

NOTE: this experience happened in January 2013:…read more our friend that hosted us in sydney took my boyfriend shopping about 20km from his house, and he bought me a rather expensive AU$120 calibre shirt because he likes to shop. i'd much rather find a local coffee house or sightsee, but i was thankful for the gift. upon arriving back at the house, they took the shirt out of the bag to wash it to wear that evening and found the security tag still attached to it. i wore another shirt that evening, but the security tag necessitated a drive back across town in rush hour traffic the next morning to get it removed. huge FAIL! upon arrival, the young pretty boy indifferently asked us for the receipt to prove we had purchased it and, after the hassle of sitting in traffic for 30 minutes, my head nearly exploded. i'm sorry, but do you think i'd be stupid enough to bring a shirt back that had a security tag on it without a receipt?! OMFG, i should have just said, "kindly refund my money and i'll go elsewhere" for a shirt without a security tag, your indifferent attitude and so much as a 'i'm terribly sorry...please accept this coupon for any item in the store for your troubles'. this experience exemplifies what is wrong with service workers today. perhaps it's australians, i'm not entirely certain (although i doubt it given the kindness we were shown throughout our 10 days down under), but nowhere have i experienced this kind of inconvenience without a sincere apology and/or the smallest of compensation.

Calibre at Bondi Junction has some nice suits, they are not Armani nice, but none the less they are…read morestylish and well cut. Their casual ware I am not so sure about, for the most part I don't think the design in them is anything to write home about and I am not sure how they justify the price tags of over $200 for a casual collared shirt, seriously who are they kidding (to pay their rent obviously someone). The Shorts at only $200 a pair are very ordinary, even more ordinary are the pants which are over $200 and the Jeans at almost $300 are nothing special either. I know I sound very harsh here, but Westfield at Bondi Junction has some really great lines of men's wear available at the various fashion shops much of which is more stylish than what Calibre are offering and substantially less expensive. I wouldn't go in there again.

I love these little T-Bar shops, they're funky and cheap and give me a reason not to buy online. I…read moremean, it's not a brand name which is easily found online, and it's made my individual designers in a limited run, I can try it on, and they're cheap with bulk discounts available. No reason left to buy online. The fabric is very comfortable, and lasts well according to how often you wear it, and wash it, I would say 12-18 months would be a good life to get out of one of the T's The staff are awesome and very friendly, they'll recommend some great designs for you, and if you like the ones on sale - don't worry, they're sweat and not pushy on sales.

I am addicted to t shirts, I do not dare count how many t shirts I own as I know the answer is way…read moretoo many. So when I see a shop like T Bar it is impossible for me to bypass. What I like about T Bar is it treats T shirts as art, rather than an exploitation to advertise brand names. In doing this T Bar employs many artists, both local and international to create designs for the shirts and they promote the artists as well which is fantastic. As always Art is a matter of taste and what T Bar offers is broad, there are many shirts I like and many I do not. At the moment they have a brilliant design from English artist Tim Laing of multiple faces merged together with the top of their heads chopped off with mountains, landscape and birds coming out the top, another by Sydney artist Beast Man features a 3D design of an eyeball in a cage, it is more interesting than that, but difficult to describe. I am not crazy about the prices of $40 a T shirt, manly as the quality of the fabric is not that high and I do not think the shirts will last a long time. If they were a little better made I would be buying them, Still you could buy one and hang it on a wall.

Sometimes being fashionable is all about the style of shirt that you wear. 7Camicie is the only…read morestore that sells designer Italian button down shirts that speak of comfort and class for men. 7Camicie even has shirts designed for children! The shirts have vibrant colours and original, bold designs that are sure to attract attention everywhere you go. This store in Paddington is not only known for its modern styled shirts but for its interior design is also modern and even multifunctional. Visiting this store is a one-of-a-kind experience that you will never forget. And wearing their clothes is a great experience that will most assuredly make them your wardrobe staples. 7Camicie is highly recommended!