Hey Big Spender

It used to be that those in search of luxury items on which to squander their hard earned cash had to splurge even more on a return flight to Sydney to satisfy their cravings, but these days Auckland has more than a few stores that meet that criteria and are busy with it. 'Recession, what recession?' they seem to scream, and there are certainly more than a few patrons flowing in and out of their doors that appear to think the same way.

The majority are situated in the central city so as to be easily accessible to those staying at Auckland's bigger hotels and visiting on passing cruise ships, but there are still a decent number of locals patronising these temples to excess as well. Legendary luxury brand Gucci opened their first New Zealand store less than a year ago and it still does a brisk trade from its spacious Queen Street locale near the historic Queen's Arcade. Next door you'll find Louis Vuitton, happily esconced in their new location after moving from a smaller store further up the road. Both carry a great selection of both brands' standard collections as well as a selected range of their seasonal drops, and both offer Duty Free prices for those travelling off shore. More can be found in the DFS Galleria situated in the Customhouse just around the corner, which also stocks popular cosmetics brands and has a great fragrance selection.

Smith & Caughey's department store further up Queen Street also offers much for fans of the lush and the luxe, including a La Prairie counter stocking skincare that'll set you back a pretty penny and the latest looks from designers such as Max Mara, Ralph Lauren, Armani, Collette Dinnigan, Diesel and Missoni. For those wanting to drop major cash on some rather serious accessories, I recommend a trip to Parnell's Hartfield, who for the last 25 years have been the leading boutique for exclusive jewellery in New Zealand. They carry a selection of jewellery from the finest European design houses - including Pasquale Bruni, Chaumet, Damiani, Piero Milano and Garavelli - and are also New Zealand's exclusive supplier of Royal Asscher Cut diamonds.

Big spenders with little ones seem to swear by the tiny designer duds stocked in stores like Nuffield Street's Trelise Cooper Kids and Ponsonby Road's Child, who stock Collette Dinnigan's kids range known as Collette Dinnigan Enfant as well as high priced nursery furniture from around the world. Think toddler-sized trench coats for three hundred dollars plus and Norwegian cots that run to almost two thousand - for the parents of the little ones lucky enough to receive these luxuries at their baby shower it really is as if the recession never happened!

Editorial by Helene Ravlich