Area 51

Dress like everyone else. But at least you will be on trend. Cool shop for cool kids. Not for the imaginative.

Area 51 brings together a great selection of national and international brands all under one cool roof for both sexes. A tip for you, their online store does not necessarily reflect what is available in store. To avoid disappointment even if the website says that a product is in stock in a particular store, call up to double check. A friend of mine found out the hard way when we went got to this Area 51 store lusting after a Marc by Marc Jacobs bracelet, as it was closer to us than the High Street store but found that stock levels were out and the bracelet was not in store after all. Didn’t leave empty handed though and on other occasions when I have visited Area 51 the service has been amazing, very friendly, talkative staff who appear to be genuinely interested in helping you out, really making Area 51 a more enjoyable shopping experience.

Great store. They sell a lot of clothing which I consider to be multi purpose. Clothing which you can wear casually or formally but on neither extreme of those situations, but I rarely find myself on either extreme of those situations. Aside from situations which call for real formal clothing like a suit, I find I can usually get away with wearing semi formal street clothes. Whether it is a nice restaurant or a night out I can definitly get away with wearing stuff from Area 51, and I can wear these same clothes if I am just hangng around watching movies or walking my dog. It is much more simple having clothes you can wear anywhere.

Area 51 has a nice even mix of both male and female clothing, making it the perfect place to bring your stylish comrades, no matter what gender, without either party getting too bored. However this does not mean there are huge distinctions between the mens and womens areas of the shop — there is actually quite an androgynous feel about the clothing on display, from the beanies to duffel coats, bar the odd Lonely Hearts dress or two. This makes for a nice range of casual, easy-​to-​wear street gear, perfect for days at uni but easily styled up with a pair of heels or some dress shoes. In terms of the service, I was helped today by a friendly girl who sympathised wonderfully with my proportion dilemma with pants and did a great job at trying to help me what I was looking for (unfortunately it was one of those cases where that ‘in-​between’ size does not exist). I will certainly be back though, as Area 51 is a boutique filled with a great range of some of the best NZ and international brands.