Shopping Ban Lifted!

Monday, October 26, 2009
When I went to New Zealand I had to lift my shopping ban, obviously. However, due to my lack of employment, I needed to stick to a budget. Lucky for me, this ended up being pretty easy because for half my trip, I was staying with my boyfriend's family and eating a lot of home-cooked meals.

I was pleasantly surprised by New Zealand's shopping - they had a large selection of stores for women with varying price points. Of course since I was trying to adhere to my budget I couldn't do much but browse. I was actually disappointed by the lack of sales. When I was there it was the beginning of spring so being a savvy shopper, you would expect all their winter items to be on sale - which I figured would work perfectly because we're heading into winter. Wrong. Instead of cardigans and sweaters, there were t-shirts, lightweight skirts and summer dresses! I did find one store that had some great (sale) prices on MinkPink, but nothing that I could wear now. But let me tell you, those Kiwis love their dresses - I have never seen so many stores with so many dresses!

The downside of shopping in New Zealand? The prices! I understand that it's an island nation and that everything needs to be imported, but shoes especially, were insanely expensive! A regular pair of heels (sandals or pumps) that would run about $80-100 CDN, would cost at least $150 NZD. Sure, with the conversion that comes to $110 CDN, but the quality of the shoes aren't the same and for brands I haven't even heard of. I did manage to snag a super cute pair of embellished flats that seem to look just like these Steve Madden flats...












The only difference is that the embellishments on my shoes are gold AND silver.












And then I allowed myself one nice purchase. I always try to buy something that will remind me of the country I got it from everytime I look at it. I had trouble finding something that wasn't super tacky. But as soon as I saw it, I knew I had to have it.

A gold fern necklace! I love it!

Stay tuned to see what purchases I've made since I got home.

4 comments:

Joanne said...

Love the shoes & the fern necklace!
Sticking to a budget on vacation isn't easy.
Can't wait to see the purchases u made since u got home!
I'm currently trying to ban myself from shopping. =( & it's not easy at all! coz I have a long list of *wants*!! .. seems to never end.. =)

Joanne
http://twitter.com/ellajoe

orz said...

ahhhhhhhh erin, you should have bought it regardless!!
so what if it is cold here, that's what layering is forrrrrrrrrrrr

Erin said...

@ace the minkpink stuff didn't seem like good layering pieces. plus is was also pieces that were very on trend for summer09. boo.


@joanne i know! my list keeps growing! ugh!

MizzJ said...

Those shoes are fantastic and very close to the Steve Maddens.