Retail therapy: Seeing Ghosts at Scotties

NZ Music Month T-shirts go on sale at Hallensteins on May 1.

Scotties is stocking the British label Ghost. Its signature fluid silhouette and delicate colour palette has won favour with a host of celebrities, including Naomi Campbell, Jennifer Aniston and Catherine Zeta Jones. Scotties has struck a deal to stock the range exclusively at its Blake St store. The summer range features classic pieces including dresses with georgette coats as well as some separates. Key colours for the season are black, pale blue and pale pink.

Scotties is at 2 Blake St, Ponsonby, ph (09) 379 6617.

Swanndri for Snoop

Karen Walker has another famous convert. Rap star Snoop Dogg, in Auckland this month for his Boss'n Up concert, sent his assistant into Walker's High St store to buy a red tartan cashmere Swanndri. We didn't spot him wearing it at his show that night. Maybe he's saving it for the next leg of his tour, South Africa.

Quick note

You'll need to be in quick to get your hands on an NZ Music Month T-shirt. They go on sale on May 1 at Hallensteins and are limited editions. If a T-shirt doesn't appeal at this time of the year, hoodies are available.

Heart-smart gear

Four years ago Lonely Hearts Club was a fledgling label started by a group of snowboarders working winters in Colorado. Now the high fashion range has proved so popular it's generated its own concept store, MYHART.

The O'Connell St boutique will stock the range - feminine and slightly twisted, but with a streetwear edge - along with Sydney's new star labels Lover and Josh Goot. The store will also exclusively stock Danish wonderboy Henrik Vibskov, Parisian designer Marjan Pejoski and boutique-street-fresh label Kokon To Zai. Worth a look for the fashion and the stylish black interior.

MYHART is at 10 O'Connell St, City, ph (09) 309 6180.

Pilates project

Pink pilates is the new exercise craze in Auckland - and a first for New Zealand - specifically designed for women with breast cancer.

The 10-session subsidised programme is open to anyone diagnosed with the disease in the past two years.

Started by Auckland physiotherapist and pilates expert Lou James, it has the support of breast cancer surgeon Dr Belinda Scott.

Half the cost of each $800 programme is subsidised through the Pink Pilates Breast Cancer Trust, a charity set up to support the scheme. Similar programmes are run overseas, and James says: "By adding massage, physiotherapy, stretching and relaxation, we can also address the emotional side-effects of breast cancer, as well as the physical."

Dr Scott agrees: "Pink Pilates offers a combination of exercise, physiotherapy and relaxation, allowing women to regain a sense of control and improved well-being. I believe this will be a great addition to medical care, particularly early on in treatment."

The programme is available at James' Ponsonby physiotherapy-pilates clinic, re:ab, and she hopes to be able to offer a fully subsidised programme nationwide.

For more information, phone re:ab on (09) 361 1078.