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If you've ever wanted to get into British actor Daniel Craig's pants - he's the hot, brawny one who played James Bond in the last 007 film - now's your chance. Well, sort of. Sunspel, a British family company that has been making men's underwear since 1936 and even has its own coat of arms, now makes women's T-shirts as well. While the good-looking men's boxers (worn by Craig in the Bond movie) and shirts have been available at Crane Brothers for some time now, the fine cotton women's shirts, with scooped necks and cap sleeves, are now on sale at Gubb & Mackie at 34 Customs St in central Auckland.
Branded for beauty
Seems like the Albany mega mall will have just about every brand under New Zealand's summer sun soon. Next up is beauty brand Dermalogica, which will be opening a high-tech boutique. Within the minimal surroundings, clients will be able to choose from a shopping experience at what's being called the Skin Bar to a super-fast beauty treatment to a prolonged examination, and potentially treatment, of every pore. Although branches exist in North America and Europe, the flagship store, Dermalogica on the Shore, will be the first of its kind in Australasia and opens tomorrow.
Spreading out
Also newly opened up at Albany is another store from Australian-designed label Kookai. The chain, which already has an outlet at Sylvia Park, also opened a branch at St Lukes Mall recently and will continue to expand into New Zealand over the next few months.
Tamsin in cyberspace
Arrowtown-based designer Tamsin Cooper, who has been best known for her luscious velvet coats and her legal battles over brand names with another New Zealand designer called Cooper, has launched her own website. Available from www.tamsincooper.co.nz are a collection of beaded and bejewelled accessories. Some have a distinct Asian undertone, others are just plain pretty and floral. Particularly notable are the hair ties ($12.50), the black velvet cushions ($75), plain silk and velvet scarves (from $45) and the necklaces made out of brightly coloured silk beads (from around $40).
Affordable style
Looking for a nice, simple summer dress to see you through all this funny weather we've been having but don't want to exceed your credit card limit? NZGirl, the label that specialises in wardrobe staples, has just stocked up with a number of easy-to-wear spring dresses starting at $125. Included are a cotton wrap dress, a shorter, shimmering party dress and a streamlined empire line frock, all of which you can easily wear with a cardigan until the temperatures go up. For more, see www.nzgirl.co.nz.
Guerrilla tactics
Karen Walker is opening her first store in New York's East Village, but it won't be there for long. Walker is joining in the trend for guerrilla-style store-keeping, whereby retail environments change their location or their interiors frequently, popping up in one abandoned gallery or factory space at a time and then disappearing - which keeps the novelty-fixated hipsters coming back for more. In Walker's case, hers will be one of a list of labels that New York store owners Eddy Chai and Paul Birardi want in their boutique for several weeks or months at a time. By allowing a designer to take over the whole shop, they say, they get to show everything they can do rather than just the few bits and pieces there would be room for if other labels were also stocked. So Walker gets to decorate the store her way and stock lots of her products - everything from her clothing to sunnies to jewellery. Plus as a cunning added bonus, the opening, in February, will coincide with New York Fashion Week.
Painted chicks
If you go down to Hamilton today, you might get a big surprise. All those bogan chicks and Waikato farmers might be looking rather glamorous all of a sudden. But maybe that's not such a big surprise. After all, makeup artist Michelle Devereux, who's worked mainly in Australia for the past 27 years and who's painted the faces of the likes of Cate Blanchett and Cindy Crawford, has returned home to open The MakeUp Studio. Devereux offers everything from a six-month course for aspiring professionals to fashion workshops to one-on-one tutorials. The Studio also stocks beauty brands unavailable elsewhere such as Cargo, Pout and Joey New York. The MakeUp Studio is at 270 Victoria St, Hamilton, ph (07) 839-3851.
Hair bargain
We know, we know. We do go on about them but if you're looking for a glamorous present for that hair-obsessed special person in your life (and you've got a few hundred dollars to spare) then look no further than the fancy, shiny ghd Christmas gift pack being released tomorrow. Besides the ghd stylers themselves, the pack includes two gold bags, including a heat-resistant carrier, and two hair products. Which, considering the stylers themselves usually retail for around $350, is a bit of a deal at $379. Call 0800 HAIR GHD (0800 424 744) for stockists.
