First Time at WOW? Here's What to Wear
Written September, 2022
Imagine you get one night in your entire life where you can be whoever you've always wanted to be. Just one night. Dare to think wild, dare to think extravagant. There are no rules, no dress code, no responsibilities, and absolutely no reputation to protect. For one whole night, you will be embraced all and more than you can dream of - every colour, every shade, every glorious bit of you. So ask yourself honestly: what would you wear?
Whatever just came to mind? That is your WOW outfit. Don't second-guess it.
WOW is a place of fabulousness, creativity, art, freedom, extravagance and pure self-expression, and this is your night to embody every single one of those things. You know that outfit you spot in a store and think "this is absolutely stunning, but where on earth would I ever wear it?", WOW is your answer. It is the place that outfit was made for. The goal isn't just to wear it for one magical night, though; it's bigger than that. It's about showing yourself that you are brave enough to be whoever you want to be, fully, unapologetically, out loud. WOW is simply a safe, sparkling space to give it your first go, because here, going extravagant isn't just accepted, it's expected.
Make it your night to become the enchanted princess you see in the movies, the Hollywood star gliding down the red carpet, the version of yourself you've always dreamed of stepping into. Clothes don't define who we are - not even close - but they are a genuinely magical tool. They send messages not just to the people around us, but to our own minds too. When you dress like the person you want to be, something shifts inside you. And WOW is the perfect place to feel that shift for the very first time.
Where to Find Your WOW Outfit in Wellington
Wellington's best kept secret? Vintage, secondhand and upcycle shopping.
I think it's actually quite fitting that WOW is hosted in Wellington. Wellington is New Zealand's most vibrant, alternative and colourful city, it just makes sense. But I'll be honest with you: I've travelled to cities with far more impressive commercial shopping scenes than anything New Zealand has to offer. Milan, London, Barcelona, you know what I mean. New Zealand is so far from the rest of the world, and the commercial variety here simply doesn't compare.
And yet, Wellingtonians look incredible. Unique, iconic, endlessly stylish. For a long time, I genuinely could not figure it out. My mind was spinning, where are these people finding these clothes? How is everyone wearing something so completely different from everyone else? Nobody looked the same. Nobody looked boring. It was like the whole city was dressing in outfits that had been designed specifically for them.
And then, my friends, I was enlightened.
Most Wellingtonians don't shop at commercial stores at all. They shop vintage, secondhand and upcycle. That is the secret. The moment I found out, there was no question in my mind, I was heading straight to downtown Wellington for a thrift shopping trip, and I was going to find the most WOW outfit the city had to offer.
📍 Start your hunt on Cuba Street, downtown Wellington.
Wellington's 4 Most Magical Upcycle Boutiques
1. Ziggurat
The hidden door on Cuba Street that leads to a historical time machine and honestly, the most magical boutique in Wellington.
I had never once stepped foot inside Ziggurat before my WOW shopping trip, which in hindsight feels like a crime. Thank god WOW came along and woke me up, because this place is extraordinary. I was lucky enough to be welcomed by the most lovely retail assistant who walked me through the story of the store and it has been around for ages. I guess to truly appreciate history, you need to have been around to witness some of it.
Ziggurat specialises in true, elegant vintage, and stepping inside genuinely taught me what vintage actually means. If you're like me and don't fully speak fashion, get yourself to Ziggurat for an education. Every single piece of clothing in that shop has been specially sourced from a designer brand. Each item has its own character, its own history, its own story. Walking in, you don't feel like you're in a shop, you feel like you've walked into a fashion museum.
What you'll find:
Fur coats in every colour and more varieties of fur than you knew existed, the perfect statement piece for your inner diva. My personal favourite was a breathtaking black coat made from seal fur. I didn't even know seal fur coats were a thing until that moment, and it was love at first touch. Truly.
Hats fit for a queen - Queen Elizabeth was a style icon of the highest order, and her hats were her signature. If she wasn't wearing a bedazzled tiara, she was wearing a hat. Ziggurat seems to share her exact sensibility, because the shop absolutely overflows with the most beautiful, meticulously crafted hats you've ever laid eyes on.
Historic dresses, literally. Head to the back of the shop near the counter and you'll find the crown jewel of Ziggurat: a rack of gowns that look like they belong in a period film or a masquerade ball. These dresses date all the way back to the early 1900s. You won't just be wearing a beautiful dress, you'll be wearing a piece of history. One white dress on the rack? An actual 1900s wedding gown. The hat paired with it had real ostrich feathers. How do you even top that?
📍 144 Cuba Street - you can't miss it, the window display is always jaw-dropping. Head up Cuba Street towards where it meets Ghuznee. When you spot Scopa, the Italian restaurant on the corner, pop in and treat yourself to a hot chocolate first, they are absolutely divine, then look directly across the street and there's Ziggurat.
💰 Price: On the pricier side, but worth every single penny. You're not just buying a piece of clothing, you're buying something that has lasted through decades of history and will live in your wardrobe for the rest of your life. If the budget doesn't stretch, still go in. Window shop. Soak it all in. Let Ziggurat infuse you with its fabulousness.
✨ My WOW Pick: You don't need to build your whole outfit here, just find one statement piece. A hat, a fur jacket, a historical dress. Pair it with your own things and your outfit will suddenly feel alive and magical in a way nothing from a commercial store ever could.
2. Recycle Boutique
The ZARA of upcycle fashion in New Zealand, and an absolute Wellington favourite.
There are 13 Recycle Boutique locations across Wellington alone. Thirteen. That tells you everything you need to know about how much this city loves it. Their motto is "What goes around, comes around", and they live by it. The belief is that even as times change and styles evolve, everything finds its way back to where it started eventually. And with fashion especially, they couldn't be more right. There is something so effortlessly elegant about a 1920s silhouette or an Edwardian skirt. The moment you put on a piece of clothing from another era, something magical happens, you automatically look like you should be on the cover of Vogue.
The range at Recycle Boutique runs from commercial secondhand pieces right through to designer vintage finds, so there's genuinely something for every budget and every style. It's the kind of store you can walk into with no idea what you're looking for and walk out with the most perfect outfit.
📍 Two Cuba Street stores: one on Victoria Street (bigger, more variety) and one on Ghuznee Street (more unique pieces, more specialty items). I recommend going to the Ghuznee Street store, it has more character and more of those one-of-a-kind finds you're after.
💰 Price: Middle of the road. You'll find pieces anywhere from $20 NZD all the way to $300 NZD, depending on what you're hunting for. There's something for every budget if you take the time to look.
✨ My WOW Pick: The fur jackets. Nothing else comes close to completing an outfit the way a great fur jacket does. My absolute favourite find was a stunning orange and red one, the kind of piece that makes you stop mid-browse and just stare.
3. Paper Bag Princess
Not every princess outfit needs to cost gold.
Here's something worth knowing: vintage and secondhand are not the same thing, and the difference matters. Vintage is old, it's fashion from a completely different era, another chapter of history entirely. Secondhand is contemporary clothing that has simply been pre-loved, worn by someone else before finding its way to you. And there is something genuinely beautiful about that. Secondhand shopping is an act of sharing, it's stepping into another woman's wardrobe, borrowing a little of her style, and giving her clothes a new life and a new story. If you want to explore more than just your own closet, secondhand is the way to go.
Wellington happens to have one of the best secondhand party clothing stores you will ever walk into. Paper Bag Princess is absolutely bursting with sparkle and magic, the moment you step inside, you just feel it. The sparkly grey dress I found there was my single favourite discovery of the entire shopping trip. Because here is a truth I stand behind completely: sparkle equals magic. I will not be taking questions on this. I will not be argued with. You will walk in, find something that glitters, and you will understand immediately.
📍 209 Cuba Street - you'll need to walk further up Cuba than most people bother to go, and honestly, that upper stretch is my favourite part of the whole street. It's quieter, calmer, less frantic than the busy middle section, and it has some absolutely wonderful restaurants and cafés nearby for a well-deserved post-shopping sit-down.
💰 Price: Very affordable, genuinely one of the most accessible options on this list. If you tried hard enough, you could pull together a complete WOW outfit for under $40. With $50 to spend, you're practically guaranteed something show-stopping.
✨ My WOW Pick: Sparkle. That's it. That's the whole pick. Go in, find the most sparkly thing in the shop, and trust the process.
4. Secondo
Did she just say Christian Louboutins?
I'll be honest, I didn't find Secondo on my WOW shopping trip at all. I stumbled across it completely by accident one Sunday afternoon on my way to the Botanical Gardens, and my jaw nearly hit the pavement. Thank god I took that particular route that particular day, because this place is a genuine goldmine. Secondo is a treasure trove of secondhand designer shoes, we're talking Louboutins, Jimmy Choos, Prada, all of it, sitting right there on the shelves. And you know what they say: if you've got a pair of killer heels, you've got nothing to worry about.
But it isn't just shoes. Secondo also carries a gorgeous, carefully curated selection of high-end designer clothing, pieces from labels you'd normally only see behind glass or on a celebrity. All of it is WOW-worthy, and all of it is waiting to find a new home. The shop owner is an absolute gem, warm, knowledgeable, and genuinely passionate about helping you find the most magical piece in her archive. She will not let you leave without something extraordinary.
📍 289 Tinakori Road, Thorndon, a little outside the Cuba Street bubble, heading toward the more corporate end of the city. My strong advice: combine the trip with a visit to the Botanical Gardens, which is only a 3-4 minute walk away. Make a whole beautiful afternoon of it.
💰 Price: She's pricey but she is also quality, and she is diva-level all the way. Here's how I think about it: if you buy something from Secondo, you're not just buying a WOW outfit. You're buying a piece you will want to wear forever. It's less of a purchase and more of an investment in your own fabulousness.
✨ My WOW Pick: The shoes. It was always going to be the shoes. I have a genuine weakness for designer heels and Secondo is basically my personal kryptonite.
What Did I Wear to WOW?
I wore the most beautiful dress, borrowed from a dear friend, which I suppose firmly places me in the secondhand category and I loved every single second of it. I felt like an absolute princess gliding through the night. There is honestly nothing quite like that feeling.
I hope with everything in me that you find an outfit that makes you feel exactly the same way. But here is what I really want you to take away from all of this: you don't need WOW as an excuse to dress magically. You don't need a special event, a costume party, or anyone's permission. You can become that person any day, any time, with any clothes, whether it's a piece of true vintage from Ziggurat, a sparkly find from Paper Bag Princess, a borrowed dress from your best friend, or something straight off the rack at ZARA. The clothes are just the beginning.
The real magic is in the strut. So put it on, take a breath, and walk out into the world like the absolute fairy goddess you are. 🧚♀️
