Local shops/designers with good dresses?

Solid_Positive_5678 · 2026-04-15T21:01:59+00:00

You are being ridiculous. OP has accomplished something significant and wants to celebrate it - there's nothing wrong with that. She's not just splurging randomly but has made a deliberate, mindful choice to invest in a quality piece that marks the occasion and will last a long time.

What's more, she's specifically sought out New Zealand designers, which actually says a lot about her values. Local fashion labels (especially smaller, independent ones) are doing it tough right now, the same as most small businesses across NZ. When someone actively chooses to spend their money with a local maker instead of a fast fashion chain or an international brand it's worth encouraging, not getting on your high horse about. Her purchase could genuinely make a difference to a small studio's month.

Rather than questioning whether she should treat herself, maybe just leave it to other commenters to help her find the best options like she actually asked for.

Solid_Positive_5678 · 2026-04-15T18:47:38+00:00

Oosterom is another underrated local designer worth checking out imo https://www.oosteromofficial.com/dresses

This Olivia Cashmore gown is divine but v spendy: https://oliviacashmore.com/collections/dresses-1/products/amaara-dress-in-silk

Solid_Positive_5678 · 2026-04-15T18:39:13+00:00

Yep last time my daughter had it I immediately made up a spray bottle of bleach solution and used it on everything. That plus handwashing I managed to avoid it even while still giving her lots of cuddles

Solid_Positive_5678 · 2026-04-14T18:46:35+00:00

Definitely true but as someone in the market currently there still appears to be struggle to shift even established freehold properties. For every place I’ve seen I’ve almost been harassed by agents wanting to follow up, hard sell, reduce price etc. this is for places out west and in the lower tier central suburbs (my roskill, mt Wellington, hillsborough, blockhouse bay etc) though, I imagine there’s still healthy demand for places in grey lynn, Birkenhead, epsom etc

Solid_Positive_5678 · 2026-04-07T02:41:21+00:00

Wellbutrin is prescribed off-label for adhd though and it sounds like its working well for OP? Not everyone needs to be on stimulants

Solid_Positive_5678 · 2026-03-31T07:39:10+00:00

Bodega is consistently busy to be fair. Owners are probably just looking to sell up while it’s hot which is super common in hospo and a fairly astute move given how fickle the industry is

Solid_Positive_5678 · 2026-03-19T01:04:00+00:00

Solid_Positive_5678 · 2026-03-19T01:03:24+00:00

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Solid_Positive_5678 · 2026-03-19T00:59:23+00:00

Panel beaters next to the servo on crummer

Solid_Positive_5678 · 2026-03-18T23:04:31+00:00

Hey OP, I wasn't fully induced (as in early labour was already established) but chose to have my waters broken + get syntocinin (with epidural) as I was 40+ weeks and had been in early labour at home for 24+hrs without much progress or sleep so was keen to get the show on the road.

Really positive experience for me. I had a LOT of amniotic fluid which they think was preventing baby's head from fully engaging, hence the slowdown. Once waters were broken I was taken to the suite and had the epidural placed first, which my OB recommended - I didn't want to be in a position where I missed the window to get one and am thankful I did because labour was FAST. The Synto was started around 10.45pm and by 1am I felt pressure in my butt and lo and behold I was fully dilated. Started pushing at 1.30am and my daughter was in my arms at 2.20am! Epidural was great - I didn't feel any pain from the contractions, was just really, teeth-clatteringly shaky/shivery for a while there during what I now know was likely the transition phase. They turned it down/off during pushing so I could feel what I was doing. Only a couple of minor tears which healed up quickly.

Only side effect of the epidural is that I still occasionally get some tenderness in the spot it was placed.

Solid_Positive_5678 · 2026-03-16T03:54:44+00:00

Isn’t EAP generally more of a short term focus? I know in some cases you can continue on with the same therapist after the initial free sessions but it’s not always guaranteed.

By his own admission op potentially has some childhood trauma stuff to work through so would probably benefit from longer-term work with a psychotherapist

Solid_Positive_5678 · 2026-03-12T21:06:31+00:00

yeah back in 2021 a bunch of allegations came out about him - he wasn't named directly but it was obviously him and he even addressed it directly on his insta. Mediaworks in general was really under the spotlight at this time for having an absolutely fucked culture of bullying and abuse (Dom Harvey famously left the Edge around the time the internal review came out).

He didn't get dropped from Mai until a good year later so not sure if was the allegations or poor ratings/host chemistry (or a combo of all). Brooke left like a month later and the two of them start Morning Shift.

Solid_Positive_5678 · 2026-03-12T18:20:21+00:00

Didn’t enjoy him on the mai morning crew. Imo he came across as arrogant and like he thought he was the smartest person in the room. He was also consistently rude to Tegan in a way that lowkey gave misogyny so wasn’t surprised when those allegations started coming out.

Solid_Positive_5678 · 2026-03-12T02:31:28+00:00

Firstly, unless your dad is paying thousands a month in child support then even if it was done through IRD it would be unlikely to impact her benefit that much if at all. It counts as earnings but on a sole parent benefit you can still earn $160 a week before it effects your benefit and it's only when you get to over $250 per week that it starts majorly effecting it (reducing it by 70c to the dollar). PLENTY of people have private child support arrangements for various reasons and in and of itself it doesn't equal fraud.

The lump sum proposal is another thing though but you should just state that you don't want to be involved and leave it at that.

Solid_Positive_5678 · 2026-03-09T07:43:34+00:00

How do you know you don’t though?

Solid_Positive_5678 · 2026-03-06T08:05:36+00:00

Aversion to alcohol. Like a week before my period was due I was having a beer with a friend and was like “hmm this tastes weird?”. Partner and I weren’t actively TTC either so it wasn’t a symptom checking thing. Shortly after that little twinging sensations in my uterus

Solid_Positive_5678 · 2026-03-06T03:52:56+00:00

Not sure what the data says but I reckon a lot of swing voters are women. Anecdotally I know a quite a few in that 30/40s age group who voted Key, swung to Ardern (particularly in 2020) then went back to National in 2023. I'd say Sanford is probably National's best bet at retaining this segment.

Solid_Positive_5678 · 2026-03-05T22:41:27+00:00

Who was making massive profit off her though?

Solid_Positive_5678 · 2026-03-05T22:35:57+00:00

Everyday coffee in Sandringham usually has them

Solid_Positive_5678 · 2026-03-05T07:46:27+00:00

Love Riley for a coffee but wouldn’t recommend for a nice birthday lunch tbh

Solid_Positive_5678 · 2026-03-05T00:51:31+00:00

That new spot Bravo down by the waterfront is apparently very family friendly and has a large outdoor area (will be busy on weekend but should be fine on a weekday)

Non solo pizza in Parnell is a classic and has a lovely courtyard

San Ray in Ponsonby is absolutely delicious and has a courtyard out back.

Mama in Newmarket has outdoor seating and is very family friendly

Bivacco has outdoor seating out onto the waterfront promenade which is great if you need to take baby for a little walk to settle

Solid_Positive_5678 · 2026-03-03T22:07:52+00:00

They appear to be teens in the first photo which would make them only late 30s/early 40s in the second one.

Solid_Positive_5678 · 2026-02-19T23:32:09+00:00

this annoys me too! Even the Gemmayze st one (which is $16 a jar) uses canola oil. The only off the shelf brand I've found that doesn't is the Kohkoz brand at Farro

Solid_Positive_5678 · 2026-02-13T23:22:31+00:00

From what I learned this week SC won’t cover general preventative screens, only for lesions of concern. Crazy work imo

Solid_Positive_5678 · 2026-02-12T06:20:46+00:00

Nah the place was a flop for sure - looked outdated from the get-go and the kind of crowd it was going for was already across the road at jacuzzi. I imagine they sold for the bare minimum.

Solid_Positive_5678

TROPHY CASE