Strand Arcade, Sydney
During the roaring 20s and 30s, Sydney's Strand Arcade bustled with fashionable and colourful patrons. Begun in 1892, it was the fifth and last arcade built in Victorian Sydney and today is the only one remaining in its original form. The walls of this genteel old building reverberate with memories of swinging jazz bands and riotous parties. Named after London's smart theatre-hotel-shopping street of the early 1900s, this charismatic three-storey building provides a delightful thoroughfare for pedestrians between Pitt and George streets. Original cedar staircases at each end lead to second- and third-level galleries housing smart designer clothes shops.
Australian designers have long chosen the Strand to display their wares: Bettina Liano and Zimmerman have shops on the upper levels and Alannah Hill operates a large store with a cheery atmosphere. Designer flowered hair clips for A$35 ($205) are worn by all the staff; feminine pastel designer hats (A$299) and an antique pink embroidered dish coat (A$629) stand out.
Lisa Ho offers a rack full of individual creations, an elegant black and red soft silk party dress (A$600) hanging next to a candy pink long halter dress (A$800). Von Troska specialises in smart jackets (A$298) and matching pants (A$258) and at the Wayne Cooper store you can pick up a rose Marilyn Monroe-style party dress for A$395.
Strand Hatters enjoys an excellent trade in Akubra hats and has a wide selection of designs starting at A$120. Panama hats are all the rage, with the most expensive hat in the store a hand-woven Montecristi from Panama costing A$2,000.
And finally, if you're footsore after all that shop-hopping, make a direct, A$11 contribution to the economy by putting your feet up at the Executive shoeshine boothbelow the staircase at the George Street end of the arcade.