Represent Boutique

Give It A Whirl With Represent Boutique

This month, we visited Pukekohe’s sustainable fashionistas at Represent to resell quality clothing at their consignment store.

Co-owners Linda Goldfinch and previous general manager of Dunedin Fashion Incubator, Sharlene Camp, opened this pre-loved designer clothing store in 2020. It offers quality and luxury items for less while extending the lifespan and use of clothing.

This shop is home to many beautiful outfits that were bought for an event like a wedding, the races, or a special date and then destined to be placed in the back of a wardrobe to be lost forever. Well, these ladies have the solution and sell high-quality clothing items on behalf of consumers.

They begin by processing garments received. The boutique is very selective to ensure customers know they can rely on finding quality, unique, and designer clothes.

Typically, the Boutique accepts clothes that retail for at least $200. They check for authenticity and don’t accept fast fashion brands such as Glassons or Pagani, nor do they take sportswear, ballgowns, or wedding dresses. They are ‘fussy’ about shoes and jeans which get accepted if they are in near-perfect condition and particularly special.

If any damage is found but the clothes are still resaleable - it is written clearly on the tag to inform customers.

After selecting the new clothes to sell, Shawna, Courtney, and Logan were shown how to steam and ‘re-present’ each item in an attractive way.

Next, they took to the shop floor to provide retail assistance. Shawna even helped a shopper looking for pleated skirts but ultimately, this turned into a chance for the girls to shop for themselves!

The items each get two months on the shop floor, afterwards they are swapped out to ensure stock is continually updated.

Sharlene and Linda also offer great style advice and recommendations. Courtney happily tried out some options to see what colours suited her skin tone.

The clothes in this store are hand-selected and beautifully presented so you can always find something new and different.

It’s a great way to find luxury clothing in an affordable way and reduce the huge amount of textile waste produced by the fashion industry.

Pop into Represent Boutique with quality garments you’d like to sell - you can choose to take a bank transfer or store credit so you can buy something else you like!