Passion for fashion alive in Mangawhai

BY JULIA WADE

Born out of a long-time family passion for fashion and international travel, a new local store has recently opened its doors, revealing an eclectic collection of clothing labels from some of New Zealand’s leading designers.

Within the enticing setting of new boutique ‘Dimity’ at The Hub in Mangawhai Village, styles from Sylvester, Cooper, Loobie’s Story, Staple + Cloth, Thing Thing, Mina, Harlowe, Twenty-Seven Names, Widdess and more can be discovered, the coveted displays of clothing, accessories and gifts a project of love for local business owner, Lyndal Bowen.

Officially opened just before the Labour Day rush on October 22, the loyal supporter of Kiwi designers says New Zealand is having a strong impact on the global fashion scene and wanted to make the designs more available to locals.

Opening the store also felt extra special Bowen says as her mother, who shares ‘a love for a good quality piece’, nearly named her daughter ‘Dimity’, which is a sheer but strong cotton fabric, liking the name due to her own mother being a seamstress and milliner.

“However, in my mother words ‘the name was so different that it was disallowed by family’,” she says. “I’ve never been called or referred to as Dimity but it has stuck with me all my life and when I decided to open a fashion boutique I just couldn’t go past it.”

Raised in Queensland, Bowen’s ‘true love for clothing and people’ sparked at a young age with her grandmother fashioning all of her clothes, ‘so of course they were always pretty’, and was also influenced with a memorable trip to a high-end Brisbane department store where the 17-year-old was armed with a gift voucher. Her passion for fine shoes, bags and jewellery deepening further once the young adventurer began travelling, and shopping, overseas through Europe, Asia, USA and the Middle East.

“I’ve just always shopped in the fun high-fashion districts of New York, London and particularly Tokyo – although definitely size issues there – but the fabrics in Japan, silk especially, have always fascinated me.”

A fine but hard-wearing material of two warp threads, originally made with silk and wool but now exclusively in cotton, Dimity is an apt name for the boutique which carries well-made sustainable fashion from casual to workwear, feminine, playful, edgy or boho, Bowen says.

“I stock fashion for women and have a collection of gifts and accessories from Ashley & Co, Isle of Eden eyewear and Silk & Steel jewellery, however there’s a few little special pieces for men in the cologne and jewellery ranges which I’ll be adding to as these items make great gifts for posting overseas, especially with Christmas coming up,” she says. “Come on in to the store or connect with Dimity online, there is something for everyone.”

n Dimity, The Hub, Molesworth Drive, Mangawhai Village. Open six days 10-4pm, closed on Tuesdays. Hours may be extended over summer holiday period.

Lyndal Bowen, an avid endurance bike rider who earlier this year completed the countrywide 3000km Te Araroa trail, is now proud owner of a new adventure, high-fashion store Dimity, bringing Kiwi designers to Mangawhai. PHOTO/SUPPLIED