I love exploring the local charity and consignment shops when I'm on holiday and I was pleasantly surprised at the number I found in little old Whitianga in the Coromandel. After all it's a town of only 4000 people, if you don't count all the tourists and holidayers. My particular favourite was Rubosa, a traditional consignment store, selling a wide variety of brands. I might have come away with few things... I'm sure they'll feature on the blog over the coming months.

One gem was this pair of classic cut Max Clothing shorts which were brand new with tags. I had missed seeing them in store so was happy to pick these up. They were a perfect fit so there's no need for my gran to adjust them and I could wear them pretty much as soon as I'd whizzed them through the wash. As they are lined, they're also not see through despite being white.

One of the pesky things about being on holiday is getting nice looks together from a small number of items but if you plan or shop right, you can actually mix and match for different, and activity appropriate, looks all the way through.

These shorts are versatile: they're dressy enough to wear with a feminine top and shop for an afternoon or lunch at the cafe; and dress down just fine to wear with a bikini top for a walk on the beach or a trip to the hot pools. As the legs are a loose fit they slim down the look of my legs and are comfortable enough to wear for more than city activities.


Yes, they came with a sash belt which I threw on as a headband. I had decided on white accessories for the trip and coincidentally already had a white belt in my luggage. As the fit was excellent, the belt is actually for styling rather than function.