Oxford Street, Paddington is possibly Sydney’s most female-friendly street with cult cosmetic brands from all over the world, a legendary charity shop and famous Australian names like Sass & Bide, Collette Dinnigan and Dinosaur Designs. By Jessica Adams.

Oxford Street, Paddington is very close to the city and you can spend a whole day here (including lunch, speed massage, window shopping and actual shopping.) Go on a Saturday for the markets, which you’ll find under awnings, halfway up the street.  Paddington Markets have been around forever, and have a reputation for launching new Australian designers. Expect fresh, funky clothes at extremely fair prices.

Here’s another great thing about Oxford Street – there are  plenty of cash machines, a huge post office and an endless supply of pubs with loos.

Take a bus outside Museum Station as the 380, 378 or 333 will all take you up Oxford St to Ariel bookshop – where your mission starts. If you’re in a taxi, ask your driver to drop you near the corner of South Dowling St and Oxford St and start walking North (away from the city) until you reach Ariel. Expect to pay around $10-$20 to get to Paddington if you’re catching a cab from anywhere close to the city.

You don’t need a map for this one. Just start walking in order, from Ariel Booksellers at the start (on the right of Oxford Street, with the big neon sign in the window) all the way back to Berkelouw books, which is almost opposite Ariel on the left-hand side of the street. A typical loop on both sides of Oxford Street will take you anywhere from a morning to a whole day, depending on how many clothes you try on. (And how many times you stop for coffee.)

The following shops/pubs/restaurants are useful landmarks. In between them, as you hop from shop to shop, you’ll find a Kiehl’s outlet, Benefit cosmetics, and Mac. There’s also Australia’s version of Top Shop (Sportsgirl), Charlie Brown (an excellent designer for size 14+ fashionistas) the skinny jean queens Sass and Bide – and a brilliant vintage shop called Shag.  Basically, the Paddington end of Oxford Street is just girl heaven.

Even if you’re broke you can come here for a great coffee, a charity-shop designer find and a good secondhand book to read in the park. Oxford Street has something for all women.

Ariel

Start here! The newest and sexiest books from around the world, plus Haigh’s chocolate frogs (a cult Australian brand to take home) and groovy little presents and cards. They have art magazines, an excellent travel section and lots of fashion tomes.

Visit www.arielbooks.com.au

Aesop

Local cult products for your bathroom and lots of free samples if you ask nicely. They use ingredients like parsley seeds and camellia nuts in chic brown bottles and everything smells fantastic. This Australian brand is sold in some of the hippest stores on the planet. Visit www.aesop.com

Alannah Hill

Frilly, feminine, retro-inspired and (let’s face it) fairly expensive clothes. The staff wear scarlet lipstick and fishnets and nobody’s heard of jeans. Alannah Hill is instantly recognisable anywhere because of the velvet, the bows, the lacy cardigans, the offbeat colours and the famous fabric flowers (overblown rose brooches to pin on your coat collar.)

Visit www.alannahhill.com.au

St Vincent de Paul Charity Shop

English tourists shed their gear here so expect nearly-new labels like Marks & Spencer. The shop is vast and the best stuff is near the front. This is where we found a Donna Karan jacket for $25 and it’s where you could get lucky too.  The menswear is downstairs and some good-as-new books are upstairs. True designer stuff ends up in the glass cabinet (Prada bags have been seen) and the rest is up to you. Snipped-out labels are common: we suspect a lot of famous brands donate to this branch.

Toko Sushi

Fresh Australian seafood sushi goes around on a big loop and you pile up the plates at very reasonable prices – open from 12 noon. There are two sushi-go-round places on Oxford Street and both are excellent.

After Toko Sushi, keep wandering along to the end of  this side of the street (as far as the traffic lights) and then brave the traffic and cross over. Hurrah! You’ve completed one half of the loop.

Max Brenner

Now you’re on the other side of Oxford St, hit Max Brenner for hot chocolate, melted chocolate with a spoon, chocolate pizza, and funky take-home gift packs. This is cult, designer chocolate. Instantly recognisable by the rather arty portrait of a bald man on the front of the cafe. This is not Cadbury’s.

Visit www.maxbrenner.com

Venustus

Nicole Kidman’s been to this beauty temple and Sony Music send their stars here. Try an Indian Head Massage or have a Rose Quarz Crystal treatment.

Visit www.venustus.com.au

Dinosaur Designs

Highly collectable, extremely desirable, and designer-pricey Australian jewellery and homewares. Loads of stars have worn Dinosaur pieces over the years, including Kylie.

Visit www.dinosaurdesigns.com.

Keep wandering! There is plenty more to see until you finish on this side of the street. And of course, you can always cross back if you missed something earlier.

Berkelouw

You’ll be at the end of your loop now, almost opposite where you started at Aerial. This bookshop has three floors, a café and a secondhand bargain  book paradise on the top floor with some rare Australian hardbacks along with Bridget Jones’ Diary.

Visit www.berkelouw.com.au.

Useful diversions from Oxford Street

William Street (forks off Oxford Street on the same side as Ariel, where you started out) offers two great used designer label shops (think Dior, Anya Hindmarch, Vuitton), and a cult boutique called The Corner Shop. This is also where you will find Collette Dinnigan and another much-loved Australian label, Ginger and Smart. It’s a tiny side street with a lot to offer.

Woollahra is the suburb just up from Paddington, and it’s also extremely shopping-worthy. Designer Akira Isogawa is here, alongside Jo Malone,  Orson and Blake (Diptyque candles ahoy!) and foodie nirvana in the form of bill’s and The Woollahra Hotel. Woollahra is a whole other trip by itself, but if you’re curious (and have the energy) just turn sharp left when you get to the very end of Oxford Street and head up Queen Street. Everything’s there. Sydneysiders come to Woollahra for big European names in fragrance, clothing, shoes and homewares so it’s not cheap, but the feelgood factor is high.

And don’t forget…

Oxford Street, Paddington has three cinemas (all on the Berkelouw books side of the street.) If you are exhausted by all that shopping and walking you can always  dump your bags, sink into a seat and watch a matinee.