There is a huge array of places and types of shopping available in Brisbane. The following are the main shopping areas in Brisbane.
Queen Street Mall (CBD)
The Queen Street Mall is without a doubt the hub of Brisbane shopping. Located in the heart of the CBD it incorporates a huge pedestrian mall lined with shops as well as a number of large shopping centres. It is also roughly divided into areas of interest and price range. At the top of the mall near the casino you have shops like Portmans, Sportsgirl, Valley Girl, Tempt, Off ya Tree, Rebel Sport, Amart All Sports, Supre etc. In the middle section there is The Body Shop, Mathers, City Pharmacy, Vodaphone, Sunglass and Watch hut, Darrell Lee Chocolates, Susan, Colorado etc. At the bottom of the mall you start to move into the designer area with shops like Midas, Kookai, R M Williams, GANT, Country Road Guess etc. The Queen St Mall also contains a number of souvenir shops and facilities like pharmacies, book stores, newsagencies, phone stores and banks.
Queen St Mall
The Main Shopping Centres and Arcades in the Queen Street Mall area are:
MYER CENTRE, which contains the large department store Myer, Witchery, Target, L & J Shoe Studio, Bayswiss, ICE, Sportsgirl, Portmans, Nine West, Susan, Katies, among the 180 specialty stores including a top floor Birch Carroll and Coyle cinema and a multi-level foodcourt. There is also a Coles grocery store on one of the lower levels.
WINTERGARDEN, contains some of Australia's best designers like Wayne Copper, Lisa Ho and Carla Zampatti. Other stores include GANT, Kookai, RM Williams, Events, Table Eight, Midas, Maiocchi, Veronika Maine, Gloss, Anthonys Fine Jewellery, guggenheim hair + body, Luppino's Hair Artistry, OKB Gallery, Alla Moda, Biffi, Liz Davenport, Industrie, Paul Barry, Ron Bennet, Tony Barlow, Brothers Neilsen, Jag, plus a number of cafes and a food court.
BROADWAY ON THE MALL, contains a great range of contemporary fashion outlets like Sazziz, Nova, Scooter, Silk Caravan, Red Square, Lola, Mollini, Bessie Head, and Funkidori. It also houses Harvey Norman - a computer and electrical store. It also has its own food court.
BRISBANE ARCADE, one of Brisbane’s oldest and most exclusive shopping arcades, it has BORA, Kerri Craig, Maggie Sheppard, tengdahl, TIM, Camel, Colorado, Blue Heaven, Maryon’s, Toscana, The Pen Shop and the Tea centre etc…. Plus Roses Café (one of the most beautiful in the CBD), Kerri Craig Café and the tea room.
TATTERSALLS ARCADE, home to the Tattersalls racing club and shops like Hunt Leater, MARCS, Mitchell Oglivie, CEO, Tracey Mather and Sheil Collection.
QUEENS PLAZA , is the newest of Brisbane’s CBD shopping centres offering shops like David Jones, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany’s, Max Mara, Herringbone, Canturi, Mecca, Guess, Fossil, Witchery, Esprit, Endless Spirit, Viva, Crabtree and Evelyn, Allanah Hill, JigSaw, Saba, David Lawrence, Nautica, Rodd and Gunn, PO Box, Mont Blanc, Mimco, Bayswiss, French Connection, Australian Geographic plus a wonderful food court on the lower level. The David Jones store is the largest one-location DJ's in Australia and contains local and overseas designers like Willow, Akira, Morrisey, Scalan and Theodore, Sass and Bide, DKNY, Missoni, Armani, Burberry, Marc Jacobs, Chloe, Christian Louboutin, Miu Miu and Jimmy Choo among many more. The beauty arcade contains the only Laura Mercier, Creme de la Mer and Bobbi Brown counters in Brisbane. There is a Coles supermarket on the lower level.
MCARTHUR CENTRAL , which houses Australian bookstore Dymocks, discount superstore Big W, Morrisey, watches of Switzerland, Perfect Potion, L’occitane, Chill Bar and Dining, and Oroton. It also has one of the biggest CBD supermarkets Woolworths downstairs.
Also in the CBD are the ELIZABETH ARCADE (located opposite the Myer Centre) which houses the Teddy bear shop, Violent Green, Natalie Denning, Raw metal, etc…. as well as the RIVERSIDE shopping precinct (which also plays host to a Sunday art and craft market).
Southbank / West End
Located just across the river from the CBD Little Stanley Street at Southbank and Boundary Road at west end offer a large array of shopping options. While Southbank is more of a gastronomic experience it also has some very interesting little designer shops like denim co, akuti, EGG maternity, the weekend (they run from Friday to Sunday) art and craft market. West End is more alternative and most of the shops run to the hippie or gothic side, however West End is also the home to the warehouses and workshops of most of Brisbane’s up and coming designers such as Sacha Drake and Entitled.
Fortitude Valley / New Farm
Located 15mins walk from the Queen Street Mall, Fortitude Valley (called locally 'the Valley') is the hub of Brisbane’s thriving fringe culture. Once the red light district it is now a vibrant and eclectic shopping and entertainment area. Ann Street and Brunswick Street plays host to some of the most interesting stores Brisbane has to offer with places like Honorlulu, Fallow, Dogstar, Princesspa, Blonde Venus, Urban Groove, Ultra Suite, Mod Cons, Maiocchi, Nelson Molloy, Univeral, Lucid Laundry and Akira Isogawa's boutique Akira. There's also The Outpost in a small side street (Winn St) that's worth a look as well.
The Valley is also home is the very upmarket Emporium complex which houses Maryon’s, Camargue and other exclusive brands. Alla Moda - a textile boutique - offers fabric from Chanel, Valentino, Emilio Pucci and Missoni. Local designers are stocked in the Lotus 76 boutique store. Here's you'll find pieces from Stephanie Conoly, Yeojin Bae, Valerie Tolosa and Kate Hurst, Ginger and Smart, Gorman, Bracewell and Thurley.
Held every Saturday the Valley markets in the Brunswick St mall are an eclectic mix of second hand good and crafts that reflects the wonderful diversity of this area.
James Street is also a wonderful shopping precinct which contains some of Brisbane’s most beautiful homewares and furnishings shops. Places like Magnolia and DIG have long called James Street home. It is also home to designer shops from Sass & Bide, Scalan and Theodore, Bettina Liano, Lorna Jane and designer boutiques such as Kisses and the Tribune (which stocks local designers, plus high end ones like Prada and Chloe).
The New Farm Powerhouse Arts Complex (15mins from the city by citycat) plays host to the Brisbane Farmers Market on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month. For those who are early risers it is a wonderful opportunity to graze on the amazing variety of fresh produce and goods available at these wonderful markets.
Indooroopilly / Carindale / Chermisde / Toombul / Toowong
These giant shopping centres are very similar to the American concept of a ‘mall’ they house all the big chain stores, plus a smattering of Australian and international designers as well as huge food courts. Of these Chermside, Carindale and Indooroopilly are the best.
DFO airport drive / Harbour Town
These two huge discount shopping centres are a bargain hunter’s paradise. DFO at the airport has only recently opened with brands such as Columbia, Fila, Sunburn swimwear, Brooks, Converse, Aquila, Rivers, Tony Bianco, Sandler, Wittner, Windsor smith, Villeroy and Boch, Mikasa, Royal Doulton, Country Road, Billabong, Mossman, Lorna Jane, Tommy Hilfinger, Zambelli, Cue, Pumpkin Patch and many others. Harbour Town is located near the M1 highway to the Gold Coast, about an hour's drive south of Brisbane and is even larger than DFO.
Oxford Street, Bulimba
This gem of an area is home to some wonderful shops and cafes. It is also home to one of Brisbane’s cheapest cinema. With shops like Green Grass Home and Body and a whole range of beautiful home wares and clothing stores Oxford Street is worth a visit. Just 15mins via citycat from the city.
Paddington
Paddington is one of Brisbane’s best shopping suburbs with la trobe street offering kilometres of shopping. From Endo’s, St Vinnies, the spare room and Paddington antiques centre offering an eclectic mix of second hand and antique goods to places like Country Belle, La La Latrobe, Network two, Che Che Le Femme, miaow miaow, harry henry etc offering contempory designer clothes.