Paperdoll is an independent womenswear boutique on Margaret Road in Raumati South, a small seaside village on the Kāpiti Coast. Trina and her team all share the same two interests — people and fashion — and that pairing shows in the way the shop is run: personally, and with a genuine interest in who walks through the door.
Rather than stocking everything, the team hand picks the best of every season from a select group of brands, curating a range designed to help customers develop their own style and build a lasting wardrobe. The label list runs to more than fifty names, from Augustine, Karen Walker and Once Was to Scotch & Soda, Mavi Jeans, Zaket & Plover and Tuesday Label.
The store's stated reason for being is simple: to help people bring beauty into the world through clothes, and to help every visitor find something perfect for them. Paperdoll also trades online at paperdoll.net.nz and shares new arrivals and styling inspiration with its community on Instagram and Facebook.
On Margaret Road in Raumati South, Paperdoll has built its name as the kind of boutique where the racks are edited, not endless. Trina and her team all share the same interests — people and fashion — and that double focus shapes everything about the shop, from the labels they carry to the way they help a customer pull an outfit together.
The team's reason for being, in their own words, is to help people bring beauty into the world through their clothes, and to help every visitor find something perfect for them. It is a modest mission, but it is also a fair description of what a good local boutique does best.
Paperdoll does not try to stock everything. Each season, the team hand picks the best pieces from a select group of brands, with the stated aim of helping you develop your style and build your wardrobe. That curation is the shop's real product: somebody has already done the filtering, so what's on the floor is what made the cut.
The label list is long and deliberately mixed — more than fifty brands at any given time. Alongside New Zealand favourites like Augustine, Karen Walker, Stolen Girlfriends Club, Once Was, Tuesday Label, Stitch Ministry and Zaket & Plover, you'll find international names such as Scotch & Soda, Mavi Jeans, Neuw Denim, Rolla's, Noa Noa, emily and fin, Isle of Mine and Lula Life. Denim sits beside knitwear, dresses beside fragrance, and basics ranges like Augustine's Pretty Basics sit beside statement pieces.
The shop's Instagram gives a flavour of how the seasons land. Winter has meant chocolate and white fur bombers and burnt-chocolate nappa leather pants from Once Was; spring arrivals from Once Was and Nine Lives Bazaar have been announced with genuine excitement; and a "French drop" of Molly Bracken and Lili Sidonia pieces has recently caught the team's eye. Tuesday Label, they report, flies off the racks in chocolate, dove grey and tangerine.
The range is organised by item, and it covers a full wardrobe: dresses, tops, shirts, trousers, skirts, knitwear, jackets and shoes. Around the clothing there is a gift edit and a fragrance selection, plus Paperdoll gift cards — a reliable answer when you're buying for someone who loves fashion but you'd rather let them choose.
Summer edits lean into florals and light slip dresses, while winter brings out the fur bombers, knits and leather. Because the buy is seasonal, the shop looks different every few months, and regular customers tend to check in when a favourite label lands a new drop.
What sets a boutique like this apart from a mall is the service around the stock. The team hand picks every piece, which means they know the range intimately — how it fits, what it pairs with, and which brand suits whom. If you're rebuilding a wardrobe or hunting for one specific thing, that knowledge is the reason to come in person.
Paperdoll is a genuine part of the Raumati South village scene. When the village runs its mid-winter late night, the shop stays open into the evening — the team's advice is to rug up in your winter woolies and come for a visit, with fun guaranteed. The store also connects with a wider community online, sharing regular inspiration and a closer look at new arrivals on Instagram and Facebook under @paperdollraumati.
Can't make it to the Coast? The full range is available online at paperdoll.net.nz, alongside the current sale and gift cards.
Paperdoll is open seven days a week. The hours the store advertises are Friday and Saturday 10am to 5pm, and Sunday 10am to 4pm; if you're planning a weekday visit, it's worth confirming the times via the shop's contact page or social channels before you set out.
Whether you're after a single perfect dress, a winter bomber you'll wear for years, or just a browse through a well-edited rack in a seaside village, Paperdoll makes a convincing case for shopping local — and for letting someone who truly loves fashion choose what lands in the store.