Street Cred: Chasing away the chill
Great style, well put together, or just someone who catches our eye. Every week reporter Carly Gooch gets out and about to discover the people behind the clothes in Canterbury.
Double denim, fake fur, and soft, warm wool – these Christchurch-born women were braving the cold in the central city with fabrics to ward off the chill.
Alice Andersen, 39, is a consultant living in central Christchurch
She’s a “big fan of the inner city” and has been since her flatting days, she says.
One of the benefits of living in the city is saving money on parking and transport because you can walk everywhere, she says.
It’s the first year she’s getting into gardening, so she’s looking forward to a spring garden in bloom. “I’m about to plant spring bulbs; I’m crazy for tulips.”
Alice and her partner have been doing what they call “Tight 45” every week. They go out at night for 45 minutes and “dance dance dance” and as they head home, they order Uber eats. “There’s nothing like coming home to a hamburger.”
Her entire outfit is pre-loved, including the cowboy boots she bought from America on holiday and the bag she bought the day she was spotted by The Press.
Ingrid Voigt, 33, is an immigration officer living in Avonhead, Christchurch.
She started studying towards a law degree three years ago, after having a passion for criminal law sparked by her former job.
She was a PA at the Christchurch District Court when criminal law piqued her interest, she says.
Now she aims to be a police prosecutor, “ideally”.
Studying her degree through the University of Waikato, she does 25 hours a week from home, on top of her full time job.
But she says the study isn’t as difficult as coming into it fresh out of school due to her previous experience in courts and law firms, where she subconsciously soaked up the knowledge.
She wears Steve Madden boots, a Camilla jumpsuit, and a fake fur Guess jacket.
Imogene Lomax, 40s, lives in Somerfield, Christchurch, and is a customer manager at NZTE.
She’s Christchurch born and bred, but says she “did a bolt” and moved elsewhere. She returned to the Garden City about five years ago after living most recently in Auckland for more than 10 years and working in Dubai for seven months.
“Christchurch is the best place to live, work and play.”
She says it seems to be the “highest per capita in pilates studios”, a way of keeping fit she enjoys, along with getting into the hills.
She reflects on her time in the United Arab Emirates and admits “the perceptions I had were all wrong”.
It wasn’t a problem being a woman in Dubai because “nobody would touch you”, she says. “It was the safest place I’ve been on earth.” There were some downsides though: it was expensive, and you can’t work there without a visa so if you were made redundant, you had to leave the country pretty fast, she says.
She wears Bresley shoes and Cos pants and top.