Hastings City
WestSide
Hawke's Bay has an events calendar that demands to be dressed for. From Art Deco to Mission Estate, from harvest celebrations to black-tie evenings — here's the occasions, the fit, and the WestSide specialists who've been at it for decades.
Hawke's Bay hits the high notes for summer events because let's face it, Aucklanders escape and Wellington shuts down. The region's Mediterranean climate combo'd with world-class wineries pushes the rubber stampers and deal makers into Art Deco country — and that creates the backdrop for dressing well. These are the annual occasions to be seen at where a blazer isn't optional... it's part of the whole looksmaxxing experience.
New Zealand's most theatrical annual event. The whole city steps back to the 1920s–40s for four days of jazz, vintage cars, aerial displays, the Great Gatsby Party at Mission Estate, and New Zealand's biggest dress-up occasion. A wide-lapel suit, spats, a pocket square and a fedora are not just acceptable — they're expected. Nearly 19,000 attendees, 40% from outside the region, 20% international. If you own a suit that's sitting in a wardrobe unused, this is its moment.
One of New Zealand's premier outdoor concert experiences, held at the oldest winery in the country against a stunning hillside backdrop. With a capacity of 25,000 and 60% of the crowd travelling from out of region... this is a see-and-be-seen occasion. The vineyard setting calls for something smarter than a t-shirt — a linen suit in warmer months, a navy or charcoal blazer with dress trousers for cooler evenings. The days of buying bottles and rolling down the hill is so two thousand and late. Instagram ready head turning comes secondary to feeling confident walking through the gates.
The harvest celebration brings in 2,200 guests but the real reason is to applaud those who picked the damned things in the first place. Set in the Hawke's Bay landscape with locally produced food, wine, live music and a genuinely intimate atmosphere. More relaxed than black tie... but the crowd dresses more than t-shirt and shorts Dave. Go open-collar shirt under a well-cut jacket rather than a full suit — keep the jacket in your drafts folder. Smart trousers, quality shoes. Lose the jeans anon.
The circus comes to town with all the weird and wonderful theatrics that school tried to beat out of us. Dance and music across the region every October. Opening nights and gala events pull a well-dressed crowd... and the festival's big-ticket performances, especially at formal venues, reward the effort of dressing up. A dark suit is never out of place. The festival has grown significantly and now attracts national and international performers, creating evenings that feel genuinely metropolitan.
Hawke's Bay Anniversary Day held at the Tomoana Showgrounds in Hastings isn't just for kids and the rides. Livestock, equestrian events, trade displays bring a strong community feel... and the A&P Show also draws some serious Hawke's Bay style. Country formal is the look — think a wool suit or sport coat, quality boots, and the kind of outfit that's at home in both a wine tent and a wool pavilion. The rural community of the Bay knows how to dress for an occasion without getting accused of having a fancy tractor by the neighbouring Footrot Flats characters.
New Zealand's Food and Wine Country set in the stunning Tuki Tuki Valley is an outdoor occasion in late spring that calls for lighter weight fabrics. A linen or cotton-blend suit isn't lame — it's Mediterranean chic, or simply sensible so you don't sweat your arse off. A smart blazer with well-fitted chinos also works well if you don't want to give off Italian mafia vibes. The valley backdrop rewards effort. Think of it as the kind of occasion where the suit comes off at 4pm and the jacket stays on until the girlfriend you've just met asks for it.
For almost every event on this list, you will never be overdressed in a well-fitted suit. You may occasionally be underdressed in a good blazer. Err toward the suit — and always, always wear it fitted.
The difference between a suit that looks expensive and a suit that looks cheap is almost never the price tag. It's the fit. An off-the-rack suit that has been altered to your body will almost always look better than an expensive suit worn as it came. Here's where to look.
The shoulder seam should sit precisely at the edge of your shoulder — not hanging over, not pulling inward. This is the hardest fit point to alter. If the shoulders don't fit, walk away. Everything else can be fixed; shoulders cannot.
When the jacket is buttoned, you should be able to fit a flat hand inside — no more. The lapels should lie flat against your chest without bowing or pulling open. If the button strains, size up and have the waist taken in.
A well-fitted suit jacket should follow the natural taper of your body — wider at the chest, narrower at the waist. A jacket that hangs straight from chest to hip like a box looks cheap regardless of the fabric. A tailor can take in the sides; this is a straightforward and inexpensive alteration.
A classic guide: your jacket should be long enough to cover your seat, and the hem should roughly align with where your fingers reach when you stand with arms at your sides. Modern cuts can be slightly shorter, but the jacket should never look like a bolero.
Jacket sleeves should end about 1–1.5cm above your shirt cuff, letting a sliver of shirt show. This small detail separates a dressed man from a man in a suit. If your shirt cuffs are invisible, your sleeves are too long. Have them shortened.
Your trousers should have a slight break — where the fabric rests on the shoe. A full break looks dated and sloppy. A clean half-break or no-break is modern and sharp. Have your tailor take them up if needed; this is among the cheapest alterations available and one of the most transformative.
Trousers that pull across the seat or strain at the thigh look uncomfortable because they are. The trouser should sit cleanly with no horizontal creasing under the seat. The thigh should have enough room to walk and sit without pulling — but not so much fabric that it billows.
Budget for alterations when you buy a suit. Hemming trousers, taking in the waist, and shortening sleeves can collectively cost $60–$120 but will make a $300 suit look like it cost three times that. Thomson's Suits carry an on-site tailor — the job is done while you wait.
Before you reach for a tie, consider where it was made. In a world of fast fashion and offshore manufacturing, there is one New Zealand business that has been handcrafting ties in the same Auckland workroom for over a century — and it's stocked right here on the WestSide.
The story begins on a train journey across America. Callil Abdallah, a young entrepreneur, encountered the modern necktie and sketched its pattern on a napkin. Back in New Zealand, his daughter Ruby sewed the first Parisian tie. In 1919, Callil opened a small tie-making business in central Auckland — choosing the aspirational name "Parisian" to counter the prevailing view that locally made goods were inferior to imports.
More than a century later, the business is still in the family — now in its fourth generation under John Crompton — and still making ties by hand in the same workroom on the edge of Myers Park in Auckland. The fabrics are sourced globally, from specialist weavers across the UK and Europe, then cut on the bias and hand-finished in New Zealand. About 14 individual steps go into each tie. No two days in the workroom are the same.
By the 1930s, the Parisian label was a household name across New Zealand. During the Second World War, the workforce neared 100. Through every decade of change — import deregulation, fast fashion, offshore manufacturing — Parisian stayed the course, making in New Zealand when almost every competitor had left. Today, that commitment to local production has become a genuine point of difference. In an era of conscious consumption and the "who made my clothes?" movement, Parisian's story resonates.
Thomson's Suits on the WestSide stocks Parisian neckwear. If you're buying a suit in Hastings and you want a tie worth wearing, you don't need to look any further than 355 Heretaunga St West.
For Art Deco events, go wide and bold — geometric patterns, rich colours, and a full Windsor knot. For a vineyard concert, a slimmer silk tie in a mid-tone works beautifully with an open-collar shirt underneath. For a formal evening, a solid or finely patterned tie in navy, burgundy or forest green never dates. Ask the team at Thomson's — they've been matching ties to suits and occasions in Hawke's Bay for decades.
The WestSide has two independent menswear specialists who have been dressing Hawke's Bay for longer than most of us have been alive. They know their stock, they know their customers, and they know what fits. These are not chain stores. They are institutions.
Men's and women's fashion including Vassalli jeans and quality tops. A well-established Hastings boutique known for a solid range and helpful (if unpushy) service. One of the only remaining independent menswear stores in Hastings — and one of the best reasons to shop local.
Old-school in the best possible way. Mick Thomson opened this shop in 1957 after being passed over for a management role — and brought his loyal customers with him. Three generations later, Angus Thomson runs the business with the same philosophy his grandfather started with: quality you can afford, service that remembers your name, and alterations done on-site while you wait. Stocks Parisian Neckwear. The only conversation you need to have before your next big occasion.
"You can't compete with the cheap stuff. You've got to have the quality — the best you can get at a price people can afford."
— Mick Thomson, founder, Thomson's Suits, 1957
Hawke's Bay has always known how to dress for an occasion. The region's events calendar is only getting richer — more concerts, more festivals, more evenings that reward the effort of turning up well. The WestSide has the specialists, the stock, and the experience to make sure you do.
Go early, ask questions, and trust the people who've been doing this since before you were born.