About Us

Alterations, Tailoring & Ball gowns & Wedding Dresses for Sale and Hire

Shadow Cat offers expert clothing alterations and repairs, custom tailoring, Bridal Fittings, Ball gowns and wedding Dresses for sale and hire.

We have a reputation for high quality, meticulous workmanship. If you need a garment to be altered, repaired, or need custom stitch work, please contact us or drop by our shop to talk things through. If you have an emergency, we can even provide you with a same day service. Don't return your online purchases – simply have them altered so they fit you perfectly.

We pride ourselves on our service levels and customer care. We have many loyal customers who have remained with us over the years and recommended us to their friends, because they know that we'll treat their clothes with the utmost care, as if they were our own. We aim for excellence and are very proud of the quality of our work.

Fiona Le, Owner

Fiona founded Shadow Cat in 2017, running the business from her home-based Napier studio, before recently moving into a dedicated store to meet the growing demand for her services.

The new store at 26 Porter Drive, Havelock North will enable Fiona to expand Shadow Cat's services and offer a central, convenient location for her clients.

Fiona has over eight years’ experience in fashion design, sewing, and pattern making. Originally from Vietnam, Fiona moved to Auckland in 2009 to complete her Marketing degree at AUT.

It was while Fiona was raising her young family in Auckland and making clothes for her daughters that she decided to pursue her passion for fashion design and sewing. She attended the New Zealand Fashion School where she specialised in Pattern Making.

Fiona feels fortunate to have come under the tutelage of prominent New Zealand fashion designer Misty Lang, who, among others, helped Fiona develop her talent for fashion design and sewing. After several years of gaining skills and experience working in the fashion industry, Fiona decided to strike out on her own and launch her own business - Shadow Cat. With life in Auckland becoming increasingly busy juggling her growing business with being a full-time mum, Fiona made the decision to move their young family to Napier in 2019, seeking a healthier work-life balance. Fiona and her family are happily settled in Napier and her business is booming.

In 2021, expanded her services from her new Havelock North store for her ever growing number of happy clients.

Fiona is passionate about food and hospitality and in 2023, became the proud co-owner of Off The Track Restaurant & Cafe. To cap off a busy year, Fiona, and business partner Chris Whyte, launched OTT In The City, a modern Vietnamese and Japanese Restaurant & Bar in the centre of Hastings.

Shadow Cat offers its own lovingly-made range of children's' wear.

In 2020, Fiona fulfilled a dream of hers and launched Shadow Cat Boutique, a her own range of sustainably made children's clothing.

It was while Shadow Cat Founder Fiona Le was raising her young family in Auckland that she began making clothes for her children, inspired by her love for fashion and a desire to embrace a more natural, healthy and sustainable lifestyle.

This philosophy lead to natural choices for fabrics and won the admiration of other mums for the simple, comfortable and gorgeous clothing she was making for her children. The idea of one day having her own children's clothing range was born.

All Shadow Cat Boutique garments are designed and hand-crafted by Fiona at her Napier workshop using natural, certified-organic fabrics sourced from local suppliers.

Fiona is committed to working towards the goal of Zero Waste, and her garments are thoughtfully designed to minimise material wastage during production while extending the life of the garments by ensuring they have multiple uses.