The joy of op-shopping
May. 14th, 2023 01:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
anna_wingI don't often get to thrift/charity shops, since very poor developing countries rarely have the level of widespread affluence required to support this genre of shop. So when I got to Australia recently to visit friends and family, I indulged myself with a few fun days out with aunt, cousin, and old friend from univeresity. The Aussie versions are 'op-shops', short, I understand, for "opportunity shops". The range of charities involved is very wide. The Salvos (Salvation Army) and Vinnies (St Vincent de Paul, a Catholic charity) seem to be among the most widespread, but one can find random op-shops for all manner of causes. We visited one for epilepsy, one for animal protection, and a couple for cancer charities. I love them. They scratch the shopping itch for not too much money, and they have that essential element of uncertainty and excitement. And they're very good for training one's decision-making muscles, since it's "buy or buy not, there is no "think about it and come back tomorrow'".
Since Melbourne is an old, rich city, with several very rich suburbs, pickings are generally quite good. In previous visits, I acquired a beautiful 1950s Autumn Haze mink jacket for A$150 (though getting it cleaned cost a bit more, it was still a lot less than a new one), a gorgeous beaded collar for A$25 and a sweet Clarice Cliff soup-bowl for A$8. The latter was particularly satisfying because this time round I saw a side plate in the same pattern ('Corolla') in a veritable antique shop for A$150... over the years I've also picked up many metres of vintage lace trim, and a lot of exquisite handwork - doilies made from very delicate tatting and fine-thread crochet etc, presumably from people's deceased grandmothers, usually for a couple of dollars at most.
I don't usually buy clothes, but this time round, I was looking for old jeans to chop up and make into my own boro jacket (with sashiko and all). It was surprisingly hard to find good quality denim without stretch, even in the men's section, but with a bit of perseverence I got three large pairs for under A$10 each. And lots of old books, including things I'd read from my childhood (Richard Carpenter's novelisation of "Robin of Sherwood', that sort of thing etc), CDs (because I like to own my music, and if you're living somewhere with dodgy internet connections, streaming is not a viable thing) and DVDs, (ditto). I also got a couple of good leather men's belts, strong enough to hold a waist-bag, and a new-with-tags viscose sundress from a Fijian brand, in a beautiful red stylised leaf print, which will probably be turned into an office hot-weather dress by my dressmaker at some point (it was 2X, and turned out to be more than 2 metres of very nice fabric!).
If I were a young person starting out, I'd get at the very least all my crockery and cutlery from op-shops, and probably a lot of kitchenware too. The Noritake dinner service for six for A$150 was distinctly tempting, even now...
Since Melbourne is an old, rich city, with several very rich suburbs, pickings are generally quite good. In previous visits, I acquired a beautiful 1950s Autumn Haze mink jacket for A$150 (though getting it cleaned cost a bit more, it was still a lot less than a new one), a gorgeous beaded collar for A$25 and a sweet Clarice Cliff soup-bowl for A$8. The latter was particularly satisfying because this time round I saw a side plate in the same pattern ('Corolla') in a veritable antique shop for A$150... over the years I've also picked up many metres of vintage lace trim, and a lot of exquisite handwork - doilies made from very delicate tatting and fine-thread crochet etc, presumably from people's deceased grandmothers, usually for a couple of dollars at most.
I don't usually buy clothes, but this time round, I was looking for old jeans to chop up and make into my own boro jacket (with sashiko and all). It was surprisingly hard to find good quality denim without stretch, even in the men's section, but with a bit of perseverence I got three large pairs for under A$10 each. And lots of old books, including things I'd read from my childhood (Richard Carpenter's novelisation of "Robin of Sherwood', that sort of thing etc), CDs (because I like to own my music, and if you're living somewhere with dodgy internet connections, streaming is not a viable thing) and DVDs, (ditto). I also got a couple of good leather men's belts, strong enough to hold a waist-bag, and a new-with-tags viscose sundress from a Fijian brand, in a beautiful red stylised leaf print, which will probably be turned into an office hot-weather dress by my dressmaker at some point (it was 2X, and turned out to be more than 2 metres of very nice fabric!).
If I were a young person starting out, I'd get at the very least all my crockery and cutlery from op-shops, and probably a lot of kitchenware too. The Noritake dinner service for six for A$150 was distinctly tempting, even now...
