Love of Vintage
HappyEarth
7 Comments
In celebration of recycling and reusing all things vintage, the Canterbury racecourse in Sydney has been buzzing all weekend with crowds searching for treasures of vintage clothes and household items. It was such a breath of fresh air yesterday to be in a place where everyone was so thrilled to be buying stuff that was old and secondhand! There was a range of prices, with a lot of things being really reasonable, and others quite expensive. With the weather now getting cooler, I picked up two gorgeous warm woollen skirts for $30 each, a cute apron made from vintage fabric for $10 and a hand knitted beanie for $8.
As well as often being a win-win for the pocket compared to buying quality new clothes that will last, second hand shopping is as eco friendly as you can get – reducing waste by using already existing items and preventing new resources being used to manufacture the goods. It also reduces ‘clothes miles’ – the long distances travelled by goods to create the shirts on our back.
The Vintage Clothing, Jewellery and Textiles Show is on again on the 16th, 17th and 18th of October, and I’d definitely recommend it. There’s been so much interest, their website is currently out of action, but if you’d like to check out the show later try www.lovevintage.com.au.
The Illawarra is also blessed with so many fantastic op shops, most of which are run by various charities, with the profits supporting the valuable work they do. I couldn’t possibly list them all here, but addresses of some can be found at:
Some of our favourite things we’ve found in local op shops include our blue tiled coffee table, copies of ABC Organic Gardening magazines, children’s books...what’s been your favourite op shop or vintage buy?
Reader Comments (7)
I go to Vinnies opposite where I work every week and always come home with great stuff, especially books. My best buy was a Javi Lounge and matching chair - $180 for both in beautiful condition.
I buy a lot of my shirts and pants at Vinnies in Kiama. It's not all "old man clothes smelling of moth balls" - often the clothes look brand new. I think shops and manufacturers must donate deleted lines and left-overs to these charities as well.
Don't forget the other side of the equation - if you want to get rid of stuff (e.g. clothes that the kids have grown out of), donate them to a local charity. You'll be doing good twice - firstly by having the good reused by someone who wants them, and secondly by helping these charities to make a little money on the transaction.
Yeah it's amazing what you can find in op shops! The super comfy shoes I have been wearing to work for the last 6 months came from the Salvos - brand new 'Hush Puppies' shoes, must have been deleted lines or left overs from shops as you mentioned Darren as they had a few pairs that were quickly snapped up!
Good point about the donation aspect to Darren - a number of the larger charities have areas near the front of the store where you can drop off donations.
Happy donating and recycling...
Ally and Rich
I've been building up my fabric stash by buying from 'Vinnies' and all my kids clothes are pre loved - Mission Australia sells them for $5 for 10 items.
I'll be signing up for the next op shop tour as I missed the last one.
Just to let you know I've mentioned your site in a recent post - http://gustoso.wordpress.com/2009/04/19/chokos-to-cumquats/ Hope you don't mind. Let me know if you want anything changed.
First, I'd like to say...I love your site. It's great to hear of others doing similar things in other parts of the world.
Here, we have Salvation Army and Goodwill stores. There are some thrift stores which are owned by individuals. However, they are starting to regulate children's pre-loved clothing here. My favorite is the Goodwill store that is in my town. I don't look for vintage clothing because I work in a high-profile position. I look for classics, which get compliments from the big spenders at work (even the President). LOL! I save TONS of money doing this. It also makes me feel better about using what is already made compared to what is newly made. I take care of the clothing and it lasts for years! No one is the wiser except me and hubby.
Thanks for your comments guys, great to see you share our love of op shopping!
Little M, thanks for the link to our site on your blog - fantastic blog by the way, great to see what you're up to in converting your own lawn into a flourishing food garden!
Happy op shopping!
Ally and Rich :-)