Price: All free!
Found: Clothes Swapping at my own house
Quite often when my lady friends have reached that point where they have too much in their wardrobe that they don't wear anymore, and I have a couple of things that I might give away, we all come together for a clothes swap. One gals trash is another's treasure. We pile it all up and grab away. Afterwards, whatever is left over I will take to a charity shop. This kind of event is great for recycled clothes and getting more use out of them. 20% of clothes given to op-shops are turned into landfill because they get given so much, so it's good to use it again and share with your friends. Plus, my friends are all lovely and stylish and they have dresses that I get pangs of jealousy over and sometimes, just sometimes, the clothes come to me eventually.
Price: All free! Found: Clothes Swapping at my own house
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This dress was bought specifically for my James Bond themed 21st. I thought I had my outfit in the bag and then this dress just came along and blew me over. It drew me straight away as one of the most va-va-voom kind of dresses out there. Especially when the swish factor is at maximum.
My sister Nadine used to work for World Vision out at Springwood and she always told me about the op-shops out near her office. One time I had to pick her up from work and take her to the Gold Coast to see our mum so I went early for a peek. There was this one small road that didn't disappoint. I don't think it's accessible by public transport but if you can get there, it's worth checking out. Tip: There is a 'Footprints in Springwood' store just next door with lots to look at too. Price: $35 Found: St Vinnies Springwood (approx. 5 Watland St Springwood) I've been wearing this dress for years without knowing it's a 'Kerri Craig'. That's some ritzy store in Elizabeth St Arcade in the City where all it has in its shop is pastel, puffy dresses. My kinda thing. However, only at an op-shop price.
I was also lucky enough to score a random large petticoat that didn't go with the dress, but I think the ladies at the op-shop thought it did. As you can see, I am quite ecstatic to be wearing it. Price: $25 Found: Macintyre Centre at Indooroopilly (quite a while ago: before the renovation) This started out as a: 'Ha ha what an ugly sack! Let's try it on for fun!'-dress. Then it turned into a: 'Whoa, it looks great on! Now I have to buy it!' I always have to wear it with my hair up so you can see the best part, but this dress is a classic for me; don't think I could ever let it go.
If you're ever in need of something for a fancy dress party or something that's very out there and extravagant, the Lifeline on Ann is always good for a look. They have a huge selection of retro things and seem to have more interesting things than most op-shops. It's run by a lady who knows her stuff though; she's pretty ruthless about pricing and things aren't as cheap in there Price: $25 Found: Lifeline on Ann (680 Ann Street, Fortitude Valley) This is one of my most favourite dresses. I know you thought that might be hard for me to choose from my selection, but it is. There is everything right with this dress. The ruffles. The colours. The buttons. The length. So naturally; had to have it.
Price: $40 Found: Paddington Antique Centre I um-ed and ah-ed about this one for a bit. I was so in love with it, but it was a bit more than I liked to spend. Then the power of how much I loved it took over and I bought it anyway. As should always happen with signature dresses. It has no label so it might be homemade, and I found it in the clothing cubicles to the right and to the back of this place. It's the very lovely Paddington Antique Centre and it always requires a bit more attention and time than most op-shops, mostly because it is quite huge, and it has a vast amount of little nooks and corners to check out.
The shoes I also found there for about $25, after searching for them for some time Price: $40 Found: Paddington Antique Centre (167-169 Latrobe Terrace, Paddington) There's a lovely feeling when you walk out of the St Vinnies in Paddington, because you can walk straight across the road to Endo's, another large op-shop. This place has a separate house next door for furniture and homewares, and a whole downstairs area for retro explosion. It's absolutely fabulous. Some things are more expensive than you expect them to be though; Endo's has a lot of brands coming through and they know most people will pay for it. They used to be a lot cheaper before vintage became "in" but I still like to have a look as they have a large array of accessories that I find are the right price. Like this lovely Fuschia beret to add to my beret collection.
Price: $13 Found: Endo's Endeavour Recycled Clothing Store (29-31 Latrobe Terrace Paddington) This is my birthday dress. It is so wonderful and I feel so lovely in it that I usually end up wearing it on the day of my birthday every year now.
I got it a couple of years ago now, when I went with my sister to the Vintage Fashion Fair at Eagle Farm Racecourse, an intense and magnificent event for your eyes and feet. There's so much to look at, I took a litre of Up-and-Go to sustain me during the day because this is one day of super serious vintage shopping. You have to be quick and not faff about too much with one stall. Bring lots of cash too: the atms are few and they charge for withdrawals. When the dress was found unfortunately I didn't get it to begin with. My sister nabbed it and refused to give it to me as she had a friend who she wanted it for, though she said I could have it if her friend didn't. Deeply wounded, I had to wait til she checked with her friend and finally when I had given up hope, she gave it to me several weeks later. Price: $25 Found: Brisbane Vintage Fashion Fair (Eagle Farm Racecourse check dates:http://www.vintagefashionfairs.com.au/) This was a fun find. While I was waiting for my car to be fixed a while ago I went to my "old faithful" op-shop around the corner: the St Vinnies in Sumner/Centenary/Jamboree Heights area. I have always managed to find something here, and as well as these I found some brilliant sewing patterns, a roll of material, and some other good quality stockings. This Vinnies is very good for furniture, and has a cool assortment of garish wedding and formal dresses I always like to check out.
Price: $2 Found: St Vinnies in Sumner (17 Jijaws Street, Sumner) This necklace, not including the pendant, was a magnificent find in the depths of the St Vinnies in Paddington. I'm not sure if that place used to be an old firehouse but it is brilliant to check out. Especially the fancy dress section upstairs, and the retro section at the back. To start off with, my mother owns one just like it, exactly the same. It's pure silver with the little numbers on it and everything.
She spent approximately $95 on it. I paid $5. Brill. Found: St Vinnies Paddington (16 Latrobe Tce, Paddington) |
AuthorTreasure hunter. Bargain Queen. Archives
March 2013
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