Chapel Street Op Shop
Photo Credit: Hellblazer!

One of my favourite Australian fashion bloggers, Lady Melbourne, was featured on Channel Nine’s A Current Affair last night. ACA did a feature on op-shopping, on how much $100 can get you. It was fun to watch, and looking at all the swell clothes and accessories she and the other volunteers bought, I bet it was even more fun for them to shop.

Op-shopping, or shopping at op-shops simply means shopping at secondhand stores. Or, as they like to put it these days, buying preloved items. Op shops are more popular for clothes, shoes and accessories although you’d also be able to find kitchenware, electrical goods, furniture, etc.

The first time I went op-shopping was in the UK. Initially I just bought books, but after a while, I started buying clothes too. It’s surprising how much good stuff you can find in shops like these.

My mum’s completely against buying secondhand clothing though. When I bought a jacket for my dad at the secondhand store (no point getting him an expensive new one since he was only going to be visiting me in the UK for a few days), my mum was horrified. I can still remember her words. “What if the jacket’s a DEAD MAN’S jacket? EEEK!”

Asian parents. Gotta love ’em.

Tim and I occasionally scour op shops in Melbourne. It’s fun, and you never know what you can find. He once bought a pair of Hugo Boss jeans for 8 bucks, and a pair of Country Road shorts for a fiver. Ever since the Hugo Boss find, he’d hit the men’s section of op shops immediately as we enter, hoping to score another designer goodie. Unfortunately, up till now, no such luck. Still, it’s heaps of fun for us, going through the racks and racks of clothes.

Photo Credit: Smurfie_77

Here’s my take on op-shopping:

– Strategically speaking, if you want the good stuff, or the ones more suited to you, hit the more popular op shops nearer to the city (or in popular suburbs with a demographic of young working adults to middle-aged ones). I live in an “old” suburb (i.e. there’s a lot of old people around :P), so most of the stocked items in the op shops in my suburb are suited to the older generation. Difficult to score much goodies there, although if you’re lucky, you might stumble upon a gem or two.

– You may not be able to get designer clothing at op shops that cheap anymore. Sure, once upon a time when op shopping wasn’t popular and nannas price items so low just to get them sold, you’d be able to score designer goodies very cheaply. Nowadays, vintagewear is such an in thing, and you have young ‘uns running the store, that chances of you scoring that Yves Saint Laurent jacket for 30 bucks is very low. Unless they don’t know what YSL is (*gasp* BLASPHEMY!).

– Not all items in op shops are secondhand. Sometimes you might be able to find overstock, obselete or faulty items from commercial stores. As these items would be brand new, they are often more expensive than the secondhand items in store. For example, the Salvos I frequent was selling a few pairs of Pepe jeans at $40 a pair. Cheap by Pepe Jeans standards, but expensive compared to the secondhand jeans on the same rack (which normally sell at about $10-$15 a pair, depending on the quality and brand).

– Op shops generally do not clean the clothes that are donated to them. They receive so many donations a day that they simply do not have the time nor manpower to do so. If you’re thinking of donating any unwanted clothes to an op shop, please do them and the people who’d be buying them a favour and clean them first.

– Most op shops I go to have a certain oldish, musty smell about them, mainly due to the clothes and old furniture. Just give your preloved clothes a good wash when you bring them home (remember to check the clothing care label first!), use a lint shaver on any rolled-up linty bits, and the items are good as new.

– Just because the clothes are cheap, doesn’t mean you have to buy a lot of them if you don’t need them. Buying another person’s clutter doesn’t mean you have to create clutter for yourself too. Think of it as a shopping experience, not an OMG-it’s-so-cheap-let’s-buy-buy-buy moment.

Other than Savers and {also} Fabulous Op Shop as mentioned on A Current Affair, there’s also Salvos, Australian Red Cross, Vinnies, and other smaller op shops in Australia. Just Google “op shops in [enter state]” and you’ll find a variety of op shops around your area.

Who knows? You might be able to bag that nondescript, forgotten-and-shoved-in-a-corner Christian Dior piece somewhere. Just let me know when you do 😛

Have fun!

I started dabbling with online shopping when I was studying in the UK. I still remember the first item I bought. It was printer ink cartridge 😛 And then I discovered eBay, and the rest, as they say, is history.

These days, I mostly shop online. With the strength of the Australian Dollar to the USD, it’s more fun to shop for stuff you cannot get locally. Even with the items you CAN get locally, they are usually cheaper elsewhere.

If I want any NARS makeup, I’d have a play with what I want at Mecca Cosmetica, and then order them on Kiss and Makeup NY. Most of my skincare items are from Strawberrynet. I scour Shopbop.com and Net-a-Porter for bags. eBay is great for clothes (did I tell you about the time I scored a Sass & Bide jacket for only AU$32 including shipping?). Etsy is a joy to browse and shop for small, uniquely made items like accessories, bags, stationery, etc.

But there is a line I draw when it comes to online shopping, and that’s shoes. I have flat feet, which was further aggravated when I moved to Australia. It wasn’t that bad when I was still living in Malaysia, as I did not have to do much walking back then (I drove a lot, even if it’s probably only a 10-minute walk). But when I came to Melbourne, I didn’t have a car of my own (I still don’t). I live near bus stops and a train station, so I relied heavily on public transportation and do a lot of walking. I reckon that’s what made my foot condition worse. I need sturdy shoes with very good arch and heel support. As such, I need to be able to try shoes on first before I buy them. I would love to be able to buy the pretty flats and heels I see on the Internet, but without trying them on first, chances are high that they would eventually be a waste of money.

What about you? Where do you draw the line on online shopping? Perhaps it’s lingerie. Or groceries. Or maybe even a Russian mail-order groom 😛

Hello you,

So here I am, having a cup of instant mocha, chatting with Geekchic on that Gmail chat thing. I’m having a very lazy Friday and really doing my best to keep my eyes open.

How’s your week been?

I’ve been having what you might call a “shopping block” lately. For the past few months, I haven’t been shopping. Before any of you shopaholics gasp and faint at your computer whilst reading this, let me tell you. I’ve tried. I really have. I even passed on stuff I really liked and can afford. It’s quite a big issue when even the husband, who seems to be allergic to the word SHOPPING, is worried for me. He even encouraged me to get some items I would usually be craving after. When I asked him why the concern, this is what he said.

“I’m afraid that when the no-shopping cloud finally lifts, you’ll go on an incredibly shopping binge”.

I scoffed at such a notion, but boy, was he right. For this week, indeed I went on a bit of a binge. When that desire to shop finally came back, it came in a woosh. In a week, I bought a leather bag from Shopbop.com (still waiting for it to arrive. I wonder if UPS delivers on weekends). Bought some items from Strawberrynet too, which amazingly, arrived today (bought on Tuesday).

I do love ~H2O+’s body balms. They’re not sticky and smell like the sea. Love it. Get it 😉

Next was a top, a set of pretty notecards and an eye pillow from Sussan. I’ve been wanting a heatable eye pillow for ages, and am so glad I managed to pick this up at Sussan’s, because they’re almost always sold out. This one’s so pretty, in grey satin and black lace, filled with lavender and flaxseed.

Not much of a binge, you might say, but for someone who’s been on a shopping block for so long, it’s like a buffet. Next in my list would be a red coat and a pair of boots. Still, the way the weather’s going on in Melbourne (read: warm and *ugh* humid), it doesn’t seem as though winter (or even autumn) is going to be here anytime soon.

And that concludes my Friday afternoon write up and coffee (fill ‘er up!). I’ll write when my bag finally arrives 😀

Have a great weekend ahead!