Saturday fun….

When I was a teenager, my mum used to take us on outings each Saturday morning, it would be our treat after a week at school, my mum often taking us to places well out of our league.

Let me set the stage, you see we were a family of 4, sometimes 5 (depending on mum’s boyfriend status), but primarily a single parent household. Now I knew we had very little money, in fact if I was to put it bluntly, we were poorer than the poor. But my mum was an optimist, someone who saw the value in something and showed me how to spot that same value.

We’d go to places like Garden City, Myer and the Hay Street mall, sometimes Carousel but always window shopping. She’d point out a brand, she’d say “Nicky, remember that name” with an excited voice. Sometimes she’d take a little notebook and write them down, in any case, I didn’t realise the value in what she was doing back then, until I started op-shopping on my own.

Labels and names would come to me like lightening bolts. I’d remember when we did op-shop when I was younger, she’d look at the top I chose and would go “No, that’s home brand, keep looking” and I would. Home brands, as my mother put it so simply, are the types of clothes you buy at the local shops, K-mart, Target, Big W, Rockmans and those kinds of places, a dime a dozen, every other person has the same jumper. 

Back then, I thought, as every teen does, she was crazy, that top was cool, hindsight however is a wonderful thing and she saved me from being one of the sheep only I didn’t know it. Now looking back, she gave me the foundation to spot a bargain, a label that pops out and you know that if you actually had to spend retail (new) you probably couldn’t pay an electric bill. So I spend my Saturday’s wandering a Good Sammy, Anglicare or Salvo’s waiting for something to jump out.

Trust me, my wardrobe is full of jumpers that cost in excess of $90 each, my last shop with Review, Basque, Marco Polo, Laddakh loaded in my arms came to $70 total!! I know now how I feel when I wear something no one else has, because they only made small quantities, as most large fashion labels do.

So with my knowledge of quality and cost effectiveness, I am known to my friends as the magnet. Just take me into an op-shop and lo-and-behold, they find something they were looking for. I’ve taught them well, my young apprentices, how to look for labels, what fabrics to look for and how to make sure that you’re getting value for money.

In fact, as I write this, my friend has just told me that my favourite shop has just had new shipment, now this place is renowned for UK and overseas labels, things that you just can’t buy here and I am afraid, I’ll have the brave the madness on Saturday to go in search of the next great wardrobe add.

When once I would wander for hours, not seeing another soul in an op-shop, it has become the new place to go. Any given Saturday, or any day for that matter, they are teeming with people looking for a bargain. Some people tut-tut at the thought of stepping inside ‘one of those places’ as I’ve heard it referred to in my time. But let me tell you, the last three balls I went to, my gowns were purchased from an op-shop. No one knew the difference and in fact, many commented on such a beautiful dress. I am always chuffed at that, knowing that my entire outfit cost less than $30, hell yes!

So when you consider an op-shop, think of it this way, it’s pre-loved fashion, one of a kind in many cases, and a cost-effective and planet saving way of getting a new wardrobe. I’ll often recycle myself, so often that I’m seen leaving the house with big black bags and dumping them in my boot, which would make the average person suspicious, but I live in Armadale so they’re pretty used to that kind of thing!

And an op-shop is also an awesome place to start when you’re invited to that ‘fancy dress party’, oh how many Halloween’s I’ve made a costume from $10 down at the Salvo’s. Even my kids love it when I say “I’m heading to the op-shop, you want to come?” which they heartily reply with a healthy dose of yes mum’s. My son will often come home after work, saying he’d stopped in and found a bargain.

Just last weekend, the boys were going to a club and they had to wear dress shoes, so his mates had spent $100 on shoes, he needed some so headed to the shops, at some point, in his head just as I do, thought to stop in at the local op-shop. Upon walking to the shoe section, there in its original box, brand new, the same shoes his mates had spent $100 on, he spent less than $20, his size and all. He’s gifted like me. Hell I’ve found shoes myself that cost more than my weekly rent, I bought them anyway, who could say no to Mollini, especially at $7!!!

Well, that about sums up my Saturday fun, I love it when I can take my friends and they walk out, arms full and satisfied or when I’m wandering on my own, browsing and looking. Searching for that elusive label, the one that sparks a glint in my eye, knowing someone who had a lot of money, just cleaned out their wardrobe and mine, would be the beneficiary of those items. For some that sounds crazy, but for me, it’s my fun.

Next time you pass by, stop in, you may not know it, but there’s a bargain in there for everyone, you just have to be open to the experience and know that you’re also helping community organisations who rely on their little shops and the volunteers that often run it.

Be prepared though, you may just find yourself wanting to go back, because there just wasn’t enough time to see everything, and you’ll just have to go back again; and again; and again…..

Ciao xx