I haven't posted in a looong time - a full time job that involved almost three hours of commuting did not leave much spare time for op shopping. However, the job is now over and I hear the siren call of the op shop summoning me. Here a couple of finds from a trip to the Salvos the week before christmas:

A pair of burgundy ankle boots that fit perfectly. There are a few small scuff marks that should come off with a bit of a brush, but in otherwise good condition. I take a large size and I don't often find shoes to fit while opping. $4.05 (discount day)

A part bolt of cotton fabric (might be polycotton). It took me a while to work out the text (it's upside down in the photo), but it says "inferno" with the O a ball of flame. There's approximately ten metres - a great find for $4. I plan to use this to test some new dressmaking patterns as it's cheaper than calico and I might end up with something wearable.

Windsor Op Shop Crawl

Hi fellow op shoppers! Apologies for my (very long!) absence - I'm still around, just with inadequate time for posting about newly-found treasures. Anyway, hope this kind of makes up for it - I've just posted on my personal blog about an op shop crawl a few of us did in Windsor a little while back, so come on over and take a look if you are so inclined! 

Salvos MEGA SALE

The sale is today and tomorrow only, at these stores.

Score at Salvos in the CBD!

Hi, I'm Steph, also known as Bookgrrl. I've been blogging for the past 3 years, but have been op-shopping for the past 20. My mum passed on her love of op shops to me and I have been known to plan whole trips on the basis of an op shop being open. This is my first post for I op therefore I am and am loving yet another excuse to visit opshops!

I work in the CBD and was passing by the Bourke Street Salvos on my lunchbreak when I popped in. I managed to leave with a woollen navy jacket priced at $9.99. It's fitted at the waist and will be great for work.

The lady at the counter (they always seem to be ladies in oppies rather than girls don't they?) said it had arrived in that day and that new stock was arriving daily.

I'll post again soon about my finds closer to home- I live in Ballarat and have family in Geelong. Like I said I do like to travel!

Quality at 50 paces

Found these at the Salvos in Malvern. Made in Italy. Quality leather. My size. $14. Need I say more? You can see me giving them a workout here.

Something We All Know

Always surprised when the press claim op shops are the latest fashion. I don't know about the rest of you but I have been op shopping since high school and I finished that 30 years ago. I'm more a fan of the old style rummage op shop than the new 'curated' ones but each to their own.
This turned up on The Age's website today
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/opshops-the-latest-fashion-as-retail-opportunity-knocks-20120131-1qrct.html

Summer in the Hamptons

Well, that's what my friends and I like to say. Makes "Hampton" sound a lot fancier, doesn't it?
I got these KG (Kurt Geiger's cheaper line, I think?) patent leather heels for $9 at the Salvos in Hampton on the way to the beach during the holidays - I love how the colour fades to being transparent halfway down the heel.


You can see me wearing them (along with a skirt I made from a sheet from Savers) here.
Also got a zip, but for $1 it was hardly a bargain as zips are not much more when you buy them at Clegs! Still, not bad for my first trip to the Hamptons Salvos (also went to Vinnies and the op shop opposite the Salvos, it's handy that there are 3 op shops all in the one spot on Hampton Street!).

Salvos Kew

image via

Does everyone already know that there is a Salvos store opening in Kew, in the old Retravision store?

Well, there is. Which will make the op shopping route down High st just that little more brilliant! Yay!

A trove of trashed treasures

This article turned up in The Age yesterday. Its about the odd donations that charities receive and also mentions Buy Nothing New Month.

http://www.theage.com.au/lifestyle/homestyle/a-trove-of-trashed-treasures-20111010-1lh8r.html

A happy couple from FTG Salvos

Being back at full time work means I haven't had much time to visit op shops, so I was expecting to go into a buying frenzy when I managed to get up to the cluster of op shops around Ferntree Gully station on the weekend.

But all I bought was an embroidery book (which is full of crafty goodness and therefore warrants its own post at some later stage) and this pair of carved wooden dolls which I think are Ainu. They both have rings around their neck which must have been carved out of the same block as their bodies. I love their bold, simple style. Having lived in Japan for nearly a decade you'd think I'd be able to say with certainty whether these are Ainu carvings or not, but I'm not 100% sure. Do you know?

Oh, and by the way, as I walked along Alpine Street, I noticed that there was a shop with a sign in the window saying "op shop opening soon".... GET EXCITED!!

There's a bit of a pattern emerging here....

OK, so I'm still running late with my blogging... this haul is from a few weeks ago and was another very exciting one for me. First stop was the MS shop in Glen Waverley were I found these old pattern books which I literally jumped on like a lion attacking its prey when I saw them. They were only $4 each!

 

I can't get enough of the illustrations from old patterns! This was one of my favourites (I have the actual pattern somewhere too!).

The only annoying thing is that, flicking through the pages, there are so many things I'd love to make, but of course I can't get the patterns any more unless I stumble on them in an op shop.... which is what happened with these...

After all this goodness, I thought I'd finished at the MS shop but just did one last check... I was rather glad I did as I found these tough-girl boots which are just my size, for $10. Although they are my size, they are VERY tight fitting around the legs and had holes in the back seams, so I had to get them fixed, which cost $32, but still, they're Italian-made and excellent quality. I have a slight problem taking them off due to the fit, but as long as someone is around to pull them from my feet I should be OK!! Love the studded detail in the arch of the foot.

Next up was the Salvos in Brandon Park, where I had a bit of an Asian theme going. I found this amazing colourful hat for $4.99...

... and these teacups (four of them for $1 each as orange ticketed items were half price). 

They're gold on the inside and black outside with mountain scenes handpainted onto them. I'm fairly sure that they are lacquerware rather than plastic, although lacquerware tends to chip when it gets old and these are still in fairly good condition, so can't say for certain. I have a feeling they may have been made as souvenirs in Japan in the 60s or so. Anyway, the kitsch quotient is perfect!! So another fine op shopping day was had by all ("all" being "me", of course!).

Student Discount Day @ Salvos Dandenong South

So every Wednesday students get 20% off at the Salvos Stores! Pretty great deal! I haven't been op shopping in a while so was really happy that I managed to find a few things I liked :)

Check out the print of these mitch dowd PJ pants! $3.99
Agent Ninetynine black tshirt with zip detail $3.99
Cooper St black with white polka dots skirt $4.99
No brand pink top with black polka dots and bow detail (this is the back view) $1.99, this was a 50% off item (blue tickets this week!)
Witchery black denim mini with stud detailing on back pockets $4.99

Salvos finds

Hey guys - this is my first post on I Op Therefore I am :) I'll tell you a bit about myself:  I'm Mandi, and I'm 20 years old. I'm a temporarily-retired student, expecting a baby :)
I own a fashion blog called FrouFrou Fabulous where you'll probably find a lot of posts that mirror these ones, plus more fashion and other stuff.
I'm really excited to be a part of this blog! Ok let's get into it! :)
Here of some of my recent finds from the Salvos! I have a more detailed haul written about it here, if you want more info! x

Très gorgeous jacket with a faded tag (unknown brand); $6

Brand new Bonds Jacket with tags still on (RRP $44); a steal at $10!

Super cute diamante heels; $6

Great condition SUPRÉ jeans; $8!

That's it for today guys - I hope you liked my first post, and I did everything right :) xx

Savers.. and Salvos.. and Vinnies.. AND Uniting Care..

Did anyone else go to the Savers 50% off (clothing) sale yesterday? As usual at their sales, I hardly bought anything, but I did get this glass painting of a tiger for $12.99. Tacky, but cool. 

I also got a skirt there for only $2.50 thanks to the sale, but it's pretty formfitting and without a person in it you can't tell what it looks like, so if you're dying to know, head to my blog in the next few days as I will eventually put an outfit shot up.

It actually took me a while to get to Savers because I hit the three other big op shops in Dandenong beforehand and really took my time in there. I used to have to rush my visits there as I went on my lunch break, but no longer being employed at my former workplace, and having just completed a huge translating job, I was in the mood to spend, spend, spend. And I did! Here you see most of my purchases:

I won't go into detail about the clothes as I will do outfit posts on my own blog at some point, suffice to say I found an AMAZING long pink wool skirt for $8 at Uniting Care which you can just see under everything else, plus a brand new blue cardigan made of 100% merino wool for $8. Also at UC I got this tray thing for $4. The guy working there told me it was for threshing rice, but it's too heavy and awkward for that. Any idea what it could be?

 

Maybe just something ethnic looking that was made in China and sold at one of those interior stores, but I have a feeling it was used for something agricultural/culinary. I might use it for a tabletop.

I also got this cool black leather handbag at UC for $6. 

Also Le Specs "Roller Disco" sunnies for $2!! (Quite happy about that, although if I were being picky I would have said I preferred red ones).

At Vinnies I got two batik hankies for $1 (I looooove batik), a voile scarf for $1, and some books for $1-$2 each. Also a linen jacket for $8 and a dress which was free because there was a deal on summer clothes (two for one, or something like that, I didn't pay attention so it was a nice surprise when I got to the counter).

At the Salvos I got some jewellery for a few dollars and also found a black ceramic cat for $1.99. I already had two but got this one anyway, and now it's like my cat couple have a kitten. Aww. (I actually saw another set of these cats at Savers later, but they were more like $5 each and not in such great condition).

 

So all in all a very successful and exciting day, although now I have to actually work out where all this is going to fit in the house!

Opping on the Mornington Peninsula

I was on the Mornington Peninsula for a few days last week so decided to check out some local op shops. I got this American Apparel tshirt for only $3 at the Mornington Salvos as it was a 50% off item.I also got this vintage Lee tshirt for the same price at the same shop, another 50% off item.
Finally I got this Ralph Lauren polo for only $4.99 at the Rosebud Salvos.

Ashburton Salvos Sale

Just a quick one: I drove past the Ashburton Salvos near the corner of High Street and Warrigal Rd, and spotted their sale sign, '50% off sale Feb 3, 4, 5.'

If you're in the area, you know what to do...

Salvos Stores on Facebook

Salvos Stores now has a facebook page - they post interesting finds that have come into their stores all around Australia (and that are currently available!) and they also post what the 50% off coloured tag is each week!

http://www.facebook.com/salvosstores

Last Finds of 2010

Hi Everyone,

it has been ages since I posted my op shop finds so here I some things I picked up this week. I got this Ladakh dress at Dandenong Savers for $14.99, and I got the belt ages ago for like $2 from an op shop in Mornington. I got the bag on the left from Noble Park Salvo's - it is a brown leather Nine West bag and it only set me back $4.99! The bag on the right is from Savers Dandenong and it cost me 6.99 - best bit is that it is an Hermes! (well, a pretty good knock off if it isn't actually the real deal!)

Lilydale lode

Recently my friend H returned home after several months of flying around Europe with her boyfriend in a plane they built themselves. The obvious thing to do after such an adventure was to head back to H's family residence in Melbourne's outer suburbs for some R&R, and it was there that I visited her earlier in the week. She seduced me out into that untamed territory (ie Lilydale) with promises of toasted sandwiches, but I have to admit it was when she started talking about hidden treasure (ie lots of op shops) that I really took the bait.

Lilydale turned out to be everything H said it would be, with op shops aplenty AND an NQR store (which is sort of like an op shop for food!). The usual characters are there, ie the Salvos and Vinnies (which is where I got this chain for $1)...


... but I found the best stuff at a place called The Mustard Tree which has its own cafe and also seems to work as a relief agency of sorts as I noticed there was a basket that had been filled with free bread for the needy. I got some sewing patterns and this kangaroo fur clutch bag (still feeling guilty as I'm anti fur... is it OK to make an exception for vintage?).

One of the patterns was very grotty but it's got Jaclyn Smith from Charlie's Angels as the model and I couldn't resist. Plus, check out the gold suit!

The pattern must have put me in a shiny mood because I also found this... I think it would be the perfect top to wear when you need to win an argument as your conversation partner would be so dazzled that there is no way they could think up clever comebacks. Sort of like a weapon of mass distraction. Oh, and it was only $1!


In fact ALL the clothing is only $1, apart from some better quality leather jackets up the front. There were also dining chairs for $5 each and toys for 10c (from memory). So I'm not sure why the accessories were so expensive (well, 50c, $1, $2 etc... only expensive by comparison with the other stuff).

I ended up spending $16 or so all together, not bad for this huge haul! Enough to put me in the Christmas spirit, anyway. Hope you all have a great one!

Stuff I found on Friday

I've been looking for a kettle like this for a few months now and I finally found one in good nick, at the right price of $5.99 at the Salvos in Mt Waverley this week. I love how it looks on my stove top.

I'm not someone that ever goes for novelty mugs, but this one was in the window at the RSPCA op shop at Burwood East and it really struck a chord. It made me feel quite nostalgic and we all know that us ladies live life by the way we feel. Yay that it only cost $1!

Maxwell and Williams jar for only $4 at RSPCA Burwood East.

I have no idea what I'm going to store in it, but it doesn't matter cos I finally have one.

I'm collecting mismatching pieces of 'Made in England' crockery for my 'good' crockery set. You know, shabby chic style. It seems to be taking a long time, but that's ok. This bowl was $5 at RSPCA Burwood East.

Found this Ken doll in a basket of toys at the Salvos on cnr of High St and Warrigal Rd. He's in perfect condition and only cost $4. My almost 6 year old daughter had never seen one. She has renamed him Sam cos she didn't think Ken was a good name for him. Fine by me. Now she insists that I have to find some more clothes for him. Heeeeeeeelllp!