Magnificent vintage ties

On a recent visit to the Salvation Army in Woden/Phillip, I hit the jackpot! Magnificent vintage ties!!!

A few small stains that I'll need to work on, but other than that they are in great shape. A couple of Pierre Cardin in there too. At the same time, I picked up a pair of vintage Van Heusen grey wool trousers that are currently at the tailors.

Trousers - $7

Ties - $1 each

$13 in total... jackpot!

Vinnies Monster Warehouse Sale On Again!

Vinnies is holding a Monster Warehouse Sale at their warehouse in Mitchell, with many spring/summer items on sale!

Friday, 11 November – Sunday, 13 November. 9am - 4pm each day.
10 Buckland Street, Mitchell ACT.
Gold coin donation for entry – all proceeds go to Vinnies Youth that provide fun experiences for underprivileged children.

For more information, please contact 02 6234 7344.

This was great last time with very cheap prices - diarise it everyone!

Lego Luck

We were lucky to find these three complete sets of Lego circ 1974 at the Smith Family in Phillip. Along with another shoe box filled with Lego including more furniture sets.

I also thought I'd share this funky 1980's knitting pattern that I picked up in Wagga. While technically outside the ACT Region, it is worth a road trip - I spotted four op-shops on two main streets (stopping to visit two).

Beyond Canberra: The Goulburn Treasure Trove of Oppies

Hello everyone! I'm a long time follower but this is my first post to this blog. I am a huge op shopping fan, currently residing in the lovely capital. If you'd like to check out my op shop finds over the last few months, the best place to go is my blog: .Simply Me. I only started blogging a few months ago, and to date most of my posts are about op shopping in Canberra and Perth! Otherwise, from now on I will also be posting some of my finds on here. 

My friend and I decided to go on an op shopping roadtrip to Goulburn last weekend- perfect timing as Monday was a public holiday in the ACT but not NSW. Here are the shops we visited, and some reviews:

Australian Red Cross Clothing Shop

146 Auburn Street. Goulburn

Don’t bother with this place. They try to be “upmarket” and have prices to match, but not the goods. I saw several ‘Expression’ (Kmart brand) products with prices ranging from $15-$20. They were probably cheaper new! I didn’t see anything worthwhile, nothing retro/vintage, and the prices are sorely inflated. For example, $13 for a used straw beach hat (no brand name). In a town with so much competition, I’m not sure how this place survives. The only shop where neither of us bought a thing!

Big Heart (Mission Australia) Op Shop

Shop 2, 148-158 Sloane Street. Goulburn

This was my favourite oppy – so cheap and such amazing retro crockery. They charge by the kilo for clothing ($5 per kilo)- my friend found an amazing vintage skirt and it cost her... wait for it.... 70 cents! Crockery was priced between 50c and $5, and books are 5 for $2.

Salvation Army — Red Shield Family Store

123 Auburn Street, Goulburn

This place is reasonably priced with sale racks up the front (vintage blouses for $1 when I was there). They have a large range of crockery and bric a brac, which unfortunately is mostly unpriced. You are at the mercy of the staff member who makes up a price on the spot, which I find a bit frustrating. Definitely worth a look see and on the whole the prices are good.

Smith Family Store

Ellesmere Street, Goulburn

This place had the best retro/vintage stock of everywhere we visited. I picked up my stunning 80s dress for a vintage ball there for $12, marked down from $25. They have a really large range of clothing, with less bric a brac. Clothing prices range from $2 - $10, with vintage items up to $25.

St Vincent De Paul — Vinnie’s Centre

Central Arcade (opp. Post Office), Auburn St, Goulburn

Friendly staff and standard prices, mostly ranging from $3-$10 for clothing. They didn’t have much crockery or bric a brac in stock on my visit, it was mostly clothes.

Trish’s Trash & Treasure

1 Fenwick Cres, Goulburn (entry from Bradley St)

From the outside, we expected this place to house mostly furniture but inside we were surprised and amazed at the treasures it holds. Plenty of crockery, a lot of it dusty and dirty and you need to sort through it all to find the gems... but find the gems we did! The prices are very reasonable – my tea set (tea/coffee pot, 4 mugs, sugar) was $5. The prices varied though- I was surprised to see that a vintage Willow tray in very poor condition was $20. My friend picked up some hand painted pie dishes for $2 apiece.

And now (drumroll please....) for the day's finds:

Handpainted baking dishes, $2 each. Lemon water jug, $1. Tea set + potholder, $5.

Coffee set (pots, mugs & sugar holder) $5, Tasmanian pottery teabag holder $2.

Mushroom jar $2, strange pottery piece 50c. 

Pyrex 50c! Arcopal France bowl, 50c.

Vintage bag $3, Johnson Australia Pottery bowl 50c.

 Hens party / wedding gag g-strings, 50c each.

Yellow stripe water jug $1, Op shopping bag {>>

Lambada leather tote, $10

 Unusual felt & knitted framed picture, $3

 Vintage orange skirt, 70c!

The most spectacular find of the day is yet to be posted, it's an amazing 80's dress that I'll be wearing to a vintage ball very soon... I will post photos after the event in my blog!

Goulburn, Bowral and beyond...

I did a mini road trip a few weekends ago up to Newcastle and on the way up I stopped in Goulburn to have a look in some op shops. On the way back I did the same, but this time stopping at Bowral. I must say, these towns with well to do folk, have some of the best clothing up for grabs. I went to the Smith Family and Salvo's op shops in Bowral and the Vinnies in Mittagong. I missed the Father Rileys and Vinnies in Bowral but I am going back to the Southern Highlands in a few weeks so I will check them out then. But in the meantime, check out my stash... 

I picked up this red nurses cape from the Red Cross op shop in Goulburn for $2. 100% wool, made in Australia... I love it!

From Bowral Smith Family op shop I got two black and white jackets. One fancy label I could imagine a Tru or Prue wearing and a black and white check bomber style jacket from the 1960s. It is 100% Bri-lon!

Snuggie Spotting Update

The good burghers of Goulburn have it right, the Salvos shop had two Snuggies today - in the pet blanket box.

And I do agree with Sarah (Misfits Vintage) - better a crocheted blankie (a craft at which I would normally shudder) than a Snuggie.  Mind you, none of my pets would have a Snuggie either, although the ferret shows a worrying attraction to faux fur.

Speaking of Misfits Vintage - she's having a clear out.  If you're into vintage and like a bargain, check it out.

4 in a day

I haven't seen one ever before, but yesterday I spotted genuine Snuggies in op shops.

Bargain Hunter, Queanbeyan had three.  Vinnies, Gungahlin had one.  I continue to have none.

For the record they feel hideous and are very light so are probably not all that warm.

New (old) shoes

Working in downtown Mitchell has some advantages. I picked up these classic shoes at the Vinnies op shop in Gungahlin in my lunch break. I think they are mens shoes from the 1960s, but I couldn't figure out if the stamp on the bottom said 1965 or 1955...

Whilst doing some research to find out where these shoes were made, this is the only other pair of Dulwich shoes I could find. Think they were made in Adelaide, but I'm not sure.Very sexy buckle up loafers from the 1960s..

* * * * *

The other pair of shoes I picked up from the Mitchell Salvos op shop (also in my lunch break... on a differnet day) were a pair of Rocketdog shoes. I had a pair of Rocketdogs a few years back (also bought from an op shop but in Newcastle) and they were just as cool as these comfy little canvas shoes. They look like they have never been worn and been at the bottom of someone's wardrobe for a long time.

Happy birthday Vinnies Belconnen!

Jindabyne tip shop

A late start on a trip to the snowfields resulted in Taph and I being able to visit the Jindabyne tip shop.

This is because it is only open on Sundays from 10am to 3pm.

That said, if you are in Jindabyne on a Sunday, it is well worth visiting.For a tip shop in a small town it has a good collection of stock, and was not as disappointing as the tip shops in some other towns.
We did not see the mobile op shop while we were there, but if it is still going, then Jindabyne has two occasional op shops.

If you are searching for it, the turnoff to the tip, and tip shop is here on google maps.