As you may well know throughout October I participated in Buy Nothing New Month, a great initiative brought about to bring awareness to the environmental, social and financial impact our shopping choices have on us and the world. At the start of the month I wasn't sure I could do it, especially with the line of work that I do, but as the weeks went by so did my desire to shop for "fast fashion". Reading To Die For: Is Fashion Wearing Out The World by Lucy Siegle a few months ago had already turned me into a more conscientious shopper (its a book I highly recommend for anyone with even a slight shopping addiction), but participating in BNNM has changed me and my habits for life. You simply don't need all the crap you buy and I'm proud as punch to tell you that this month I only bought three things! Yep three.
In the photo above you can see the awesome retro jug I bought at a local Redfern vintage store for $1 which Henry and I are going to use for our fresh home made lemonade on those long hot Summer days We were actually on the look out for the perfect lemonade jug when we found it so it was a total score! I included in the photo the skirt from this post that I dyed black this month to give it a new lease of life in my wardrobe as part of BNNM. The British flag bag was a purchase from the Salvos for $3.50 which was too good a bargain to pass up. Below is the final BNNM purchase I made, the brown retro phone was from Surry Hills markets for $25 and again we were on the look out for something just like it when we stumbled across it. October was the month for our appliances dying it seems, first to go was our long struggling cordless home phone, then came Henry's computer which actually blew up in a ball of flames and more recently our TV has taken to not turning on or turning itself off randomly. The only urgent replacement was our home phone which we need to be able to talk to family back home in Melbourne (our family aren't tech savvy enough for skype) and for those annoying calls you have to make to power/gas/isp companies every now and then. My grand total shopping spend for October was $29.50, an amazing result even if I do say so myself.
GIVE AWAY In the spirit of Buy Nothing New Month I'm going to give away my copy of Lucy Siegle's book To Die For: Is Fashion Wearing Out The World to one lucky reader to help spread the message of ethical, sustainable fashion. To WIN simply comment on this post with a story of your best ever opshop/market/second hand/vintage buy and the best comment wins. Comp closes Monday 7th Nov 5pm AEST and is open to anyone in the world. Good luck and hopefully I'll see more of you participating in Buy Nothing New Month next year xoxo
Competition now CLOSED. Congratulations Kathrynoh xxx
It's difficult, when you think about it, to actually pick a favourite second hand or vintage item. I've had many purchases that stand out for their prettiness, their usefulness or their value. The winner in my mind though is probably an amazing beaded bag I bought from a vintage store in Amsterdam whilst on holiday in Europe. It is gorgeous and unique and will always be a reminder of one of the best times of my life, more so than the tacky, mass produced souvenirs they sell on every street corner.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your Buy Nothing New success, I must confess I had to end my month a little early. I have very little self restraint.
Alice xx
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ReplyDeleteGreat post Hayley. My best ever opshop buy was a genuine chanel bag at the Brotherhood of Saint Laurence store in Brunswick in the early 00's for $35. It was a fluke for sure but nothing will ever beat it.
ReplyDeleteI got an antique cast iron bed frame from a secondhand shop around the corner from where I used to live for $25. Because I lived so close, I figured it was a waste to get it delivered so I carted it home myself -- bad, bad idea. It was so freaken heavy.
ReplyDeleteOh, I also scored a pine couch from hard rubbish that I used on my back porch for ages. Again a bitch to lug home esp on my own - and my boss wasn't too impressed at my reason for being late for work but if I'd have waited it'd have been gone.
Worst secondhand shop purchase was a pair of concrete flamingos. So freaken heavy and awkard to move. Why I haven't left them in the garden of one of my old houses I'll never know. Not moving them again that's for sure.
Gosh I love your post! I do agree that resurrecting vintage clothes/jewelries is not as scary as most people think! I've only started buying vintage and second hand stuff about a year ago, and gosh I feel like it adds so much more to my style! I've never wanted to look like everyone, I'm not like everyone, no one is, and people should just wear whatever they want to.
ReplyDeleteMy best vintage purchase is a Diane von Furstenberg jumpsuit for 40 dollars via Etsy. I could never afford a brand new DVF and this jumpsuit fits nicely! Best vintage find!
when i was living in london three years ago, i started buying secondhand clothes and my addiction has grown over the years! :)
ReplyDeletei thinky my favourite find so far was a fake fur (30€)which fits just perfect - even the sleves are my lenght, which is quite rare with secondhand items!
A few years ago, I found an awesome moschino jumper, complete with sheer sleeves in a western sydney op shop for $12! I'm still in awe of it, so much more so than if I had ever found it through regular retail.
ReplyDeletei was in country tasmania (ulverstone!) and i went into an antique store. there was a tuxedo, with tails, in perfect condition and when i looked inside, i could tell it was custom made by a london tailor in the 20's (there was a tag on the inside pocket).
ReplyDeletethe tuxedo must have been made for a very small man, because i am a size 8, 170cm asian girl and it fit my frame perfectly. even the shoulders.
cost: $45au
hope you liked my story!
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I have had a long obsession with buying vintage and second hand objects and clothing. I would say the most commented-on items in my wardrobe are those that I don't buy new and my best buys would have to be my hats.
ReplyDeleteI bought my original 1920's bowler's hat when I was in England, in an eclectic little store near Portsmouth. At this point the exchange rate with the Aussie dollar wasn't great so it did cost me a bit but I don't regret it. Coming home my suitcase was so packed and on (read over) the weight limit that I ended up wearing it on the plane rather than paying for the extra baggage it created. It wasn't so fashionable at the time (this was 2004) so I got a few odd looks but I felt great!
My bowler hat was the first in what has become a mini collection (all vintage including an original 1950's handmade in Melbourne I found for $15 in a Salvos) and I really love the originality of it - the quality is far above anything I've seen in shops. By far my best purchase.
Once at a tiny Salvation Army in Southern Indiana I found both a globe lamp (with the black ocean) AND a Saarinen tulip side table for a whopping total of $20!! I felt such a surge of endorphins at finding the table that I was shaking on the ride to my place. I've been an avid thrifter since I was a kid but that find really opened my eyes to what it is I love about thrifting: the search for such treasure, the pitfalls, spending whole days thrifting and for nothing. Days like that make it all worthwhile.
ReplyDeleteLove this post!
ReplyDeleteMy favourite find was a gorgeous caramel coloured suede jacket at the Vic Markets over 20 years ago, for $30! I was 18 at the time and this jacket was like a faithful friend! It was big and boxy, with shiny lining. It accompanied me on many pub crawls, uni lectures, coffee dates...and then even came along to work when I got my first job! I loved that jacket!
Delia
www.whatshouldiwear.com.au
Australia's #1 style advice site
Congrats on finishing BNNM! I love your worthwhile secondhand purchases - especially the Union Jack bag & phone!
ReplyDeleteMy best find would have to be a vintage Phillips ladies bike from Gumtree - it's bright purple and has FLORENCE stamped on it. I call her Florence the Machine and she was only $100 which was paid in the money I got from selling my wares at a market. The old man I bought it off lived quite a while out of Melbourne and he said to me "I hear that these bicycles are in style in the city" - I told him he was 100% right!
BNNM was a real eyeopener in that it taught me about sustainability and put the theory of reduce, reuse & recycle into practice :)
I managed to score a 60's wedding dress, veil + "going away" outfit for 25$ from a Salvation Army in a remote town in W.A for 25$ - it was all wrapped up in its original boutique box with all the trimmings. My prized possession.
ReplyDeletewow, I did not know about it, but it was a great iniciative. congrats on finishing it :)
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