How tight is this?

[WinstonWolfe]

At lunch today, I challenged my own belief set in a way I've never done before......No, I didn't go buy a Merc E350 Elegance, French Chateau, or $15,000 Trek road bike with electronic gears.

I went into a Salvos store and bought a 2nd hand jacket and suit!!!!
Never bought used clothes before, ever.....and it is something I've had principles against doing all my adult life. Though when we were grommets, hand made shirts and hand me downs were de rigueur.

So why did I do it? Well, Along with staying up late for several nights a week on the lappy, and spending less time on my feet in clinic this year, I've put on a bit of weight.....and now my wardrobe fits me like Matt Preston's fits him.

But I've got a lot of formal commitments coming up and have started watching my diet again.....so couldn't bring myself to pop down to JH Cutler in Sydney and fork out for another two tailored bespoke numbers that won't fit when I burn the fat....

After inspecting a few off the rack retailers and hire places, I wasn't impressed. I think the $200+ tailored hire cost knocked me over. I hadn't hired a suit since the 70s......

That hire cost got me thinking about the Salvos....wouldn't hurt to have a quick squiz. So after reassuring myself the last owner didn't die in the clothes, in I goes....Immediately I am distracted by a deaf bag lady regular bashing the staff's ears about nothing in particular......I walk straight to the suit section trying not to make eye contact with two shadey twitchy guys fondling the ties....there's about 20 odd suits....assorted sizes in no particular order....90% of them are navy blue.....then there's this quite contemporary brown tweed jacket and a silver/grey single breast suit.....I go try them on and am a little put out that they fit pretty much spot on......bugger me.....The jacket was $7 and the suit was $15.

I somehow reckon I could go into 10 salvo stores and spend 3 hours trying to find something to fit that well, and come out empty handed....

Anyway, my Germanic/Scottish heritage feels quite smug today. And when I am mixing it with the nouveau riche on Saturday night, I'll be smurking loudly inside that $15 suit, knowing that I am doing things Warren Buffett's way

 

[mary&mat]

Excellent buy Winston!

I love a good bargain & you certainly got one!

You've spurred me on to try to find a cocktail dress of sorts for a wedding this weekend. Haven't bought a dress in years as I find it hard to justify paying over a hundred dollars for something I may only wear once or twice a year (yeah, my social calendar is sorely lacking).

Enjoy feeling like a thousand dollars in your new suit this weekend!

 

[virgo]

2nd Hand clothes

Hiya

I outfit my daughter (11 years old) from Salvos all the time. This winter, she bought enough tops, pants, winter wear for $50. And quite good quality too!

She is very environmentally conscious (tree hugger and all) and loves to recycle and so doesn't care a hoot....my son on the other hand (13 years old posh private school and all) will not be caught dead within 100m of a Salvos store.

BTW, i banked in the difference in estimated costs between new and second hand Salvos clothes into my daughter's bank account to save up for her first house deposit...she is thrilled!

 

[yadreamin]

lol lol lol well done what a buy and try not to grin too much each time you wear it and l would give anything to be a fly o the wall when you get your first compliment.
wait till you find a good church shop,[ there the ones where the churchies donate their stuff ] you can get some designer label gear in them.

happy hunting

 

[WinstonWolfe]

BTW, i banked in the difference in estimated costs between new and second hand Salvos clothes into my daughter's bank account to save up for her first house deposit...she is thrilled!

Hey that's impressive Virgo. I like your style and your daughter's. I note a lot of Gen YZs are very recycle oriented these days. Goes with the helpless repressed consciousness behind grunge fashion methinks. I was talking to a waitress in a posh restaurant a few weeks ago about how she gets home after late nights, and she quite proudly told me public transport as she doesn't believe in private. I simultaneously admired her but put off talking further, in case she broke out into a one hour tirade about Capitalist pigs and quoting Marx's 'Capital'.

Actually I passed a group of 5 young muso types when walking towards the Salvos.....they were holding clothes and yacking away looking cool and chuffed.......took me a while to realize they had just made Salvo purchases....I didn't realize they don't give you bags to carry stuff

 

[lizzie]

fantastic ww ... and, as i always used to tell hubby's girls when they stressed about what to wear to and "event" ... everyone there will be too worried about what they are wearing to notice what you've got on.

all power to the $$ - or frugalness of it.

hey - enjoy the weight loss as well.

 

[Nards]

Yeah, I have recently re-discovered the Good Sammys...have found some lovely tops, boots etc, often "labels" and in great, new looking condition. I find though that I only like a 2nd hand clothes store if it is well organised and neat. The Sammys near me has everything in clothing type and colour order, so I can go straight to the colours I like to wear, without having to sift through the whole shop. Love having someone comment on a top or whatever that only cost $2! And its helping those in need.....

 

[WinstonWolfe]

Love having someone comment on a top or whatever that only cost $2! And its helping those in need.....

Will give the clothes back dry cleaned to the same shop once I lose the weight. You are right, it is nice to know the money goes to charity. I've always felt the Salvos are very practical in their charitable acts.

TBH just had a look and was bowled over at the quality, condition, and price paid.

 

[yadreamin]

Give it another month and you wont be able to drive/walk past a Sammys store without a quick rummage

 

[Dazz]

Pretty much the same thing happened to me Winnie last month.


Parents said they'd buy me a sports jacket for my birthday up to a max of $ 300. We all trundled off to find the Kingsize Menswear store but the numbering on the highway was all squirrelly. None of the shops had any numbers on them and we were lost.


Instead, we pulled into a huge shopping centre 200m down the road and went for a wander. Walked into a shop and there was the jacket I had in my mind's eye. Popped it on, beautiful cut, silky smooth material, looked smiko, although a tad big.


The friendly staff member said they had been trying to get rid of it for ages but only pipsqueaks came into the store. It was reduced from 99 down to 59 and now down to 29. She offered to take it down to the tailors and have it pinned and resewn to fit me exactly. Trundled off there and the tailor did his thing for $ 30. Rogue. His pinning and alterations cost more than the jacket....sweet.


Got it home and we had another "try-on session". Bonza.


Of course, that's when Dad goes "Well son, you've got a ways to beat your ol' man." He then goes into his wardrobe and pulls out a smart blue pin striped suit and says it's his pride and joy. It looked like a "Malcolm Fraser" special apparently....he reckoned he picked it up from the Salvos, and bargained them down from $ 9.95 to $ 7.00


Prolly not the best to go haggling with the Salvos over perfectly good full suits under $ 10.....

 

[willair]

Winston next time have a look at all the invesment books they have in the Salvos,most are from 50 cents up too 2 bucks,all the big names are in there i don't mind paying 50 cents for a book that was copied of some US guru splash a bit of Aussie slang and wako your a Investment Super Star..willair..

 

[Olly]

Years ago neither of my daughters would be seen dead near an Op shop and I used to find the bags I'd donated in the back alley 'cos daughter was too embarrassed to take then into the shop in case any of her friends saw her.

Fast forward 20 years and one of my daughters classes one particular op shop as her favourite shop! She's recently piled on some weight rather quickly due to a thyroid problem and thought she'd just buy some cheap stuff until she lost the weight again. She gets lots of compliments on her 'new' clothes/style and even has a loyalty card!!!!

I also have a friend that volunteers 1 day a week at an op shop and makes some nice pocket money selling the stuff she gets there on ebay. Only label brands though. The old ducks she works with don't have a clue about label brands and sell it all along with the rest of the stuff for a couple of bucks. My friend washes & irons the items she gets then resells for $25-$50 depending on the garment. There's some good stuff in there!

 

[marg4000]

On a recent trip to Sydney we were about to drive out of the hire car depot when one of the staff practically leapt in front of our car. Turns out we had been given one where the rego had expired!!

In the haste to switch cars I left my jacket on the back seat of the retrieved car.

We were in Bateman's Bay when we realised (mobile switched off) and as we were headed to Canberra the next day I needed something warm. I do NOT need any new clothes, so found a nice little jacket in the Salvos store for $4. Bought it with the intention of donating it back once we got home.

Still have it, still wearing it.....
Marg

 

[WinstonWolfe]

Give it another month and you wont be able to drive/walk past a Sammys store without a quick rummage

you got that right.....I've already googled Brisbane Salvo shop locations.

Willair, browsed the book titles - mainly diet stuff... Might have to check out the stores in the better neighbourhoods.

Dazz, the Malcolm Fraser special describes it to a tee. There were several blue pinnies there today....and a stack of double breasters which I don't like. they look krap when not buttoned up.
It's funny how fate/destiny (The Secret ) can obfuscate your plans and you end up being led to something you've been visualizing for yonks..... Suppose it happens less often than it does, so easy to put it down to chance. Actually, I am not that cynical. I actually think when you want something bad enough and it is for a good purpose, spooky synchronicity stuff happens more often.

 

[Sunfish]

Welcome to the society Winston. Mrs Fish is a long time customer. She was part of the "professional staff" of an accounting office, without the professional wage. Being a "mature" lady the fashion shops had nothing for her so she was a regular. I have a great golf shirt, still with the $250 price tag for a fraction of that.

It takes a little time to accept that you are not asking/receiving charity. You are simply part of the recycling loop. Now retired she keeps her eyes open for all sorts of things.

 

[D.T.]

Olly - your friend works at the op shop but resells their stuff elsewhere? That sounds odd.

 

[Peter Parker]

Winston next time have a look at all the invesment books they have in the Salvos,most are from 50 cents up too 2 bucks,all the big names are in there i don't mind paying 50 cents for a book that was copied of some US guru splash a bit of Aussie slang and wako your a Investment Super Star..willair..

I agree that Salvos stores are great sources of investment books.

Other denominations' shops vary but aren't usually as good.

I put the difference down to the idelology of these religions.

The 'right wing' Salvos are more into self reliance/self-help (you can tell by them selling soap, so you can have a shower and get a job). So their members might on average have and donate more investment books.

Whereas the more 'left wing' Uniting/Anglicans/other faiths are more handout-oriented. So their members might on average have and donate fewer investment books.

Though Mormons or the evangelical sects don't have op-shops, I reckon nearly half their books would be on investment if they did

 

[jaycee]

Olly - your friend works at the op shop but resells their stuff elsewhere? That sounds odd.

As long as she's paying the Salvo's retail price, I suppose it's not really an issue?

Why not sell it if someone wants it ? No one would be losing out int he end I guess.

Better than buying copy clothes form asia and selling them as legitimate on ebay....

 

[Olly]

Olly - your friend works at the op shop but resells their stuff elsewhere? That sounds odd.

My friend is on a disability pension and supplements her income by selling stuff she buys at the op shop on ebay. Technically its HER stuff once she's bought it so in effect she's selling HER stuff on ebay. She doesn't sell everything she gets. She often grabs things she sees that she thinks would suit a friend or someone in the family They in turn give her stuff they don't want anymore for her to sell on ebay. All part of the big recycling loop.

She says what you see in the shop represents a tiny percentage of what they've actually got. Out the back there is tons and tons of bags they can't get to, can't empty and have no room to display.

 

[Rolf Latham]

my office sits on top of a Vinnie Store.................

New corporate uniform for 8 bucks.

Mind you, thats a decent pair of dress shorts and a collared shirt, bright Hawaiian ones gladly accepted

ta

rolf