Aunty Detective: Elegant 1950s Clothing and Clothes For the Juniors

A veritable flood of questions has come pouring in of late…well, at least two, which I shall now attempt to answer despite my shambolic haze of phd work/teaching (oh yes, I’m teaching first years now…and they expect me to Know Things, and not about napoleon dynamite/costume jewellery/garfield/dessert/the video game Civilization III, which are pretty much my only Mastermind topics) either. 

Here’s the first one. It’s from KD…

Hello

I am a kiwi vintage fashionista about to hit Melbourne for the first time in May

Never having been to Melbourne –where can you recommend to buy good vintage attire – especially the elegant numbers from the 50s?

 
Good question…as I seem to mostly spend my time rummaging around on the floor in grubby op shops (i say this with love – the grubbier the better, as far as i’m concerned), what does a lady do when she’s ready to step the class factor up a notch?

Well, first, there are a few specialist vintage boutiques in Melbourne that deserve a nod. Circa, in Fitzroy, sells many-a classy gladrag from the era you’re interested in. This is a total grub-free zone: everything is restored and clean as a whistle. The clothes waver lazily in rows of delicious colours and tactile fabrics. You will probably sigh a bit and leave feeling happy. It’s also on a street (Gertrude St) where there are plenty of interesting shops, so I highly recomment a gander.

In a different vein, there’s   Retro Star,  in the city. For quantity, RS can’t be beat. The place is Gigantor (on the first floor of the Nicholas building in Swanston St, near the Victorian Writers’ Centre….OK, above the Subway, which stinks) – and stocks a huge range of stuff dating from the 40s to the 80s (i also think there’s some 90s stuff creeping in…).  They’re a little more laid back about the stock being pristine, though, so check all the underarms/seams/buttons etc etc before you buy. 

One place I’d definitely recommend is the legendary Chapel St. Bazaar, a huge repository for all things collectable and 20th century. It’s not always the cheapest, and it needs better ventilation (i always overheat like a woolly mammoth in there, even in winter) but the clothes, my god, the clothes! And the jewellery, accessories etc. That whole Prahran/Windsor end of Chapel St (ie not the tacky South Yarra end) has heaps of interesting vintage boutiques, and some op shops too. Make a day of it, I reckon. 

A couple of other boutiques in the CBD that might be worth a try are Shag, (Shop 20, Centreway arcade) though there’s not too much in the way of 50s stuff here – i always think of shag as the shop for people who believe David Bowie is/was the last word in style – and Anonymous Posh (Shop 43, Royal Arcade) which is a tiny shop and therefore has a small range, but they have a few really lovely things.  

But another thing to remember, KD, is that often it’s not the boutiques, but the fairs and markets that have great merch. Camberwell market, on every Sunday, is always worth a look – though the good vintage will be mixed in with a good proportion of junk. The Hello Sailor fairs are pretty cool, and are ’semi-monthly’ at the moment (what?), so check their facebook page to see if there’ s one on while you’re here.  If you can get out of town, the Geelong and Daylesford Mill Markets are a great source of vintage…and the antiques centres in Melbourne (Malvern, Camberwell) sometimes have great stuff as well. 

Hope that helps!

On to question two, from JO in the northwest of Melbourne…

Hello,

I am wondering if you can point me in the right direction of any Op Shops that have a large range of kids clothing? I do visit all five Savers stores but I’m wondering where else I might go. 

Ooooohhhh, good question. As I never have to buy for kids, this is one area I usually skim past in op shops (unless I see some sort of ridiculous/cute knitwear that I fool myself into thinking I can squeeze into). The only advice I can offer is that following the Savers model is probably a good idea – try targeting the larger op shops (in particular the St Vincent de Paul and Salvos family stores) which, like Savers, have a big range of everything. If the overall scale is larger, there’s a decent chance that the shop will stock a good range of kid’s clothes. On  that note, be aware of the Salvos pricing system…there’s always one ‘colour’ tag that’s half price (it’s older stock – i describe this process in detail here) so it’s a great way to get bargains if you have to buy a lot of clothes for the kiddiewinks.

 How about some of the readers out there who have kids? Know anywhere that specialises? I open this one up to the floor for comment…