Op shop rookie

I don't come from a family of op-shoppers. In fact, I think it's more of a Kiwi thing because in South Africa, I never even heard it mentioned.

We weren't a wealthy family, but I guess we never struggled too badly. If we did, my parents dealt with it and I never knew. I remember every couple of months, we'd go to this big mall which was about half an hour away and I'd be allowed to chose 3 or 4 new garments. They were rarely the stuff i would have really loved, but they were new, nevertheless.

And during Mr Samoa's five year's of study, I waited for birthdays or tax pay outs and set aside some money to get me some new clothes. It wasn't often, but it kept me going.

It wasn't until the reality of being on one income, and that one income is a beginner teacher's income, kicked in, that I realised I might have to try some new ways of doing things if I was going to keep being a stay at home mum...which is important to me. So I took some money I earned from my part time contract work and set $100 aside for my first ever op shop experience!

I went to my local Save Mart, one of the few (only?) op shop chains in NZ. It was overwhelming at first. Rows and rows of clothes, not nicely displayed, just on rows of racks. And freezing! No heating either.

But on I went. I managed to come home with 2 pairs of shoes, 2 long sleeve tops, 3 jerseys and 2 jackets.

The shoes I LOVE and they were only $10 each. They're quite high, but I was looking for evening wear shoes anyway. And the boots are a size smaller than I actually wear but miraculously they fit!

The long sleeve jacket was from the "designer" section so it was $30. It's a French connection jacket. Mean anything to anyone? It's quite different but I liked the elastic around the bottom. Only thing is, I feel like I look a bit strange when I wear it and so don't wear it a lot.

The short sleeve jacket is also a tad small but I will be able to get away with it because it ties in the front and is elasticised on the waist. Will be great in summer...and hey, it was only $8.

The long sleeve tops are a no brainer, always need more of those and I've worn them heaps.

The brown jersey is soooo warm and I wear it to the park. [Remember I am SAHM so don't need fancy clothes a whole lot]. The green one is ok, a little tight now that I see it in photos, but a good colour on me. The black one has been the disappointment. I thought it would look nice with some skinny jeans and heels. It just looks strange on me.

The only thing is that because some of these items are not exactly what I'd pick if I was at a shop, I haven't worn them as much as I would have if I had got some new clothes that I really wanted. I don't feel they're that fashionable either.

O, and, I don't feel like I'm wearing something new!

I know lots of people who LOVE op shopping and look amazing in their finds. Maybe I should have been looking for that one special piece instead of going there with a list!

I am glad I tried it, but I think I'll stick to getting a few, really nice and fashionable new items.
You can still get some new bargains out there on sale, right?

Like these from my fave bargain shoe shop, Number One Shoe Warehouse....not quality but hey, they're cute! And I wear them all the time. They even stock leather shoes now, and I fell in love with a pair, but couldn't quite justify the price.

Excuse the mud on the side. Like I said, I wear them a lot.

What about you? Are you a successful op shopper?