The best Melbourne op shops: hipster heaven in Brunswick
IT’S known as hipster HQ, and the southern end of Sydney Rd is famous for its thrift shops packed with vintage goods. To celebrate op shop week, we find top bargains, vintage threads and stuff that is just plain weird.
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IF VINTAGE threads and classic knick-knacks are the way to a hipster’s heart then it’s no wonder Sydney Rd is their natural habitat.
The southern end of the Brunswick thoroughfare offers more than 10 op shop options to fill out a home with used furniture, woollen jumpers and bizarre accessories.
Salvation Army shop volunteer Jess Perry said she had noticed fashion conscious people looking for a touch of the past to complete their look in recent months.
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“We get a lot of people looking for a vintage look and being a bigger store we have that variety,” she said.
Further south at Melbourne Vintage, retail assistant Alisha said the growing trend showed shoppers looking for something a little different.
“I don’t just buy my clothes at Kmart because someone will have the same thing,” she said.
To mark National Op Shop Week, here is a rundown of the best places and bargains on Sydney Rd.
740 Sydney Rd, tel 9386 4080
This Salvation Army store is bigger than most and has enough used furniture to fill a student share house.
Jawed Yakub works in the store and said spring cleaning led to an influx of donations, and secondhand Nike and Converse shoes regularly donated.
For those looking for faded, straight-cut jeans the men’s pants section is particularly well-stocked, but it’s hard to go past the bizarre framed jigsaw of a lion amid clouds shooting lightning.
Go on, put that up on your wall.
349 Sydney Rd, tel 9387 9549
The stock of summer dresses is so big that Scavengers is a must-visit this time of year, and the collection of forgotten books your parents might have read will complete a vintage beach look.
A classic Telstra workman’s coverall for just $30 — because you never know when you might need one — might be the best bargain in this female-focused store to my male eye, but I’m told the shoes sell well.
There are durable boots to see you through a harsh Melbourne winter.
But why not wow your friends this festival season with some sunnies that reflect the Virgin Mary? At least it might make others think before they act.
351 Sydney Rd, tel 8609 1610
A little more up-market, the Melbourne Vintage store specialises in accessories and features a whole wall of sunglasses you can stock up on just in time for summer.
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107 Sydney Rd, tel 8388 7084
Long a staple of the Brunswick op shop strip, this particular Vinnies is a smaller operation specialising in female threads.
But given a jar of ginger retails for $3, I was a little bemused to find an empty jar with a $1 price tag. What?
169 Sydney Rd, tel 0490 504 487
Boomers will shudder at the thought of a shop specialising in Hawaiian shirts pumping Triple J, but that’s what makes this small store so appealing to its target market.
Probably the best bargain can be found for those who just lost a doorknob, with a whole table of them going for just $6.50 a pop.
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17-21 David St, tel 9448 8532
The profits here go to supporting rescue animals, so if you’re a cat or dog person you’ll feel extra-good about dropping your cash on that shirt — even if you only wear it once.
Furthermore, the kitchenware section is deep.
330 Sydney Rd, tel 9381 2393
This gigantic vintage superstore looms over Sydney Rd, and it’s rumoured countless hipsters have got lost amid its rows and rows of outfits over the decades.
There’s not much that Savers doesn’t have — including the great T-shirts — but this painting of an out of proportion dolphin that kind of looks evil could make someone’s Mother’s Day.
OTHER STORES:
Don Bosco Opportunity Shop, 368 Sydney Rd
Save the Children Op Shop, 478 Sydney Rd
Christ Church Op Shop, 10 Glenlyon Rd
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