Vinnies

This Vinnies rocks!
After a tour of Northside op-​shops, this little spot was a stand out. The store was really well laid-​out and organised with care and thought. The staff clearly knew what they were doing and took pride in their work. We picked up a few items and found the prices fair, especially compared to some of the bigger op-​shops we later visited.
We were also surprised with the music selection playing; the usual 97.3FM was cast aside in favour of Triple J, which the older ladies didn’t seem to mind. Perhaps this is just a sign of suave staff who know their market. I like to think they exclaimed once we’d left and switched it over to a classics station.

It makes sense to me that an op shop represents the area it’s in. Clayfield has something of a reputation for being a hoity-​toity sort of area, and so doesn’t it make perfect sense that it’s Vinnies sells more boutique items than bargain?
Clayfield Vinnies has even gone to the lengths to arrange it’s shop in a similar vein to a boutique store. You’re not going to find stuff piled upon stuff here. Everything is orderly, skirts with skirts, cups with cups, the red clothes flow into the pink and then the purple… It’s quite well presented and easily navigable. If the shops’ appearance didn’t signal upmarket to you, then the formal dress section should have. So should the design tags on some of the clothes you’re browsing through.
It was such a satisfying visit. I was bent over with the weight of the clothes I was carrying to the dressing rooms. There is so much great stock in here! The best part is that it’s reasonably priced. If it’s a designer piece, you’ll pay a little more than the standard prices, but not much more. They’ve got five rooms of wares to sell, so put aside a little bit of time to go in there. Men might be pleasantly surprised by what they’ll find in the men’s section/​room. Clayfield Vinnies doesn’t really have much to offer in the way of homewares, but there is a small shrine per se, paying homage to more classical op shops with their mountains of tupperware strewn across the shop.
What an unexpected find this op shop was. Because I was in Clayfield, I assumed that I wasn’t in prime op shopping territory. As I left the store holding a new assymetrical linen brown skirt ($ 4) in one hand and little black dress ($ 6) in the other, I realised I was wrong.