Give me Salvation

My latest foray into op shopping has taken me to a favourite and well known place - The Salvation Army.

Not only does the Salvation Army offer religious guidance, addiction counselling, youth development along with their infamous tambourine banging, they also take care of the treasures you no longer want or need.

Back in the day, these religious based shops were run by retired folk who were unsure about designer labels and the Grindley pottery meant nothing to them as it was common place in their day. This is not the case anymore and the mass produced clothes are carefully weeded out from the designer garments; the retro, deco and antique items are put on display in glass cases away from The Warehouse plates.

I find this rather convenient as I can go straight to the designer rack to find a treasure that I ordinarily couldn't afford. However the catch is you pay a few more dollars than other clothing items; I guess you have to pay for the service.

Don't get me wrong the clothing is still affordable and it hasn't stopped me going there, it just took a bit of getting used to.

I've picked up some real bargains in the past and my favourite was a pair of Vans emblazoned with flying pigs bought for $2, that I then sold on Trademe for $30.

This week I picked up three t-shirts for a total of $12. Now that's a big spend for me.

One of the t-shirts is from a NZ label that I love and can never afford to buy. Scintilla is a Raglan based designer using NZ inspired motifs and great fabrics.

The Salvation Army certainly provides salvation for op shoppers like me who don't want to sell their soul for a designer wardrobe.