Is fast mode killing the op shop? The old saver says it's getting harder and harder to find treasure
Sue Carmichael shoots through a skirt rack at her local operations shop in Goulburn, New South Wales. Longtime savers don’t have to look at brands to know which one is from “one of those chains”. He took out one to demonstrate. “The elastic goes down and sits well, but your eyes can tell,” he says. The 58-year-old almost exclusively buys second-hand goods. Today, she was looking for a pair of white shoes for an event in Brisbane, but she said it was getting harder and more expensive to find good quality items at the op shop. The advent of fast fashion has disrupted the traditional life cycle of clothing with fewer clothes designed with the second or third owner in mind. Laura Washington encourages her students to look for second-hand clothes. ( Provided: Laura Washington ) Laura Washington, head teacher at The Fashion Design Studio at TAFE NSW, says fast fashion is the opposite of the heirloom clothing that thrifters cherish. “The life of these garments is greatly reduced – things lik