Second hand boutiques and vintage clothes in Canberra?

Out Of The Ark Vintage Fashion & Accessories trade from Canberra Antiques Centre at 37 Townsville Street, Fyshwick. The range is pretty broad including USA imports, all good quality and whilst not necessarily the cheapest, no nasty surprises. Open 7 days too!

@ Poetix, I loves me a bargain! And there’s a lot at that place. I picked up a large bag of near-new (might have been new) Indian Cotton table napkins, Laura Ashley brand. Was puzzled by why so many, and such good condition, and why the giant bag of them was $5… found a qantas plastic bag inside. Ah ha! Must be for one of the classes I don’t travel in.

there’s some real finds in that place. I’m positive that the workers at the US embassy and the Japanese embassy ditch their old gear there. Well-worn stuff with labels all in Japanese. If you need a decent suit for a job interview, you’ll do better there than at Target or Lowes.

harryhaller said :

April’s Caravan or what it’s called, inside the Front Gallery and Cafe in Lyneham, might be worth checking out. Always very busy in there.

Helllooooo the OP said they wanted something cheap ..

EvanJames said :

Best op-shop in Canberra is in Queanbeyan. It’s called The Bargain Hunter, and is where donationis to Anglicare and Brotherhood of St Lawrence go. It’s HUGE, and has a good vintage section, as well as lots of juicy label finds. Amazing array of men’s polo shirts in summer too.

Thank you so much for this! Only just saw it after the thread was revived and went out to Queanbeyan today. That Anglicare op shop is the best I’ve seen, including in Melbourne. I won’t say exactly how much I bought, but it was certainly more than I usually spend. The Catholic one down the road was quite good too, though less of the really spectacular. (The Catholics have dropped all their prices by 50% today, too, because of the reconciliation parade happening down the main street.)

Funny, it’s only because I trust you on shopping that I went out there at all, and I’ve never met you, so far as I know.

….however, I would recommend the Geelong St Antique store, friendly service & great prices.

Down Memory Lane:
I had been happily shopping here for five years since I moved to Canberra without incident, until one day I made an offer on an object and was rudely shot-down by the owner. Then after I said ‘no worries’, a burly man followed me round the shop giving me a death stare. I ended up buying a pair of shoes, but still was followed out of the shop by the burly man, who proceeded to death stare me outside. Considering my long term support of the shop & recommending it to collectors I know interstate, this was a pretty lousy way to deal with a customer. I have been collecting for over 20 years & have managed an Antique Centre, so I am accustomed to how a good shop is run & what constitutes good service. Also I don’t dress like a normal Canberra public servant type, I dress slightly quirky & collect quirky things. There seems to be much ‘we don’t like the cut of your jib’ attitude in Canberra businesses if you don’t dress conservatively enough. Why is this so? I have money to spend & they don’t want it?

I-filed said :

Blondie I’ve noticed all these suggestions are the retail-priced, marked-up boutique second-handery and no-one has told you about the three good opshops in inner Canberra. Clearly no-one wants to face off with you over a bargain! : )

Care to share 😀

Thanks for all the suggestions – extremely helpful!

Best op-shop in Canberra is in Queanbeyan. It’s called The Bargain Hunter, and is where donationis to Anglicare and Brotherhood of St Lawrence go. It’s HUGE, and has a good vintage section, as well as lots of juicy label finds. Amazing array of men’s polo shirts in summer too.

Wombat Wardrobe on Carleton St in Kambah is fantastic