The Many Op Shops Of Australia's Small Towns
One of the few upsides of being crammed into a small car with three other people and a bunch of gear for 12 hours as you haul arse to Brisbane, is the multitude of good op shopping to be done in Australia's small towns. The Arrows love it.
Adam will buy some cross-stitch, Owen some 60s bed sheets and Ange will most likely leave clutching a scarf with a tiger or some junk on it.
Market City Lollies
We've been picking and mixing since we were kids. Back then, one of the best pick 'n' mix(es) was at Target. This was when the concept of 'paying by weight' didn't exist. You'd fill a big milkshake cup with lollies for a flat fee. (If you were game enough you'd also shove in a Mars and cover it up with Gummi Bears).
Trains, Planes And Automobiles
It might seem a little arrogant for a store to proclaim itself as "probably the world's best antique toy shop" but in this case we can let them off. First of all they said "probably", which suggests more than a little humility. Secondly, they're probably right. Their range of beautiful vintage trains is a sight to behold and the pre-loved accessories are so meticulously detailed that they could serve as decorative pieces in their own right.
We're
Cairns is known for its barrier reef, its melting mercury and its cruise ships. It's definitely not known for progressive fashion, because, we imagine, everyone's too busy downing XXXX in string bikinis.
Damien and Lorena at We're believe that stinking weather shouldn't stifle style - and they have Keep Shoes, Life With Bird, Tiny Mammoth and Chronicles on their side.
Welcome to Alphaville
In Melbourne, Alpha 60 (Alex and Georgie Cleary) are something of the fashion rat pack. Together with TV and Claude Maus they rule the southern city's cobbled lanes. With good reason.
Alpha 60's collections call on the spangled muse of film (and the occasional celebrity). This is first obvious by the store's name, Alphaville, taken from the 1965 classic by Jean-Luc Godard.
Ooga Booga
What one place can you score: mix tapes made by Calvin Johnson, furry dolls by Mike Kelley, claymation DVDs by Ian Svenonius, limited edition Maui and Sons reissues, and copies of Werner Herzog's travel diary?
If you said heaven, you're right! But if you can't wait that long - where on earth are you gonna find all these delights? That's OOGA BOOGA in LA's Chinatown.
Peter Pan Op Shop
With Peter Pan apparently in full support of this pop-up shop it's possible there'll also be some kind youthful elixir on offer. However it's more likely that there'll be hordes of pre-loved designer wares on offer, apparently they have so much of it that the word on the street is that it's one of those super secret places where the vintage shops go to get their stock.
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