The fashion sense of Sydneysiders seems increasingly uniform. Every shopping centre is filled with the same chains selling the same clothes. You're guaranteed to see the same dress/top/shirt/pants/shoes/shorts worn by at least two different people on any given day. If you're interested in being a little bit different, recycled fashion is what you're after.
Dressing in vintage clothing is nothing new (excuse the pun). The interest in buying recycled is as cyclical as style itself. Fortunately this means that Sydney offers a good range of established places to purchase your goods second hand. Most of these places offer good quality items at reasonable prices.
Areas like Surry Hills and Newtown are renowned for their selection of vintage shops. If you have a spare afternoon you don't know what to do with, why don't you take a stroll through Surry Hills and see where it leads you?
If you start at the Oxford Street end of Crown Street and work your way down, perhaps detouring through some of the side streets along the way, you're bound to come across all sorts of stores offering recycled fashion wedged between small fashion boutiques.
My favourite on Crown Street is Cream on Crown, sister store to Cream on King situated on King Street Newtown. Cream offers a variety of men's and women's recycled clothing including vintage fabrics sown into brand new skirts and dresses. The best part about Cream is the leather jackets. Like the dresses, the leather jackets are made brand new using recycled leather. The end result is a stylish leather jacket, made from real leather (not pleather) without the hefty price tag. The jackets are usually around $110 - $130. You'll also find vintage accessories including bags and belts.
You'll also find a range of other stores like Zoo Emporium and
Grandma Takes a Trip located nearby. At stores like these you'll find a range of pre-loved treasures from all different time frames and different regions. Not only will you find an array of clothing but also hats, jewellery, shoes, bags and other accessories.
Along your walk you're also bound to come across somewhere cute to eat, including
Sparkle Cupcakery where you could take a break from shopping and relax with a cupcake and coffee – or even champagne.
Buying your clothes recycled means not only creating a unique and stylish look for yourself, but deminishing the chances of those embarrassing moments where you bump into someone wearing the same outfit as you.
