If you love vintage - like real vintage not the copy cat designer vintage - then you'll love this…read morelittle boutique. It is filled with old and beautiful treasures. The old hats, suitcase, ties and dresses are from a time long gone but have been preserved well so are still wearable. The store girl looks the part with her strawberry blond hair and red lipstick pout. Prices are OK except for the baby clothes. $70 for a little boys top is bit pricey for something that is second hand even if it is super cute. They also have costume jewellery some as old as a century old. Oh and I loved the swirling blue and green patterned carpet - this is not just an old clothes shop - it's a step back in time. For vintage lovers this store is a must see.

You beauty. If you love fashion full stop, and/or you're wanting to give your stunning wardrobe a…read morebeautiful facelift; then I highly recommend this shop. Ussed & Abbussed The Department Store is one of Sydney's best kept secrets when it comes to new and vintage clothes, shoes, jewellery, and accessories. Ussed & Abbussed is located at Cremorne (just off Neutral Bay), only minutes from the city behind McDonald's, and past one of Sydney's most popular private schools. A previous writing assignment (while I was a freelance writer before becoming a doctor) brought this place to my attention, and the awesomeness of Ussed & Abbussed has got me hooked on quality new and vintage clothes for both men and women at affordable prices. This is true. In fact, this fantastic business has been around for eight years now, as at the time of writing this. The owner, Dianna (otherwise known as Di) founded this business from her passion for designer goods. Furthermore, Di found a way to source cheap, quality clothes from overseas, and henceforth found a cost effective way to bring them to Australia. Di is involved in buying trips in the USA, France, Spain, and the UK to name. Even more impressive, Di has a generous and loving heart. This amazing individual loves to give in many ways. For starters, the clothing items available here are available at around 80% off the standard retail prices. Di also gives about $8000 worth of stock away to organisations such as The Salvation Army, as well as to St Vincent's Hospital to name on an annual basis. The customer service and friendly acknowledgements are awesome. Walking into a store with over 2000 designer labels under one roof is definitely a department store in itself. It may be a tad overwhelming, yet it is an absolute pleasure to spend at least a couple of hours here...totally up to you. Assistance is at hand to help you find out what you need. You will walk away feeling really prosperous with your purchases. Ussed & Abbussed The Department Store also have available a personal fashion stylist, who is also an elegant woman in herself, who exudes charm and walks the talk...a woman by the name of Hana. Hana has helped me find the right dress for the right occasion, as well as a pair of Dick Boons boots that feel so awesome to wear. Both Di and Hana (while serving you here) emphasise the need to feel good in what you're wearing. The ambience is laid back, inviting, and well displayed. There is plenty to view and admire, and there is even a visitors book to sign if you wish. A quote from Hana that has been drilled into my skull...please let me share it with you: "It is not about the dress, it is about the woman behind the dress." Charm is alive and well, and both genders will love shopping here. Ussed & Abbussed The Department Store have also held special parties upon request such as hens nights, and yes (you are reading this right) divorce parties to name as well. Di closes the shop for a couple of hours to accommodate such requests. They may occasionally hold special shopping nights too. Bookings must be made in advance for such. The first time I came to Ussed & Abbussed, I brought a pair of vintage Dick Boons boots for only $75. Normally the same boots retail for $600. See, generosity reigns at this place. Definitely money well spent. Hence the reason for my rave review. On my second most recent visit I brought a lovely Ralph Lauren floral top for around $35. This top would easily retail for $200. I love it. Easy to iron and ever so colourful. I also purchased a Bettina Liano long sleeve top for around the same price. Perfect with jeans too...or any skirt. Really happy with these purchases to - if not over the moon with them. It is true. Ussed & Abbussed sell clothing and accessories from the following brands to name: Burberry, Chanel, Chloe, Michael Kors, Versace, Alannah Hill and Wayne Cooper. These brand names spell luxe and quality in the fashion world. Hair extensions and bric-a-brac is also available. Di might offer you a lovely cup of coffee too. The Great Gatsby film producers have also approached Di to assist in the clothing selection for their cast. The clothes on sale at Ussed & Abbussed The Department Store have also appeared on TV show Puberty Blues as well. A great store. No, a really great store. You will never know what treasures you might find for your wardrobe here, and you will walk away with immense value. Hands down the best vintage clothing store in Sydney. One of the (if not the) best designer clothing stores full stop. Thank you so much...with immense gratitude. xxx

Amazing range of designer brands at super reasonable prices - and the smell wasn't that bad!!!read more

Cream on King is remade vintage done right. Similar to its counterpart on Crown Street (rightfully…read morenamed Cream on Crown), the reconstructions and print / pattern variations are delightful. I have this shameless love for cowboy shirts with the pearly snappy buttons and the scalloped pockets. To the left of this skinny shop, you will find a couple racks of these, but wonderfully redone for the ladies. With styles that have peekaboo shoulder cut-aways, or midriff exposing tie ups, you can be vintagey and sexy all at once (which, lets face it, is NOT always a given when dealing with vintage). Teeter on over to the boys side and you'll find this same style of cowboy shirt in its original form. Hey guys, from the point of view of a little hipster-loving, San Francisco born female, try one of these shirts with a leather motorcycle jacket over it. BAM. Insta-hot. The prices here at Cream are midrange for vintage. Not as good as if you sourced the same shirt from Vinnies, but could you? Probably not. The bonus here is that they've done all the sorting for us and elected what the Sydney edgy, "in" crowd should be wearing. I realize it's not for everybody, but they definitely had me at plaid.

Cream on Crowns sits pretty amongst the many other vintage and second hand stores on Crown Street…read morein Surry Hills. Selling recycled and re-designed clothing, Cream on Crown has many similarities to its Newtown sibling, Cream on King. In fact, the two stores hardly differ at all, except that Cream on Crown's sunglasses stand is far less grand than that of the King's. As for its stock, many of the dresses are same same - beautiful, but if you've bought one from there within the last two years, chances are that the one you wish to buy next time will be exactly the same cut and style, simply made from a different fabric. Whilst I'm a fan of knowing what you like and what's right for you, I had to stop buying from King and Crown Creams when I realised that a majority of my wardrobe was made up of the same dress in different colours. Aside from dresses, Cream sells plenty of vintage cowboy boots which are still in pretty good nick (although I'm always certain to check for slippery soles) and a bunch of guys flannies, sleeves pre-rolled.

I always expect Vinnies in Newtown to be already pillaged by the hordes of op-shoppers that come…read moreespecially to Newtown for the shabby chic. But I am always surprised, because there is always loads of cool stuff in there, if you have the capacity and heart to sift through. It's open relatively late so if you have nothing to do after a dinner out and need some amusement, then go and find something shiny and spandex from another decade in Vinnies and get a giggle from your mates. I found an awesome beaded necklace here that people comment on... I don't tell them it was from Vinnies! Okay, actually I do after a while because I think it's pretty cool. When I'm in there I often think, okay, when I need a particular item of clothing for a particular one use occasion I am going to come here and find it for next to nix. Somehow I always forget though. Anyway, if you are on a budget, then get to vinnies to get some rad clothes and support a charity.

I normally don't leave reviews like this, but this really needed to be said. Monday afternoon, I…read morewas shopping with a friend since I was in serious need of some retail therapy. I love to thrift shop since I'm only a casual on a budget and there's some really good finds in the Vinnies that I've visited before. While that still stands true, the customer service was a mess. To put it bluntly, my friend and I were racially profiled. I was in line with my purchases when a girl at the counter looked at me up and down and rudely told me to go to the girl next to her instead. I didn't want to cause a scene, so I said nothing and moved along even though I was already insulted. And the thing is, it didn't end there. My friend is a little darker than me, and she was purchasing something to. We were both in the line at the other girl's aisle, and my friend was only looking at something on the display when the first girl had the audacity to accuse her of stealing something. When we were in line. With our money at hand. Really? The lady serving us apologised for her coworker and my friend overheard a conversation between her and the manager about how it was that girl's second day. Still, that was utterly unacceptable. Good products. But maybe Vinnies should screen their volunteers better.

The Frock Exchange offers preloved high end designer fashion which sells on consignment. Anyone…read morecan bring in their designer pieces and at end of month you will be reimbursed for items that are sold. You can be paid in either two ways by store credit which is redeemable at The Corner Shop, The Frock Exchange or any Belinda Stores or directly by EFT. It is well know that the store is also affiliated with Belinda stores therefore also offers the end of season merchandise from these stores. There is Manolo Blahniks, Marc Jacobs and Chloe hand bags, Marni blouses and a Junya Watnabee dress and upon request you can receive notifications for new stock this might be advisable if you live far. Frock Exchange maybe right with love is sweeter the second time around but some prices in the Frock Exchange are too close to some of the product's retail value brand new.

Such great pieces at a fraction of the price you would pay RRP. Half my wardrobe has come from this…read moreshop! Has a great selection of labels like Isabel Marant, Vanessa Bruno and Marni - and the girls are always so lovely.

Fantastic finds that fall on the "bold and brash" side of the spectrum - this is not the place for…read moreunderstated pieces...but why would you want those anyway, when you could have an orange faux fur crop coat and a black leather blazer that's been structured to within an inch of its life (in all the best ways? Also a white lace minidress with lovely bell sleeves that was by a local fashion designer...and yes, these all came home with me. Shout-out to Natalie and Hazel who were both extremely friendly, welcoming, and helpful. One big gripe that may sound silly but it's a legit issue: they pack WAY too many items onto each rack. They are so tightly packed together that you honestly can't slide them apart to see a garment. I mean there is truly not even a tiny gap between the hangers; the hooks are hard-pressed together on the clothing rack bar. I've never seen this many garments shoved so tightly, even at a down-market thrift store. It made it so difficult to browse that I ended up skipping past big swaths of racks that I really wanted to look at but simply could not access. It was bizarre and extremely off-putting, which is a shame.. If I could have actually SEEN the clothes properly this place would get a full 5 stars. Dear shop owner: if you absolutely must put out this many items, just buy longer racks. There's space in your store to put in more racks, especially upstairs. You will sell MORE clothes when people can actually browse through them. Stop buying hangers and start buying racks!

In what can only be described as a mini recycled clothing hot spot, lies, amidst two charity shops,…read moreU-Turn Recycled Clothing. A slightly upmarket opportunity shop. Where as shops like St Vincent De Pauls, or Vinnies, as it is known, stock large amounts of everything, clothes thrown onto racks and boxes and boxes yet to be unpacked waiting patiently out the back. U-Turns is more sparing with the clothes that it sells. It's as though the clothes must first pass a series of tests before they are displayed in the shop and sold to the masses. Are they stylish? All the clothes available on the U-Turn Recycled Clothing racks are very hip and very apt, some faux fur formal wear for your first foray into furry fashion. Bold and brash cowboy boots with buckles and buffed leather finishes. A hat made of a mink that makes you think about the stink it would have caused to hunt said mink and taylor him into a hat. The prices reflect the classier appeal and display of the clothing and, while cheaper than most first hand clothing, is a little pricier than the shops next door. You could find, mixed amongst the trash and bland clothing in most thrift shops, a piece of treasure that would look so bold in your wardrobe, but to find that you would have to be lucky. Likewise it would be quite unlucky to find some trash in all the treasure at U-Turn.

As we walk into Reverse Garbage in Marrickville we are met with gigantic paint brushes and pencils…read more The exterior of this recycling warehouse is almost an art installation more so than a shop. "You can't look for something here. You just have to look and hope you find something." I am told when I ask what we are looking for. The answer to my innocent question both profound and vague. We scour the aisles looking for props and set pieces for the music video we've been hired to make. The gigantic dinosaur head is no good, nor are the various blow up hippopotami with back packs on. There are buckets full of circuit boards and shelves full of old digitised and erased film and audio reels. It would seem that everything you could ever imagine would be, at one point or another, housed within these walls. There's a book section out back and I sneak in to have a look, I should be looking for music video props but can't help myself and scour the children's section looking for Seuss. No such luck, there never is. I find 'The Little Match Girl' by Hans Christian Anderson and being that it is in great condition and only $1 I decide to buy it, even though I know that it will make me depressed. A warehouse full of everything you need as long as you don't know what you need.

This place is simultaneously the biggest hoarder of crap and a gold-mine. Depending on what you're…read moreafter. If you're after 20 of the same birthday card, 100m long reams of paper, a never ending supply of pipe cleaners, rolls of carpet and maroon velvet or manikin feet and arms, then you may just be in luck. Or, rather, if you're not exactly sure what you're after then you may be in luck here too. I'm a bigger fan of The Bower, a similar joint next door with a tad more class, but a trip to Reverse Garbage can be rewarding - we bought 50 cardboard drums from Reverse Garbage which we used as seating for a performance and then recycled into punch bowls, a fortress and super-sized bowling pins in the future. Perfect for a themed party, you can pretty much base your theme on whatever you find the most of at Reverse Garbage. NB: Specified items may or may not actually be stocked by Reverse Garbage. But rest assured that similar such crap will be.

There are some great pieces here, however this place has a negative haunting energy attached to it…read more Buyer beware.

This place looks like a pink flamingo gobbled up the last five decades and vomited them back up…read moreagain. In the best possible way. Situated just off Crown and a block or two from Oxford, this vintage store involves two levels of mens and womens vintage clothes and accessories, the bottom floor selling stock at sale prices. The dresses here are more expensive than you'll find at your average second hand/Salvos store, but not as pricey as you can expect from some of the city's spendy trendy vintage stores. I don't really mind paying that little bit extra for someone else to fish out the good from the bad for me, as long as I'm not paying over $100 for someone having a better eye than I. Zoo Vintage Emporium has a bunch of nice skirts and real fur shrugs and jackets and their racks of dresses come from an exciting variety of styles and decades, a nice change to the racks of same style different material dresses you get at some vintage stores. Zoo Vintage Emporium was a new find for me and I think it's my pick of this cluster. Also, the exciting descriptions on the tags of each item all but impel you to buy them. Wanna buy a "Summery fun lemon swing skirt"? When you put it like that, who wouldn't?!

I saw Sydney Souvenirs on IG, and said we should check it out. I also saw Seeshots (Chester See)…read moreon IG, and this Chinese/Malaysia guy, who lives in Australia recommended the food court. Positives: Truly international clientele. I heard Canto, Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese amongst other languages; Food court had Aussie food, as well as Chinese, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malaysian, Mexican and Vietnamese food to name a few; Negatives: Hot AF in the flea market section. No A/C but big fans were not enuf; Sensory overload, and it was not busy in the early evening; Hard to tell if you are getting a good deal for a "I Heart Sydney" t-shirt; Restrooms are far away; Despite the negatives, I would return here for the food and drink. In addition, as we were leaving a trio of Filipino performers were singing and playing easily recognizable music.

Inside there's some nice food court and tea room. Also Vanders store-stalls sells all kinds of…read moresouvenir and some knock off American clothing brand.