For the past two weeks, my family and I have taken a short trip to the island nation The Republic of Vanuatu, in the South Pacific. This is my second visit, my first being a work trip visiting a
community run turtle research project.
Take a recycled fashion blogger to a new location, and she is surely destined to seek out the nearest second hand fashion outlet, all in the name of blog research!
A few doors down from our apartment in Port Vila, the nations capital, I spot
Stanley's Imports second hand clothing store. Expecting a shop dedicated to the local attire; mother hubbard dresses, Hawaiian shirts and Asian made angry birds T-shirts, I am surprised to find evening dresses, casual dresses, jeans, knitwear, button up shirts, fabric, home wear, and kids toys.
The difference to your average thrift store are two prominent things, firstly the layout. Evening dresses, buttoned shirts, and knitwear are displayed on hangers by clothing racks. Other garments, however, are jumbled together in large wooden containers, ready for good old rummage like an old fashioned jumble sale. Fun!
Is it really cold enough for knitwear?! Apparently so!
Get ready for a rummage
The second difference, is the pricing structure, you pay per the kilo rather than a single item, 1kilo of clothing is 900vt. It was not difficult to weigh up 1kilo, I managed to pick up two great dresses, and three Hawaiian shirts for a friend, 1.1kilo which I paid 990vt. Not a bad deal, considering one Hawaiian shirt bought new would be $15-20.
Scales to see if my purchase equated to a kilo
I contacted Stanley Imports, intrigued to find about their second hand clothing trade in a country with the reputation of the
happiest place on the earth.
Q. Where do you obtain your second hand clothing from?
Our second hand clothing are imported from Australia (wholesale)
Q. Is there much demand for second hand clothes in Vanuatu?
There is relatively a big demand on second hand clothing given the expensive clothing outlet in town with the Chinese shops and the quality just does not last. 2-3 weeks and they are broken. This is the comments that we get from our customers.
Q. Do you operate the only second hand clothing store in Vanuatu, or are there others?
There are several other second hand outlet in town. Overall if counting the little retail shops, there would be around 8 shops around Port Vila.
Q. Do many tourists shop at your second hand clothing stores?
We would get the tourist from hotels buying little here and there. I am more surprised that more of the tourist are from the cruise ships. In saying that, we also have a lot of local expat customers looking for a bargain. They know their brands. Unfortunately locals do not know much about what type of brand is expensive overseas and are sold here at the same price as other normal brands we have
Q. How many second hand clothing stores do you have in Vanuatu? Plans to open any more?
We currently have 3 shops here in Port Vila and 1 shop in Santo town. We are always looking at new ideas and opportunities to expand where the market allows us to perform. Ideally, our future focus would be to have a good size retail outlet to fit everything under one roof. I guess like a warehouse style outlet.
One of the dresses I purchased with my kilo, it is a fully lined, handmade dress,
which appears to be my preference of late.
Whilst I did not see too many
mother hubbard dresses in Stanley Imports, these wide loose fitting, brightly coloured, floral cover up dresses, are ladies most common attire throughout the islands. I asked these ladies in a village in north Efate if they made their own dresses, to which they reply they do indeed, with a sewing machine. With lack of electricity, one can only assume their sewing machines are turned by hand. Aren't they fantastic?
Colourful mother hubbard dresses, (and hair nets!) seen throughout Port Vila market
If you've missed Recycled Fashion Finds, they'll be a recap and new link up next week. Also don't forget Brag Your Best Buys contest is still open and waiting for your entries!
