Stash to Cash

Cyndi takes her spring cleaning to some of Wellington’s best second hand designer stores to turn her stash to cash. Ziggurat and Soup Recovery are some of Wellington’s best, with good foot traffic and a good eye for quality fashion that will resell…

While some of our well heeled counterparts attended Fashion Week, others of us spring cleaned.

One task was to take my ‘wardrobe clean’ designer labels to some of Wellington’s best second hand designer stores, who are looking for quality clothing in either fashionable contemporary or vintage designer labels.

So, how does it work? A customer takes the garments in which have been drycleaned and are in near new condition. The store may go through the clothing with the customer or ask the customer to return (it’s good etiquette to offer the store time to view the garments). The customer is offered a contract that states the commission or conditions if the garment sells. Garments are kept for a certain timeframe (often 4-6 weeks). Then, ideally, the customer gets cash to spend on more clothing… creating the Clothing Happiness Cycle!

I found a top by Richard Moore may be on the rack for $120 of which the store gets half and the customer gets half.

Ziggurat in Cuba Street, Central Wellington and Soup Recovery, Blair Street (www.soup.net.nz) are some of Wellington’s best.

The stores have good foot traffic and a good eye for quality fashion that will resell. They took my pre-loved labels Nicholson, Richard Moore, Marilyn Seyb and Carlson.

Vintage clothes and hats in the window at Ziggurat.

Not a soup kitchen: the window for Soup Recovery in Blair Street, Wellington.

Still to sell are some Mi Piaci patent nude heels (lovely but a little too high)…

…a sequin-front Ricochet top and a tobacco coloured Moochi sundress.

There are two second-hand designer stores located in Tinakori Road that can be added to the list of store selling pre-loved designed labels.

The items that do not succeed this will then go to Recycle Boutique in Cuba Street (www.recycleboutique. co.nz), a store which is also in Auckland, Palmerston North and Dunedin, or to Paper Bag Princess in Cuba Street (also in K’Road in Auckland).

A new second hand designer store has opened in Cuba Street called Eva’s Attic (www.evasattic.co.nz).

Eva’s Attic sports some beautiful designer threads for the most reasonable prices. And, all proceeds go to charity. The day I went it, it had lots of top quality suiting pieces from Ashley Fogel, Thornton Hall and Trelise Cooper for around $30!

Story and photos by Cyndi Greep, 9 October 2010