Back in October/November 2022, I found myself in Canberra for a few days and of course, new city means new op shops and vintage. Despite having a very crazy trip, between running errands, I checked out a few op shops and secondhand stores and managed to have a great little haul.
Whilst checking out the op shops, I noticed that Canberra has a great range of vintage items especially if you love vintage Tupperware. Although I can’t remember where every item came from, most came from the op shops in the Woden/Phillip area so check out those if you plan to visit.

The first item I found was a pair of wall mounted candelabras. These are not real antiques but they certainly have a vintage look which is good enough for me. I am hoping to have them put near my future mantle or on my gallery wall. They were $10 for the pair and they came from a Vinnie’s.

I collected some vintage and retro sewing patterns from different op shops. Although I found no patterns from the 1950s, my normal go-to, I wanted to try a few different styles and found some cute patterns from the 80s and 90s. The patterns I found included:
-Butterick 3725; a cute 90’s slip dress and top pattern.
-Butterick 3743; an 80s romper with an elasticated waistband.
-Style 187; an 80s cottage core dream.
-Style 2254; 90s loungewear and lingerie.
-Simplicity 5535; another 90s romper and playsuit pattern.
I hope to sew these patterns in between some larger projects and I will make sure to post them on my socials.

The last few items I picked up from Canberra op shops include two trinket dishes which I hope to use for my sewing (to keep bits of thread, different sewing machine feet in them and sewing clips in). The second dish I hope to use on my vanity to store earrings, hair bands and pins. I love a good trinket dish so these were a great little find.
I also found a cute nylon doily which I will use on one of the side tables in the house.

As I had never been to Canberra before, I wasn’t completely sure which vintage stores were worth going to and which ones had the best vintage. Out of the three I visited, the one I loved the best was Dirty Jane Vintage which all the following items came from. This store had everything in it and I spent ages just browsing the shelves. In some stunning glass cabinets I found these vintage Italian silk ballerina frames which I hope to add to my gallery wall. I thought these images were so beautiful, romantic and stunning and although I was only going to buy two, I had to grab all three.

In the middle of the store, there were several tubs of vintage aprons which were so much fun to dig through. I really don’t need more vintage aprons but I couldn’t resist these two because they were just so cute. The blue fruity/floral apron has a large pocket with two detailed openings which I think I will use as a peg apron. The second was a simple peachy-coloured apron with cute ribbon detailing and a front pocket.

I didn’t really set out to look for vintage clothing but I did find one little gem which I couldn’t resist. I found a hand-made 1950’s dress which unfortunately had a broken zip but it was quite cheap. I am hoping to get better at mending so this will be great practice. The dress features a very sweet rose print with a striped background, a front pocket big enough for some good snacks and a matching belt.

At the back of the store amongst many shelves of books, I found a goldmine of vintage pattern in loads of boxes (very helpfully labeled may I add). I managed to pick up a few gems including:
-Style 3386; a 70s separates pattern including a coat, shorts, dress and top. I want to make the top and shorts as a romper because it’ll be super cute.
-Butterick 5869; a 70s shift dress with a range of undershirts.
-Simplicity 8746; a 70’s mini dress pattern with a variety of collar options and long trousers to match.
-Simplicity 7544; a 60s shift dress with two cape variations.
-Home Journal 9140; a 50s mail order pattern from the Home Journal magazine featuring two dresses of various necklines, additions and styling.
-Paragon 209; a 50s 6 month baby pattern which includes cute buttons attaching the bottom and top of a romper together.
-Style 1461; a 70s loungewear pattern featuring a deep v-neck dress and over robe available in different skirt lengths.
-Butterick 8698; a 50s trapeze dress with Peter Pan collar and the option of an additional bow.

I absolutely love my haul and think that although I didn’t have the greatest amount of time to shop, my haul is pretty amazing. I am very excited for my future sewing projects and already have plans to make a few items which I will post about as soon as they’re done.

Note: This is not a sponsored post. All opinions and thoughts expressed are solely my own and not influenced in any way. There are no affiliate links and I do not benefit from any link clicks or purchases made.