Weekend Adventures in Port Chalmers

Hello Readers, I hope you all had a good weekend.  I spent a wonderful hour and a half at Christianne's in Port Chalmers late on Saturday afternoon.  Christianne has a good sized store and stocks nearly new and vintage clothing.  Some of it is stock standard chain store stuff - Clothing Company in particular - but there are also some real gems such as Annah Stretton, Calliope Road, Keith Matheson, and Trelise Cooper just to name a few.  The real vintage stock is mixed in and the clothing is carefully grouped into trousers, skirts, sleeveless tops, short sleeved, long sleeved, knitwear and sweaters, coats and jackets, and menswear.  Dresses are on a rack towards the changing room which is discretely curtained off in a corner.  Vintage tins and ornaments, handbags, shoes, purses, hats and jewellry are also on display and a very good 'mountain' of suitcases.  Prices are fair to reasonable.  A swirly patterned 60s shift dress in psychodelic colours was $35 which is pretty reasonable.  Christianne is quite a character and within seconds of me entering the shop she has showing me a Myers long coat.  It fastened at the waist with two large buttons and had nice long sleeves with folded back pointed cuffs.  It made my waist look tiny and my back look narrow and graceful.  I wanted it, but reader, I do not need it.  If it is there next time I go in I might be tempted to try it on again.

Christianne can talk the hind leg off a donkey, but she let me browse by myself for nearly an hour and a half.  My final foray was into a generous basket of clothes - all $4 - where I found a Persil white unworn large tee shirt with a Japanese or Chinese drawing and calligraphy.  Hanging on the counter are a truckload of beads and necklaces and I spied a pearlescent bead necklace of almost spearmint colour for $10.  Really my only criticism is the lighting which is adequate but when one is rummaging at floor level through scarves and belts and shoes, it is a bit too dim and therefore almost impossible to enjoy all the colours and textures. 

On Sunday morning my family and I all went to the Port Chalmers School Garage Sale.  My dear daughter left with 10 Goosebumps books and a smile a mile wide.  I stuffed the following into a supermarket bag for the princely sum of $2
vintage New Zealand made synthetic knit light blue cardigan
vintage New Zealand made turquoise and lurex jumper with scooped back (perfect for showing off my tattoo) and a silver embellishment around the front neckline.
vintage German green suede mens waistcoat which fits Dear H very well, but needs a serious clean
vintage (label removed) turquise pleated cotton blend skirt - circa 1980s
vintage home-made black velvet skirt with unusual buttons - circa 1970s???
vintage (label removed) white A-line but with a gathered waist cotton blend white skirt with pockets!!
vintage red tab Levis for my dear darling D to grow into.....sooner than later at the current growth rate!

and a plastic box that probably used to have Christmas decorations in it, stuffed with zips 13 in total for $1
and the cutest bow brooch in gold - with a mark but not sure what it is for fifty cents

Spent all of Sunday afternoon washing and drying!!
Photos to follow!!!