Review: You Us and a Bus – Adelaide Op Shop Tours

You all know how much I love to op shop right? So you can imagine how thrilled I was when Erica from Recycled Fashion (who also runs Melbourne Op Shop Tours) arranged for me to go on an Op Shop tour with You Us and a Bus!! You Us and a Bus is the brain child of Rowena and Shelly. It all started back in  2009 when they created an Op Shop tour for the Walkerville Primary School. But they certainly didn’t stop there! They now run Op Shop tours on the last Saturday of each month to different areas of Adelaide. I was booked in for the brand new Mount Barker Tour and of course I took Mummy Ask, a supreme second hand shopper with me! And now I’m going to take you on a photo tour of day………

EDIT: Edited 20/11/14 You, Us and a Bus is now run by Julie Hockley and Kelly Daniel who can be contacted via 0421613658 or youusandabus@gmail.com.

We all met up at 8.45am at the Goodwill 97 Hindley Street Adelaide – an early start but the early shopper gets the bargain! Goodwill is on two levels and was filled to the brim with quality second hand and vintage goodies. Vintage lovers need to get rummaging in that basement!! Mummy Ask picked up a jumper here and I bought some mens suspenders.

Then we were on the bus driven by Adrian and hearing the plan from Shelly & Rowena. The vibe was already amazing. Shelly and Rowena riff off each other constantly and lead you into the Op Shoppers Prayer – a hilarious and spoofy ode to bargain hunting. They won’t tell you where you are going but hype up the discounts and exclusivity of stops to come. They create such a buzz! In fact check them out in this picture, taken a little later in the day…..

Our next stop was Red Cross, 72 Gawler St, Mount Barker. This shop had an amazing array of buttons! I think the may be removed from unsaleable garments but I haven’t seen a stash like that in an Op Shop for ages. Of course, I bought a canister of mixed buttons for the bargain price of $7.50. They had some tempting fabric too. Mummy Ask picked up some shoes of excellent quality.

Then we wandered across the street to Vinnies, 79 Gawler St, Mount Barker. This was a bigger store with lots of books and crafty items. There were sewing & knitting patterns, knitting needles and fabrics.  And of course a good selection of clothes!

Back on the bus for the next stop – Goodwill 35 Gawler St, Mount Barker. This shop was quite large, stuffed full of lovely clothes. I fell in love with these shoes but sadly they weren’t my size. They had some unusual items like this dolls chair plus I was sorely tempted by this superb vintage sewing machine!

Next door was the tiny Christian Care & Share, 37 Gawler St, Mount Barker. This was the kind of tiny shop where you could spend all day poking about. Mummy Ask found me a blue vintage nylon scarf for the princely sum $1! This kind of scarf is quite rare and was in pristine condition. It was too crowded for many pics but you can see Mummy Ask holding the scarf aloft for my approval!

We trotted across the road to Save the Children, 10 Gawler St, Mount Barker. This is located in an old house and it’s nicely organized throughout the rooms. Mummy Ask fell in love with a dress that sadly didn’t fit but I picked up lovely red jumper with the perfect neckline. I’m considering embellishing it with some buttons I bought at the beginning of the day. If I do, you’ll see it soon.

After that closely located trio, we were onto the bus for our final stop and some morning tea at Salvos, 4 Dutton Rd, Mount Barker. This is a really big store with lots of all sorts but they had a great plus size section that they quaintly call ‘voluptuous’. This was all about pants for us! Mummy Ask bought some jeans and I bought two pairs of pants and two cookbooks.

After all that shopping we were glad to be sitting down on the bus – comfortable shoes are definitely a must! And do bring some shopping bags with you too. We literally shopped till we dropped!!! Mummy Ask and I had planned to celebrate out new purchases with a champagne and toast to a successful day of bargain hunting but we decided that we would skip in favour of an afternoon rest. We had a absolute ball on our tour and everyone found a few bargains. You can see just how much shopping was done with everyone holding up their new treasures and stuffed shopping bags in this pic.

I highly recommend You Us and a Bus Op Shop tours, they run on the last Saturday of each month to different areas of Adelaide. Each tour begins and ends in Adelaide City, close to parking facilities, and then you are off in the bus to your secret Op Shop locations. Rowena & Shelley not only organize special discounts with store but they have convinced some Op Shops that are normally closed to open especially for the tour!! Tours are 4-5 hours long and include morning tea. Prices are $35-$40 per person and you can book online here. You can even charter your own tour – what a fab birthday or hens party idea! Check out the schedule and book your tickets today. Inquiries to 0421613658 or youusandabus@gmail.com xxxx