NZ Visual Diary - entry 255

op shop patrons - K Road

Op shops (Kiwi-speak for second-hand clothing stores) are a thing, a really big thing, along K Road. I paused at this particular op shop entrance to study the wall murals. The message was clear: the target audience for this used, or should I say vintage, clothing store is the young professional, someone eager to wear stylish clothing but unwilling to pay the steep prices of au courant fashion.

The emergence from the underground store of a trio of high school kids was therefore unexpected. I enjoyed the irony and considered the disappointment, from the perspective of the shop owner, that the trio left the shop empty-handed.

My amusement was not shared by the girl on the left of the group. Her expression, more becoming of a runway model than a student on summer holiday, was vacant. In fairness, my appearance might have startled her: I was standing on a street bench from which I had hoped to gain a better vintage point for my photograph. Seeing some old guy in his outback hat perched on a bench with camera aimed at the entrance was no doubt disconcerting. That said, her mate, flashing a peace sign, took the drama in stride.

I love the contrasting reactions of the two girls . . . and the distracted indifference of the boy.