How have I never blogged about 44 Stanley Avenue, the coolest shopping and dining complex in Joburg, which is only five minutes from my house?
I guess it’s wrong to say I’ve never blogged about 44 Stanley; I’ve mentioned it countless times over the years (see here and here) when writing about specific restaurants or shops that are there. But I’ve never written a dedicated post about 44 Stanley as a destination and it’s about time I did – especially now, with the holidays upon us.
I’ve developed a great interest in clothes, as most of you know, especially locally designed and thrifted clothes. And clothes-swapping – the act of exchanging clothing items with others, rather than buying new or second-hand clothes – is like thrifting on steroids. We’ve all got clothes that we don’t want or simply don’t wear anymore…Why pay money for new ones when you can trade for them instead? This is the theory behind Swap Movement.
A couple of Saturdays ago, my friends Fiver and Stuart and I woke up at before 5:00 a.m. and drove an hour north to the Pretoria Boeremark in Silverton. I’ve been meaning to check out this market – probably the largest open-air market in Gauteng – for ages, but it took a while for me to fully commit to waking up so early. The Boeremark opens at 5:30 a.m. (some people arrive even earlier) and winds down by 9:30 a.m. Apparently you have to get there early to find the best stuff.
I’m obsessed with Joburg thrifting (see here, here, and here) and the more I shop second-hand, the more I realize it’s almost never necessary to buy new things. There are so many great places in Joburg to shop for used clothing, furniture, jewelry, shoes, housewares – everything you can imagine. The quality is usually better than buying new and the prices are cheaper, even for amazing vintage stuff, if you’ve got some patience and know where to look.