Garbs for secondary students’ evenings of well-mannered frivolity are going for a song, all while reducing textile waste.
Thanks to an initiative by Nelson, Nayland, Waimea, and Garin Colleges and Nelson College for Girls, ball-goers this year won’t be met with eye-watering prices, rather their looks will be so good they could cry.
Partnered with a less environmental footprint on the red carpet and ratifying secondhand shopping, the Nelson Ball Op-Shop on Trafalgar St knows how to make an entrance.
Nelson College year 13 student Ryan Thelin says its most expensive sale item was a classy $30.
“An equivalent suit that you’re buying in here, it’s going to be costing like $500,” he says.
“It’s really great to have these cheaper prices for everyone, so they can all have better formal wear that they can be proud of and call their own.
“Secondhand is also a really great way to reduce the amount of money you’re spending, but also reducing the environmental impact you have.
“Op-shops donated heaps [of clothing]... and we’ve got a lot of donations from parents and from students, all the way from shoes, ties and jewellery, all the way up to full suits and dresses.”
Ryan says Habitat for Humanity, Nelson Environment Centre, St John and Nelson Tasman Hospice op-shops came to the party, as did Nelson City Council and Make/Shift Spaces for the pop-up store’s stage.
“Some [op-shops] are allowing us to fully keep all the profits, which is really awesome, while others allow us to sell on their behalf,” he says.
“All donations from schools and the certain op-shops who have allowed us to keep all profits, a portion of that money will be going towards Brook Waimārama Sanctuary and Natureland to help their efforts because they’re both incredible organisations that are having a really positive impact.
“The rest of the money will be going towards collaborations next term with all the schools.”
Opening hours for the store are 3.30pm to 5.30pm between 25 and 27 June, and 10am to 1pm and 2pm to 4pm between 28 June and 4 July.
