No matter the weekend or the weather, Melbourne loves a market.
Perhaps no one knows this better than Emma Morris. She has taken her Round She Goes preloved women’s fashion markets to Sydney and Canberra, but Melburnians, she says, have a special fondness for taking a chance – important, given you never know what you’ll find at a vintage market.
The Round She Goes vintage fashion market in 2018.
“People here are hungry for cultural and arts experiences in a way that I think is uniquely Melbourne,” Morris said. “We give things a go.”
Fitzroy North-based Morris opened her first Round She Goes market in 2008 and it quickly became one of the most anticipated on the city’s market calendar.
She now runs three a year in Melbourne, where hundreds of shoppers browse curated stalls brimming with vintage fashion and jewellery. The latest event is being held at Coburg Town Hall on Sunday.
Some of the vintage items for sale at the 2018 Round She Goes market.
“It’ll be the first one to come back true to form [since the pandemic],” she said, describing the mood at her April event as still on edge.
“When COVID hit, I thought my business was dead and people would become worried about buying second-hand goods. I was completely wrong.”
Fashion hunters at the Round She Goes market in 2018.
Morris, who quit her job as a book publicist in 2011 to run her markets full-time, is the first to admit that she was surprised Round She Goes has stood the test of time so successfully.
Morris weathered the fast fashion boom and today, as people increasingly shun poor quality, unsustainable clothing, second-hand shopping is providing a way to shop environmentally on a budget – it’s also become unequivocally “cool”.
“The market always appealed to women in their 30s to 50s, but now we’re getting younger people who were probably children when we started,” Morris said.
Melbourne’s market scene is now bustling with competition, such as Revamp Clothing Trade and Hunters Markets.
“The energy and ambience are what makes it,” Morris said. “You can’t substitute the thrill of finding something in a market.”
Emma Morris, founder of the Round She Goes market.Credit:Round She Goes
Morris chooses a mix of stallholders to suit different styles, sizes and ages, and while they are focused on women’s fashion, anyone is welcome.
Dez Ameti, a 28-year-old occupational therapist, turned her op-shopping hobby into a side hustle two years ago. She started by selling clothes on online marketplace Depop before testing out the market circuit with her mum, Barka.
Stallholders Dez Ameti, 28 and her mum Barka sell second-hand clothing together.Credit:Paul Jeffers
Specialising in ’90s and Y2K fashion, she says her selection is most popular with shoppers aged 16 to 25.
“When I was younger, I’d be hyper-vigilant about people I know not seeing me walk into a Salvation Army store, but now people want to find something fun to wear on the weekend that no one else is going to have.”
And markets offer an extra perk: a little less time spent rummaging.
“People used to find good fashion treasures in op shops, but these days they’re really shopped out,” Morris said. “It’s where people send fast fashion they regret. With markets, you don’t have to weed through all the crap.”
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