C’s Flash Back Second Hand Clothing/City Convenience – Newtown, NSW
What’s this? A second hand clothing store in Newtown that’s no longer in operation?! How could this be?!
I’m sure C didn’t see the convenience in this situation. Nor did the council when it was forced to take a bite out of the awning to get that pole in. It’s not a good look, but neither were most of the fashions C had up for sale. Let’s please leave flares in the past.
Please.
C actually fills in the historic blanks him/her/itself on the C’s Flash Back website: “C’s flashback began as a humble stall at Glebe Markets selling antique collectables 20 years ago.”
Here’s where the timeline gets a little muddy: “Within 2 years they had expanded to a brick and mortar store in Newtown and later in Surry Hills.”
So this sign has been here for 18 years? There’s no mention of when the Newtown location closed; in fact, the website speaks as if it’s still operating: “With quality low-cost exotic clothing in the heart of Newtown, the King Street store provides many of the costume pieces for fancy-dress uni-parties throughout the year.”
You don’t say.
It’s also noted that C’s love of dressing people in outdated styles continues to have outlets at Surry Hills, Paddington and Glebe Markets.
Thank goodness Glebe still has a place to buy second hand clothing.
Sid Steele Tobacconist/Little Big Tween – Newtown, NSW
Careful and considered research tells us that as far back as 1914, Sid Steele (yes, the Sid Steele) was providing King Street’s St Peters end with all the tobacco they desired. Had Sid kept his ego in check, we of the future may never have known of his long-ago dominance of the industry, but the forward-thinking Steele made sure his name would be as resilient as his namesake by emblazoning it across the top of this otherwise generic ’14 model. Future tenants were not so precious…
1991. Image courtesy City of Sydney Archives.
For example, Martin chose to leave his mark on his customers rather than the buildi- oh sorry, studio. Note that Martin doesn’t have the air conditioner that later tenants have. What’s with that, Martin?
2007. Image courtesy LanceDriver/Flickr.
In the new millennium, it’s as naff to include your name in your business name as it is to use the term ‘naff’. The proprietors of CHINESE ANTIQUE FURNITURE may not have had staying power, but they didn’t need it; hoping to capitalise on the zeitgeist of the Chinese Antique Furniture boom of 2007-2010.
2013.
These days, the folks behind Little Big Tween are striking the tween craze while the iron is hot, admirably attempting provide the childrens clothing market with ‘age appropriate’ designs. If it means seeing one less kid in an ‘I’m with the MILF’ shirt, more power to ’em.
Harvey’s Fashion House/U-Turn Recycled Fashion – Marrickville, NSW
Never one to let anything vintage go to waste, Marrickville’s hipster cred has earned the suburb its fair share of op shops and vintage recyclers. That doesn’t always extend to clothing and furniture, though. 
U-Turn Recycled Fashion is definitely one of the hippest (does saying that make me painfully unhip? Be honest, I’ve been prepared for that outcome for awhile now.) outlets for vintage clothing Marrickville has to offer, and in a stroke of luck for me, it’s either not shy about or too lazy to disguise the retailer it recycled.
Given the ultra-70s font, there’s a good chance that some fashion that was sold new at Harvey’s Fashion House is now being sold second hand by U-Turn. The very presumptuous Harvey sported this slogan: “The Best Shop For You!” How would you know, Harvey? Do you know me? How do you know I’m not an alcoholic, and the LiquorLand isn’t the best shop for me? Then again, if I were an alcoholic, Harvey recommending his own shop to me is just him lending a helping hand to someone clearly in need and keeping me on the wagon. Thanks, Harvey, I guess I had you all wrong.
If we dig even deeper…
Sydney Morning Herald, 12 Feb 1938
…we can deduce that at some point after 1938, this place finally grew into a full shop. I wonder if U-Turn’s got any 30s hosiery?
Christian Science Reading Rooms/Duo – Mosman, NSW
Behold: Sydney’s only consecrated fashion boutique.
Cue/Krispy Kreme/Ugg Boot Warehouse – Wynyard, NSW
Remember Krispy Kreme? That donut (or doughnut) fad that took off in 2003 and crashed hard in…late 2003? For a good part of that year, everyone was talking about Krispy Kremes. Workplaces stocked them as treats, families bought them by the boxful. I knew a guy who would spend an hour in the car driving out to the Krispy Kreme at Liverpool to buy six boxes at a time because he loved them that much, and there was a time when that was the most convenient location. Krispy Kreme responded to the demand by increasing the number of stores, failing to realise that fads are fads because they don’t last. Exhibit A: Krispy Kreme.
Now a shadow of its former self, KK’s Australian subsidiary went into voluntary administration in late 2010, citing poor sales as the reason. Imagine how poor the sales must have been for it to only give up the game in 2010, a full seven years after the honeymoon was over. Even more mindblowing is the fact that the brand has been around since 1937. In any case, this site is an example of a location that no longer wanted doughnuts (or donuts) and voted with its feet…literally: Ugg boots are the wares being peddled here now.
Before KK kame along to korrupt konsumers with krappy konfectionery, Cue clothing ran the shop. Cue has been around since 1968, and since forging a relationship with Myer in 1970 hadn’t had as much need for self-contained shops. This one opened in 1976, but closed during the 1990s due to declining sales. That’s a better run that Krispy Kreme had. Cue’s executive director Justin Levis said in 2008 that the shop closed because the surrounding shops had become tacky bargain stores. Now that the ugg boot shop has moved in, this location has finally found its place in that dynasty.
Past/Lives of the Near Future 