I’ve been thinking about a pair of shoes I own. I remember when I bought them, well over 12 months ago. Mum, dad and I headed to the Holy Trinity – 3 op shops on Findon Rd, all within a couple of hundred metres of each other. This isn't the only Holy Trinity - it's a generic label that a group of op shops earns under 2 conditions, (i) there are at least 3 of them (any more, at which point they become known as the Holy Trinty +1), (ii) you have great success in all three (or four. I have yet to experience five, but I am still young!). The other one is in Murray Bridge, where there is (?was) a church op shop, a Flying Doctors’, Salvos and a Vinnies, all within close proximity to one another. A long time ago, there was a Holy Trinity on South Road in Reynella: Salvos, Vinnies and a church. Sadly, only the latter two remain, and the church op shop is not delivering the quality it used to (sorry, guys). I remember feeling quite sad when they tore down the Salvos.

But I’m getting off track with my sweet, sweet memories. The Holy Trinity on Findon Rd never fails to impress. On this particular day, we headed there to find that the Vinnies had closed down. Disappointing, as I once bought the coolest coloured metal bowl set that I still cherish to this day, but the Salvos and Goodwill always produced the goods, too!

We started at the Salvos. For some time, I had been looking for a black leather jacket. Nothing too biker chick, just something of soft leather that I could throw over everything from a t-shit and jeans-combo to a cocktail dress. The odds of finding a leather jacket in good condition that wasn’t made in the 1970s is no mean feat in an op shop, but there it was, as though it had been waiting just for me. Initially, I thought that it was tagged at $49.99. Then I realised, with delight and skipped heartbeat, that it was actually $14.99! If the Gods were really smiling on me, it would have been a half-price tag, but I wasn’t complaining!

Wait. I’m off track again. The shoes. Well, I had better wrap that part of the story and say I did indeed get some lovely things from the Salvos. The shoes in question, however, were found across the road at Goodwill.

Mollini. New. Leather. Lovely. Wait, I really should give more of a description than that, so you can weigh in at the end: to keep or not to keep? Mollini rarely disappoint as shoes. I have a few pairs, all of which I bought at the Emporio Shoes in Rundle Mall, an awesome 3-storey Mecca that I used to frequent when I worked in town. The shoes were a little out of my price range ($100!), so the pairs I have bought from there, I have to admit to treasuring.

This pair were a had-to-have. Mid brown ankle boots with 3 faux buckles and a time-saving zip at the side. The toe is a rounded point, and they are a solid shoe with a reasonable heel-size. I felt certain I would have a hundred places to wear them in winter, with a hundred outfits. Apparently, so did the previous owner, until she discovered what I have: they are a difficult shade of brown to match, they feel a little strange to walk in (I think they have a built-in platform) and it is a rare occasion that calls for a triple buckled ankle boot.

The reason I have held on to them for so long is the anguish that I may one day find the perfect outfit to go with these boots having already paseed passing them on (not the first pair of Molloni shoes I have tried to buy an outfit for), and the simple fact that they are so darn pretty.

What to do, what to do? Keep them or pass them on in the hope that they will go to a lovely home where their potential will be fulfilled? It’s a bit of a dilemma, but even as I ask the question, I think I may already know the answer… Winter is just around the corner, but there are enough shopping days between now and then to find the perfect outfit to go with the loveliest of boots... Perhaps I simply need to shop more, and practice walking in them. Hmmm. Challenge accepted! Thanks for your help J

Shop here:
Goodwill
156 Findon Rd
Findon 5023
For hours call 8347 0151

Salvos
115 Findon Rd
Woodville South
Open M-F 9-5.30pm, S 9.30-5pm.

Drool here:

http://www.mollini.com.au/