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Private donation of thousands of Japanese kimonos sends op-shoppers into buying frenzy

A generous private donation of thousands of colourful Japanese kimonos has sent Christchurch City Mission op-shoppers into a buying frenzy. Bargain-hunters descended on the mission's Barbadoes Street and Sydenham stores, rifling through bins and boxes full of long, short, floral, checked, bright, pastel, metallic, patterned and plain kimonos. City Mission retail team leader Josie Cox said its Facebook post on Tuesday about a "treasure trove" of kimonos for sale for $2 each had spread far and wide, resulting in queues at the Barbadoes Street door. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon "It's a kimono frenzy. We've had a huge donation of kimonos, thousands. We haven't been able to keep up," she said. "We're selling them for $2 each and they've just gone mad. This morning there were probably 40 people waiting to come in. We've had two days of madness." Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon Staff said the kimonos had arrived at the op shops in three trucks and two vans and had been snapped up so fast that restocking had been difficult. No two kimonos were the same, with shoppers also buying the garments for fabric. Cox said all op shop proceeds went to the work of the City Mission so she was thrilled by the volume of sales. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon "We had a ground-breaking day yesterday, big sales for the shop, it's amazing," she said. The City Mission declined to comment further about the identity of the donor. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon Shopper Nicky Page said she was admiring the kimonos' texture and contemplating how she might be able to repurpose them. "I can't believe what I'm seeing. Having spent time in Japan I know the value of these things, so I'm quite blown away by what I'm seeing here," she said. "I was just coming for a look but I've already got a pile of about 10 and I think that pile keeps growing." Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon Michelle Boardman was looking for something special for her granddaughter. "My granddaughter loves anything Japanese and eventually wants to go to Japan. She's studying Japanese, what a great opportunity to get her something that's really special," she said. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.