Pictures: Alana Glover
Anna Paterson says that 40th birthday party, she wowed guests in a flowing print maxi dress that cost her $5 second-hand.
The former stylist jokes she was raised as a “mall rat, by a mall rat”, but now is a reformed op-shopper and her thriving charity wants to help other women feel gorgeous for less too.
In 2017, Anna, 44, founded Everlasting with a simple mission – to upcycle stylish, pre-loved women’s clothing at a flat, never-varying cost to support other women needing help through social services.
Plus, moved by the widespread textile waste within her industry, she saw second-hand clothing stores playing a greater role than ever as people become more aware of sustainability.
The Everlasting website sells sought-after fashion labels donated by others. And it’s not hard to see why Mount Albert locals in Auckland dub the little store “their happy place”.
On an overcast Friday lunchtime, the suburban charity boutique is welcoming, colourful and a hive of activity. Two female shoppers from an “undisclosed government department” cheerfully tell us they make it their weekly outing for a much-needed pick-me-up.
Clothes are mostly $5 and are arranged neatly in colours. The more premium $30 items are hung on a special separate rack. There are no musty smells and lots of covetable loot to choose from, such as a floral Tuesday label shirt, a blush-pink Country Road linen dress, a Lululemon hoodie and a black Cos wool jumper that was snapped up during our interview.
“I want women to feel that they’re not shopping at an op shop. Rather, like they could be at Gucci – well, staff at Gucci might be watching you the whole time,” laughs Anna. “But it’s that idea of women feeling really special.
“My ethos is, if a woman feels good in what she’s wearing, it empowers her to be a better wife, mum, friend and colleague.”
In fact, Anna’s own story is very much that of a girl who didn’t know her worth and found confidence through the transformative power of clothing.
“I come from a past of eating disorders and a dreadfully low self-esteem,” she shares. “One of the things that helped – along with therapy – was putting on a nice outfit. It was just to try and make me feel okay about leaving the house.
“I grew to know the power of clothes and how you could present yourself a certain way even if you weren’t feeling it. When I worked in styling, I wanted to work with more women than just those who could afford a personal stylist.”
For the trained teacher, Everlasting became a “heart project”. Like all good Kiwi stories, she started it all off in her garage.
“I have a lot of friends who love nice clothing. When I told them what I wanted to do, they cleaned out their wardrobes to give me stock,” tells Anna. She’s mum to Joel, 18, Ollie, 16, and Sabelle, 13.
“I would hire the local school hall and we’d fill it up three times a year. We did these massive sales of pre-loved clothes. Then I’d give all that money away to charity. It continued to grow and grow, until we built a website so all of New Zealand could shop online.”
When the Weekly visits, Anna’s been out the back putting together a large clothing package for an emergency call-out she received at 10pm the night before, for a mum who turned up to Women’s Refuge with nothing.
Everlasting prepares “base kits” of new clothing for women in refuges – like t-shirts, sweats and socks – and top it up with their own clothing donations. Last month, they gave out more than 60 parcels.
Anna also runs off-site events with 50 at-risk women. There, she sets up a shop so they get to pick their own new wardrobe.
“Sometimes when people donate clothes to us, we’ve heard comments like, ‘It might not be good enough for your shop, but it’ll be good enough for Women’s Refuge,’” she recalls. “And our feeling is, ‘Absolutely not!’ Refuge deserves our absolute best. These women already feel unvalued, like they’re not worth anything. By us giving them rubbish, it’s going to validate those feelings.
“We want to honour them. To help spark their joy by giving them access to beautiful clothes that make them feel good.”
To get involved, visit everlasting.org.nz or to shop online, go to shop.everlasting.org.nz
Quick fire questions
Share a funny clothing story…
Years ago, my husband James bought me a beautiful velvet coat at the Camden Market in London for Christmas. When I thought it deserved a new home, I donated it to a charity sale. Then three years later, someone donated it back to our shop! I was really excited because I had missed it. So I bought my jacket back. Now I’ve put it back in the shop to sell.
What’s the last “wow” item that someone donated to Everlasting?
We’ve had some really phenomenal pieces, like Jimmy Choo shoes, which sold for $30. The other day, a brand new trench coat came in with the tags attached for $400. When we get high-end brands, some go online and some go in the shop. I love the idea of customers finding “treasure” in the store.
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