Blog special guest: Hugo Sebastian Wellington III

Hello,

I’m Hugo Sebastian Wellington III, a happy-go-lucky skeleton living in a fleshy world.

At 106 years young, I’m a skelly-man of many passions. They include fashion, day-tripping, cooking, upcycling and instagramming. I work in storage and my motto is 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle'. My reason for being is Halloween and all things SPOOOOKY.

I’ve been op shopping all my life/death. Why do I like op shopping? So many reasons... I’m a thrifty skelly, so it saves me money. It reduces waste, so it’s environmentally friendly. The funds raised support the community, so it’s ethical. But most importantly, it’s all about fashion.

When you’re undead like me, it’s important to stand out in a crowd and in large gathering of skellys, that’s not easy. I’m not afraid to say it, we all pretty much look the same. So, showing some personal style and individuality is very important to me. I mean, I’m Hugo the Skeleton. I’m insta- famous. I’ve got to be noticed. LOOK AT ME... Giggles.

In the skelly community I’m a bit of a fashion icon. I’m known for my quirky creative flair and famous for my collection of geeky T-shirts.

Op shops provide a huge variety of interesting pieces that allow me to create my own creepy style. It gives me a chance to experiment without the costly price tags, and it’s a skele-tonne of fun. Like a treasure hunt without the drunken pirates.

Unfortunately, I have to go op shopping alone. Mainly because I’ve got no-body to go with.... Ahaha Ahaha. Sorry, classic skeleton joke. I couldn’t help myself. Actually, I shop with my fleshy friends and we have an absolute ball. Our favourite store is Salvos Lidcombe. I don’t think I have ever been there without bagging a few treasures. I often get recognised by my many many fans. 22,171 at the time of blogging. Stopping shopping to take selfies/skelfies can be exhausting. I guess that’s the price of fame. Giggles.

As a skeleton I’m all about Halloween. I love finding curious pieces to turn into costumes or to repurpose into spooky decorations. I recently found a light box that I transformed into a trick-or-treat sign. One of my favourites was an old broken dolls' house that I upcycled into a haunted house and I once made a creepy skeleton rocking horse.

Oh, and an op shop provides an endless supply of seriously creepy dolls. As my 22,173 Instagram followers (yes, I’ve gained two more) would attest to the fact that I Hugo Sebastian Wellington III am one of the world’s greatest Skeleton chefs #topchefhugo (honestly, there’s not much competition. Giggles). I’m regularly searching op shops for interesting and exotic cook books for culinary inspiration. They’re always a bargain, too. My whole life/death I don’t think I ever paid full price for one. My most treasured op shop find was a pair of Halloween orange Dr Martens that I customised into jack-o'-lantern boots (I know you’re jelly of this skelly. Giggles) …Another prized find is my Jack Skellington doll. Jack's my hero. I just can’t fathom why anyone would give him up. It’s JACK SKELLINGTON. Anyhoo, I’m glad they did. You know what they say, “One Fleshies Trash is another Skellies Treasure”.

My unicorn piece would be anything from the Lemax Halloween Spooky Town. I’m forevermore searching.

What makes a good op shop? The bigger the better I say. However, the sheer volume of treasures can sometimes be overwhelming. Frequently I need to stop, focus and breathe. Which is hard when you don’t have lungs.

I don’t really have any op shopping tips other than just go for it. If you get it home and it’s not for you just donate it back. I do that all the time. An op shop is a bit like a fabulous fashion library to me. I take one out and I bring one back.

Happy op shopping and keep it creepy! If you found my first ever blog humerus (Giggles) and you’d like to follow my Spooky adventures, you can catch me on Instagram @hugotheskeleton

Happy Halloween…