10/06/2026
20 Years of Insideout – The Evolution of Merchandising
Nothing makes me glitch more than looking back through some of our original photos from when we took over the shop.
It's a bit like looking at childhood photos where Mum had dressed you and your sister in matching jumpers, complete with matching socks. You cringe a little, but you also know it was just the style of the time.
Anyone who shopped at South Gippsland Clothing Co. will probably remember the old store. Every inch of space was filled with stock and there was always something interesting tucked away if you were prepared to hunt for it. Some people absolutely loved that treasure-hunt experience. Don't get me wrong, there was order in the chaos: the tops section beside the pants section, all arranged logically by size. But on the eye, it was ALOT!
Knowing there was a different way to merchandise stock, I was determined to do things differently. I started colour blocking, creating outfits, and organising displays with a "this goes with that" approach rather than simply grouping like items together.
The tragedy of this photo is that it isn't actually the before shot.
At the time, I was so excited to have my very own shop and get started that I completely forgot to take photos before we began moving stock around. What you're looking at here is actually the after photo—the newly transformed space that I thought looked incredible...
..at the time.
Still, I suppose that's the beauty of looking back. What once felt like a huge step forward now makes me smile, and it shows just how far we've come over the last 20 years.
