I bought a secondhand coat I didn’t like for a bargain price. Years later I found out what it was worth

‘Mum was right. Audrey Hepburn might have worn it. And if it was good enough for her, then perhaps it’s good enough for me.’ Photograph: Landmark Media/Alamy

Most things in our house have belonged to someone else. Heirlooms, hand-me-downs, secondhand shop finds and treasures rescued from hard rubbish. Even my clothes are largely secondhand. It’s not just frugality that forces me to purchase like this. It’s also about the hunt. There’s a sort of buzz that comes from finding a bargain, from discovering something you know you couldn’t afford if it was new.

I come from a long line of bargain hunters, and early on, Mum taught me what to look for at markets and secondhand shops. After I moved out, we would often trawl the outer eastern suburbs together, for undiscovered pearls. It was our way to connect.