Illawarra fashionistas are encouraged to "Op Till You Drop" next week to celebrate National Op Shop Week, while supporting their local community.

The aim of the event is to raise awareness of the importance of local op shops and the different community programs they provide.

The Salvos' Style Army will also host a fashion parade in Crown Street Mall opposite David Jones on September 3 to showcase the latest trends available in local op shops. It will be hosted and styled by op shop fashion blogger Faye De Lanty and include a Salvos Street Boutique from 9am-5pm.

Salvos Stores Illawarra area manager Philip Wahba said he was excited about the Illawarra event.

"We are very lucky here to receive some fantastic, high-quality donations and we would like to honour those donations by being able to present them in a fashion-conscious way so that people who are fashion driven can come in and get a bargain," he said.

Salvos Illawarra retail manager Andrea Schuerch said people should expect greens and browns to feature in the parade.

"The Style Army is reinventing fashion ... making the normal clothes we get, into modern, fashionable clothes."

Ms Schuerch said that it was not just the community that would benefit, but also the environment.

"[We encourage] the reusing of clothes, being aware of the environment and recycling."

The Salvation Army recently opened a new boutique in Kiama.

Meantime, Lifeline stores in Auburn Street, Wollongong, and Terralong Street, Kiama, will be holding an end of Op Shop Week Silly Saturday half-price sale on August 29. They will also offer jewellery, household items, records and books during the week.

National Op Shop Week runs from August 23-30.

Information: salvosstores.org.au