What is your charity-shop weakness?

mon1o

i discovered CS's for the first time today..........bagged myself a matalan top, new look top and jasper conran jeans for the lovely price of £9!!! and they look brand new!

think in future when i go shopping i'll look in CS's first before heading into the larger chains.

lally666young

I had to take the childs sewing machine back as i couldnt get it too, work so i a swoped it for Jesus statue instead!!! totally random purchase!!!!!!!!!! Then I found out I am going to a gig on Saturday with my son. So I bought a top to go with leggings, handbag and scarf for 6.99!!!! Bargain, then bought a per una top and a motorhead tee shirt for a fiver. WOW!!!! So I am a happy bunny!!!!! l

UnluckyT

books the main one, collectables such as wade,clothes and things such as curtains or nets curtains.

i will have a good rummage though, but have to be carefull as id end up with a library for a home plus so many t-shirts and jumpers but nothing else?

Norma_Desmond

I collect antique paintings and I'm always looking out for ornate frames for them in charity shops........and Italian silk scarves, and vintage leather bags......anything that is beautifully made and classic really.

Nicepeach

Just back from a trip to town & I only went into 1 (yes, one!) charity shop!

Found a very lovely Debenhams pale grey/blue long wool coat, in my size (v unusual as I'm v small) & it fitted beautifully. BUT I didn't give in to temptation, even though it was in the half price sale & reduced from £8.50 to £4.25. It did look very nice but I decided I didn't NEEEEED it so I left it for another lucky person.

Mmm... :think: Have I just been really stupid??? - that was an absolute bargain...

By the way, the trip to town was to collect the latest Sue Townsend book (The Woman Who Went To Bed For A Year). Cost me 75p to reserve it & it only came out on 1st March - brilliant value. :j

prepareathome

Gosh nicepeach you were good, I know I could not have left a bargain like that, I would have bought it and I would have made sure I wore it - did that with two beautiful dresses last month, both brand new, one still had price ticket on £150 other one was a Laura Ashley - plenty of labels but no price and was a type of dress I have wanted all my life but never could afford. I will find somewhere to wear them even if its just meals out for birthday, anniversary, or at Christmas both came to £20 and both in my size I am opposite to you am fat size 18 and usually do not see really gorgeous things in that size

Nicepeach

Hi PAH, yes it seems a bit silly doesn't it & was really regretting it until I checked upstairs wardrobe after my last post & counted 9 long coats in various colours!

So feel a bit better now about leaving it & as I said someone else may benefit.

Yes, I read your original post about you getting those dresses, well done to you! I must admit if the above item had been a frock & not a coat it would've been added to my stash without hesitation! I do like a nice dress, so easy, just one thing to put on & you're done (well, apart from other necessities of course!).

Always feel better in a dress than skirt/trousers & top & I live in the vain hope wearing one thing without a join in the middle makes me look taller...:rotfl:

By the way, please don't say fat, think of yourself as voluptuous. Please believe me that being small & slim is NOT all it's cracked up to be. Until petite ranges became widely available I had been known to wear children's clothes & glam them up with accessories. (Good tip for anyone who needs white shirts for work - check out Trutexx or M & S white school shirts)

Aha! I hear you cry, what a bargain, cheaper & no V.A.T. to pay etc. etc. That's all well & good til you turn up to a family party wearing something VERY similar to your 12 year old cousin.

That's where my Charity Shopping habit originally started as I didn't mind buying bigger things & then paying to get them altered (quite an expensive addition on top of full price clothing).

Also have a VEEEERRRY bad shoe habit but funds are severely restricted of late so that's been well & truly curbed unless I find a CS bargain.

I often think people at either end of size spectrum should go shopping together - I can always find nice larger sizes & my larger friends always complain that when they go CS shopping it's full of "dwarf size" stuff!

Hope you are enoying your dress bargains & if you haven't got anywhere special to go - put 'em on at home & let everyone wonder where you're going

cactuspotty

What a great thread! I love charity shops and love going to a town just to look around the charity shops there!

Like most people have already said, I always make a bee-line for the books. There are so many brilliant, out of print books you can pick up for just a few pence.

I also always look out for Pretty Ugly Pottery mugs which I've collected since I was a kid. And also shells, which I like to buy to make things out of or decorate mirrors and photo frames with.

And also anything quirky or unusual that takes my eye!

salesaddict

NicePeach you should post as often as possible, your posts are lovely.
Prepare at Home, Voluptuous not Fat as NP says.

This is such a lovely thread. The Old style is the nicest one on the Forum I think. Always helpful, never judgemental.

I have started going into CS shops with my dd. She loves the little sweet nic nac ornaments.

The best ones in our area are the St Frances Hospice ones. The Shops are bright and clean, no smell of old clothes.

It is one of the MSE things I like to do with my dd. We go to a different shopping area to our usual and explore all the CS. Who knew it could be such fun ? xx

koolkatsaffi

Shoes...Shoes....Shoes...And vintage underwear!...

I have been a very keen CS shopper for years...Its the best form of recycling in my opinion!...Everyone wins!:D

I buy clothing & home furnishings & transform them into unique one off items...But then I am quite alternative in my style and likes...

My fave charity shop is the local hospice one as all the others are big names Age Uk, Cancer Research, Heart Foundation etc and the prices are just silly sometimes...£4.49 for a Primark top that I recall buying 4/5 years ago for £1.50 and the like...

This last season I have been buying my shoes and boots from everything£5.com as they have been cheaper than the charity shops even with delivery costs...Having said that, I got some lush, brand new, black suede thigh boots for £7 the other day in hospice shop with price tag of £90 still attached! :j

Books are getting overpriced so I'm loaning more from the library nowadays...;)

I have had some good bargains of unopened Body Shop gift sets, Boots gift sets and even an new sealed 100ml Armarni aftershave in the jan/feb months from charity shops - obviously unwanted Xmas gifts...:)...I put them away in my present box for birthdays etc...

I'm currently on the hunt for a jam pan or large pan suitable for preserving...I am trying to be good and ONLY look for a pan and come out again but I just have to have a look around.....:o

I think I am addicted! :eek: