What is your charity shop bargain of the week?

miss_emmajane

I went to my local Salvation Army shop today (my absolute favourite CS by far) and got a gorgeous top for 50p which will be great for any sunshine we get! That is my bargain of the week!

Hobsons_Choice

I went to three CSs in my town today and came away with....nothing, nowt, nada, zilch!
They seemed to be full of sizes that I wouldn't get one arm in or overpriced Primarni or F&F. #sigh# Oh well, there's always tomorrow .....

Nicepeach

Hi All,:wave:

Wow, great bargains everyone.

Sadly, another small "accident" to report here unfortunately... "Fell" into another few CS today & boy oh boy am I glad I did! Only went to donate a couple of outgrown things & then just seemed to get on a "roll"...

1st shop = 2 x ladies blouses @ £2.99 each, both Jaegar (one of them is silk!). One is very casual, pale blue, will be lovely with jeans, the other cream silk with black pinstripe - v smart for work.

2nd Shop = 1 x very smart navy shift dress for work @ £4.75 "Precis" Petite range (never heard of it but fits well & seems lovely quality).

3rd Shop = 1 x brown wool dress which will be lovely for winter - £4.50, Calvin Klein :eek: - never had any of that in my wardrobe before!!!
+ 1 red, white & blue cotton ladies neck scarf - 50p! Getting prepared for for forthcoming patriotic/jubilympic period!

4th shop = 1 x brown & turquoise multi pattern jersey wrap dress - £4.00. Red Herring, had lots of these in the past, so comfy & suitable for casual or work.
+ 1 x Veeery retro (think Mad Men/Pan Am era fashion complete with floppy p.cat (why can't I write p.u.s.s.y.cat???) bow tie trim to neck!) dress in brown & contrasting tweed effect with matching short jacket. Feel like a million dollars in it but cost £8. Needs some altering as a size too big but will be fabulous when it's done. Think it must be 60s, very "old lady style" but it "spoke to me" & WOW when I put it on! Volunteer ladies said if I didn't buy it they'd have a whip round & buy it for me!
+ 1 "chinese/mandarin" style multi coloured top - started off at £3 but reduced to £1 when I couldn't for the life of me work out how to do it up without it falling open & exposing one whole bosom :eek: Assistance in changing room from 2 volunteers discovered this was due to a missing press-stud back so they reduced it! I was happy to pay full but they weren't happy to sell me "faulty goods"! This is silk too!

Just knew today was going to be a good day!

The only negative thing I could possibly say about my enormous haul is that it is AAAAALLLLLL dry clean only but I say "Pah" to that! I never dry clean anything (that's a fib actually - wool coats being the exception). But I would welcome advice on washing/cleaning silk please. All I have in is Stardrops, soda crystals, washing up liquid, white vinegar & shampoo but for these prices I don't mind buying something special for hand-washing my "silkies" but will bow to your better judgement if you have experience of using anything else. Thanks in anticipation.

Thanks for posting everyone, I love reading. Enjoy your bargains. x

Nicepeach

Hobsons_Choice wrote: »

I went to three CSs in my town today and came away with....nothing, nowt, nada, zilch!
They seemed to be full of sizes that I wouldn't get one arm in or overpriced Primarni or F&F. #sigh# Oh well, there's always tomorrow .....

Aww what a shame but some days it's just like that. Look at my earlier post I've never, ever been that lucky before but I have had lots of days exactly like yours with not a thing in my size in sight (petite leprachaun clothing is ALWAYS rare - unless it's not your size & you'll see loads of the blimmin' stuff!).

At least you didn't just buy things for the sake of it. That's the key, I think, only buy what you believe to be good value & that you will use until such a time as you need/want to recycle it & then back it goes!

Persevere HC, persevere & you will triumph! :rotfl:

davethecat

I'm on maternity at the moment so watching the pennies but fell in love with a pair of jersey dungarees by Junior J (Jasper Conran) for £1.50 in my local BHF today. Can't wait to see my little one in them.

Previous CS bargains include Winnie the Pooh curtains for a £1 - perfect for the nursery :-)

Lurleene

de1amo wrote: »

the best CS in the bournemouth area is in lower parkstone poole--the neighbourhood is very rich and it keeps it's goodies!--the best group of shops is in winton which is 4 miles out of the centre of bournemouth--there is another good indivdual shop in lower charminster---i would like info on shops within striking distance of bournemouth area to have away days for the shop hungry girls--whats shaftesbury like?

Hi de1amo - don't make Winton too famous, that's my stomping ground! Do you go to the Greyhound Shop in Moordown too, that's a little treasure.

If you want to trek further afield Highcliff is absolutely great, Lymington too. I like to make a day of it and visit them both then enjoy the seaside.

Ferndown has shops worth popping into when you are passing as well.

nannaC

Nicepeach wrote: »

Hi All,:wave:

Wow, great bargains everyone.


The only negative thing I could possibly say about my enormous haul is that it is AAAAALLLLLL dry clean only but I say "Pah" to that! I never dry clean anything (that's a fib actually - wool coats being the exception). But I would welcome advice on washing/cleaning silk please. All I have in is Stardrops, soda crystals, washing up liquid, white vinegar & shampoo but for these prices I don't mind buying something special for hand-washing my "silkies" but will bow to your better judgement if you have experience of using anything else. Thanks in anticipation.

Thanks for posting everyone, I love reading. Enjoy your bargains. x

I wear a lot of silk [also CS or Jumble sale bargains] and I simply pop in the washer with my woolies, on wool setting with lowest spin, I then iron whilst wet using steam setting [I know this sounds mad when the clothes are wet but it works as the heat drys the silk and the steam removes any creases] I then hang on hanger to air. If you are unsure it the silk is colour fast hand wash instead, then pop in machine for low spin cycle I dont use any special detergent just use my ordinary liquid one.

Byatt

I went into 2 CS in Wadebr!dge as on holiday and whilst they had some gorgeous items, the prices of everything were :eek: So didn't get a thing.

Well done all of you for getting such good bargains! :money:

Nicepeach

nannaC wrote: »

I wear a lot of silk [also CS or Jumble sale bargains] and I simply pop in the washer with my woolies, on wool setting with lowest spin, I then iron whilst wet using steam setting [I know this sounds mad when the clothes are wet but it works as the heat drys the silk and the steam removes any creases] I then hang on hanger to air. If you are unsure it the silk is colour fast hand wash instead, then pop in machine for low spin cycle I dont use any special detergent just use my ordinary liquid one.

Thanks for the info nannC, I too iron some garments whilst wet for exactly the same reason but wasn't sure I could do it with silk. Think I will invest in some mild handwashing powder e.g. Lux as I only use soda & vinegar to wash my regular clothes & don't think silk will like that so will slosh around by hand in sink in soap & put on short spin or do "swiss roll" drying in a towel to get excess water out, steam iron & hang straight up.

Thanks again. x

JodyBPM

Just seen this thread and read the whole 17 pages of it! Loving reading about all your bargains!

I'm an avid charity shop/carboot goer - virtually nothing in our house is bought new! I'm in Surrey, and I must say that you have to look pretty hard round where I live to find bargains in charity shops, the pricing is ridiculous at times (on average £7-10 per item adult clothes and £4-5 per item childrens clothes) but sometimes I can bag a true bargain!

The thing that I buy most of is probably fabric, or things that can be cut up to re-use the fabric (eg vintage curtains/bed linen) as I'm a keen amateur sewer, and love making pretty vintage style clothes for the children. Mixing and matching vintage florals with cheap ebay ginghams Boden style produces some quirkly little skirts and dresses for my dd Some CS don't seem to stock fabrics at all, but the ones that do seem to sell them for next to nothing!

My favourite and best buy ever was a deep, rigid, wicker shopping basket, which I use all the time and cost me £6 - so not cheap, but something I really wanted and use everytime I go to the supermarket, so well worth the money.

In general I prefer carboots - more bargains to be had! Having said that, we have a holiday caravan in Thanet, and the charity shops round there are *much* better priced. We've virtually kitted the whole family out with a second wardrobe to keep at the van for £1 or so an item, including fleeces,waterproofs etc!