Charity Shop Shopping

MATH

I've pretty much given up buying clothes from charity shops lately. Although I can still be spotted in Age Concern rifling the second hands books 'n' bric a brac.;) Primark, Bwise, Asda and the like have really upped their game as far as quality is concerned. You still find the odd piece of shocking manufacture but then you get that at M&S and even higher end shops nowadays. Man made fabrics cause less quality issues at the bottom end of the market than natural fibres which can be dodgy. Having said that I bought a cheapo T shirt the other week from Primark for £4 and it's the highest thread count brushed cotton I've bought in a long time. If you go with a buyer beware attitude and check all seams, fastners, hems and stick to fabrics which you know wear, wash and perform well you can't go too wrong.

Debt_Free_Chick

Definitely try a charity shop in a posh area e.g. in London, try Chelsea, Highgate. In the Midlands, try Sutton Coldfield, Solihull etc.

Pooky

Depending on how much you want to spend you could try visiting a designer outlet instead. The nearest one to us is Ashford (McArthur Glenn) They've got loads of shops with great prices -- but like chairty shops - you might not get what you're after the first time of looking......

In Marks and Sparks there last week they had a huge sale area - they had adult stuff (I didn't look) but most of the kids clothes were reduced to £1 or £1.50 an item.....needless to say 3 carrier bags later.............

The charity shops near us tend to be quite pricey and I've learnt which ones to avoid but at £1 or £1.50 an item, or even £2.99 for childrens gap fleeces last week, I'd rather visit the outlet and stock up.

moggins

I never seem to find any decent childrens clothes in charity shops anymore, I think they must be all being sold on E-bay. I went into Primark yesterday and what they had for little girls was pitiful and some of it very slutty (is it only me that doesn't want her 3 year old to look like a teenager?)

In the end I went into H & M and found they had a half price sale on childrens clothes and got quite a bit of stuff in there for less than £20 the lot.

With adult stuff I do find that you have to keep visiting the charity shops and get stuff when it's there, the stock changes from day to day so it's worth it to keep trying.

amarillo_2004

I am back & I have achieved!!!

There is a very nice navy M&S silk suit hanging in my wardrobe, & the best thing about it is it cost me £12. I am sooooooooooooo pleased I got back on the horse... (Although there s a most peculiar smell of wet dog in one shop & I won't be going anywhere near there again)

Am going to be very firm with myself about the bag, shoes, necklace etc etc etc that I want to buy to complete the look.

Cheers all. Its Saturday night and I deserve a beer and some of the nice olives that I didn't mean to buy :beer:

hornetgirl

Well done Amarillo_2004. It definitely pays to keep looking. I also find that I tend to get better bargains in shops attached to local charities such as hospices, rather than the chains like Oxfam etc.
My favourite one always has a rail of clothes for £1, but today everything was half price. I got an as new Moschino blouse and a Next fleecy top for 50p each, plus two paperbacks for 30p each, so was well pleased with my day's shopping.

inkie

Only last week I picked up a couple of cracking bargains at the local jumble sale. I spotted a m & s pin striped suit for 40p - it had just been to the dry cleaners as it stll had the tag on it. Thought that things couldn't get any better when I stumbled upon a christian dior jacket which looked virtually brand new. I dare not hope for the trousers to match - but after a bit of rummaging they were there - and again a top class suit for 40p. Both fit my DH as if they were made to measure - and he keeps getting compliments at work as to how smart he looks - he hasn't got the heart to come clean!! I know this is the exception rather than the rule, but for a bit of a rummage and 1/2 hr of your time - its well worth it - and if it doesn't fit you can always stick it on e bay!

HOLsale

moggins wrote:

I never seem to find any decent childrens clothes in charity shops anymore, I think they must be all being sold on E-bay. I went into Primark yesterday and what they had for little girls was pitiful and some of it very slutty (is it only me that doesn't want her 3 year old to look like a teenager?)

.

no you're not the only one, i refer to the type of stuff you're talking about as 'hookerwear' :eek:

my 3 year old has tops meant for 7-9 year olds and they fit in all but the sleeve length, how shocking is that? she's a bit tall for her age but she's thin so i can just imagine how short and tight these would be on an 8 year old :eek:

a lot of charity shops no longer sell childrens clothes. if you find stores that don't stock any ask which shop they send their kids clothing to and go there. usually it will be in a poorer area of town so you'll get good prices as well as a good selection!

Bargain_Rzl

It's all about being prepared to shop anywhere, and thinking a bit laterally.

2-3 years ago I found out that there was a costume sale on at the Royal Opera House on a Sunday afternoon. I'm a MAJOR opera nut, but I have no space at home - and let's face it, the average opera costume is not everyday wear - so I thought, I'll just turn up, maybe pick up one small novelty item, and go home.

Anyway, I got there, and there was a 2-hour queue to get in :eek: so I almost just gave up and went home, but then ran into some friends so stayed to chat. Eventually I got in, and almost immediately found a beautiful Italian couture suit. It was not cheap at all, but considerably less than it would have cost me anywhere else other than a charity shop! What's more, it fit like a glove - AND, from the evidence of the name of the singer and production written on the name label in the neck of the jacket, it was an outfit I had ACTUALLY SEEN on stage in a show, a few months earlier.

I bought it, and wore it to work a few days later... our managing director walked by my desk and was so taken aback at how smart I looked, he asked if I was going for an interview :rotfl:

Haven't worn it for a while as I need to lose a few pounds in order to get back into it

(BTW, there was a young girl (about 13) in the queue for the checkout behind me, buying a dress with the name of a MAJOR opera star on the neck label - and the girl had never heard of the singer and didn't realise how much money some other people might offer her for it...)

stellagypsy

I work in a small W Yorks town with about 6 charity shops on teh market square and the quality is really quite good, as though they are in competition with each other. If I want anything "special" I would head out to Ilkley ir Otley or similar.

Just to add - was in Sainsburys yesterday and their TU range is very nice - good quality classic designs at reasonable prices, and they make hefty reductions when they decide to cut prices too - I got a lovely 3 piece suit for work last year for £25.00. I must remember to have a look there more often.

Stella