Charity Shop Shopping

apple_mint

As mature students with two growing little ones, OH and I used to fully dress the family on charity shop finds. My DDs always looked clean and smart and nobody knew by looking at them that their clothes were rarely new.

I still have a wardrobe full of great charity shop bargains (along with sale bargains from a range of sources) - unfortunately in a range of sizes that I've added to as I've got bigger. Hopefully I'm going to slim back down into them.

This is a great way of recycling and helping a charity. I get a lot of good cookery books from charity shops.

ladygrey_2

they look lovely sarahsaver

and great prices too

SueRob_2

I bought a tweed suit, 3 teeshirts, 2 blouses & 3 skirts last week on my trawl round the local charity shops.
Sue

Sweet_Pea_2

I recently read a thread on Old Style about charity shops. I buy things from ebay all the time but have a thing about charity shops, there are loads on my local high street but I always think someone I know might see me coming out of one.
When I read the thread I had a bit of a lightbulb moment, I felt all hot and bothered that I was being such a snob. On Friday I left work early so I could go and have a look around a few.
I went in all the charity shops on the high st, (not my local one, but the high st I have to come along on my way home from work) I think this was actually to my advantage as its an affluent area. Bernados in particular I was impressed with. Almost all of the stuff I looked at has per una, next and gap tags on. The stuff all seemed to be laundered and in excellent condition.
I bought - The Lion the witch and the wardrobe on audiobook, 3 x Judy Moody books (cover price 3.99 paid 80p each) which looked unread and a Next denim skirt all for DD1. (Couldnt find anything for me or DD2) Didnt bother looking for OH as he wouldnt touch it with a bargepole.
DD1 was thrilled to bits, couldnt care less about it being from a charity shop, (She is used to things from ebay anyway) and DD2 was upset 'cos I had nothing for her.
I am now hooked, hopefully I will save a fortune on ebay postage costs in future by hitting the charity shops instead.
I was amazed at how busy the shops were, and I could kick myself for being such a snob. I am not a label person, I shop usually in primark/peacocks/QS etc, M+S is as posh as I get, but if you can get decently made clothes with labels for less than the cheaper shops, why not? Also I stand more chance of selling them on ebay once I've finished with them.

voodoozoe

I have no qualms whatsoever about buying clothes from a charity shop ...BUT...I really have a bit of a problem with the thought of secondhand shoes :eek:


This is a recent phenomena as I have worn "vintage" second hand shoes as a student but these days seeing those shoes makes me CRINGE!!!!!!!!!

kittiwoz

I am a bit snobby about clothes I suppose. That's why I buy a lot of my clothes from charity shops. That way I can afford to get much better quality stuff then I could otherwise. I think the cheap, disposable fashion on the high street is pretty tacky.

Bargain_Rzl

Well done Sarahsaver on your bargains!

pickle wrote:

Isn't it more a fear of being seen to be too poor to afford new things? Keeping up with the Joneses and all that. But if you think about it why buy new all the time, it's just wasting precious resources and it's just peer pressure really isn't it? The clothes are perfectly safe. If you're worried about hygiene then wash them, I do. Why follow the crowd?

I've never been one to say, when somebody compliments me on a garment bought from a charity shop, "Oh yes I got it from..." (insert the shop name on the label!) I'm much more likely to say "Oh yes it's a Viyella skirt but I got it for £3 from a charity shop". I'm proud of bargain hunting!

One of my best buys was a really posh wrap - black velvet on one side, silver on the other, with tassels at the end. Looks REALLY expensive and goes beautifully over my best black evening dress.

Charity shopping is as much to do with the thrill joy of the hunt as with the actual purchase!

The only things I ALWAYS buy new are shoes, bras, knickers, socks and swimwear. I also tend to buy "tailored" items (i.e. suits and smart coats) new, because much as I'd like to buy them cheap and second-hand, I'm an hourglass shape which isn't catered for very well by most clothing brands, and it's quite rare to find something that really fits. I'm always on the lookout though!

Rzl (sitting on her bed in Per Una jeans, £5.99 from Scope, and a Gap top, £3 from Oxfam )

Prudent

dinkydee wrote:

Those clothes look great well done. There is a charity shop open in the village near where my Mum lives. I said to my Mum I needed a new pair of trousers and I might have a look in and see what they have, she said she thought trousers might be dodgey with people being sweaty etc, could I not go to primark and get a pair there. I still have a bit of a mental block about buying clothes for myself in a charity shop, I'd love to get over this fear. Any ideas anyone?

I was like that for years myself. Inspired by postings on this site a couple of summers ago I went into a charity shop to look for a pair of cropped trousers. I was very short of money and having looked in the shops couldn't find anything with a nice fit for my £15 budget. I was in luck they had 5 pairs in my size with styles and colours I liked and all from 'Next' originally. They were in immaculte conditions and cost just over a tenner total. I was hooked! Now I only buy underwear and nightwear from 'normal' shops.

thriftlady_2

I am constantly impressed by the quality of clothes in charity shops and live in a couple of very boring tops I bought from one-can't remember which one.They're only boring because they are literally the only tops I wear through the colder weather.They're identical except for colour and they don't need ironing-big plus :j

The only problem I have, is finding something in my size.In a mainstream shop everything is available in every size usually,but in charity shops it seems the really nice stuff is always too small I know what to do about that though :rolleyes:

I've found lovely stuff for my dd in charity shops.

pottersfolly

last year I got a new long black wool winter coat still with labels attatched for £15 from "Mind" charity shop - bargin.