Pick'n'Mix - the joy of the chaz in '26!

goldfinches

I had an absolutely amazing time in the Barnardo's and Oxfam shops on the Cowley Road in Oxford today. Wonderful books I'd been coveting for ages suddenly appeared on the shelves priced at 50p, there must be something funny in the water in that area of town.

First I went to Barnardo's and spotted this Easter Basket biscuit cutter in the window for £1 which they very obligingly fished out for me, then the Ronnie Barker works cost £2, the National Trust book cost £3 and the other three cost 50p each.

I also found a very battered and splattered copy of Ottolenghi's Plenty More for 50p which I bought to offer to my neighbour and if he already had it I thought I might sell it in the local area for at least £5, he was thrilled and paid me back immediately with the right money!

Then the little black and white zipped purse at the bottom left of the photo is to put my cards and receipts in when shopping as my current case is getting a bit loose and threadbare, that cost £3. I'm not sure what brand it is but it feels good quality.

Then, still in Barnardo's I spotted this pretty Joules scarf for £3.50 and these Ming jeans relaxed fit with a label saying handmade and they cost £12 but the denim does feel really good, thick quality and the colour is my preferred shade of indigo.

After that I struggled across the road to the Oxfam shop and bought these four books which were 2 for £2.49 and 2 for £2.99 and a new wash mitt for £1.49.

After all that, as I came out of the Oxfam shop it began to rain and the wind turned rather spitefully cold and gusty and that was it for the good weather. I was never gladder to see the bus.

Rosa_Damascena

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81931532#Comment_81931532

I love these! Pretty and practical, my kinda middle-aged thing. In fact they would go with my latest purchase, a Betty Kay London navy spring coat with floral lining.

Magpie100

@goldfinches I can feel the joy of the hunt through your post! What an excellent day out. The charity shops gods are obviously feeling benevolent as I had a brilliant day out yesterday in London, of all places. I was back in an old haunt where I used to work which has excellent charity shops, though they are on the pricey side. However, I found:

• a pair of North Face gloves, £4. Dog-walking every day means I like to have lots of pairs of gloves in different thicknesses and also because occasionally I'll lose one and need a back up. These look unworn and are fantastic quality.
• A Second Female cream/satin-y top with a gathered waist and bat-wing sleeves. A good day to evening option. £10.
• A pair of Nike trainers. My side-quest to own every pair of Nike trainers made this very satisfying. they are barely worn and super comfy.
• And the greatest find of all: a Scamp and Dude dress. S&D aren't for everyone but I love their dresses - lots of coverage, nicely cut for an hourglass and lovely and light. I bought one a few years ago that always got lots of compliments but my back got too broad for it. Anyway, the charity shop I was in said that S&D donate their seconds to them and they had a dozen or so on the rails. Inexplicably, they were selling them at £15. The manager was telling me that someone came in and bought 10 of them to sell on - as he pointed out, there isn't anything he could do about it, but I felt like saying they could easily double the price to £30 which would deter resellers a bit more and give them more profit. But anyway, not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I bought one for myself and felt very lucky as I did so. Picture attached, I hope!

This morning off to donate a bag of things to my local shops in a ritual offering to the gods of rewear.

Magpie100

And the trainers and top … I may wear the trainers with the new dress …

Watty1

Had never heard of Scamp and Dude but the dress is fabulous. And if the shop gets the seconds then worth a visit whenever in the area I'd say.

Rosa_Damascena

@Magpie100 - you are living up to your name!

@goldfinches - Stitch n' !!!!!!? 🤐. Malorie Blackman is very under-rated, she has written about 50 books!

beanielou

I love Scamp & Dude but it’s pricey.

Magpie100

@beanielou indeed; I am feeling very fortunate. Definitely my lucky day,

SandyShores

Very nice Scamp & Dude dress. I bought a full price jacket last year in khaki. Was rather expensive for essentially a canvas jacket, but its very nicely made the details are lovely.

I'm definitely getting CS envy.

goldfinches

@Magpie100 - love the dress and the top too. The manager you spoke to sounds astonishingly dim, the idea of raising the prices of the dresses seems blindingly obvious to me, perhaps the price is set by someone else is all I can think.

Wonderfully for this area I received a postal delivery this morning, a positive shower of interesting items with only one piece of junk mail, someone up there evidently thinks it is "be nice to goldfinches week"!

One of the items I received was the flowery shoe laces so here is the comparison photo, I think they're better than the red ones but still not quite right but perhaps I'm being fussy. What do others think?

I prefer the flowery pattern but also think the plain red laces are a nicer texture and appearance. So what shall I do?