Friday 13 March 2015

Charity Shopping, My Tips!

I recently filmed a charity shop haul video for my Youtube channel, which if you haven't already watched, you can check it out below!





In that video, I briefly touched on my tips for charity shopping but I thought I would do a follow up blog post going through my tips and tricks for being successful in getting great stuff from your local charity shop!



The first tip I'd have is GET STUCK IN! A lot of people assume that because I get good stuff from charity shops, it's because my local ones are brilliant and all the great things are laid out waiting for me. That is definitely not the case! Like anyone, I have to really root around for the good stuff. Most of the time the gems are tucked away where nobody has seen them, and don't forget to check on the floor underneath the racks. As gross as that sounds, a good wash at 60c will get rid of any germs.


Secondly I would say be open minded. If you go in thinking 'I want to find a navy monsoon dress in size 10', it's totally not going to happen and you will come out disappointed. You will save a lot of money by shopping at charity shops so you definitely can afford to be a little more adventerous with your choices. Check the men's racks and the items that are not your usual size, as you may find a lovely check shirt that looks great worn open as a jacket, or a cool tshirt. The same goes for kids clothes; check all the sizes even if your child is much younger. You can always store it away and pull it back out in years to come, especially as children's clothes don't go out of fashion as quickly as adult clothes do. I love finding a beautiful 'vintage' piece in both adult and children's clothes as I like quirky pieces.


Thirdly, be smart about your choice of charity shop. In my experience, the 'smaller' more local charity shops are cheaper than the bigger charities like 'Oxfam'. Smaller shops are not as familiar with desirable brands and I have picked up Boden items for less than a pound in these local stores; whereas Oxfam definitely bump up the price based on the label. I also think it pays off to head to the more 'wealthy' areas of your county, as controversial as that sounds! I have found that charity shops in middle class areas generally have more branded items such as Boden, Hatley, Catimini and Next, rather than primark or supermarket brands. I have nothing against cheap brands but when it comes to secondhand clothes, I have found the more expensive ones hold up better to washing and lots of wear. I also feel that people are a little more flippant with getting rid of things in wealthy areas and are happy to drop off a big bag of clothes at the charity shop rather than go through the hassle of selling on to make a bit of their money back.


Finally, I would say you really have to go quite regularly. The turn over of stock in charity shops is remarkably quick and 3 times out of 4, I don't find anything. It is definitely worth popping in every time you pass a charity shop as you never know what might have been put out since the last time you went. My most successful trips have been when I have gone into a shop with no expectation.

Happy Shopping everyone! x



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