I love charity shops!

[TisapityshesaGeordie]

I hadn't really shopped in them since my student days, but I recently made a new friend who always looks incredibly stylish, in that sort of cool, laid-back, not-really-trying mode I would love to achieve (instead I have two modes - over-dressed, and scruffy, with no middle ground), who claims she gets most of her clothes from them, so I thought I'd give it a try.

It's been a revelation! I don't always find stuff, but when I do they tend to be gems. In the past couple of months, I've found a wonderfully soft, thick and warm Uniqlo cashmere jumper; a Boden cashmere dress with the tags still on it, and today a gorgeous real leather jacket which will be perfect for Spring for the bargain price of £17.50!

And I get the feel-good factor of helping a charity and not contributing to landfill/worker exploitation with more cheap, throwaway fashion. Win!

[Gwilt160981]

They are good. I got an elton John vinyl LP from 1970s for a quid from local hospice and boots for £1.99 from banardos

[mumobsessedwithdamp]

Me too! I am wearing a leopard print dress from Hobbs today - coat a tenner from Oxfam. The charity shops round me are quite pricey but I don't mind as all the cash goes to a good place.

[MadHattersWineParty]

I love them too!

I don't bother with H&M and Zara now- hate the cheap fabric and poor stitching- quality of high street shops has really gone down hill IMO.

I usually hit the charity shops on payday instead! Last month I got a jigsaw wool coat, a YSL scarf and a Paul Smith blazer all for under £30, but I pick up some good quality high street stuff too- lots of French Connection and Oasis. Love my Nudie jeans which were £10. Zip needed replacing but the Nudie shop in London fix and repair your jeans for free, regardless of where you got them!

Some shops definitely better than others- round here the Trinity Hospice ones are fab, but Oxfam is pretty dire. British Heart Foundation tends to overprice everything- I'm not going to pay £8 for a George top!

[TisapityshesaGeordie]

It's the Scope shop that most often delivers for me. I

[OurBlanche]

I have 2 cities, 5 towns and 2 large villages on my rounds. They all have different types of charity shop and I manage to buy good looking, expensive clothing that makes me look and feel good as a self employed woman.

I also find loads of comfy stuff that I would'nt pay full price for. I am sat here wearing a lovely Eddie Bauer square necked jumper that I picked up for a fiver!

My best buys include an East wrap dress for £8 and a merino wool knee length cardi/coat for a tenner!

I shall never pay full price for clothes again... with the obvious exceptions

[Floisme]

It depends on where you live. Round here they have a bit of a renaissance when people do their new year clear out. (If any of you are Mumsnetters, I thank you.)The rest of the year, they're pretty rubbish, apart from a couple of big Oxfams. However the second hand - aka 'vintage' - clothes shops are quite good.

[ChishandFips33]

I use charity shops as a way to explore/find my style.

Clothes are so expensive or not always value for money at the cheaper end these days so I would never have had the range of things in my wardrobe as I do now plus I get the kick of knowing most days my outfit, including coat, comes to less than £25!

I'll give most things a try and it's helped me get to know the styles and colours that suit...as well as supporting a good cause

I've also learned my hunting priorities:
Colour
Texture
Style
Fit
Label

[CallarMorvern]

Got fab Clarks ankle boots for £2 on Fri, plus a brand new polo neck for a £1 - very trendy J.D Williams,😂 but it fits beautifully and is a lovely blue.

[LanaorAna1]

I have noticed loads more people saying they now only shop charity - which is a new thing for people with more of a choice.

Coats, cashmere, dresses and shoes are charity shop crack for me - but no way would I bother with knackered old tees and trousers. Jewellery can be good too, but Primark does fantastic jewellery for a quid that's more up to date.

I just bought a dark blue plisse midi dress for three quid - currently on asos for 35. Handy as I couldn't quite bring myself to experiment with one when I saw them coming in the shops a couple of months ago, so this way I get to try it and it's not a big deal. Actually, it's brilliant.

[OurBlanche]

I still do that Chish If I see something and am not sure I can afford to take a chance. If it doesn't work out I wash it and take it to the next town's charity shop - or if it is really nice I might be a bit mercenary and put it in the frock exchange!

[TisapityshesaGeordie]

I also feel braver about experimenting with my style in charity shops too. Find myself trying on things I'd never take off the shelves in high street stores, and often loving them.

[lovealotbear]

I love charity shops, I feel they are my little secret. Today I hit the charity shops and found a pair of black work trousers from Reiss brand new with tags, for £12. Plus a navy Banana Republic pea coat and a pair of black Banana Republic crops.

I recently realised that most of my work wardrobe consists of charity shop finds. I just don't like shouting about it as don't want everyone else to discover my secret:)

[ChanandlerBongsNeighbour]

Myself and two DCs mainly wear charity shop clothes, I've found some amazing things recently! Best Buy was brand new Doc Martens leather wedge heel Mary Janes, 99p!! For the kids I always manage to get Next and M&S and it's four kids items for 99p too! I'm ruined for 'real' ships as apart from the odd exception, I just can't seem to see the value I'm after!

[blitzgirl]

I love charity shopping and not just for clothes. I've managed to get dd some really nice toys in the ones where I live. A quick antibacterial wipe and they are as good as new. Clothes wise, i have my favourite which has a great vintage section where I buy what my mum calls my 'old lady' clothes. The majority of the shops round here are set out great and sell good quality items, although there are a couple I avoid because they are a bit smelly and there are some I look in but find over priced. Books I get by the bucket load because as soon as I've read them I pass them on, so don't mind only paying a couple of pound for them. I like the feeling that I'm giving something back but also going home with a great item. I also give a lot of stuff to my local charity shops too so it's kind of working both ways!

[BunnyDog]

I love them. Charity shops have changed so much from the fusty days, the best ones are lovely shops and changing rooms, with all wooden matching hangers, beautiful displays. You would hardly know. I think it co-incided with the over-buy culture where people buy stuff they just don't need - the number of items with tags still on is increasing. I buy more than I would normally in charity shops because I reckon that if I make a mistake it doesn't cost me much and at worst its a charity donation. I would make those mistakes anyway buying from regular shops! You have to not expect anything and go in regularly, and find your best shops locally - I tell my friends I could tell them which are the best shops in my city but I would have to kill them first.

[HeyRoly]

I love the idea of finding glorious bargains in charity shops, but only seem to come across oceans of Primark tat. Guess I need to bide my time/spend more time rummaging. Unfortunately I usually have a toddler with a low boredom threshold in tow, so it's not easy!

[DancingHouse]

I used to love them and I've got loads of fave items but recently they just seem to be full of tat that you can get new at the same price.

I've have more luck finding items at weigh & pay vintage pop up shops. Or eBay if I'm after specific items.

[OurBlanche]

HeyRoley there is a really easy way to find those bargains.

Work out where the vair naice areas are near you. Then look for the chichi boutique looking charity shops (Clic is the one round here). You'll find the good stuff there. You will find one or two with high prices, but there will always be one that is just joyous!

It took me the best part of a year to work out which shops the woman who is my size but has loads more money took her clothes, once she had worn them 3 or 4 times

[HubbaBubbaMum]

This inspiration lady wore nothing but charity clothes for a year - she always looked amazing and raised loads of money for charity www.cancerresearchuk.org/knickers-models-own

Oxfam on line is a find too (www.oxfam.org.uk/shop) - you can search by brand, size etc. - even for wedding dresses! Be prepared as its addictive!

[Floisme]

No, in some places, they're still poor even in the poshest parts of town. It's not because we're not looking properly, it's because everyone round here's on Ebay.

But I do like a weigh and pay.

[OurBlanche]

I'm out here in NotLondon, rural Gloucestershire, and I have no idea what a 'weigh and pay' is

So I suspect it is different across the country. But DSis, down in Cornwall, does the same as I do, scopes out the, shall we say, less local areas and shops there!

[ProjectGainsborough]

I've recently become obsessed with charity shops. Today I got a maje cardigan, perfect fit and colour for £20.

Other recent finds were a press sample of boden cropped high waisted jeans, tags still on and an Armani tailored jacket.

Oh and a linen shirt, lambswool jumper and brand new shirt dress which I wore today. I can totally relate to the idea of charity shop 'crack'.

[DancingHouse]

blanche weigh & pay is a vintage shop which travels the country and everything is sold by weight. There are about 4-5 different ones doing the rounds at the moment and you can find them on all on fb, insta, twit etc.

[HeyRoly]

OurBlanche I do live in a vair nice town (but I'm basically a peasant compared with some of the rich parents of my DD's classmates) so there should be rich pickings on my high street. Lots of charity shop too! But I find the good stuff, when it exists, can be overpriced. When I lived in SW London I gleefully hit the charity shops of Wimbledon Village (ridiculously affluent area) and although I found an LK Bennett top that I still wear, most was expensive. Especially the Orla Kiely/Uniqlo dress they were trying to sell for fifty quid as a real Orla Kiely dress