@PopcornKettleBlack
My tips!
Charity shops in affluent areas
Specifically smaller local charities rather than the big ones.
Oxfam et al tend to be staffed by people who are quite savvy on what things are worth. So a whistles dress or Jones shoes will be priced up accordingly.
In the smaller shops e.g. a top is a top is a top and they are all £3 regardless of brand/quality
My best gems have come from independent ones, but by going to loads you get a feel
Quite a few have £1 rails - these can be goldmines.
For clothes - don't get too hung up on sizes, can't get away with it so much with trousers but with tops I'm a 8-10 but buy things up to a 14 because you can tuck them in.
Ditto dresses - belts can work wonders
In the local smaller shops, feel the fabric and check the labels.
Don't discount the men's wear section either - you can get good jeans/belts/coats - even shoes if you've got larger (6+) feet
You have to learn to look with "soft eyes" so not just the rails of clothes
I tend to look up and down - sometimes the best bits of bric a brac are not displayed at the front, they are tucked away at the back/in boxes at the bottom of the shelves. Have a rummage.
For bric a brac - weight is a good indication of quality. Pick things up. If they are heavy - look for makers marks. It's how I have got some beautiful things.
If I see a mark on a piece of pottery I do a quick google on my phone. The picture I bought for £2 I thought was nice anyway, but when I turned it over I saw it was a official framed picture and worth £150, same for the Delft and my wedge wood dinner set. I've got beautiful pewter jugs - they were tarnished but heavy and came up amazingly with a bit of Silvio.
I also got a bundle of silver plated vintage cutlery for £1. It was at the bottom of a box and pretty dirty. Again a bit of a clean and lovely.
Picture frames - good solid ones with glass mounting are bloody expensive in real life. I've spent £100+ getting picture framed before. No more!
I will buy pictures just for the frame even if the picture is horrible and then take the back off and put a new picture in. And I often find original prints loose in the boxes of frames and bits that most shops have.
I've also bought fairly dated but solid massive IKEA frames with bad 80s prints in them for a couple of quid, replaced the picture and painted the frames with tester pots.
It helps that I 1. Live in a wealthy area 2. I lube it so will spend proper time in each shop and I've got to kneel the ones that have the most gems, I live in a old house so like having a pretty
eclectic mix of antique and new stuff.
I'm tempted to show you my garden room and you can guess how much it cost to furnish:all the bits in it.