To tell colleagues I bought it in a charity shop?

[Flowerplower]

I was wearing a nice designer dress to work yesterday and a friendly woman colleague complimented me on it. I said thanks, I got it for a fiver in a charity shop, can you believe it? She looked at me like I had 2 heads!

I'm not from the UK so I don't really know what's the norm here...but surely as there are charity shops all over the high street then shopping in them must be pretty mainstream. We work in an office and are well paid professionals but I feel like I have better things to spend my money on than work clothes. If I'm lucky enough to buy a really nice dress for a fiver AIBU to brag about it or should I just say thank you, and I love your necklace or whatever.

I read an American journalist (I think it was Hadley Freeman) who said that whenever you compliment a British woman on her clothes, she says 'thank you, I got it in the sales, it was half price' or similar. Whereas an American would be more inclined to admit to spending a lot of money. So you are being very British!

OP there was absolutely nothing wrong with your response, and I would have responded in exactly the same way.

Well done for managing to look stylish, help save the planet & contribute to charity all at the same time.

Ignore your silly colleague.

Maybe she was shocked that you’d found something like that in s charity shop?

I have a dear, posh friend who bought some Christian Louboutin shoes in a charity shop (probably in Chelsea!) and told everyone who asked that's where she got them.

One of my favourite hobbies is going to charity shops around the Knutsford area! Got a fantastic DKNY summer bag for £10, not a mark on it. Got a Barbour quilted jacket for £20, again spotless, and some brand new looking Choo's for £20. Could never afford them brand new

YANBU I'd be impressed with your bargain. She was being snobby or odd.

If anyone ever complements something I’m wearing the response is always ‘thanks it’s only primark’ Or ‘thanks it was in the sale’ or ‘it was my sister’s’.

She was BU not you

I always shop in charity shops when I get the chance :) obviously but new aswell in other high street shops but if I can get a coat for £3 that looks new then I am not saying no because some snob over the road might disagree 😅 just ignore the expressions and judgements, you're also giving to charity so 🤷‍♀️

Thanks everyone! My friendly colleague is usually very nice, honestly. But I'm so glad I can keep boasting about my bargains.

I love charity shops and take great delight in telling anyone who compliments me on something that I got it from there.

I love 2nd hand, ethically and morally it's a good way to live.

Gradually the stigma is fading, but unfortunately some people still look down their noses at second hand shops and charity shops, which is a great shame.

@Cornettoninja 's description of class, that just made me spit out me tea!
If someone compliments me on an item of clothing, I will usually say thanks, I bought it in x shop. I'll always say if it was in the sale, as I'll be very pleased with myself about that. And I love charity shop / second hand stuff so I'll tell them that very enthusiastically! Buying cool stuff in charity shops is one of my most satisfying hobbies.
I know there are lots of people who wouldn't entertain buying stuff from a charity shop or pre-worn from eBay etc, but I will never understand why

YANBU, I have a friend, who has a good job, but lives for a bargain in a charity shop. "Look at my chandelier, £15, look at my victorian fireplace, £90, look at my Laura Ashley settee, £25".
His house looks amazing, lots of followers on Instag :)

Just to add as well, I once attended a wedding wearing everything (apart from underwear) second hand. The whole outfit cost about £12. I was one of the best dressed there (tooting my own horn-sorry) and got lots of compliments!

So how do you know she wasn't just shocked by the bargain you found? She didn't say anything rude, just looked at you funny. Doesn't mean she was judging you.

The thing that's really great about charity shops, eBay and fb selling groups, I've found, is the older I've got I'm less fussed about fashion and really just want things that suit me. So you can go on eBay and search for exactly what you want knowing you'd never find it in a shop because it's not currently in fashion.

I am also foreign and in the UK for more than a decade now but still constantly trespass the unwritten office etiquette. I had a glut of (homegrown, "organic") cherries from my backyard cherry tree during the last hot summer, and brought a bucketful to the office for everyone to share or take home - and people looked at me as if I was about to poison them, no one even touched. Still cannot understand what I've done wrong, and probably never will.

My special skill is finding good quality books and Lego sets in charity shops. Several people I know are jealous of this.

I once told another playgroup mum (who until that point had been friendly) that I sometimes bought clothes for my dc from charity shops and car boot sales.

She looked at me as though she'd just wiped me off the sole of her shoe, and never spoke to me again.

More fool her, that's what I say.

l don't know if it's still there, but years ago there was a fabulous charity shop (possibly Oxfam, but don't quote me) near the Royal Albert Hall. lt was closed when we passed, but they had the most amazing stuff in the window. Really nice things including Gina shoes and 7 For All Mankind jeans. lf it had been open we'd have been in there!
Not quite in the same league, but last year l got a lovely faux shearling maxi coat from a small local charity shop. Brand new, tags still on (Wallis) - £10. Fantastic for the cold Yorkshire winters! And my best friend buys everything in charity shops and she gets some amazing bargains. A lot of it's Joe Browns which still have the labels on - we don't know if they're last seasons things, or returns, but she never pays more than £10 for anything. And she always looks fantastic.

Charity shops are fab. I have had l9ts of bargains over the years and no problem telling people where i got stuff.

Clothes, toys, furniture no prob. In fact i have been looking for a piece of furniture for weeks and new would have cost £££s. Just found exactly what i needed for under £100 including delivery in a charity shop so am really happy.

The woman sounds a snob. Who cares what others think when you are saving money and being ecologically sound?

clande How ungrateful! lf l'd worked in your office l'd have been thrilled to have some of those! You did nothing wrong. They're rude.

That sounds totally normal for my office, clande- actually much better than normal. Lots of us bring in tomatoes, apples, peppers, courgettes etc to give away from our gardens and allotments every year. We even bring each other cuttings of perennials. It's really fun. But cherries would be the best ever giveaway - I love them! So you'd be more than welcome where I work!

I got a brand new Next leather jacket in a charity shop for £7.50 and I tell anyone who compliments me on it! However, if I get compliments on my v expensive boots I just say thanks...reverse bragging I suppose!

Cornettoninja You're absolutely right. l used to live in York and there were at least a couple of wonderful 'vintage' shops there. And lots of ordinary charity shops. Even one which specialised in wedding clothes.

I would never mention if something I owned was very expensive but I can’t keep my mouth shut when I’ve found a bargain.