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.

Omg I spend faaar too much time in charity shops, I’m addicted. What’s wrong with people?! I love a rummage and get a thrill out of finding something. Yes I’ve had a few people look down their nose.
I’ve picked up great kids clothes. Lots of Next and M&S but also Zara, Joules, Boden and even Ralph Lauren with tags on in our local one.

clande if you'd taken a bucket of cherries in to my husband's office they're would be a cloud of dust as they alltry to get some. If I ever bake for his office then it's a free for all to get a slice. Not all office staff are so rude and ungrateful thankfully.

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.

I've worked in lots of places in the UK and this is totally normal behaviour (although courgettes and rhubarb mostly!). Sounds like you work somewhere with some strange 'etiquette' rules

I’d love to find a charity shop bargain to be proud of. I go in them but I never find anything amazing. I think I’m looking in the wrong area. Need to go more upmarket. On another note I ALWAYS tell people if I got bargains. In the sales since January I’ve purchased 4 pairs of shoes for the combine price of less than £50. My problem is turning down a bargain if I don’t need the item. Must work on that!

Realise my post is unclear, it's totally normal to bring in surplus homegrown food - not to avoid it.

I’d love it if someone brought in cherries! We get cooking apples, tomatoes and courgettes but they’re always gone by the time I get to the staffroom. Nothing weird about it at all.

Definitely nothing weird about bringing in fruit / veg from your garden either. My former colleague used to bring in plums every year and there was a scrum for them!

Lol thanks for reassuring me. I work in a corporate environment in central London, and majority of my colleagues are very urban, I am the only commuter from the fertile lands far far away (ie Kent), maybe that's why.

Yeah, I might be confused as to how you grew cherries on a balcony in Kentish Town, rather than in an orchard in Kent .

You know what if you’re not getting bargains - you need a charity shop in a poor area close to a wealthier area but not too close
In middle class areas, shoppers and the people who work in the charity shops are more savvy and stuff gets snapped up. In poor areas there’s a stigma attached to charity shops (as a PP mentioned) so the people who actually could benefit from the shops do not use them.
The ones I go in are in quite run down high streets. But the out of town villages in our area are fairly middle class so I assume the inhabitants are all dropping off their stuff there!

We have a basket at work for people to bring in toiletry and cosmetic items they've bought but don't like for whatever reason - hand cream, make up, perfume, talc, showergel, cleanser, moisturiser, hair products etc - nothing goes to waste. That's how I discovered how lovely Bronnley's Peony and Rhubarb perfume is - my colleague found it too sharp, I think it smells very similar to a Jo Malone product and it's now my favourite.

Ok, so I don’t buy 2nd hand things and I hate charity shops, mainly because my parents bought everything from them when I was growing up and I never had anything new so I’ve got a bit of a complex, BUT if you told me you’d got your nice dress from a charity shop I wouldn’t bat an eye and I wouldn’t be rude enough to give you a look or comment on it.

And the furniture charity shops are fab!

gamerwidow

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.

Ditto!

I don't think it's odd to shop in a charity shop, or to tell people when you've got a bargain. I always do that e.g. £8 Zara sale, can you believe it!! type thing.

However, just because there are Charity shops everywhere, doesn't mean they are mainstream or that most people shop there. I don't know anyone who shops in Charity shops.

Just say “thank you” and don’t let anyone know you bought it dirt cheap.

How you chose to spend your cash is up to you, but there will always be arseholes judging you for buying a second hand bargain. They seem to think second hand is second grade (it’s not, I wear charity shop finds and have over £40k in my bank account)

@Siameasy you answered my question of where to find good charity shops before I got a chance to post it, thanks!
I grew up poor, have issues around hygiene and never find anything in the sales so the thought of shopping in charity shops makes me panic! But you lot are inspiring me so I may give it a go

And well done on your bargain OP! Ignore the silly look!

I got a fab leather jacket for £17 in a charity shop last year - £200 new. I still occasionally get a warm happy slightly smug feeling about it.

Had I been your colleague, I would have interrogated you at length about the charity shop you got it from so I coild go myself

Majority of mine and 18mo clothes are charity shop or eBay. As you say got better things to spend my money on. I’ve found some really lovely things in charity shops too, no shame in it at all

I wish I could find nice things in our local charity shops but so far that hasn't happened...I think I need to branch out a bit. I do buy second hand stuff from e-bay though, always been fine! My daughter is a fashion student and vintage is her thing...particularly Victorian items. She has some beautiful pieces and is tiny enough to be able to wear them. I recall a client commenting on a shirt I was wearing and asking me if it was from XYZ (can't remember, but expensive and designer) and I took great pleasure in saying it was eight quid in Primark. She was stunned. It doesn't matter where you buy things, it's HOW you wear it, style it. If I had been you, OP, I would have said the same! I love a bargain!

I have a friend who insists on telling me how much all her very cheap clothes were all the time 🤷‍♀️😐 I can’t understand why?! I personally am not very interested in how much everyone’s clothes cost - be that a lot of money or very little - and I certainly do not consider it shocking that second hand clothes are inexpensive. We all understand that it’s cheaper than they would be brand new, we know!!! Just say “thank you” if someone compliments you.

On a more relevant note, I noticed a bit of the same "class" attitude about tkmaxx. I got a coat from there (quite quirky and practical, from a brand I've never heard before, but then I am absolutely not a fashionista). When someone asked me where it's from, I answered that I just picked it from the rail at tkmaxx, and she was "ahh, I can't stomach shopping there, but good for you". Not a colleague, but a school mum in this case.

I would like to think her reaction was because she realised what she's been missing out on. I've got some wonderful purchases from Charity shops and eBay.

Also, FB groups for your favourite brands are brilliant places to get bargains. For me it's Hush and Mint Velvet. Have had some amazing bargains from that group!