Oh TK Maxx how I love you!

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I am wearing:
leather converse hi tops - RRP £50+ ...I paid £15
Tommy Hilfiger jeans - RRP £75ish ...I paid £20
Ralph Lauren polo shirt - RRP £85 ...I paid £30
Osprey Handbag RRP £200ish ...I paid £50

None of these items are in any way 'quirky' or dated, they are all timeless classic items - why were they there?

How anyone can bear to pay the real price is beyond me...bide your time and before you know it your hearts desire will be in the TK Maxx clearance section.

I love it today I got 2 bikinis for 10£ each. So pretty ( going on first beach holiday this year since 06 so really wanted to splash out) I get a lot of bras and pants there too my ski jacket which I use for winter has lasted 6 winters and is as good as new

I bought the converse for £15 too, also bought some sports bras for £2 each.

Last time I was in there I found my favourite £70 bottle perfume on sale for £25!! Bought all 3 of them off the shelf.

Planning a trip tomorrow to find some nice new sunglasses and hopefully stock up on more perfume

Got a beautiful silk kaftan (for over swimwear) by Gottex. £14, RRP last season £180! I used to sell this brand so rate the quality and recognise the styles etc. it was just in the clearance rail

I used to hate it but have grown to love it.

I got sunglasses last year that everyone commented on so Im going back tomorrow to have another root around. I never seem to find shoes I like though, but did get a chloe dress reduced from £169 to £30 .

Better still it was a size 12 and I thought may have to diet to get into it but, no it fits perfectly

I got a cropped denim Jacket by DKNY in there for £13 over 10 years ago and still wear it all summer every summer

Sunglasses, sportswear, boots, beauty products...the big one near me now has a jewellery counter too and I got a simple silver ring for £10 that I wear every day.

Love it. It's like all the fun of sifting charity shops/vintage shops but all the stuff is clean and new!

I struggle to find anything in the clothing bit. Think I don't know where to start looking. Any tips?

I do love the beauty section and the home dept though. I've found done absolute bargains in the beauty part. One day I'll hit the jackpot and find some Emma Hardie balm. I buy it regularly at full price but have heard tales of it being in TKM occasionally.

They have a website!!!! I never rummage through the shop any more

My youngest dd's favourite ever coat was discovered in T K Maxx - bright yellow fake fur with three-quarter length sleeves. She found it when she was in Year R and wore it throughout her infant school life. It was her 'chick coat', for the very value price of £1.

My eldest dd was horrified, and as I passed over the pound coin, asked the shop assistant: "What's wrong with it?" "It's a couple of seasons old." Dd looked at me and said: "I rest my case, Mum, nobody else wanted it."

I have never found a single thing to buy in TK Maxx and I love clothes and think I have a good eye for spotting things that will suit me.

Maybe they vary from store to store?

It's a mixture of luck, the store you go to and the day/time you go IMO. My local one is really busy but if you go on Wednesday night/Thursday morning you're sure to find more bargains.

Also something I noticed: I bought DH a pair of Nike trainers for £18 in their clearance section. Got home and they were a bit tight on him. Took them back a week later and continued to browse the shop and noticed they'd put them back on the shelf with a £12 sticker .

I love it though I will never forget the time I bought back my own hat having dropped it in there a week earlier.

I didn't realise it wasn't just an unlikely duplicate till I got home and couldn't find my original... someone had just picked it up and stuck a price tag on it

In my localish branch they have, when I was in last, bottenga vienetta flats and bag amongst other designer brands. Also Miller harris candles that I saw at a department store two mins away for full price!

I love it for a non specific browse too, but as a size 16 with size 8 feet find them rather limited. Had some nice pieces of Polish pottery though, and a furry throw that looks just like my late lamented tortie cat!

No offence intended Dido but going off Psipsinas post, it may well be your late cat.

I got some gorgeous Orla Kiely bedding. I agree you have to look and look though.

Waaaaaaah coumarin.... It would have to be several of her sisters too!

Sorry Dido I'm sure it was synthetic and no cats were harmed in the making of it.

I love tk maxx. I bought Orla Kiely bedding for a third of what it was on sale for in John Lewis. I quite like their own brand stuff too. I got a nice soft cotton tshirt the other day for £7 - much better quality than you would get in h&m etc for the same price.

They are brilliant for nail polish! I got an Illamasqua duo there, RRP £24, for a tenner. They also do salon size hair care products by Tigi, Redken and other "name" brands for a good price.

As long as you are not necessarily looking for something very specific it's a great place to spend time - I normally kill an hour or so while daughter is at Brownies!

I LOVE the kitchen stuff, beauty, bags, lock and lock boxes, throws, storage and the kids' section is good for stocking up the present box for parties and stuff.

I have less frequent success in clothes but the occasional hits I have had have been brilliant - a couple of years ago I bought a gorgeous linen dress/long top for £20 or £30. It's Ella Moda, washes beautifully, I wear it all the time in the summer. Same stuff on ebay is often priced at £40+

Wish the selection of shoes in a 7 or 8 was wider though!

Today I bought a set of pudding/dariole moulds, a recipe book for £6 down from £25 and a cute little note pad.

I love them and some days everything I'm wearing is from there but they do seem to sell more and more 'own labels' and fewer genuine 2nds or past season stuff these days. Mind you some of their own lines are quite nice anyway.

I love it too. In fact, I've just popped in there and bought a lovely Emily & Fin dress and a French Connection dress for £25 each. Other notable bargains over the years:

Suede Superga plimsolls £18
MiH jeans - £30ish
Orla Kiely duvet set £39
And a random £15 dress which never fails to get compliments.

I agree a lot of the brands are actually own brands and aren't as nice as the real brands. You have to know what to avoid. They've had a lot of nice Diane von Furstenburg stuff in lately but never in my size :(

Philosophy primer - £2.99
Merrell coat - £40
Anne Klein dress - £19 and looks like it was made for me
I love their beauty section

I found Aspinal travel card holders today at Homesense for £25, in red, black and crocodile pattern dark brown. They were in the stationary section and just arrived today (was told). I had bought one as a Xmas present just a few months ago for £50. These have 3 windows, so they may be meant for photos (?) but actually they work better than their current travel card holders, which have only 1 window. I have a season train ticket so need 1 window for picture ID, 2nd window for the actual ticket, and 3rd window for Oyster card. Bargain!