Lovely, lovely find in a charity shop today

[Gatekeeper]

I am bloody chuffed to bits; in in need of some new clothes but dh has just gone back to work after being made redundant last year and we are having to be very careful with money. My long sleeved tops are a disgrace and at least 6 years old

I unearthed 4 brand new tops these ones in clay, sienna, chambray and cypress for £2.50 each. quality is lovely and they are a perfect fit

Bloody pleased...can you tell ?

[Postchildrenpregranny]

My size 8 DD 2 does really well in charity shops-e g Coast dress for £10 ,current season retailing for at least £80She lives on the edge of Didsbury .
I've never had much luck (we live in a posh area too)Did buy a Vyella linen dress for £5 the other day .
Trawled 23 charity shops this week.looking for a hat for a wedding No luck so far

[LunaLoveg00d]

Have you asked the staff about the wedding hats? We have loads stashed away through the back as we sell most hats April - July and by September few people are buying so we've got other stuff on the shelves.

We are more than happy though to get the box from the back and let people have a rummage if they so desire.

[thenightmanageress]

Because of my work I am used to handing jewellery, silver, works of art, China etc on a daily basis. I have offered my 'expertise' to the local charity shops so many times only to be told 'no, thanks, we value everything ourselves' or 'no, we get a proper jeweller to look at things'.
So far this year I have bought well over £1,000 of jewellery for about £20. If they hadn't refused my help then they would have made a lot more for their causes.

[LoadsaBlusher]

I love charity shops too.
Recent bargains have been Next Leopard pyjamas £1.50, various band t shirts £1.99 , vintage print blouses £1.50, kids converse £3.99.

I love love love shopping for clothes at car boot sales too , have had some absolute gems , converse £2.50, brand new with tags tops , leather boots £3.

I am like an above poster and get really excited at the idea of rooting and rummaging for a bargain.

I always manage to find trendy , reasonably priced items for myself and the kids.

[shovetheholly]

I find charity shops are best in areas with lots of posh middle class people with nice clothes and charitable instincts and not too many students to snaffle bargains as soon as they come in. So a place like Harrogate is perfect - I used to go there lots and picked up stuff from Joseph, Nicole Farhi, Versace, Hobbs, Mulberry dead cheap!

[BeMorePanda]

That's amazing OP and very timely.

I think they have some new volunteers at our local Cancer Research chazza - at lunch today I saw a Primark vest for £2.50 (about £1.50 new) and also a Tiger mug for £2.50 - again £1-£2 new.

Some people don't have a clue.

Charity shops in posh comfortable middle class Chiswick go against all the rules shove. They had a purple Mulberry in the window for £285 and well as the premium on the 2nd had primark. I do pick up some lovely bits for the DC from time to time but never at a bargain price.

[piknmixer]

I love charity shop bargain threads nearly as much as charity shops!

Some of my best finds include some Levis bootcut jeans for £3 brand new, Clarks knee high leather boots for £6, a beautiful ornate crucifix necklace for £1.50 and a new Debenhams dress for £2. Oh and two M&S capes - one for £6 from a charity shop (still online for £40) and another in a different colour for 50p from a car boot.

We have a fab Age UK shop just round the corner. I go a couple of times a week, don't always buy something but always worth a look.

[MsRinky]

I have a rainbow of quality Scottish cashmere jumpers and cardigans that I bought in Harrogate charity shops in the mid 90s. All still going strong, not like bobbly supermarket cashmere. Happy days.

My local Emmaus is brilliant for furniture and homewares, but I often end up giving insisting on giving them extra money because they price things too low. My chrome Dualit toaster was marked up at a fiver!

[piknmixer]

Dualit toasters are fantastic (and vvv expensive) MsRinky what a find!!!

[LunaLoveg00d]

We can't accept electricals in our shop as they have to be PAT tested before selling and we don't have the resources for it. A Dualit toaster would be amazing.

[Gatekeeper]

not style related but this is one of my all time favourites from a charity shop. It's an old infant school plimsoll cupboard thing and can as you see it with Heath Robinson illustrations on it. It's on the wall in our kitchen and dh uses it to keep all his spices in . Cost £7 three years ago

[starsinyourpies]

When I cleared out my sister's clothes (died very young) there were things with tags still in she hadn't got round to wearing yet. I reassured her husband that she would have enjoyed the purchase and someone else could enjoy wearing them + would make good money for the charity shop. Tough times.

[jennymac]

I once got a pair of Top Shop Baxter jeans hardly worn at all for about £3. I lived in them for months as they were really flattering. Tried to replace them with newer Baxter jeans but unfortunately Top Shop had changed the shape so they weren't as nice.

[BikeRunSki]

I love that cupboard Gatekeeper

[TeaAddict235]

Brilliant thread OP! totally uplifting to hear how well people have recycled as well as supported charitable causes. I visit them often when the DSs are asleep in the buggy (and there's enough space for the buggy to get in the door), but I do wonder if the shop owners think "hum, another poor mum", whereas without the buggy I'm anonymous and a swifter sorter.

[Schmoochypoos]

There's a local hospice charity shop in a nearby town with everything for £1. I got a beautiful topshop jacket and a brilliant matalan Cardigan which I worn loads!

Always look at the toys in charity shops, in fact it's a fun thing to do with my 3y o DS, let him have a rummage and spend £2 on a new toy every now and again.

[traviata]

starsinyourpies I'm sorry that you lost your sister

[DavetheCat2001]

I found these pretties in a local charity shop this morning.

They are SO comfy!

[BeMorePanda]

I got 4 Harry Potter DVD's for £2 each.
DD's are delighted.

[LunaLoveg00d]

Worked a shift in my local charity shop this morning and picked up a brand new school skirt (M&S) for £1.99 and my daughter is beside herself with excitement over the Hollister hoodie I got for £4.99. I wouldn't buy a brand new one at £35 - £45, but a fiver is a bargain.

[Gatekeeper]

ooh Dave- they are pretty...wish I could fit my peasant feet in shoes like that!

[DavetheCat2001]

User6Billion the dress is an 8.

The shoes actually go really nicely with it! If I was about 10 years younger...