What do you look for in charity shops?

[Eatyourveg88]

I love a good charity shop rummage and mainly look for clothes from Reiss, Whistles, LK Bennett, Banana Republic, J Crew etc

But I also like the bric-a-brac and have picked up some nice pottery items.

I check out baby clothes too for DD - recently picked up some great stuff that will fit her in a couple of years - I know that might sound daft but too much of a bargain to miss

What are you on the hunt for?

Just picked up a MaxMara 100% silk top for £7.50

Picked up and put back a Jigsaw dress (£20), Reiss shirt (£15) and Cashmere jumper (£15) as felt they were all more than I was prepared to pay

Just scored pretty big ( to my mind anyway). Picked up a lovely vintage coat £9 a Daks tailored jacket £9 and a Jean Muir skirt ( dark purple wool pencil skirt) for £5. Jean Muir!!!!!!! All from one shop. ( I’m thinking of volunteering )

Today I bought a Sensationail Deluxe Peel Off gel nail starter kit for £4. I have wanted to try something like this out for a while and thought for £4 it was worth a punt.

I have just looked it up on the Boots website and it is £89.99

Such a good find lureee

Wow!

Thanks, I'm very pleased. I've had my first try and it's not 100% but I reckon I'll get there with practice. Definitely worth 4 quid

I really do wonder who gives all this stuff away

When we moved we had to downsize and had nowhere to put anything. We donated thousands of pounds worth of stuff including, by mistake, all my handbags (DH took wrong bag, my 20 year old Pravda forever gone) and brand new Lakeland products 😩.

Oh well, at least it wasn’t dumped!

I am in the US so brands may differ...I look for JCrew, Banana Republic, Hollister, BDG, Loft, Ann Taylor and more, and keep my eye open for any surprising designer names. My style has become quite classic because I look for natural fibres, fine wool, cashmere, linen, cotton, and leather footwear.

I have some nice blouses and tops, a Lands End down filled winter coat, jeans, shorts, and trousers, and lots of footwear plus lots of cashmere cardigans and sweaters, one gorgeous French leather handbag and and two vintage Coach bags thanks to my local Goodwill shop, where pricing is done according to category and only occasionally according to brand.

I send the odd very nice work dress, skirt or shirt to DDs 1 and 2.

I am always on the lookout for Hollister, Anthropologie, American Eagle and Aeropostale items for DD4 and DN, and barely worn footwear for myself and DCs - found a pair of grey suede Ugg sneakers for DD4 two weeks ago for $14.99... My excellent snowboots were a find from last spring.

I also look out for gym wear in decent condition.

I have found many nice decorative things for my home plus scented candles and several books Also, recently, about two dozen cereal bowls and bread plates in Blue Willow pattern, matching what I already had.

January is a great time to pick up Christmas gifts that couldn't be regifted or returned, I have found.

I used to love my local Salvation Army store in New Jersey, mathanxiety.

My local Salvation Army shop is incredibly disorganised, sadly. Wish I had time to dig through it but I would literally have to start at one end and work my way through it all.

Inspired by this thread I headed to Goodwill today and came home with a lovely ovesized grey cashmere sweater and five books, all for under $10.

Bric a brac. If I wanted anything specific I use Amazon. Mostly I look for decent quality clothes and games. Occasionally I pick up a couple of DVDs and books. I’ve never seen makeup in any of my local charity shops though.

I'm fortunate to work in an area of London with several excellent charity shops which I visit weekly and I generally get something good most months. When I was younger and a size 8-10 I regularly found amazing designer bargains but now I'm a size 12 it's much rarer. Having said that, I really scored this week - a dark olive wool skirt from MiuMiu for £25.

I got something today I've wanted since the age of 3. Pottery nightlight in the shape of an old antique shop, lovely warm cream light coming through the teeny mullioned windows. Bit like this beauty.

I am 1.

51. Well,in body.

Nicke where do you go in London May I ask? I'm a 16 so no competition haha!

Nicke where do you go in London May I ask? I'm a 16 so no competition haha!

Me too so I suppose I’m your competition. I’m going to guess she goes to Notting Hill and Kensington & Chelsea. If you google it you can find a number of articles discussing the best ones. Apparently there’s one somewhere near Oxford Circus where Vogue donate all their items but I already know I’m not fitting into any of those.

I'm happy to share - my favoured locations are Gloucester Rd (Fara, Trinity Hospice and Oxfam) for designer stuff and Putney or Clapham for top-end of the high street.

I buy pots and glasses and make candles in them. I like to be eco friendly and not buy new post for them. There's so many cups and little vases and glasses in charity shops, may as well as use them!

There are some blinding shops in Clapham. Hit Old Town and High Street, better stuff, cheaper. (not the junction which all the managers reckon is a hot spot and rack the prices up for more than you pay new.)

I have admired an acquaintance's clothes and been told that the charity shops in Wimbledon and Putney are fertile ground, which doesn't help when you live in Devon!

I have admired an acquaintance's clothes and been told that the charity shops in Wimbledon and Putney are fertile ground, which doesn't help when you live in Devon!

I'm sure that's very annoying but there will be well heeled parts of Devon with treasures to be found I'm sure - and presumably cheaper than Wimbledon. In fact I went to Wimbledon yesterday and found it a mixed bag. The village is definitely worth a look but less so in the town ( this will make sense to locals). I thought the Oxfam was best with a good range of high end brands of clothes, books, brick a brac and homeware. It's organised really well too. There's a Mary's Living & Giving which was gorgeous but such a disappointment for me.....only 4 things in a size 16 ( nothing bigger than that). It's curated really beautifully but pretty pricey - I saw Peter Kaiser court shoes for about £28 and I just picked up a nicer pair locally for £7.50. There was an Yves Saint Laurent wool pencil skirt for £85. In the end I only bought a leather hobo bag by Kenneth Cole for £20 from Cancer Research. ( but had already bought a red vintage Jaeger blouse this week locally)

Again inspired by this thread I went off today (we have a holiday here) and found a little round, glass-topped mid century coffee table , a steal for $6.99. Needs a little tlc and a good scrubbing but it's lovely. Plus a Billy bookcase for $9.99.

I never go in with anything in mind, just look whatever takes my fancy. I do, however, look for good brands and lovely fabrics. My last bargains have been my dark brown fake fur coat and a Zara Man coat and Aigle jacket for DH. And a Stuart Weitzman for Russell & Bromley bag.

I also look out for books and nice glassware and ceramics - I bought a lovely vase in a charity shop when we were down in Somerset for the weekend a couple of years ago.