I started 'intensifying' (for lack of a better word) my charity shopping after I watched Girl Boss on Netflix, a show based on the origin story of Nasty Gal where a woman re-sells vintage clothing online and then in turn creates her own clothing line. If you're into vintage clothing I'd suggest watching it! It doesn't show how to find those gems but it's a fun show.
The main reason I wanted to write this post is because I was talking to a friend recently who was asking me how I find good pieces when charity shopping as he struggles to find those stand out items. It's not like I'm 'better' at charity shopping then anyone else - weird flex - I don't think there's a talent to it, but there are some tips I have to find those things we all wish we could find cheap and secondhand.
(photo credit - MagpieMuma)
Be patient.
I have never just popped into a charity shop for a quick look round. If I want to go shopping I put aside a whole day to make sure I can take my time. If you want to find gems in amongst all the clothing you really do have to take your time to really look and search for the good items. Sometimes, I've spent hours upon hours, to my boyfriends delight, just going through racks and racks of clothing to end up only picking out a couple of things that I've actually liked. But to me, this isn't a loss at all because I've found those few things I really love and know I'll enjoy wearing.
A great way to stay patient is shopping online. Surprisingly some charity shops have online sites where you can buy their second hand clothing from the comfort of your own home. Cancer Research actually have a Depop shop which is just so weird to me, but I guess it's also super helpful.
I find it so satisfying to find that shiny diamond in amongst the sea of 5-year- old Primark t-shirts but it's easy to get disheartened or frustrated when you can't find anything you like. But sometimes that does happen, sometimes you won't find anything and that's just how it works - which leads into my next point beautifully.
Go regularly.
The best thing about charity shops is that every week the shop will be full of completely different clothing. Most charity shops share which day of the week they put out new stock, most places re-stock every week so going regularly will definitely lead to finding better items. If you find out the day when new stock is put out, going on that day will mean you have more of a chance at finding the best bits before anyone else can snap them up. It might sound a tad sad but it does really work, I'm not queuing up for the shop to open or anything like that but I do find that I get better items when I go closer to the re-stock days.
DIY.
When I find things that I like, I don't worry too much if it doesn't fit me perfectly or if there's a little hole in something because the clothes are more than affordable so I don't mind DIY'ing something or paying to get little things changed. For example, on New Years eve I wore a lovely dress but it was just a tad too long for my liking, so I simply folded the material over at the waist of the dress, secured it with safety pins and just covered the DIY job with a belt - easy.
At the end of the day if you buy something and then change your mind about it, you can always re-donate the item so someone else gets to wear it.
Travel
Right off the bat, I'm not saying you should spend hours traveling to charity shops. Me and my mum often travel to the towns surrounding where she lives that are known for being a little bit more up market, they normally donate some fancier items that are super affordable second hand.
There is charity shops for lots of niche needs like music, vintage clothing, furniture and vintage clothing as well as you're generic high street charity shops but often you do need to travel to find these stores. I know in London there are a bunch of charity shops that specifically sell vintage clothing or designer clothing, things like that where the items may be a little pricier but are definitely worth it as they're great, well known brands as well as being great quality. I'd love to do a weekend in London going round to different charity shops, what can I say? I'm a simple girl with simple dreams.
( Shop from crisis, Finsbury Park, London. ( here's a link to a great article about the best London charity shops - https://www.timeout.com/london/shopping/best-charity-shops-in-london ))
Buying from charity shops isn't only more sustainable for your wallet, it's also great for the environment and the charities you're buying from. Secondhand buying is the perfect way to get 'new' clothes without adding to the damage that fast fashion has created, plus you can find high street labels such as TopShop in the same shop as a BEAUTIFUL pair of Versace, cow print heels (that I still dream about a month after seeing them, I wish they were my size).
Alongside this short post, I created a short 'vlog' style video on my IGTV documenting one of my charity shopping days, I showed a bunch of cute stuff I found so you can see the kind of items you might find if you follow some of these tips!
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