8 Top Tips for Successful Charity Shop Chic

February 12, 2013

From the age of 11 I’d buy back copies of Vogue from Roots Hall market.  I longed to recreate the fashion fairytales found within the magazine’s glossy leaves, but one thing stood in my way: cold hard cash. And so began my love affair with Leigh’s charity shops.

I know what for some of us is a magical mystery tour is just shop-loads of confusion for others. So, here are some pearls of wisdom on finding those rubies in the dust and creating a treasure-trove of a wardrobe with a whitebait-sized wallet.

1.Bargain Rails and Baskets –

Look out for bargain rails and baskets. Not all charity shops do these, but they can be a great source of cheap and chic pieces.

If the bargain bits are ok quality then there’ll be a quick turnover of stock - meaning if you go back the next week they’ll have different stuff. Yay!

2.Check Zips -

Always check that zips work – most the time the lovely charity shop volunteers have done this already; but it does happen. So unless you’re a make do and mender, or it’s worth a trip to the tailor you might want to give faulty garments a miss.

3.The Buttons Maketh the Clothes -

If buttons are missing, decide whether they’re easily replaceable. But remember you can always begin again by adding your own choice of buttons – this can really stamp your personality on a garment.

Try Richardson’s or The Sewing Box for new buttons; or keep an eye out in the charity shops themselves for bargain bags.

4.Try it on –

Invariably there will be a changing room so make use of it – even if it is a bit of a pain! Remember, there’ll be a huge array of makes and designers available – some featuring EU or US sizes, which are a whole other kettle of fish. And, we all know how our label size can mysteriously fluctuate from one store to the next, so if in doubt have a go!

5.Stains? No Problem –

You spy a great buy but it’s stained. If it’s a Jackson Pollock affair you might want to give it a miss! If it’s something less dramatic either, try removing the mark yourself - Good Housekeeping is a good go to website - or take it to the dry cleaner. If that’s a no go, I use pieces of lace cut from old bits of lingerie to cover the odd blemish.

Snip round an interesting shape in the lace, then place it over the stain – or any small holes in noticeable places – and hand stitch round it. You can even add further lace patches to make it look like a kind of pattern. Ooh, pretty!

6.Musty Smells –

If your bargain buy does have that musty smell – real vintage finds may have been stored away for donkey’s years – then self-styled Queen of ‘chazza chic’  AThrifty Mrs has some tips on how to de-odourise charity shop clothes the old fashioned way.

7.Make Do & Mend but Know Your Limits –

If, like me, you have a vivid imagination, you see potential in items which require a nip and tuck to be the desired shape, size or style. That’s fine. But, first, decide on your limits.

If it requires major surgery you might want to step away! Barring that ask someone more adept to assist; or take the opportunity to learn a new skill – try Southend Adult Community College. You don’t want to wind up looking like Charlie Chaplin, do you? Do you! No, I thought not.

8.Don’t Get 10 Get Zen –

Sometimes the fact you’ve bought a Monsoon dress for a fiver can pave the way to the slippery slope that is, “Oh, it would have cost me £50, so I can spend that too on, like, ten other pieces!”

Don’t go there. Be mindful. Set a budget and stick to it. I once had so many bags of so-called bargains I wanted to alter a bit here and there that I got overwhelmed and wound up re-donating it all!

By

Helen Davis
www.adventuressundressed.com

LINKS:

http://www.traid.org.uk/oenviro.html

http://www.thesewingboxessex.co.uk/contact-us

http://www.athriftymrs.com/2011/07/7-tips-for-removing-that-charity-shop.html

 http://www.goodhousekeeping.co.uk/search/?q=stains

http://www.southend-adult.ac.uk/all_part_time_courses.php