"the first thing is to try and ignore the smell..."

As promised, my apparently 'narrow minded topshop' posts have been put on hold... On Saturday morning at the ungodly hour of 9am, my very good friend took me for my first experience of charity shopping.  I feel the need to tell you all that my original rant about why I've never shopped in charity shops before consisted of the following: "The windows of charity shops don't exactly entice you inside do they! There's an owl ornament, a dead ladies blouse and a few odd socks!"
May I now direct your attention to what I found in the first shop:

So that made my day really...

I must point out that I was actually really excited.  I'm completely broke at the minute and although my bank balance cries out for me to give it a rest, I must must must get my fashion fix... so the idea that I might find some nice new purchases without flashing the debit card and using the change in my purse instead, filled me with happiness.  As previously stated, I have no problem with charity shops, I'm just not very good at rooting.  The issues I have with charity shops are the same as those that I have with sales... if everything isn't displayed nicely for me, my impatient self just wants to leave immediately.  But with my friend, the bargain hunter extraordinaire, I felt readily equipped to take on the likes of Oxfam and Age UK.
I must now admit to you, that when we first began, I was still sceptical.  My friend managed to find a gorgeous cord blazer in the first shop we went into, but I just couldn't seem to get my head around it.  Nothing was organised into size, colour, style, price... nothing.  Therefore, I had to get over my fear of rooting and delving into the rail in order to find anything nice.
By the second shop, I had got the hang of it.  I found the following gorgeous rings on my hunt and they were both £2! Seriously, £2... I couldn't believe it.

 Needless to say, my friend bought WAY more stuff.  I was amazed at some of the stuff she found... I mean it's not like I saw the things she bought and didn't like them myself... I genuinely didn't see them!  I was uber jealous at this gorgeous chiffon black shirt she found, it was the perfect length to wear with tights or even just heels if you're brave enough.  That's another thing I discovered about charity shops, you have to be willing to look at things that aren't your size.  For instance, most of the shirts my friend bought were ranging in sizes from 12-18!  Don't be mistaken in thinking that we can all pull this off, my friend is blessed with a deliciously gorgeous figure; you could put a bin bag on her and she'd look amazing... (<3 you K)
The following are all the amazing bargains she has managed to bag herself... in all honesty, the price she paid for ALL of this together, probably equals one dress I own.  That doesn't fill me with happiness!

My absolute favourite is the silk blouse in the bottom righthand corner.  It looks stunning on her, I may have to steal it someday soon when she is not looking.... Top right is the gorgeous blazer she found when we went shopping.  I'm also slightly smitten with the top/dress in the bottom lefthand corner.  I do believe it was originally a top for a slightly plump lady, but on my friends lean figure, it works brilliantly as a dress; normally worn with a skinny brown belt.

To sum up, my experience of charity shops was very enjoyable.  I was pleasantly surprised with the range of stock they had and the prices were just the cherry on top of the cake... The most amazing thing I found was how fun it was!  I love shopping with my girls but rooting through the charity shops was much more fun; laughing at the horrendous pieces, sharing amazement over the one off beauties you manage to find... it was a really nice morning.

Here's my five top points if you're a charity shop virgin looking to become a pro:
1. As my friend said to me, DO NOT be put off by the smell. Although this is a bit naughty to say, I do believe it's the people in there that smell rather than the clothes! (just remember your raising the class!)
2. Be prepared to get your hands dirty (so to speak).  Nobody ever found a real gem in a charity shop by browsing, you need to get stuck in- rummaging, rooting and rifling.
3. Do not cast aside a nice piece because it isn't your size...the chances of finding something that's you size and your taste are slim, oh so slim.
4. TRY THINGS ON!  Okay, so the singular changing room isn't exactly a luxury experience, but what did you expect?  Just because it's a cheap purchase, doesn't mean you shouldn't check you love it before you fork out your hard earned pennies.
5.  And finally; don't feel too downhearted if you don't come away with much.  I only purchased my 2 rings and a plain, baggy black top (that I plan on wearing as a dress) but charity shopping is luck of the drawer.  You might find a vintage Chanel blazer with original silk lining... or maybe not.  But it's all about persistence and patience.

I myself am not fully converted, I am still a topshop addict and a sucker for designer labels... but it's nice to know that there's 12 more shops I can look in when I go into town for some retail therapy ;)
Charity shops = massive thumbs up from me!

Pour Maintenant, Au Revoir,
Tout Mon Amour,
Neen x