Monday 27 April 2015

Childhood memories.



Let me preface this blog by saying I love Southport. I have lots of really happy childhood memories of days out there and I think, even if the shops had been rubbish, I'd've reported positively! It's been a long while since I went charity shopping in Southport and I was happy to find it hadn't changed all that much. 


First up were these shoes (yes more shoes Donna!) from Scope for £3.50. They're in absolutely perfect condition - I feel that since I had a moan about never being able to find second hand shoes, the charity shop shoe gods have smiled at me!

I got this floral skirt, originally from Next, for £1 in one of the weirdest shops I've ever been in! I'm still unsure as to quite what it was. It was a huge space filled mostly with odd, unpriced furniture with two or three rails of unpriced, mixed up clothing. Most of it wasn't in great condition but I was pleased to find this bargain.


I got these boots for £2.50 from the RSPCA shop. Again unworn (thanks charity shop shoe gods)! I find most RSPCA shops reasonably priced and I try to shop in them whenever I can as I've supported the charity since I was a little girl saving my pocket money up to donate to them.


I got this bracelet for £2.99 from PDSA. I avoided PDSA for a long time after a bad experience working for them but have recently started to go back in after about three years! I figured my wardrobe shouldn't suffer because my boss from years ago wasn't too nice! It's really unusual and I like the colours on it. I actually felt a little pressured into buying it after asking to look at a few items in a locked cabinet and having the lady stand over me whilst I looked at every single one. I must not look too trustworthy!


I got this Zara top from Age UK for £3.59. It's got a cute little faux-leather neck and a button-up back.


I also picked up this simple tshirt from the same shop for £2.99. It has really cute beaded detail - in my experience it's really rare to find such items completely intact.


Next up was this blouse, £3.50 from Scope. Love the colour and the delicate detailing at the front.


I also got this light blue midi dress for £3.50 from Clic Sargent, a really small shop away from the main roads. The two ladies working in there were absolutely hilarious - I wish there had been more stock in there so I could've stood listening to them for a while longer!


I got this Topshop shirt from Jospice (I'd never heard of the charity before - the tag says money goes towards helping Liverpool's terminally ill) which was a great little shop! There were lots of really up to date items - I'm fairly sure this has been in Topshop in the last few months. It cost £3.75.


And finally, I picked up this jumper with cute shoulder detailing - also from Jospice from £3.50.

Haul's like this (I spent £30.82 in total) make me wonder why people shop on the high street! The Topshop shirt alone would've cost that. It's true that there's a lot of crap in charity shops - bobbly, worn, ugly, ill fitting clothes but shops are getting so much better at filtering and everything I buy, looks like it's hardly been worn by the previous owners.

I would recommend Southport to anyone who loves buying second hand. I spoke to one other lady who had travelled over an hour and a half to get to the town just for the charity shops. I also directed two ladies to their hotel who had chosen the town for a holiday partly because of the positive things they had heard about the charity shops there!
Southport has the perfect mix of big chains like Cancer Research and British Heart Foundation but it also has amazing little charity shops. I actually missed Sue Ryder and British Red Cross which I'm really sad about. I guess it just means I'll have to have another visit!

What's your favourite item from my Southport haul?

Char x


Saturday 25 April 2015

Ugly ducklings.

 This week I've picked up two controversial items. By controversial, I mean I still can't decide whether they're anything other than ugly!


The first purchase was this pair of boots from The British Heart Foundation shop in Sale. I've got to admit that I used to avoid the shop as it used to be really overpriced but I've noticed a change recently and the shop has some lovely items in brilliant condition at very reasonable prices. These cost £5.99 and are in perfect condition - they look like they've never been worn.

I spotted them from a mile away but tucked under the shelf above, all I could see was the gold stud detail - they looked quite normal. I pulled them from the shelf to reveal this odd faux-fur purpley leopard print...strange. I stood looking at them in awe before deciding they were ugly and moving on. After a quick lap around the shop, I found my eyes kept wandering back to them and I just had to try them on. After finding them to be a perfect fit, I decided they were just so unusual I had to have them, ugly or not. When I posted a picture on Instagram, everyone seemed to be as undecided as I was.


The second item was this dress with green pleated skirt. I picked this up in Shelter in Edinburgh during a two night break this week. It was the first thing I saw when I walked into the shop and as with the shoes, stood staring at it for a good few seconds trying to make up my mind about it! Josh referred to it as a '70s curtain' and looked horrified that I was even considering it. I have to say, I really love it now. It's just so unusual!

So what do you think of my ugly items? Have you ever bought something that's so ugly it's almost become attractive?!

I think I'm on for a decent haul on Monday when I will be taking my first trip to Southport in years. The town used to be a charity shop heaven - I can't wait!

As always, leave your comments below!

Char x

I'm on Twitter now - find me at @charityshopgold.

Monday 20 April 2015

Updates.

So, I'm nearly five months back into blogging after restarting Charity Shop Gold as one of my 2015 New Year's resolutions.

It's truly been one of the most rewarding decisions I've ever made. Not only does it keep me from spending too many pointless hours in front of the TV, I've started reading some excellent blogs written by some lovely people. Sometimes I find it quite hard to produce new content on a timely basis. Take this week for example - I went to visit a friend at weekend and had some long days at work so I've simply not had time. I'm away again as of Wednesday (off to Edinburgh - if anyone knows of any great charity shops there please let me know!) so I can only apologise for the delay.

I've got a few new blog posts in the pipeline - a guide to Manchester charity shops and a piece on the shops which mean the most to me. I'd love to hear your ideas for posts or anything you'd like to read. As always, I'm contactable via the comments box below, Instagram and email to charityshopgold@gmail.com.

Also, you can now find me on Twitter - @charityshopgold and Bloglovin'.

Char x

Saturday 11 April 2015

Why is it so hard to find a great pair of second hand shoes?




I've had a fair few comments on Instagram recently about how difficult it is to find a decent pair of second hand shoes, with Donna from Polkadot Pink calling them 'almost mythical'. 

While good quality clothing is in abundance in most charity shops, I'm more often than not left feeling disappointed after browsing the footwear section. I think there could be a few reasons for this:

1) While clothing goes out of style quickly and tastes change rapidly, shoes are more of an investment for most shoppers, making them less likely to donate footwear in a hurry.
2) A lot of donations come from people who haven't tried on items in store, have got them home, they don't fit and they can't be bothered to take them back. You're far less likely to buy shoes without trying them first.
3) Charity shops 'rag' damaged or worn items. Shoes are weighty and contribute significantly to payments from textile recyclers. Managers may decide they're worth more in rag than they would be sold on the shop floor.
4) Many charity shoppers have a problem with wearing previously owned shoes. Whereas you can wash your new clothing, you can be well aware that someone else's feet have been in your new shoes! If shoes don't make money, shops won't put them out!
5) Shoppers are less likely to accept damage to shoes. If I find a dress I love in a charity shop and it has a small hole, I'm happy to take it home and get sewing - it's probably only likely to be a five minute job. If the heel is worn on a pair of shoes, I know I'm immediately adding £5 to the ticket price to have them reheeled and when you factor that in, they just don't seem that much of a bargain anymore.
6) Sizing - I'm somewhere between a 3 and a 4, which is pretty small. My right foot is also about half a size bigger than my left and my feet are really thin. It's a nightmare in a shop full of each size of each shoe - near to impossible when there's only one pair in each style! 

Despite this, I've recently been quite fortunate with footwear.


I bought these shiny boots in Age UK in Chester for £2.99. They don't appear to have been worn and are in beautiful condition.


I picked up these yesterday in Oxfam. Again, unworn at £5.99.


And today, I paid £3 for these beauties in Save the Children in Didsbury (as if I didn't buy enough yesterday!). They're slightly worn but so comfortable that I couldn't resist!

How're your shoe hunts going? Leave me a comment!

Char x

Friday 10 April 2015

Eyes bigger than my bank account.



Have you ever been shopping and bought so much that you get home, empty the bag out and think 'I forgot I bought that'? I'm slightly frightened by the amount of items there are here. 

I took the afternoon off work to enjoy the sunshine and found myself £40 down and swimming in charity shop bargains!


Grey dress, £3.99, Oxfam Withington. This still had its original tags. It's plain but I like the shape and it makes an easy outfit!



Dress, £2.99, Age UK Withington.
I'm definitely not convinced this yellowy-green dress will suit my pale complexion but I fell in love with the little gold studs on the back!

Dress, £3.99, Oxfam Withington.


Dress, £3.50, Shaw Trust Urmston.


Dress, £3.99, Age UK Withington.



Jumper, £1, The Charity Box Urmston.


Jumper, £1, Barnabus Withington.


Shoes, £5.99, Oxfam Withington. £5.99 is more expensive that I'd normally pay for a charity shop item but I absolutely fell in love with these shoes and it's rare to find good quality shoes second hand and even more rare to find them in my size!


Skirt, £1, Shaw Trust Urmston.



Skort, £1, The Charity Box Urmson. This was also still tagged.


Jumper, £3.49, The Charity Box Urmston. The photo is of the open back of the jumper.


Jumper, £4.95, Cancer Research Withington.


Top, £2, Shelter Urmston.

Urmston is a fairly new addition to my list of charity shopping destinations but I really rate it. There's a brilliant shop there called The Charity Box where a few of my items came from. I'm not sure what cause the shop raises money for but the stock is great quality and they have some excellent sales - putting the unsold stock on a pound rail so nothing goes to waste. I think there's another Charity Box in Cheetham Hill if any Manchester people can advise?

Sorry that this is so short and predominantly pictures - I need to get washing all my new things! I just can't wait to wear them all! 

Char x



Saturday 4 April 2015

Goods Friday.



We took a bit of a gamble yesterday, hoping the charity shops would be open on Bank Holiday. 

The first stop was Chorlton in south Manchester where there are ten shops all within a five minute walk of each other. I used to do manager cover at the PDSA shop in Chorlton a few years ago and I was quite sad to see the deterioration in a lot of the shops nearby. I left Chorlton with just a book (The Joke by Milan Kundera if anyone can recommend? and even that had a huge coffee stain on it which no one had thought to wipe off!) and I was really disappointed. A new British Heart Foundation shop had opened since my last visit which I found to be really overpriced and the quality of the stock in the others was just dreadful. I love colour blocking in charity shops as I think its a great way to create some unity between items which are all completely random but the shops who were utilising this idea hadn't thought to put items in size order - I just haven't got the patience for that!


Next, we went to Didsbury which is about ten minutes down the road but a completely different world! I picked up these floral Zara trousers in the Mind shop for £4.50. These prints and style are everywhere at the moment and if you live near Didsbury get yourself down to Mind because someone had donated about ten pairs! I chose these because they're completely different to anything I own and I'm trying to step out of monochrome a little more. Mind is a cause close to my heart and having been in three of their shops, (Didsbury, Rochdale and Stockport) I think they price and present stock well.

It's unlikely that Didsbury yields only one result and I left feeling a bit flat - like it really wasn't my day for finding bargains! I decided that we should stop at Withington but unfortunately, all but one of the shops were closed. I picked up the blue dress in the middle of the top picture in the Cancer Research. I've actually owned the dress before (I bought it from Topshop new a few years back!) but unfortunately it shrank after I washed it on a programme which was too hot! I loved the dress and was quite sad to see it go so I was delighted that I could purchase a replacement for £3.95. I'm going to make sure I hand wash this time! I also picked up the necklace shown in the picture below. It was £2.50, which I think is a little on the pricey side, but I love the colours.

Still in pursuit of a decent day, we took a last ditch bus trip to Urmston where I picked up this lightweight fluffy green M&S jumper from Barnardo's for £2.99 and the blue and black flower patterned dress on the left of the last picture which cost £3.99. 




My final purchase of the weekend was this printed dress from Oxfam in Sale which cost £2.99 and I hope will be nice now the weather has got a little warmer! 

There doesn't seem to be a lot of great quality stock in the shops at the moment - everyone needs to get donating!

Have you found any bargains recently?

Char x