Charity shop shopping

I love to go charity shop shopping- I don't buy very much, but what I do buy I tend to wear to death. When I first started charity shop shopping- when I worked in Oxford as a teenager- you could get genuine vintage, furs, pocket watches and designer labels for under £20- Quite often I now find that the items in the charity shop are more expensive second hand then new! Today I saw a dress from store 21 which still had it's tag- the tag said £4 i the sale but the tag from the charity shop said £7!
And I haven't seen any genuine vintage (60s or older) for years.
Sometimes there is a "vintage section" with some retro (70s, 80s,90s) clothes and some reproduction vintage selling at an extortionate price. Avoid this section. It smells and nothing good will come of it.

Some charity shops are much worse for expensive pricing than others - I find Age concern and The british heart foundation here to be much more expensive than the RSPCA, Oxfam, The Children's charity, Cancer research or sally army shops, So I rarely buy anything from them- I give money to charity every month and I give up my time to volunteer every week- I see sales in a charity shop as a bonus for that charity and if it's a rip off I'm not going to shop there!
I do think sometimes the people who run the shop just don't recognise the labels- or have never been in primark/new look/ F&F at tesco so they just don't realise how cheap those clothes are new.

My rules for second hand shopping are as follows:

1) Decide what you're looking for before you head out- today it was tunic tops, and a cream cable knit cardigan (Which I've been keeping an eye out for for ages!)

2) Never spend more than £5 on any item- It's second hand. It will have flaws. (The only exception is brand new items with tags, or coats- where I will part with up to £10 depending on the brand and I will only buy if they fit really well- so no changing room = no sale)

3) Only buy the same or better brands than you would usually- I don't shop in primark because the quality is poor and the sizing is weird, I don't buy second had supermarket fashions- I look for labels like Next, Topshop, Designers at Debenhams, Whistles, Coast etc and I won't buy it if there are any flaws (I will make an exception for things which I know will wash out- e.g white deodorant marks- but  make up stains and holes I do not do).

4) No bric-a-brac and no tat. You don't need an evening gown/ wedding dress/ fancy dress pirate costume/ teapot that looks like a thatched cottage/ smash hits from the 90s CD. Only buy things you need, or can use (Bedsheets to use as fabric for dressmaking- for example)

Keeping to these rules means you won't end up out of pocket if you wash it once and it falls to bits or shrinks or something, And you end up with a wardrobe full of good quality clothes- it also provides a quick fashion fix.
I spend a fiver, I get a new dress.

I am trying to implement a one in one out rule with my wardrobe too- that way it won't end up full of clutter or clothes which I don't wear/ don't like/ are scruffy/ don't fit.
I've also taken a leaf out of Kirstie's book and put my summer clothes into a storage box to make room with my cold weather clothes, so that when spring rolls around it'll feel like I have a whole new set of clothes to enjoy!

Anyway, Todays finds:
A black tunic top from topshop, A black 50s inspired dress from Next, A flippy dress with a lacy collar from generation and my cable knit cardigan (Booo primark, but it was £2). All for under £20.

So, I have a new outfit to wear to Michelle and Aarons Engagement party this evening.
:)
And one for London, and one left over for another occasion.

To be honest, I was only supposed to go into town to buy glow sticks for Brownies on Monday, but I needed a bit of cheering up so I thought some retail therapy would probably do the trick! And it has. I do love a good rummage.

I woke up at about 5:30 this morning after having a horribly vivid dream that one of my closest friends had died. It took me a few seconds after walking up to realise that it was only a dream. I still had a good cry though.
Eugh, brain! What kind of dream is that?!
Thank god it was only a dream.
It's put me in an odd mood all day- not a "bad" mood as such but my temper is short because I'm tired and I have a creeping sense of guilt that I don't make enough time for people.
I will try harder. I will get in touch with people more and make use of my unlimited texts and calls- I don't even have the excuse of expense or lack of credit. It is genuine thoughtlessness on my part. I might not be able to see my friends as often as I'd like but I should be better at keeping up with them and their news.