Would you/do you wear charity shop clothes?

I buy charity shop clothes - and number one child loves stuff from there! I would get stuff for the littlies but there is never much for children in our local ones and the girls get vast amounts of stuff given to them so they wear recycled clothes anyway.

don't see the problem - would your colleagues buy expensive 'vintage' items? or clothes from fleabay? cos i can't see a massive difference myself.

Yes, without a second thought. I think this is a class/background issue though- middle classes happy to wear second hand stuff, working class maybe see buying new things as a matter of pride? Obviously that's a big generalisation though.

However I don't generally buy from charity shops simply because I don't have much time for shopping- you really need to be able to see what they've got regularly to get the good stuff. I go clothes shopping once every six months or so ?

I have a penchant for tweeds, box pleated shirts, cravats and fedoras.... WTF do you think I shop?? ?

Not skanky at all. I don't but that's because there aren't any decent ones near me. I often buy second hand clothes on eBay and I think that amounts to pretty much the same thing. I get bored of clothes quickly but can't afford to buy new ones all the time (I can't stand Primark etc.), this is a great way to get "new" stuff without bankrupting myself. Once I'm bored with things, as long as they'e still in good condition, they go back on eBay and often sell for more than I paid in the first place. Works for me anyway.

Certainly no problem with it at all, like others the only reason I don't is lack of time to hunt round them.

Are you me? The joys of a good eBay advert and the profit it brings

All the time. My current favourite top is a charity shop bargain. I'm from a working class background and we never had any issue buying from charity shops, if we weren't buying there then it was hand me downs so it's not something that's ever bothered me. The only thing that stops me buying there these days is that some shops are hideously expensive, I've seen numerous items priced higher than if bought new.

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I don't have much in the way of charity shop clothes but would have if they had more in bigger sizes and I had energy to look through all the shops. The vast majority of clothes growing up were hand-me-downs and I loved it.

Charity shops are great. ?

When my friend had a baby at 19 and with not very much money, we trawled the charity shops and found so many new clothes for babies, all onsale for £1. Things either still had tags or were obviously unworn or just worn once. We got bags of stuff for the price of one thing in some shops. I will be doing the same if/when my baby days arrive.

What amazes me in this country is that some people complain about disposability in society but wouldn't consider buying from a shop. Also people who will take a bag of clothes for a friend but wouldn't dream of paying £20 in a charity shop for the same clothes. I hand things into shops that are still perfectly wearable, they just no longer fit or suit my tastes and given other people do the same, the chances are everything you can buy is perfectly wearable.

I'm waffling but wear your charity shop purchases with pride. ?

I always tend to think that surely if a charity shop had something nice, they'd put it in the window? Since the windows always look ghastly, I don't go in. On top of which, I can't be bothered to look through rails of tat to find a hidden gem. I kind of wish I did have the patience, a friend of mine gets about half of her clothes from charity shops and always looks great.

So, although I don't get stuff in charity shops, I don't find the notion at all distasteful

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There a few near work that I pop in every now and then if I have time on my way home, and if I see something I like I buy it. Hell, i got some trousers in the charity shop sale the other day for £2 and I LIVED in them when camping the other week - they were quick dry & it rained a lot, so they were a godsend!

I do agree that their prices seem to have gone up a lot over the last few years though - probably due to fewer donations as people sell themselves on E-bay.

I love that warm feeling of satisfaction when an item I bought for next to nothing sells for a nice high amount, even after I've got a good few wears out of it ? Which reminds me, I have lots of tat good quality items waiting to be listed, must get on with it.

I do but don't often find stuff that fits due to being a long-armed freak.

One of my fave tops is a Primark one that I bought in a charity shop - probably cost more than it did originally but it's sparkly and I love it. I'm currently wearing second hand jeans I got on e Bay - they're £110 in the shops and I paid £40. It would have been silly to buy them new IMHO.

we have 2 really local charity shops - one always has a really nice window display - changes most days. I have bought quite a few things straight from the window. I then have a quick look thru the other stuff too.

the other shop i tend to walk thru to look at the toys and books - rarely look at the clothes.

That's a good point KN. Although given that I'm by far the nearest thing to working class here, my impression is that it's more about snobbery from the 'upper classes' tbh.

You're right about the second bit - that's one of the main reasons I don't wear 100% charity shop stuff.

I was also brought up living in my cousins' hand me downs, my mum's one of four and between them there are six kids so it was inevitable really. As for charity shops, I love them. I've been skint since forever due to studies, being young and irresponsible, studying again and the lack of employment in Edinburgh of late and love the BHF shop near me for clothes and books. Mind you, I also make clothes for myself and adapt old things into something wearable if I can't find something I like.

So no, you're not a skank, not unless I am as well!

I've got no prroblem with the idea of buying clothes in a charity shop - although oddly I wouldn't fancy buying something second-hand off fleabay.

I'm a recent charity shop convert.

I've always donated my old stuff to them but never bought anything as they are usually full of rubbish. However when I was on holiday we were looking at books in charity shops and I found a fab next top so I bought it. My new plan is when I go anywhere thats not here I'm going to look in the charity shops and see if I can find something nice.

I was gutted when we went to Edinbrough I didn't get to look in the Charity shops I bet there were some lovely things in them.

Well, I used to be grateful that I couldn't fit my sister's hand me downs. Would have DIED as a kid if mum had bought us stuff from charity shops, certainly wouldn't have set foot in one, and I think that is probbaly linked to working class 'if it's new. it's better' ideals.

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We have always lived in hand me downs, charity shop and jumble sale clothes. Both H & I always go into charity shops (never pass one lol) there are some good things in them if you have a hunt.

I now volunteer in one for Marie Curie, we do get some fab items in......but many more mankey mankey items ?

I haven't bought any clothes recently as I haven't found a good shop in my area. I didn't prior in Guernsey very often, if anything I went for fancy dress parties. In fact, I've got a pair of shorts which I bought for £2 for fancy dress and instead of taking it back (for them to resell) after I'd worn and washed, I kept them as they are so comfortable and wash really well.

H and I used to live in Weybridge in Surrey about 7 years ago, and they have excellent charity shops where I picked up some great stuff. Basically, you've got all the loaded people (and famous) in the area who would wear their designer labels for one season, and then send it to charity. So I picked up some barely worn stuff for good money. I even picked up a Helly Hansen jacket for £25 which had "Bad Girls 2" on one side and "Shed Productions" the other side. Had no idea what it referred to until I did a bit of research to realise that it was obviously a jacket for one of the cast and crew of the ITV production. I wore that jacket for a few years before sending it off to charity.

There are some great ones in Edinburgh. Morningside is particularly good, there are several along Morningside Road, same goes for Newington (the North and South Bridge, Nicolson St, Clerk St). They're the two areas I tend to go if I've got time to wander round, there are also two dedicated charity book shops in Newington (Barnardos and Oxfam I think) Otherwise it's the BHF shop in Haymarket. Come back and see them! ?

I suspect that's partly because people who staff charity shops are usually little old ladies and will have rather um different opinions on what might or might not look good. ?

I used to buy second hand books from charity shops most weeks and occasionally pick up clothes at the same time but don't have any good ones locally now so that's been curtailed (although new one just opened in our village, hurrah!).

The trick is to find ones in nice areas where people are off loading really good stuff ?

Don't see a problem with clothes from charity shop or fleabay assuming you wash them before you wear. I don't buy from fleabay all that often though as I don't seem to be a standard size so I prefer to try them on. Ah the joy of trying on clothes in a charity shop with only a curtain and a massive plate glass window between you and the high street. The last time I went with a friend we shared the changing room, we had about 4 items each and the lady came and told us off for taking too long as there was a queue. Try one woman stood outside looking embarrassed.

I go charity shop shopping fairly regularly, the shops near me are really good for brand new clothes that people changed their minds on, and really funky stuff that I wouldn't usually find in 'normal' shops.

I've been charity shopping for years and I actually get more positive comments than negative. I love it when you find something really fab...and I feel fluffy inside cos I know it's a bargain!

My local town is full of charity shops but I never go in. Everytime a shop closes it gets turned into a charity shop, there must be at least 15 or so. There are more charity shops than non-charity now. The window displays never tempt me. Some of them smell a bit funny in our town too, you'd expect them to smell of washing powder as surely all donated stuff should be clean?

Anyway, no OP, I don't think there's anything skanky about your skirt. If I were your colleague I'd just be slightly jealous at you getting such a bargain.

Yes I get quite a few pieces from charity shops, so does H, we are quite luckily we live near Wilmslow and Knutsford, their charity shops are really nice and the clothes are good quality, I've got Kurt Geiger shoes that had been worn once for £8, H has had 3 proper classic DJs lots of the stuff is brand new and has the previous shops labels still on. I wore hand me downs from birth and the mums at school used to have parties during which kids clothes, maternity clothes etc were swapped and sold on, we were a very clothkits kind of bunch.

I don't get why people would turn their noses up at charity shop stuff when vintage is all the rage, hunting round a charity shop is much the same as hunting round H&M, sometimes it is just a load of rubbish and sometimes not.

So not a skank! I'm actually a bit shocked that people flaunt that kind of attitude that shopping in charity shops is somehow wrong or disgusting. I mean, I know people think that but I thought nowadays people wouldn't admit to it in public for fear of political correctness.

I love shopping in charity shops as you often get a bargain and something you might not have seen in the shops, plus the money you spend is going on a good cause. Most of the clothes I had as a child were from charity or hand me downs as we couldn't afford new things, and if it wasn't for charity shops I really think we would have gone without a lot of things as this was before Primark and supermarket clothes became available. I'd say most of my wardrobe is charity shop stuff, hand me downs from my mum, or Primark.

I love a bit of a charity shop trawl! I live in a not particularly affluent area though, so a lot of it is Tesco or Primark stuff anyway. If I have a spare hour I will go and look round all the ones in town, though, and I nearly always get something. I got a hoodie for £3 that I live in, and picked up an All Saints vest top for £1.75 yesterday! (Thanks heavens for dippy shop assistants who don't recognise any labels apart from M+S!) I will wear stuff to work, too, and admit it readily if someone asks where I got something from.

I wouldn't buy from a charity shop, but that's because I think my attitudes have been defined by my parents. When we were growing up we had (and still do) a real working class ethic. My parents worked hard to ensure we never went without. For them buying something from a charity shop or a car boot sale meant that they couldn't afford to buy new. I think they would have seen it as a personal failing.

I've never really analysed it before, but now I think of it I've never bought anything second hand, be it clothes or furniture. The only thing in our house is the cot my daughter sleeps in. This was given to me by my cousin, who I know is clean to the point of OCD so I had no qualms taking it from her. I did buy my own mattress though.

I don't think your colleague thought that you were skanky, but maybe like me, thought why buy second hand when you can buy new?

what has having an opinion got to do with political correctness? ?

L
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I don't.

But then I find the idea of putiing on somebody else's clothes sort of . . . icky. Not sure if that's the right word, but couldn't think of anything better.

My problem I know, but not I think anything to do with snobbery. If prince William offered to lend me his Barbour I'd still feel uncomfortable about it.

I have a particular hatred of second-hand shops as far as clothes or shoes are concerned. My Mum loves them, and as a kid I was frequently dressed in 2nd-hand clothes. One of the only good things about going to boarding school was that I had a new uniform, and it was MINE. I wouldn't have minded the clothes being from charity - that wasn't my issue. What WAS my issue was the fact the clothes Mum picked were HIDEOUS. I mean, truly, truly hideous. She has the taste of a gnat, she really does! That does for houses and decor too. I feared for the house she renovated in Austria and furnished (her father's house), but when I went to visit I was pleasantly surprised. Turned out her cousin dealt with the renovation as she was on-site as it were. Thank God for small mercies!

You should have seen the curtains Mum bought for me for the house that was fire-damaged. She was so proud of herself for selecting 'really good quality, but cheap curtains' for me. Sheesh alive - chinz ahoy!

Anyway, back on the charity shop clothes.

No, I don't go or buy from them - a) because of previously said in-set hatred (clothes only mind - not concept or people who shop or work there, and I do take loads of stuff to them myself), and b) because it takes time to find a hidden gem.