Thrift store/ charity shop bargain

I volunteer in a UK charity shop for a cancer hospice. I was so thrilled recently to buy three fabulous evening dresses, two designer makes at only £1 each. Wasn't even sure I was going to wear a long dress for the gala nights, in case I was in the minority , but now I can't wait to glam up. I also found brand new silver glitter court shoes, gold high heeled sandals, and Pierre Cardin diamanté heels for a pound each. Will post photos to show you later. How lucky am I and also giving to a good cause too. Got my hubby a tux jacket for three pounds, like new. Just on the look out for some nice white dress shirts now .

Wow! You made out fantastically! I love thrifting and see some amazing gowns at my local Goodwill. Unfortunately, they have all been smaller than my size...but I will keep looking. I have also found some great designer belts, clutches, silk scarves, and jewelry in there. You just never know what little gems are hiding thrift stores. :D

Lisa

I love a good bargain! Enjoy!

Here's some pics, shoes , cocktail dresses and long gowns , all cost a pound and fit great. Hope these are the thing I'm supposed to wear.

I love thrift and consignment shopping. Last summer's cruise, most of my clothes were bought that way - a couple of sundresses, an LBD for elegant night, three pairs of shorts, a skirt, several tees and tanks, and even a couple of pairs of earrings. My most recent outing to thrift stores, I found a pair of dress pants, a couple of sweaters, 2 dresses (one a Sigrid Olson) and two pairs of earrings. Spent less than $30 total.

Well done

Those outfits are lovely

Excellent! I love thrifting :) Like a previous poster, my cruise wardrobe is from the thrift shop.

Mine too! Long Ralph Lauren cut velvet gown, and a Norma Kamali cocktail dress will be in my suitcase in a few weeks.

Lovely

Lindabodrum, I have to ask you a serious question.

Is it possible to resist buying too many of the wonderful things that come in to the charity shop while you are volunteering? Just a brief weekly visit to my local one has produced a big cruise wardrobe for me, over time. Now I might have the opportunity to volunteer there. Do you need willpower of steel? The closet in my guest room already has DH's nine tuxedoes(!) and more gowns and dresses than I can count -- all beautiful.

By the way, your purchases are fabulous, and the prices are fabulous, too.

Hehe, yes it's pretty addictive. Since I started work there in September I have completely changed my entire wardrobe three times . I moved here temporarily to the Uk from Greece and only brought one suitcase with me so it's ideal. We are basically like an outlet thrift shop, everything one two or three pounds. But still get great labels . I have a rule, one in one out so my wardrobe is never bursting. For the cost of a coffee, I come home with a new couple of outfits each shift, wear them ,wash them , and often redonate. My hubby has a great job and I don't buy cheap through necessity but as I choose to. I totally recommend volunteering time at a thrift store.

Thanks Linda, I live in Aspen, Colorado. We have one of greatest thrift shops in US. City even built us a 3 story building. Millions raised yearly, including 3 two year collage scholarships for 3 local Hispanic girls.

Those are amazing deals! We have a local chain here called Savers that is pretty good. Although I have noticed their prices are slowly creeping up which sucks. Many items I saw the other day were $14.99, $25.99, etc. But they do have their half off days, actually every day, depending on what color tag it is. Bf just found his favorite hat at the thrift shop for $4. Same exact brand, style, color AND size! Can you believe it! His was starting to wear out bc he wears it so much, now he has a back up.

Those are amazing deals! We have a local chain here called Savers that is pretty good. Although I have noticed their prices are slowly creeping up which sucks. Many items I saw the other day were $14.99, $25.99, etc. But they do have their half off days, actually every day, depending on what color tag it is. Bf just found his favorite hat at the thrift shop for $4. Same exact brand, style, color AND size! Can you believe it! His was starting to wear out bc he wears it so much, now he has a back up.

Finding replacements for favorite items in good condition is such a thrill :D

Our ratty little thrift store charges $20 for any sweater that has any kind of wool content :( That means that the people who need a thrift store price can't afford them :(

.... and don't get me started on the prices they charge for winter footwear at the start of the season :mad:

Yeah, it really sucks for the people who really need to shop there. If you have kids to clothe, a few dollars here and there really add up! I get that some consignment shops price higher bc they curate their selection, plus they pay for their inventory, but thrift shops get their good donated to them for free, so they shouldn't price them so high.

Sometimes we get lucky though and find some designer or higher end brand names for cheap. Last summer I got a pair of Frankie B denim shorts (usually over $100 for shorts, almost $200 for jeans) for $5 and a pair of Willam Rast (I believe is/was Justin Timberlake's brand or he was affiliated with it) denim shorts for $0.50! Both were half off. I think the person doing the pricing just didn't know. The quality is very good.

My £1 dress and husbands £3 tux

Lovely! Thanks for the picture :)

That's a great idea! What an amazing deal! You know those dresses were probably only worn once for a special occasion. I'm eyeing my 19-year-old daughter's sorority formal dresses. Of course she's 5 inches taller than me, so the gowns won't work, but her short cocktail dresses would be knee-length (and thus more age-appropriate) on me. ;-)

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AMAZING finds! Those are truly gorgeous dresses and shoes.

I am an ebay shopper. I have a very large number of tops from my favorite labels, but also will buy just about anything I like. I do minor alterations to get them to fit.

This is my latest, and quite frankly my favorite. I'm blonde and this is "my" color. A perfect summer and cruise blouse. I also found a sheer crepe tank in white to wear under it and all my other sheer blouses:

Bought 2 pairs of capris, a pair of shorts, an Anne Taylor tee, a vest (new with tags) a denim skirt and a tank top at my favorite thrift store this week.. When I got to the register they told me I had a credit (they keep track of purchases and you get a percentage back). My total bill was less than $7.

I love thrift and consignment stores! I have been compiling an almost entirely new wardrobe for an upcoming 35 day cruise(s). I started with about 6 pieces that I had in the neutral colour palette I chose (brown, beige, cream, tan and white with coral as a pop colour) and have been adding found pieces over the last few months. The photo attached shows my "rack" of clothes that are waiting for the suitcase to come out. Total cost: approximately $300 with most of the finds being designer labels, some with price tags still on them. Not too shabby!!

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Loosy, you did well. That must be an awesome store! Is it consignment or thrift? I volunteer in a thrift store but we don't get that many really good brand names. Live in Lower Mainland.

Have fun on your cruise!

Loosy, you did well. That must be an awesome store! Is it consignment or thrift? I volunteer in a thrift store but we don't get that many really good brand names. Live in Lower Mainland.

Have fun on your cruise!

Two are consignment and there are actually 2 really good thrift stores. It's also about the "finding". I enjoy looking around.

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Thanks Loosy. Guess I should check out consignment stores more.:)