Last week marked the start of Septemeber and also the start of Second Hand September! The amazing project was organised by Oxfam and you have to pledge to not buy any new clothes for the 30 days over September. We've done 10 Days so far (when I'm wiriting this) so how have you done so far, have you given into the temptation yet haha? I don't tend to buy new clothes anyway but I thought taking the pledge would be a fun way to show how we don't always need to buy new clothes and to remind me throwaway fashion is not the way forward!
So to help anyone else who has taken the pledge, I thought I'd share a few top tips for charity shopping! I tend to buy A LOT of my clothes from charity shop, their are so many cool pieces and you never know what you'll find!
1. Visit Regularly
This is probably one of the most important tips I can give you. If you find a certain charity shop you like or really any charity shop, visit as often as you can! They're constantly getting new pieces in and changing their stock so you really never know what new and exciting pieces will be waiting for you when you visit! If I'm being honest, I can't walk past a charity shop without going inside!
2. Be Open Minded
You never know exactly what you're going to find so I definitely recommend going in with an open mind and seeing what grabs you while your browsing. I tend to find if you go into a charity shop with a fixed idea of what you want to find, you can miss out on some really cool pieces that you weren't originally looking for.
3. Be Prepared To Rummage
Charity shopping is not as easy as buying clothes in high street stores. Most pieces you'll only find in one size so you might have to rummage through everything to find the perfect thing in your size. But its well worth it and its actually half the fun rummaging through everything. I like to think it's a bit like a hunt for hidden treasure!
4. Check The Labels
Charity shops don't always know what amazing pieces they have, so have a peek at the labels and you never know what brand the clothes may be from. I once found a Vivenne Westwood top, which is probably one of the best branded pieces I've found! Granted the charity shop knew the brand so did charge a bit more than a normal top but it was a fraction of the the price it would have been originally, so I am very happy with it.
5. Try Your Hand At DIY
Due to the fact the sizing is limited you might have to try your hand at DIYing some pieces to make them work for you! You can easily take up hems, take in waists to make it fit you and if you can't do it yourself you can find a good seamstress or tailor to do it for you. Sometimes its worth putting in that little bit of extra effort to make a super cool piece work for you. With quite a few of my favourite dresses I've had to take in the waist to make it fit a better and its so worth it!
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And those are my top 5 tips! If you want any more advice, let me know! I hope this blog will help the next time you go charity shopping; go have fun exploring and see what hidden treasures you can find!
Best wishes,
Lottie