Buy your clothes in the charity shops if you want to wear beautiful and original outfits but save lots of money every year.

Difference between Italy and the Uk

When I was living in Italy it was impossible to buy a nice dress or jumper in a Italian charity shop because nobody organised the collection and the sale of clothes as instead, it happens here in the UK.

In Italy, most of our outfits are collected from the local parish or Caritas and people do not know where they are going soon after. Sometimes I suspect that there is some big unclear business behind.

But when I arrived in the UK in 2011, I was really surprised to discover this sort of original and small boutiques called charity shops.

In the beginning, I believed in finding only old dirty broken outfits but immediately I realised that big brands were easily left on their shelves.

I was really surprised but very happy because i could save lots of money at the end of every year when i was living in the super expensive London.

Nowadays a few things have changed.

Now charity shops are hiring clever and young volunteers who know the most famous fashion brands, so it is really difficult to find a Dolce and Gabbana or a Hermes bag on a shelf sold for a couple of pounds.

But still, you can find expensive brands at a good price.

I am not buying shoes because I think they are not washed and I do not like to put my feet where another person was sweating after a long walk.

But you can buy nice and original bags, hats, trousers , jumpers, jackets, and skirts that after a good wash in your washing machine are ready to be worn for an important occasion or your everyday life.

I always suggest visiting those charity shops who are not in the high street of the city .

The charity shops based in the city centre have to pay high rents and consequently, the outfits are more expensive.

I suggest instead visiting those charity shops located in the richest part of the city but far from tourists or students.

For example, when I was living in Bristol I always was going to explore the alternative and hippy Glouchester road which is not in the city centre but near the rich area of Cotham and Redland.

Here in Newcastle upon Tyne, I always visit the charity shops in Gosforth or in Whitley Bay.

Whitley Bay is a lovely location next to the coat, 20 minutes by metro. In this area, there are about ten charity shops and all of them look good.

Every charity shop is concentrated on a particular type of sale.

Some of them prefer books, others fashion, others toys, others pottery, others DVD or lp records.

The best thing is visiting all of them in a couple of hours, without rush, ready to discover some hidden treasure.

Sometimes I use the app on my mobile phone called Google Lens to understand if the item in front of me has a good value and can be resold on my Etsy shop.

I have always had fun doing my shopping in these charity shops because I discovered antiques and vintage clothes.

Because of this, I stopped to buy in trendy vintage clothes shops because they are expensive and I think they buy those outfits in charity shops as I do.

The only difference is that these outfits are washed, ironed and labelled.

Just today, I spent less than 25 pounds on three new original tops and a lovely summer dress.

If I was going to Mark&Spencer or H&M I would have paid £25 for only one T-shirt.

What do I do when I get bored with my clothes?

When my wardrobe starts to be busy I quickly choose a couple of clean items, still in good condition, to recycle in the fashion world and the following day they are in the shop window of a charity shop.

This is good also for the environment because it has been discovered that the fashion industry is one of the most important causes of pollution on our beautiful planet Earth.

Thanks for reading

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