Charity shopping can bring so much happiness that you can forget sometimes it can cause you to lie awake at night inwardly screaming 'Whyyyy!'
You think I'm exaggerating but I had such a terrible experience that even now I feel a stabbing pain everytime I think about it. Ok, now I'm exaggerating but only a little bit. I made a serious mistake a couple of weeks back, I spotted some gorgeous Carvela lace-up boots in my Oxfam that reminded me of Marc Jacobs' ice-skater inspired creations for this season. See after the jump for the rest of my tale of woe.
Now I don't consider myself a slave to fashion's whims but these boots were in my size and a mere £10, which is remarkable considering how little you can find size sevens in a charity shop. Next comes the bad bit, in a bit of a hurry to get my boyfriend a shirt for a wedding I thought I could make my mind up and we got the shirt and go back for the boots. I tell you now never go back for anything in a charity shop, it wont be there and taunting you in its place will be a piece of overpriced Primark tat nestling as if your treasured find had never been in the shop.
I still find myself cringing every time I open the pages of a fashion magazine and see the new lace-up ankle boots that are all the rage... and start from £150. That and all my friends are sick to death of hearing about the goddamn boots!
My second rule of charity shopping is if you're unsure about something make sure you try it on. I passed a gorgeous dress in Scope once, handmade and true vintage but it was an exorbitant £8. Beating myself up for the rest of the afternoon I decided to return and you know what? The dress didn't fit, and it had weird padding in the breasticle area. If I hadn't gone back to try it on I would have mourned that stupid dress for months.
My last rule is don't BTE, aka don't buy to eBay. Maybe it's because I have an aversion to the Post Office, I don't know, but sometimes eBay can be a royal pain in the ass. On top of that you know the idea of actually bothering to eBay your stash is far less appealing than stuffing it in a laundry bag at the bottom of your wardrobe and settling down to a night of TV.
So to reiterate, for happiness when charity shopping, never go back and if in doubt, always try things on. I'm considering getting that snappy quote tattooed onto my forearm...
If you have any tales of bargains you missed out on let us know, we're all sharing our painful stories at Shiny Towers!
