We like to do our bit for chirriddy at All In London... although we don't like to talk about it.
The best thing about charity shops? You get to indulge your shopping habit whilst contributing to a good cause. How good is that? (At AIL we're currently working on a similar project where you get to contribute something positive to the universe... by eating cream cakes. Just working out the angles though...)
And long gone are the days where charity shops only sell beaten-up, old tat... if you can find the local charity shop of an A-lister (very much the charity shop holy grail) then you could well be walking away with their red carpet hand-me-downs at a mega-bargain price.
We're all for charity.
Pick up a bargain at London's best charity shops
If you’re in the market for cheap childrenswear then the Fara Kids shop on Tatchbrook Street is the place. Children go through clothes more rapidly than anything you could expect from (most!) adults so the offerings are always fairly fresh. A good place for parents on a budget.
If you take The Sun’s word for it – and who wouldn’t? – then the Red Cross charity shop in Chelsea is full of donations by none other than Her Royal Highness, Kate Middleton. Whether that’s true or not, the shop is certainly home to an array of quality garments that would round off that preppy/public school look perfectly.
If there’s one thing everybody loves, rich or poor, it’s a good deal. At the British Heart Foundation Furniture and Electrical store you’re practically assured of one. From TVs to HiFis, fridges to sofas, this is the place to come for the bulky bargain bonanza.
Do you have a vinyl fetish? If so then you could do worse than sifting through the crates at Oxfam Dalston. There are even blogs about the treasures to be found in this east London charity shop – just make sure you get there early for the best stuff. You wouldn’t want to be left clutching two copies of Bruce Willis’ Bruno Returns. Or would you?
Keeping with the ‘posh areas mean posh stuff’ trend we find Octavia Foundation’s Brompton Road branch. In an area packed with designer stores and grand hotels you can always expect to find the odd designer gem in here.
With three main objectives, charity textiles company, Traid makes a great place to pick up a hip new outfit. The goals involve protecting the environment by diverting clothes and shoes from landfill, reducing world poverty by raising funds for development and educating on environmental issues. Their Clapham branch is full of vintage and secondhand gems while other London stores - including Brixton and Camden - also the company’s own up-cycled label, Traidmade.
There’s probably a lot of satisfaction to be had from trekking over to Notting Hill to sort through the cast offs of the Notting Hill crowd. This branch of Oxfam is renowned for quality and style. Drop by regularly to score the pick of the drops.
Run by Fara Charity Shops, Retromania is almost too good to be true for the fashion hunter. Some famous names have both shopped there (Florence Welch) and dropped there. There’s memorabilia, vintage fashion, retro clothes and other suitably stylish offerings all gathered from Fara’s 47 other stores.