Charitable Fashion

Can you really dress for pennies? Brodie Lyon and Laura Horton take on the charity shop challenge

By Brodie Lyon & Laura Horton

*Life’s tough on a student budget, especially in the long gap between loan cheques, but as fashion conscious money savvy individuals where are we to turn? *

The high street poses a number of problems: it can be too expensive, a bit boring, and often unethical. With fashion’s 80s revival, second hand shops come with a plethora of decent, cheap and highly individual clothes to satisfy any taste, and what’s better, it’s all in the name of charity.

Cardiff is home to a wide variety of second hand shops each with their own individual charm and appeal. It’s easy to get put off, it can be hard to find something specific and there is stigma attached to second-hand clothes, but this we feel is unfounded, all clothes are cleaned and steamed, and some are even brand new, tags and all. Charity shopping requires a different approach to that used on the High street. Instead of looking for something specific you’re better off keeping an open mind.

A noticeable theme for the catwalk of spring/summer ‘06, are polka dots and bright prints. On the high street you would be looking to pay anything up to £100 for a decent statement piece, and although places like Primark are cheap you can expect a dozen other people to be wearing exactly the same.

Clothes are donated to charity shops from a wide demographic of people and this means that there are usually clothes to suit every taste. A quick pop into PDSA and we managed to find at least four highly different interpretations of the polka-dot look. This is the beauty of charity shopping: no other person will be wandering around in your clothes.

Another benefit to charity shopping are the designer gems that can occasionally be found. We won’t lie, this does require some hunting, but if it saves you hundreds then it’s well worth it. We have found some treasures of our own: a beautifully tailored red Yves Saint Laurent jacket for £15, a green woollen Harrods scarf, and a golden one for 20p and £1.50 respectively, and three Jaeger jackets for £2 each. It doesn’t take long for the savings to add up.

But what’s a dress without good accessories? Every outfit needs something; a classy handbag, some garish tacky beads, or outrageous shoes. On the counter of every charity shop can be found a wide array of jewellery, ranging from tacky glam to the more classic, and all are cheap and affordable. It is far easier to be experimental with your look when you’re paying 20p as opposed to £5 plus. It doesn’t matter if you only wear something once and then donate it back, at least you tried it and who knows it may be the look for you.

While fashions on the high street change every few weeks you can visit the same second-hand shop every day for a week and every day it will hold a veritable feast of fashions, from 50s rockabilly to 70s boho. People donate their clothes everyday, and sometimes if your lucky the staff may even let you have a look out the back to sift through what hasn’t been displayed. It’s worth getting to know your charity shop volunteers as they’ll let you know when new stock gets put out. It’s also worth putting the feelers out when there is something specific you want, they may not have it in stock but they will let you know if anything like it comes in. The key to successful second hand shopping is to be nice and friendly.

So now we’ve convinced you, where do you go? Albany Road boasts the widest variety of second-hand shops, and an afternoon can easily be spent hunting through them. Crwys Road has a couple, one with an amazing bad-taste room and an antique shop, which occasionally sells jewellery. Whitchurch Road has one with a great pound rail. Canton is a bit of a trek but is well worth it. Our personal favourite is Jacob’s market, which is only open Wednesday to Saturday, but which hosts some slightly more pricey but beautiful dresses and vintage accessories. It’s worth noting that most charity shops close at four. So expand your minds, liberate your wallets and head down to your local charity shop.