Mad for the thrift

I hope you lords and ladies are out enjoying the sun this easter weekend and not confined to the desk like me!

It's safe to say that I am a charity shop junkie. I even like the familiar damp, musty smell that puts people off. The pokier the better. The dingiest, most cramped shops can sometimes hold the greatest treasures, as most people are put off by the prospect of wrestling through narrow aisles of clothes. Not me, its how I like to spend my free time. Whenever I'm in a new town I'm itching to explore the local charity shops.

Here are some of my favourite recent buys:


Reiss cropped jacket, €6.50


Wallis purple lurex disco top, €3
Worryingly, I'm becoming more and more like a magpie for lurex items of clothing


Max Mara wool drape skirt, £4


Denim shirt (I've been wearing this consistently for the past 2 months), £3, originally LOGG by H&M


€1 - I couldn't resist this! You Irish kids will probably have read this, around the same time as Under the Hawthorn Tree, right?

My recent charity shop/second hand bookshop acquisitions:

Brideshead Revisted & A Room with a View I already own, but i can't resist buying multiples of my favourite books, particularly if the cover is attractive. I'm frivolous that way. I also stock pile books and buy them so I won't forget to read them, eh, its a ... faultless system so far.

This is sort of a silly excuse for a post but I don't want yous to think I've upped and gone! Personally, I love seeing what gems people have picked up in charity shops.

My rules to myself - I don't buy something just because of a label, I ask myself if I actually will wear it/have any use for it. Although this sometimes goes out the window in the case of picking up something to give to a friend (like a pair of tight gold trousers I can recall). I don't want anymore clutter in my wardrobe.

Sometimes its just the fun of browsing and the strange things you come across in some places. It's a hobby for me, its retail therapy without spending a lot. The rummage can sometimes be relaxing. If a place is very busy I won't linger because the good stuff is probably gone and I'm never really in the mood for clashing elbows with a couple of hipsters or a wan who doesn't understand the concept of personal space, as applied to the real world.

I'm going to York next month, and London, so if you have any recommendations for charity shops (or indeed in Glasgow and Edinburgh) please send them my way!