When I left school and went to study Art & Design at college, I discovered a passion for clothing and accessories.  I wanted to stand out from the crowd and show off my creativity!  The only problem was, of course, that I only had a part time job at Mark One (MK One as it is now) and most of my cash was spent on bus fare or driving lessons!  So I discovered charity shops…

I remember my first purchase being a vintage faux-fur coat, which was fantastic value and kept me warm at the bus stop too!  From then on, a friend and I would raid the high street charity shops near our college once a week and try to find unusual, vintage and designer items at bargain prices.  Nothing amazing to report, but we certainly had enough clothing and accessories to keep us looking funky for two years of art college!

The pattern continued into University, where my most memorable find was a 70s red leather biker jacket that’s still in my cupboard today!  When I came home from Uni and finally got my drivers license, I started to visit local car boot sales and built up a fantastic collection of vintage handbags, necklaces and bracelets!  My trophy find being a beautiful genuine Mulberry handbag at the bargain price of £10 – I nearly passed out with the excitement!!

Even though it’s been several years since I stopped being a student, I still can’t resist the lure of the secondhand bargain!  I work in a creative Marketing role, where I am lucky enough to still be able to dress in a creative manner (although no more fur coats!) – shopping secondhand allows me to keep a bigger wardrobe at a lower cost, so I can afford to be versatile.  Not only that, I love that it means I’m unlikely to bump into someone else wearing the same or similar items of clothing! 

Recent charity shop finds include a Chanel silk scarf and a Radley handbag!  Of course, nowadays it’s become popular to shop vintage and there’s less out there from the 60s, 70s and 80s – but half the fun is in the thrill of the hunt! 

Here are some of my treasured finds: