" Thanks hun, Oxfam! "

Artem Beliaikin - https://www.shutterstock.com

Thrift /second hand/charity shopping - whatever you call it!

I come from a long line of thrifters, my mam, nanny, and great aunt showed me the ropes at a young age.

In this blog, I want to show you those very same ropes. So you too can say, " thanks hun, Oxfam!"

Every saturday morning, I went shopping with my nanny Lolie and great aunt May. We used to comb through every charity shop in Bray. We'd start at the top of the town and work our way down, May and Lolie would scan the rails with military percision, rummage through the bargin bins like a pair of hungry racoons in your trash.

I could be found either at the books or the toy boxes searching for toy horses to add to my collection... you know the girl in your class that was obsessed with horses... yeah that was me! After successfully aquiring a new horse, we would do the food shop and pick up my grandads weekly pidgeon magazine, yep that's actually a thing!

Later in life, I swapped horses for clothes. Unfortunatly, as a teenager, I became a slave to the trends, if I didn't have the dress from Penney's that every girl in my year had I felt like a loser! Non uniform days in school were a nightmare, because they were basically a fashion show. Any pocket or birthday money I got from my parents was spent on the high street, instead of presents at christmas I asked for money for clothes. I just wanted to wear what everyone else was wearing!

College was no better, I studied fashion design and textiles. I did devolope my own style but it was still fairly on trend and from the likes of H & M, Penney's, New look etc. We'd take trips into Dublin's Henry street to "research" the ever changing trends in the shops and I would always leave with one or more of them tucked away in those filmsy paper bags that would disintegrate at the mere thought of a drop of rain (you know the ones).

Truthfully, I've only really broke free from the fast fashion shackles in the last year and a half. Once I became more and more concious of the impact the fashion industry is having on our environment and the lives of people (mainly women) who are being paid nowhere near a living wage. So I went back to my thrifty roots and I haven't bought anything from a fast fashion brand in about 10 months!

Anyway, that's enough about me.

Here's my top thrifting tips!

1. Take your time.

Charity shops need time. Take an afternoon, go to your local charity shop and really browse, give it your undivided attention. Do a couple of laps, you might spot something you missed first time around!

2. Try things on.

This is a fairly obvious one to be fair! Charity shops have perfectly equipped fitting rooms and they're never crowded with women waiting to try on the latest floral jumpsuit.

3. The Bargin bin is your friend.

You know the one, usually down the back of the shop over flowing with bits and bobs. This one goes back to point number one, take your time. Be a bargin bin pirate and dig for the treasure, I promise you its worth it!  

4. The five item rule. 

If you find an item, before you leg it to the lovely pensioner behind the counter, THINK. Can you think of five different items you have at home you can wear it with? Can you think of five different outfits you can put together using this item and the clothes you already have at home. If the answer is no, then you probably don't need it or you probably won't wear it. If the answer is yes, then Mary is waiting for you up at the till... go get her tiger!

5. Do you really need it?

As always, try to be as sustainable as possible. If you don't need anything then don't buy anything. The same goes if you're not 100% on an item, leave it for a bit do another lap and think about it. If it's still there and you want it then go ahead!

So there you have it, my thrifting tips!

You'd be surprised by the gems you'd find in second hand shops! From designer to high street, for any occassion whether it's a cute work-friendly blouse or a gorgeous dress for your cousin's summer wedding...  They have it all!

Happy Thrifting :)

But for now. Stay home and stay safe!

Yours sustainably,

                        Hayley x