We Brits were pioneers in establishing the Charity Shop. It was during both World Wars that the charity shop first appeared in the forefront of society thanks to the valiant efforts of the Salvation Army and the British Red Cross in their war efforts, and it has remained a quintessentially British practice since 1947, when the first official charity shop was opened in Oxford by Oxfam. With over 10,000 stores across the UK, the humble charity shop is a trove for goodwill, community and creativity. However, in our digital age and its bombardment of advertising, online shopping and celebrity endorsement (of brands that are embarrassingly overpriced for the average teenager or twentysomething-year-old who is a student/ living off of ‘mummy and daddy’) charity shops are too-quickly forgotten.
Needless to say, the money generated by charity shops goes to a good cause: each year, charity shops make an average of £270 million pounds which gives vital support to those in need. I am not a hypocrite; I am not urging you to shop solely in charity shops, but any support given to these stores contributes to a greater cause than your current capitalist consumer habits are doing: rest assured, the Fat Cats of the global brands do not need your support; the sick, dying and homeless do.
Charity Shop shopping also provides a fantastic opportunity for you to get out there and get to know your local community: simple acts, from speaking to the shops’ volunteer workers and the little old lady who chats with you at the coat rack, to popping into the local businesses during that sacred shopping break for food and drink, is time and money well spent. For every £1 spent in a small or medium-sized business, 63p stays in the local community, which compares to 40p if spent in a larger business. The charity shop culture is not just limited to the shop itself; when you branch out of the comfort zone of high street big names and into the smaller, more personal world of your local community, the rewards are far more than material gain.
Known in the United States as Jumble Sales, the second-hand store can, at times, seem like a test of patience (jumble by name, seemingly jumble by nature). But do not let the preconception of charity shops put you off: contrary to popular belief, the stores often organise clothing meticulously by colour, size and style. What is more, there is an unwritten rule which states that once you enter the charity shop, all size, age-appropriation and fashion inhibitions jump right out the window. They often sell pieces of clothing from an array of decades, and as we are all aware, sizes and cuts differ greatly from brand to brand, never mind decade to decade when body standards and the ‘ideal body size’ fluctuated more often Chuck and Blair’s relationship status (XOXO). This ‘any size goes’ mantra that the charity shop facilitates reminds each individual that the number written on clothing labels does not define you, nor does it hinder your ability to look absolutely fabulous. And it’s not only size that has its boundaries wiped away in charity shops – unisex clothing is at its finest, allowing us to tear down gender stereotypes over what we ‘can’ or ‘can’t wear’. A grandad cardigan, an oversized Men’s T-Shirt, a velvet black dress that your mother would be proud of – gender, size and age stereotypes are so last season.
I personally love charity shops for the discontinued or sought-after brands that you can find: Marks and Spencer’s St Michael’s line, as well as Precis, Windsmoor and Planet (ask your grandmother). For all those who spend money on sportswear (does anyone actually do any sport in them though?) you can also expect to find the likes of Nike, Addidas and Puma for ridiculously cheap prices.
Vintage is just a fancy way of saying second-hand, and there is a reason why vintage clothing has such an air of charm and sophistication around it: by wearing them, you give those pieces new life and often they are likely to be one-of-a-kind pieces which smell and feel of nostalgia. I love the intrigue of not knowing who the previous owners of my second-hand clothing were – An aspiring poet? A drag queen from the Soho scene? Most likely, it was Jane, the dinner lady from down the road. My point is, every life has its story and worth, and every item of clothing tells its own individual tale. Wearing second-hand clothing brings a feeling of nostalgia for a life I have never actually led – much like listening to Lana Del Rey’s music – and gives me a confidence in my step as I know I have breathed new life into an old garment.
Finally, the clothing’s cheap price tag enables you to experiment with items you might not necessarily feel brave enough to wear but want to try out. Always wanted to rock a (faux) fur leopard print coat but are too scared? Secretly fancied trying out the shoulder pad look that your aunty wore so effortlessly with her permed hair and blue eyeliner back when Polaroid wasn’t hipster? Charity shops are a great way of unleashing your individual style and intuition, and as a place where fashion magazines cannot spoon-feed you, second-hand stores stimulate your imagination and get you to think outside of the box.
So charity shop shopping not only helps a good cause, is good for the environment and helps support local businesses, but it enables you to use your fashion autonomy to ensure your wardrobe is on its way to being socially and ethically conscious, taking your style from consumerist clone to delightfully individual.