Regular readers to this blog will surely know by now that I’m a pretty big fan of charity shopping.  I absolutely love it.  And it’s the process I love – those countless hours of rummaging through rails, boxes and baskets of other peoples’ discarded items – as opposed to the buying.  It bothers me not at all that on at least half of the occasions on which I step over the threshold of a charity shop I leave without buying anything.  To me, the fun is in spending time immersed in marvelling at other peoples’ junk  – whatever that says about me.  And generally, whenever I do find something I actually want to buy, I’m happy to part with the cash on the basis that I consider what I’m buying to be worth the money I’m paying for it and also because that money is going towards supporting a charity, which in my book is pretty great.

Unfortunately, but perhaps inevitably in a society where moaning about absolutely everything – even good things (trust me, a hardcore moaner will find a way) – is the norm, not everyone shares my mindset and lately I’ve heard lots of negative mutterings, both online and while eavesdropping in charity shops themselves, about the prices of second-hand stock.  This irritates the absolute hell out of me, for a plethora of different reasons. Firstly, there’s the biggie: charity shops aren’t like other shops.  They exist in order to raise much-needed funds for astoundingly valuable causes, not to make vast profits which will eventually line the pockets of someone like Phillip Green who, let’s be honest, neither needs nor deserves a single penny more of our hard-earned cash.  Money raised in charity shops goes towards really helping people who so desperately need support, care and generosity, so to begrudge Shelter an extra few pounds for a pair of good quality second-hand shoes really does sound rather ignorant.

And then there’s the second-hand thing.  It amazes me that some people still ascribe to the expectation that simply because an item of clothing, a piece of crockery or a book has had at least one previous owner, it should automatically be sold in a charity shop for peanuts.  This, to me, is bonkers.  Good quality clothing remains good quality clothing regardless of how many closets it has seen, and while of course a discount can be expected in lieu of the fact that something is being bought second (or third, or fourth…) hand, isn’t it a little churlish to insist that those boots that have never been worn should be sold for two pounds rather than fifteen?  The expectation that stock should be cheap is a hark-back to the days when charity shops were little more than dingy dumping grounds for tattered, moth-eaten garments that really were practically worthless. That, however, is most definitely no longer the case.  Charity shops today are chocked to the rafters with stock that was available new on the high street only months ago, and the rise in prices, I think, owes more to the fact that our throwaway consumer culture and ‘wear once’ mentality results in people donating things to charity that they bought only five minutes ago but have already replaced with the latest fad than it does to charities being unreasonable.  The charity shops of 2010 are vibrant, modern, cool places to hang out, filled with contemporary and totally desirable stock.  And to me, complaining about the prices shows little other than a distinct lack of regard for the fact that charity shops have most definitely moved with the times.

And neither should we forget that charity shops aren’t an island.  Aside from some tax benefits and the fact that the vast majority of their stock is donated by the public as opposed to bought from a supplier, they are dealing with exactly the same kinds of economic pressure as the rest of us.  Stores have rent to pay (and where a shop is situated in a salubrious area you can bet your ass that that doesn’t come cheap) as well as other overheads such as gas, electricity and the wages of full-time staff.  No one needs to be reminded that utilities prices are high at the moment, and if a charity shop is expected to sell jumpers for only 50p a piece, how many would it need to shed before it could afford a supply of heating at Winter 2010 rates?  My guess is into the thousands, which doesn’t sound realistic if anything is to be left over for the actual charity, does it?

The other thing (and I promise I’ll cease to rant soon) that I think is important when it comes to charity shop prices is the market.  If an article of clothing is genuinely worth a bit of money on the second-hand market, I see no reason whatsoever why the charity shouldn’t be entitled to have a bash at scoring big for its cause.  If a pair of boots would sell for £30 on eBay there’s absolutely no reason in my opinion why a charity should close its eyes to that and insist upon selling them for a fiver.  My local Shelter emporium is currently selling a gorgeous, and very new-looking, woollen coat by Max Mara for £40.  A quick survey of eBay shows that similar coats are selling for around the same price – much more in some cases, and I therefore think that Shelter are absolutely justified in their pricing decision.  They may be charity shops, but they need not be doormats, and if there’s a chance that an item will bring in a healthy donation to the cause in question, I think that pricing competitively is a perfectly legitimate thing to do.  The alternative is to undercut the prices and watch while a shrewd eBayer with an eye for a bargain swoops in, re-sells and scoops the profits for himself.  The charity, meanwhile, banks its fiver with egg on its face – which result do you feel most comfortable with?

Image above from Flickr – abbyladybug.

What are your thoughts on charity shop pricing?  Too high?  Too low?  Just right?  I’d love to hear your opinions!

Happy Mondays everyone!  I hope you have all had enjoyable weekends, and are excitedly anticipating another week!

My own weekend was by turns relaxing and superbly productive.  On Friday night I went to the cinema to see Inception, which was *amazing* (yes I know everyone has said that, but it was), and on Saturday I had dinner with one of my old flatmates and her boyfriend, which was both delicious (the food) and hilarious (the company).

I baked a batch of lemon cupcakes on Saturday afternoon, which were tasty, if not altogether aesthetically pleasing (this is the defining feature of my baking – tastes good, looks a bit wonky – absolutely nothing like the beautiful creation above), and I had a nose around some of the charity shops in my area, picking up a fantastic long-sleeved print dress in one.  It needs a tiny smidge of work on the sewing machine, but it will definitely be a great addition to the USA suitcase (three weeks and counting!!).

I also got round to dyeing a few bits and pieces of clothes that I haven’t worn in ages.  I bought a white cardigan a few months ago which mysteriously turned a dingy shade of grey after only one wash, and I also have a sundress and a couple of shirts that were looking slightly tired.  The dress was that awful shade of bubblegum pink - eeeeugh!  A blast of terracotta dye, however, and everything is ready to shine once more – one of the cheapest, yet most effective, reinvention tactics there is, I’m convinced of it!

Alongside dyeing (not dying), I donated a carrier bag of unwanted clothing and a couple of old books (I think I’m safely passed the stage in my life where I’ll feel the need to read Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, thank God) to the local Shelter shop, and a few small bits of furniture to the Bethany trust.

This week, I have a number of ‘boring but necessary’ things to do, which are thankfully offset by several things I’m really looking forward to.  In the boring but necessary corner, we have sorting and posting off documentation for uni next year; making an appointment with a careers advisor to discuss finances and listing a bunch of new stuff on eBay.  I was so busy cupcake baking and enjoying myself at the weekend that I completely missed out on the two free listing days – fail.

In the ‘really looking forward to’ corner, however, I have: a vintage fashion fair tomorrow evening at a hotel in the West End; swimming/sauna-ing on Wednesday after work; cushion cover-making with the gorgeous Ikea fabric I wrote about here, and a little bit of writing practice as well, hopefully.

What about you?  What does this week have in store?

Thanks to everyone who left a comment on Friday’s “Choice: Friend or Foe?” post (below).  It’s comforting to know that I’m not the only person who doesn’t deal well with having too many options!  As always, the input of readers to this blog is much appreciated, and the simplest of comments really can make my day, so cheers guys!

Image above courtesy of Flickr – chotda.

The dress above (picture of which I pinched from the t’internet) is from Oasis. Cute, huh? To my surprise, and amazement, I found one in a charity shop on Saturday morning for a measly fiver. It was priced so cheaply because it was damaged – I’ve no idea what the previous owner was trying to do with it, but it had several holes around the waistband, a few frayed edges and it generally looked a bit shabby. I knew I’d have a bit of work to do to spruce it up, but at the time I thought a little hand stitching around the waist and a nice chunky belt to cover up any flaws would be all that was needed.

I got it home, tried it on and realised, to my profound dismay, that I had grossly underestimated the size of me in comparison with the size of the dress (hate it when that happens!). There was NO WAY this thing was zipping up – I would have had to get rid of both boobs and probably a few ribs as well before it would go anywhere. And forget about breathing after that! I was mad, especially because I almost never take anything away from a shop without trying it on first – Saturday was a freak exception which I put down to there being a crazy person with half the stock of the charity shop in the changing room - I couldn’t be bothered to wait.

In my dismal state I put the dress in a corner and settled down in my rocking chair to sulk for a while, whereupon I was suddenly slapped in the face by a colossal desire to be destructive. Before I knew it I was attacking this preppy pink delight with my sewing scissors, hacking the skirt from the waist, severing hundreds of tiny, and extremely tight, stitches and discarding reams of raspberry coloured thread left, right and centre…

A mess, granted.  But there were better times to come.  I quickly made a black waistband from three random scraps of elastic I had in my sewing box, gathered the newly hacked bottom half at the top, and then sewed the one to the other, exercising lots of patience so as to get as straight a line as I could.  Similar to the 20 minute skirt from a few weeks back…

Ta Da! Nice right? And it fits! I could happily eat three loaded platefuls of carbs in this thing and not feel constricted at all! I’m going to attempt this on Friday at the local Italian…

Oh, and I’ve still got this bit…

I’m not sure what to do with it though – it’s far too pretty to throw away, but if it’s ever to fit me it will need serious expansion work at the back. All suggestions welcome!

I was having a flick through my camera earlier on, and came across a few nice photos that I thought would be sufficiently fitting for sharing on a beautiful Summer’s day such as this one.  I don’t consider myself a photographer by any means, but I do enjoy playing about with my camera every now and then, and if you do it enough, some nice photos often result…

This is a picture of the domed ceiling of the Pantheon in Rome, which I took when I was there last May.  It turned out surprisingly well, I thought – I love the way the light coming in from the hole in the roof taints the colours.  I wish I could remember some of the bookish facts I learned about this place when I was there but, true to my despairing form, they deserted me almost immediately upon leaving (I’ve never been good with history).  It is beautiful though, mesmerisingly so.

These are some foxgloves that I came across in the Botanic Gardens here in Edinburgh on a visit last Summer.  I’ve talked about the Botanics before, but please just let me reiterate how gorgeous they are.  Instantly calming too.  Make a beeline if ever you’re feeling stressed - the sheer volume of gorgeous-looking plant candy on offer will soon sort you right out, and if it doesn’t there’s a delightful tea shop too.

This was an attempt on the part of yours truly to be a little bit arty with my camera, but I kinda think it works.  Cobbled Roman paving slabs – gorgeous, and almost too nice to walk on!

I couldn’t possibly have walked by this tulip bed without stopping to take a photograph.  Such bright, vivacious colours, extremely pleasing to the eye.  These were in full bloom in Princes Street gardens at the beginning of May, one of many, many flowerbeds that I could have fawned over for hours.

And finally, this a picture of Edinburgh Castle I took from Princes Street Gardens on that same day in May.  The blossom on the tree to the right was so lovely – whispy and creamy coloured – a refreshing contrast to the pervasive pink blossom that lines the pathways of the Meadows every Spring.  The Castle is such a photogenic object – the rugged edges of its rock stand out against the sky so starkly, and some ingenious uplighting means that it looks fantastic at night as well.  I often wonder what the Edinburgh skyline would look like without the Castle as an obvious focal point.  None so special I imagine is the answer!

What’s everyone up to this weekend?  I’m planning on sunbathing, footie watching, coffee drinking; lots and lots of reading and sewing and perhaps a gander in the charity shops as well – my most favourite type of post-working week fun!

Sunny days

It seems like an obvious one, but I’m very, very sure that if it were pouring with rain outside right now I’d be feeling a whole lot worse than I am. The sun is shining, the temperature is up, and I’m going to go and sit on the Meadows after work and finish my book. Definitely not a prospect to be sniffed at.

The American Dream

OK so the prospect of the NY/Cali trip should really be enough to quell absolutely any mumblings of dissatisfaction I might be experiencing at the moment. And it actually is: a single thought about it and I instantly feel all excitable and cheery again. The planning is well underway now, with all of our flights, plus accommodation for our first six nights booked (including two nights at a hostel in Las Vegas called ‘Sin City Hostel’, the e-mail address of which begins with ‘party@sincityhostel’…not sure what we’ve let ourselves in for there). I’ve also got some travel guides on loan from the library so I can do a bit of my own research in the run-up. 6 weeks and 6 days to go!!

Projects

Does anyone else ever struggle to think where they’d be without projects? I do, all the time. Nothing screams ‘satisfaction’ at me as much as a completed project. The predominant themes of my current to-dos are ‘sewing’ and ‘downsizing’, so most of my evenings of late have been spent in one of two places: at the kitchen table with the sewing machine, or in one of our cupboards, filtering my many possessions for candidates to sell, gift or recycle. Both themes are making me feel equally positive: last Thursday I finished my first ever tote bag, made from the stag fabric I got from Ikea, and on Saturday I got to grips with our ‘this is where we keep all of our crap’ cupboard, and came away with tonnes of swag for the ‘to make profit from’ bag. I also found a wicker handbag I thought I’d thrown away ages ago, which I’ve totally fallen in love with again (it’s pictured above), and a coat that’s in need of a new zip (yay, sewing project!). It seems that joy can be found in the most unexpected of places, namely a dark, spider-ridden cupboard full of rubbish. Nice huh?

Charity shop swag

I had a little run at the charity shops on Saturday (as I’ve said many a time before, when the going’s good, you’ve just got to roll with it). I came away with a gorgeous little apple-print dress, a couple of summery cardigans (one of which I’m wearing in the outfit picture above) and a belt, all for mere pennies of course. If I remember later on I’ll take some photos to show you. They’ve all slotted nicely into my newly-cleansed wardrobe, and buying them ignited a little flickr of a business idea within me, which I want to get to work on asap. Exciting, entrepreneurial times ahead!

Google Reader

I absolutely love coming to my Google Reader on a Monday morning, because it’s full of peoples’ weekend posts. I’m rarely online at the weekends, which makes opening Reader at the start of a new week to learn about all sorts of different and interesting things a real joy. I’m usually full of inspiration and ideas after a Monday morning GR session, raring to go again – it’s a great kickstart to the week.

Finally, I realised the other day that I haven’t done a ‘Welcome to my Wardrobe’ post in a good few weeks.  So here’s one for today.  The butterfly skirt I bought for half price from New Look when I worked there (that was the best staff discount EVER btw).  The T-shirt I got for free years ago as it was rejected stock; the scarf is actually the belt from another top; the cardigan I got in a charity shop on Saturday for £3.99 and the bag is the one I ‘re-found’ after it had spent many months (years) in the bottom of a suitcase.