Charity Shop Rules: How I Find the Good Stuff Every Week

The Rules I Rummage By

People assume charity shopping is luck. It is a little bit luck and a lot of habit. I go often, I go early, and I know within about ninety seconds whether a shop is worth my time.

1. Go on a weekday morning

Donations get sorted overnight and put out first thing. By Saturday afternoon the good rails have been picked clean and put back in the wrong sizes.

2. Touch the fabric before you look at the label

Wool, linen, proper cotton and silk announce themselves in your fingers. If it feels like a crisp packet, walk on, whatever the brand says.

3. Check the seams, not the size

Sizing is fiction and always has been. Turn the garment inside out: generous seam allowances mean it can be let out, and a well-finished hem usually means the whole thing was made properly.

4. Coats and knitwear are the real prizes

They hold their shape, they wash up beautifully, and they cost a fortune new. I have a wool coat that cost me eight pounds and gets complimented more than anything else I own.

5. Learn the three-shop route

Every town has one shop for good coats, one for bric-a-brac and one that is oddly excellent for shoes. Learn yours and do them in the same order every time. It takes forty minutes.

6. Try it on, or accept the risk

Most shops will not take returns. If there is no fitting room, hold the shoulder seam to your shoulder and the waist to your waist - it is surprisingly accurate.

7. Never buy it because it is cheap

Two pounds is only a bargain if you wear it. This is the rule I break most often, and the one that fills the bag I take back the following month.

What I Look For Now

At seventy-something I dress for warmth, comfort and a bit of joy. So: good sleeves, a waist that sits where mine actually is, colours that suit my hair now rather than the hair I had, and pockets. Always pockets.

The best wardrobes are not bought in one go. They are collected, slowly, on Tuesday mornings, with a coffee afterwards.