by Gail Kavanagh

Created on: April 07, 2009

Working in a charity shop, I see a lot of bargain hunters. Are they desperate and down at heel, buying out of date or worn clothing? No, indeed, they are smartly dressed working people, often wearing the very clothes they bought on their last visit. Our regular bargain hunters know that charity shops are the best boutiques in town.

What will you find in your average charity shop? Much like any clothes shop, you will find racks of clothes, usually sectioned off into men's and women's styles, and further sectioned into skirts, tops, dresses, suits, pants and so on. You will find familiar labels, like Target and K Mart, and more expensive labels as well. You will not find, however, the kind of prices that normally go with them.

In a charity shop, you are going to have to forage a bit. Labels won't be grouped together (unless the shop has a special `designer label' rack) they will be scattered along the length of the rack. Charity shop volunteers come from all backgrounds and walks of life. Some are experienced in retailing clothes, some are not. The paid management staff certainly do their best to make sure that charity shopping is a pleasant experience for customers these days.

But no one who works in a charity shop ever forgets that shoppers really like to rummage, that finding a great label at a great price is one of the real excitements of charity shopping. That rack of jeans could be concealing a pair of vintage Levi's, that rack of dresses may reveal a beautifully tailored evening gown - you never know.

You won't find rows of the same items with different sizes. It is all the luck of the draw, whether that fabulous top will fit you or not. Most charity shops do provide changing rooms, or have a bring back policy if the item doesn't fit. Nor will the charity shop show only this season's fashions - a plus if you hate what the boutiques and stores are showing anyway!

Nothing ever goes out of style in a charity shop. If you loved last year's styles more, then head for the nearest charity shop, and you will find all last year's discarded clothes there, and at prices you can easily afford. It is a real pleasure to find something in a charity shop that you couldn't afford when it was in the stores. It's an object lesson in consumerism too, as so many of these styles are still perfectly wearable, just not this year's color, or this year's neck detail.

How much can you save in a charity shop? Comparing prices from the boutiques and the big stores, you will find the savings

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