Needless to say, of course, have credit card, will spend money. I'm afraid I got more than a little tempted and had a splurge when I spotted these Reiss jeans on the mens' rack. (Most of the ladies clothes in our shop will not fit me, as they tend to be very small sizes!)
I don't currently have a pair of indigo blue jeans and these fitted pretty well, save for being a bit long and needing turning up.(Hipster style, in spite of being a bit old to wear them like this!)
I liked the fit though, so decided to add them to my wardrobe. Here's a couple of pictures of them on, combined with my ASOS skater shoes that I bought last year and are still going strong.
At £14.99, they weren't exactly inexpensive, but when I looked up the full price on the Reiss website, jeans from this brand cost anywhere between £90 and £115 new, so I was pretty happy with them and they are in very good condition.
I also decided to buy 6 Habitat white porcelain bowls for £7.99. (Sorry, only 4 here as two have already been used and are currently in the dishwasher) I'm trying to replace some of the bowls we have, with better quality ones that don't scratch with use.
Many of ours were purchased from IKEA over 10 years ago and are now looking a bit worse for use. I'm sending them off to a new life, via the Give and Take, but they have served their time with us. I have already purchased some new bowls and side plates from John Lewis over the past couple of years, but we still needed a few more of each.
These were a good price, as I have paid a similar price for just 4 similar bowls in John Lewis. They look hardly used, are a very simple design and a good size for limiting portion sizes too.
As you can tell, my resolve not to buy anything from the CS is gradually melting away, but I am trying to only purchase things that are very good quality or very practical, and will get a lot of use or wear. I am also trying, although not completely succeeding, in starting to practice a 'one in one out' policy with new purchases.
It was a much better day at the shop yesterday, as for one thing, I had slept the night before. There were also some new members of staff to meet, one, a volunteer for whom it was their first day, a lovely lady from Brazil, and another who is a manager of another shop, who was also great to work with. I'm really starting to enjoy the work and getting to do lots of different things. Long may it continue.
How wonderful you are getting to meet some nice people at the CS, and are enjoying it more.
ReplyDeleteLove those jeans, you did get a bargain in comparison to new costs.
God bless.
Thanks Jackie. They've had a day of wear today, which is a start and are pretty comfortable.
DeleteIt is nice getting to meet lots of different people at the shop, especially when I've spent most of my time at home for the past 12 years. I'm enjoying being a bit more sociable.
Some grumpy customers grumble that we are expensive; we would have charged less for the jeans ! They look great. Glad you are enjoying the shop x
ReplyDeleteWe get that too, but people still often pay the prices, so they must really want the items. I think sometimes with the higher quality brands, they can see themselves getting lots of wear and value from them over time, which they probably will.
DeleteI wouldn't normally spend that much on an item in a charity shop, but I am coming round the the manager's way of thinking, in that if someone donates something of quality they want the charity to get as much as they can for it, otherwise why bother.
Great attitude ... but we receive a lot of unsaleable donations. I've heard the grumpy customers say "That's the trouble with this shop, it's too expensive; they get it all for free ! Yes & the money goes to charity, in our case the community centre which serves the village. Without the shop hiring the centre, tickets to events , café & bar prices would all have to be raised considerably and going to a class, club or entertainment would be unaffordable !
DeleteI know what you mean about customers grumbling about prices. We get both, visitors generally tell us our prices are good though.
DeleteWhat really makes me laugh though is that if we have something old/nice is that people won't pay the price we charge for it, so someone from one of the vintage/antiques shops in town buys them then they sell them for more than we were asking and no-one bats an eyelid! Win win for both us and the local trader though.
I think we get quite a lot of people/dealers buying things to sell them on, which is fine as it's all money in the till. Proves there's still more profit to be made than what we charge.
DeleteOne in, two out please and the de-clutter continues with ease! :)
ReplyDeletexx
I wish I could do that. It would certainly clear the clutter that is true.
DeleteI think working at the CS is a great thing. I would love to but would definitely have to leave the wallet at home. I think the pants were probably a good buy because they will last a long time and are a basic wardrobe need.
ReplyDeleteYes, that's how I saw it, although it was a bit of an impulse buy I have to admit. Fortunately, I'm rarely tempted to buy much in the way of clothes due to many donations being very small sizes, which suits me most of the time.
DeleteGlad you're enjoying your time at the shop.
ReplyDeleteOur plates are from Habitat, I bought them when I moved in with Dan, 5 weeks after I met him, back in 2001, they're still in great condition.
That's reassuring to hear. I hope these ones last as long as yours and beyond.
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