(See what we did there? Like the love child of ‘Got milk’ and ‘You’ve been tangoed’)
Laura Reynolds looks at the hype surrounding the collaboration.
Just a week to go until the man in red arrives...
Very rarely did I visit charity shops as a child, the only specific times I recall were being dragged around by my mum looking for a tiger costume (friend’s 6th birthday party-jungle theme), a Viking costume (Viking day at school) and a book on Queen Elizabeth II (Golden Jubilee project, predictably the local library had run out of books about her.)
Although all of these shopping trips were relatively successful, it put me in the mind set that charity shops were only useful for things that you would use once, and subsequently throw away, bury in the dressing up box for an eternity, or simply re-donate to the charity shop from whence it came. Only at the age of about 13, when I started becoming responsible for my own finances, buying my own clothes etc. did I come to appreciate the true beauty of the charity shop, and even then it took a couple of years practice to get it down to a fine art. Amazed at how cheap everything was in charity shops, I bought things left, right and centre that I didn’t need, want, or that didn’t even fit, just because they were a bargain, falling victim to that age old problem that all seasoned charity shops rummagers will identify with-you love it but it’s not in your size and they don’t have other sizes. Many of my purchases remained unworn and unused for months before being returned to the charity shops to be sold on again. Losing money like this, I quickly learnt my lesson, and am now much more reserved in my choice of purchase.
I was surprised, then, to find that several charity shops, predominantly in well-to-do parts of London, are no longer accepting anything less than designer clothes as donations. Whilst this is all very well in areas where customers can afford to pay more for second hand clothes, it suggests that the essence of the charity shop has definitely changed, although whether this is for the better remains to be seen. Perhaps more shocking is the fact that many charity shops no longer accept less than perfect donations, and many garments which have a slight hole or similar are simply thrown away rather than being put to good use and raising money for a worthy cause, as the donor no doubt intended.
This change is further seen in the recent addition of wedding departments to several high street Oxfam shops (including the one on Goodramgate). As well as selling both second hand and new dresses, many of which are donated by the designers themselves after a trip down the catwalk, they are also offering tailoring services for brides-to-be.
Even the niche market of vintage clothing and accessories is being taken over by other shops who specialise in this, such as ‘Deep’ on Fossgate, pushing charity shops out of what, in recent years, has become one of their specialities, and losing them many customers, predominantly students.
Despite all of the changes that has seen the charity shop trying to keep up with the modern market, it is obvious that it is still in grave danger, if not of disappearing completely, then at least under threat from the strong competition from high street brands who are equally struggling to survive in the recession. Many major High Street chains are doing their best to support charity shops; one charity shop in my home town regularly receives donations of brand new last-season Marks and Spencer’s clothing. And it is not just clothing-an increase in people joining local libraries during the credit crunch has no doubt had an influence on people buying second hand books-why pay even a minimal price for it when you can hire it for free from down the road?
It will be a shame if the charity shop is allowed to die out completely, being as it is an institute for bargain hunters and vintage lovers alike.
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