As I mentioned in my charity shop tips post, I can count my favourite charity shops on one hand. One of my favourite hunting grounds is the British Red Cross Outlet, in Earlestown, Merseyside. Don’t be fooled by the fact that it’s an outlet store- I’ve found many gems that are brand new, nearly new or with fixable faults for the standard price of £1.99! It’s the type of shop that I rarely leave empty handed.
Charity Shop Chic
Which means that this year, I need to keep track of what I spend in charity shops. I’m curious to compare my second hand spending with how much I spend on the high street. It seems I’m not alone with my desire to track charity shop spending. Have you heard of the British Red Cross’ ‘Give and Gain’ loyalty card? I hadn’t until recently, but it’s certainly not a new initiative.
The British Red Cross loyalty card claims to reward customers for each purchase made in store: each pound spent will earn you a penny towards your next purchase. Loyalty card holders can choose to spend the points or donate them back to the charity. In my opinion, it’s great that charity shops are offering an incentive to increase footfall- who knows, perhaps it will encourage more people to try second hand shopping? But, could this be considered a clever way to collect customer data?
Whatever the logic behind the card, I always return to my local Red Cross because it’s a goldmine of second hand treasure. Katie found a Whistles skirt there last week, brand new with tags, for £1.99! My latest find is this monochrome polka dot collar dress, originally from ASOS. Labelled as a 16, it could have been easily overlooked but I checked the garment label- I’m so glad I did!Monochrome? Check. Collar? Check! AND a cute tie? CHECK! It’s not in perfect condition, but there’s still lots of life left in it for its £1.99 price tag. Along with this dress, I bought another Peter Pan collared dress that I already own. Total spend £3.98- 3 points on my card!
Outfit Details
// Polka dot dress :: British Red Cross (originally ASOS) //
// Mustard tights :: Tu at Sainsburys //
// Mustard earring :: Grandma’s //
// Leather satchel :: Cambridge Satchel Company //
Can you believe this is my 21st thrifted outfit post? I sometime wonder how long I’ll continue to shop second hand? Do you think I’ll reach ‘What I Thrifted #100’ this year?
Have you got a British Red Cross ‘Give and Gain’ card? What do you think about charity shop loyalty cards?