Charity shop WIN!

 Get to your local chazzas now as it looks like the seasonal change is happening – that means summer stock is extra cheap in some, and you'll get first pick of the winter stock in many!

We've had another one open up in my home town (lots of people grumble that the town centre is nothing but charity shops, but that suits me fine) so we went round it today, and the prices were eyewatering. I picked up a checked skirt and it was £12! It may have been Aquascutum, but it wasn't lined, and while nice it wasn't an especially stylish or distinctive one, so back on the rail it went.

There are pintucks on the bib.

Two of my usual favourites, British Heart Foundation and Scope, came up trumps. BHF seems to have weird policy of slapping 'High Street Brand' labels on some things and pricing them a bit higher, but that does seem to depend on which labels the staff are familiar with. In my size there were things like synthetic-fibre M&Co tops with that label on for £4... while I got a wool-rich Phase Eight skirt, and an almost pure wool skirt from a German label I'd never heard of, for £6 and £4 respectively. Not much difference in price, huge difference in quality. (Is it me, or can people not tell the difference between 'branded' and 'good quality' any more?) One skirt is dark grey, the other is charcoal pinstripe, and both come to a few inches above the ankle and should be great when I'm feeling a bit Miss Lemon at work this winter.

My real find, however, was this chocolate brown Victorian-influenced blouse for £4 in Scope. I've been wanting something a bit more Victorian to wear to steampunk events, and had been looking online. The things I found and liked were mostly in the US, so on top of the cost of the items, I'd probably face Customs charges. I'm not so keen on the weird peplum bottom, but it's not terribly puffy, and the lace cuffs more than make up for that, I love the way the sleeves look. The buttons are a bit chipped, so I'll either replace those or paint them. That's saved me some money.