One drizzly Saturday, I headed into Leicester with Sophie (Sophie's Notebook) to meet resident charity shopping queen, Charlotte. She had arranged a little tour of LOROS By Design with store manager, Abi. I'm not opposed to charity shopping, in fact, the cheaper the better, but I've not picked up many bargains in my time. I'm quite picky about clothes shopping at the best of times, so I was sceptical about finding things in a charity shop.
LOROS is a brilliant Leicestershire-based charity who provide hospice care for adults with terminal illnesses. They have a range of services, including short-stay inpatient care to psychological, emotional and spiritual support for both the patients and families affected. They make a difference to the lives of around 2500 people per year, with the aim of enhancing the quality of life, with respect to both the patient's dignity and individual choice.
There are numerous LOROS stores thoughout the region, with By Design, located on Market Street in Leicester. LOROS stores in general are beautifully presented, and By Design is a curated edit of things from the more premium end of the high street; Monsoon, Joules and they've even had a Vivienne Westwood dress in there so you can bag yourself a designer bargain if you're lucky! They also have an amazing appointment only bridal section, which we were given a tour of, and it was just as lovely (if not better as it's less snooty) as a traditional bridal boutique.
Everything is a arranged by size, which is brilliant, but one of the key rules about charity shopping is to ignore the label. I was initially a bit worried as I'm a petite size 8, but my eye was drawn more towards colours and fabrics, and with items like dresses and jumpers, you can be a little more flexible. Become a little more relaxed about sizing in charity shops has actually filtered into my brain when shopping on the high street. I've gotten into the habit of looking more at the physical size of the item, rather than trusting the number on the hanger.
The prices are slightly higher than your average charity shop, this is no £1 bargain bin, but this is of course reflected in the quality of the items. I'd much rather be making a more sizeable donation to the charity anyway. There is no better feeling than walking out of the store with a bag full to the brim of pieces you adore, as well as knowing that money is going to a brilliant cause.
The second piece was quite possibly the most perfect skirt, it fit like a dream and was originally from River Island. Finally I got a striped dress, originally from M&S that although is actually marketed as a beach cover-up, would be a great shirt dress. It is a size 16, so makes it slightly oversized, but it has a drawstring waist, giving it a cinched in look, and comes up as midi length on me, which is a length I've really grown to love in the last couple of months.
We had such a fun day, with us all coming out with some wonderful purchases! LOROS certainly didn't feel like the typical charity shop experience, rather was like a normal shop, with roomy fitting rooms and a lesser dent on the wallet. Charity shopping is just so fun. You have no idea what you're going to come out with! The day really surprised me and it's made me want to go all out and be all fashion blogger-y!
I haven't included any photos of my purchases as I'm thinking about doing some kind of haul on my YouTube channel at some point. I've well and truly got the charity shop-shopping bug: since drafting this post, I've actually been back to By Design, and again come out with some beautiful items that I can't wait to wear!
Charlotte is taking part in Frocktober this year, so she has LOROS-themed posts going up throughout October, it's a thrifter's dream! She is aiming to boost awareness of the charity, as well as raise £1000 in 1000 days via her Just Giving page. LOROS truly is a wonderfully deserving charity so please do donate if you can! Charlotte is also running a Frock Swap event in Leicester this Saturday (22th October), or you can find details of the official LOROS Frock Swap on 29th October
Have you ever been charity shopping?
Tell me about your favourite thrifted items!
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