I have always been a fan of charity shops and I have to say - some of the best outfits my kids have had the pleasure of wearing have been second hand, hand-me-downs and eBay bargains.
I have never shied away from hand-me-downs - even when I was having my first baby. When I was expecting Keira in 2006 I still had a full-time job, so popping into Monsoon or Zara on my lunch break and spending £30 on a cute dress didn't seem like a huge deal at the time - but I was also given bags of clothes from relatives, all still in great condition.
I saved all of Keira's baby clothes and all were re-worn by her little sister, but I also met a great circle of friends who passed down clothes from their own families.
Fin has pretty much lived off hand-me-downs - and all of them have been great quality, cute shirts from Zara and Next, coats, shoes - all very much appreciated.
Below are some of our old second-hand faves - many of which I have passed on or saved.
I also love eBay and have recently treated myself to some bargains in the form of smarter clothes, all of which would have been fairly expensive if bought new. Since I don't work in a big town anymore, I don't shop often, eBay is a great alternative, I know the style I like and just search through people's listings and see what takes my fancy. Below are three recent buys, as you can see I am a fan of embroidery, tassels and pom poms!
Through my eBay searching I've also discovered some brands that I hadn't heard of including the Dutch brand Mim Pi. My first bargain purchase was a denim jacket with knitted sleeves and pompoms for about £4. I then bid on the matching skirt, hat and scarf. The clothes are so colourful - a lady stopped us in the street and said we'd cheered up her day with our colourful clothes. I have saved the dress below, as I can't bare to part with it - maybe my kids will pass it on to their kids?
The girls are older now and have their own styles but I still go for second-hand where I can, we picked up dungarees in the charity shop last week.
Below is a young Keira in a hand-me-down Ted Baker dress.
I am currently watching a boho style tassel jacket on eBay - to be honest - I enjoy browsing and watching just as much as when I win a bid! I used to sell on bits to make a little bit of extra cash and will go through some of my old clothes soon - to be honest I found it to be quite hard, even though all my clothes were listed as worn, I had a few disputes with people over items, some had paid 99p and complained that things weren't soft enough, I ended up refunding that person her 99p and it probably cost her more than that to send the jumper back!
Are you second-hand shoppers?
