The Oxfam Curiosity Shop… another curios to add to le blog! Having read about it online, and being the charity shop lover that I am, I HAD to visit it, even though I’ve had a busy busy week! And I certainly wasn’t let down by its wonders!
I stepped through the doorway and fell down the rabbit hole into my very own wonderland. There were gorgeous good quality second-hand clothes all around!
Apart from the range of vintage clothing, I loved the curios set up. The inclusion of comics, records, patterns, board games and homeware really gave the pop up store it’s own personality.
The only hint of it being in Selfridges was the impeccable sales staff who let me put about fourteen items aside to try on later (my arm was hurting!) whilst I shopped around for a little longer!
It was at this point I discovered the celebrity donations store:
In here were all kind of goodies pre-loved by celebrities such as Annie Lennox, Kate Moss, Scarlett Johansson and Dannii Minogue. My favourite was Colin Firth’s aviator jacket, priced at £950, I couldn’t afford to buy it for my boyfriend, so made do with sniffing it thoroughly and I can tell you Mr Firth smells just as good as he looks!
A more reasonable purchase were French Sole pumps donated by Natalie Imbruglia (£75):
They were so unbelievably cute, looked new and cheaper than French Sole, but sadly were a little bit tight for me.
Moving onto greener pastures I eyed up a peach jacket (and I’m actually in need of a Summer jacket!). It turned out it was MULBERRY and pre-loved by stylista Alexa Chung!
However, I couldn’t justify purchasing it seeing as I’m meant to be saving for travels… so I quickly put it back on the hanger and tried on these more affordable numbers instead:
The two jackets were £20 each (LOVED them both), the floral dress was £25 (bought it as I convinced myself I need summer work wear!) and the striped dress was reduced to £30 from £40 (decided I wasn’t statuesque enough to pull it off…). All quite reasonable for proper vintage pieces.
I fell in love with the silver 80’s jacket, particularly fabric and tailoring from behind and just had to have it!
I also found a jacket more suited to everyday wear (£45), which I justified buying with the pound per wear rule.
I’ve already worn it three times so think I’m well on track! I also bought a lovely pink and purple silk scarf for £15 which I shall have to take some photos of.
So for £105, I bagged myself 2 jackets, a dress and scarf. A little pricey compared to average charity shop, but MUCH cheaper than buying stuff new!
I happened to be there when A Girl, A Style and Liberty London Girl were styling up some models. I think they definitely did the best job out of the lot.
I didn’t realise the styling sessions were on or I totally would’ve got involved!
It was such a fabulous second-hand shopping experience, and nice to know that the money raised was going to such a good cause. I was really impressed with all the celebrity involvement, as well as the brilliant location. It’s in its second year now, and I was so happy to be told it’s definitely going to be a regular event. So if you didn’t make it down this year, don’t worry, just keep an eye out for the next Curiosity Shop!
Tags: Charity Shopping, Colin Firth, Mulberry, Second-hand, Selfridges, The Oxfam Curiosity Shop, vintage
Top Row (L-R) River Island Snake Print Shopper (£45), Mango Knot Handle Shopper (£30) and ASOS Suede And Leather Pocket Shopper (£85)
LDN shopaholic 