The Charity Shop Challenge

Your overdraft is threatening to eat you up and your loan has long since been kindly donated to Manchester’s neediest clubs, bars and chicken shops. A bit like central heating and booze that isn’t own brand, new threads seem but a distant dream. However, I’ll let you in on a little secret that only the savviest of shoppers know. Clothes that are as cheap as chips and indeed chicken strips are sitting waiting for a kindly second owner to give them a loving home. Look no further than your local high street charity shops.

Last week’s issue gave you our guide to all things shopping in Manchester, singing the praises of the city’s well-stocked charity shops. So this week we’ve put our money where our mouth is, scouring the second hand stores of Fallowfield, Withington and Didsbury to find an amazing outfit for under a tenner:

Entirely sourced from Mind, Cancer Research and Oxfam, not only would this outfit look at home on a rail in Topshop, it’s also a little how to guide to wearing those fancy dress purchases in real life (yes, I did wear that skirt to Pangaea). Bought for only £3, this A-line gem is the perfect way to get your claws into this season’s trend for all things leopard. Teamed with a sleek black polo neck £2, you can keep the northern chill at bay in sweet 60s style.

Key to any showstopping look is of course accessories and this black faux leather satchel (£5) takes this outfit from cheap to chic, with plenty of space to stash your stuff.

Outfit = £10

That smug look on your face when your friends ask you where you got that corker of an ensemble and you respond “What, this? Oh just a little something I picked up down the chazza shop.” = Priceless.

Style points = 1000000