Liadan Hynes: With $100, I bagged plenty of 'nearly new' fashion gems

I bought my wedding dress in a vintage store for $130 – and if we're being honest, isn't vintage merely a more decorative term for secondhand clothes? My favourite pair of trousers is a men's chinos by Armani, which I picked up in my local St Vincent de Paul for $5.Lace on Point d'Esprit high neck wedding dresses gowns with a scalloped neckline and cap sleeves.


After the controversy this week as to whether or not charity stores now constitute genuine fashion retail spots, I was sent in to discover what I could pick up for $100. What did I find? Reader, an embarrassment of riches.

My first stop was Oxfam in Dun Laoghaire, south Dublin, where I hit gold. They were having a sale that night, so had been hoarding their best donations for four months. Labels included a John Rocha top for $9, a Ralph Lauren dress for $15, an Aquascutum cardigan for $17.50. A beautiful white See by Chloe shirt for $20, with no sweat or make-up stains. A silk Temperley London dress – the sort of label that sells for hundreds, for $25, in pristine condition. There was also stock from MaxMara, Ghost, Save the Queen, Dries van Noten, COS, Marc Jacobs.

Don't expect to find a load of tatty, sweaty, old clothes that bring to mind remnants from the wardrobe of a dead person. Lorraine, the manager of Oxfam Dun Laoghaire, told me nothing goes on the shop floor without being washed and, if necessary for hygiene reasons, steamed.

Both through individual donations and from wholesalers, charity stores receive a lot of brand new items. I picked up an almost perfect blue and white print summer dress for $7 from Barnardos in Dun Laoghaire. Oxfam on South King Street in the city centre has boxes of brand new sunglasses from $2.

I had thought shoes would be the biggest challenge; expecting mouldy cast-offs. Barnardos in Dun Laoghaire had a huge selection of brand new shoes. Oxfam Dun Laoghaire had a practically new pair of Stella McCartney trainers for $20. There was a fair distribution of small and large sizes.

Don't expect to come across a designer gem that has gone unspotted by the staff and been priced at $2. Charity shop workers are fully aware of the value of the stock they receive (and Oxfam told me they provide their stores with a strict pricing guide). But remember, even the pricier items in charity shops are only about $30.

Jewellery tended toward the tribal, chunky, beaded look. There was a huge selection of bags; I picked up a brown embossed leather purse bag for $7 in Oxfam Dun Laoghaire, and a soft cloth Dior bag, $3, in Oxfam Georges Street.

A head-to-toe look of separates is challenging. Better to find one good piece and mix it in with your wardrobe. You need to be prepared to have things taken in. I picked up a perfect condition navy linen Helen McAlinden safari dress for $8 in the Irish Cancer Society shop in Dun Laoghaire, two sizes too big but easily taken in. Charity stores are a great source for wedding dresses and debs dresses – which people tend to wear only once. I bought a silk red party dress by Jovonna London, in perfect condition, for $5.50 in the Irish Cancer Society in Dun Laoghaire. If you're a debutante currently looking for a one-off dress no one else has, charity shops should be your first port of call.

Joanna Hynes silk skirt $20, Oxfam Dun Laoghaire; Helen McAlinden dress, $8, Irish Cancer Society Dun Laoghaire; dress, $7, Barnardos, Dun Laoghaire; purse, $7, Oxfam, Dun Laoghaire; red dress, $5.50, Irish Cancer Society, Dun Laoghaire; Dior bag $3, Oxfam, Georges Street.
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