'I've saved £4,500 buying my wardrobe from charity shops'

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

For the charity shop enthusiasts among us, there’s no better feeling than bagging a quality piece for a fraction of its original price.

There are so many gems just waiting to be found among the racks of second-hand shops up and down the UK. And there’s one thrifty mum who believes she’s saved a whopping £4,500 just by buying her entire wardrobe from charity shops and Vinted. Try MEN Premium for FREE by clicking here for no ads, fun puzzles and brilliant new features. Victoria Abadi, 57, who lives in Hale, first started shopping at charity shops in 1989 when she spotted a vintage Biba suede waistcoat while studying at university.

The mum couldn’t believe she’d found such a stunning piece “for peanuts” and vowed to spend more time rummaging through charity shop shelves. "When I was living down in Bristol in my early 20s I was at uni as a student and I was skint,” psychotherapist Victoria told the Manchester Evening News. “It was a purple suede sleeveless hippy jacket and I absolutely loved it.

It just made me think, oh right, okay – I'm going to start looking.” With the discovery sparking a newfound passion, the mum continued to shop sustainably and now predicts around 95 per cent of her wardrobe consists of second-hand finds from visiting charity shops twice a week.