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We visited Cardiff’s charity shops and these are the outfits we found

Bargains, bargains and more bargains


Living on a student budget means that a lot of us just can’t afford to go shopping. After we’ve paid rent, WiFi and food, there’s barely enough money left to buy one sleeve of a t-shirt in Topshop, never mind the whole thing.

Thankfully, Albany Road in Cathays is littered with charity shops full of gems for next to nothing. We went shopping in these shops to show the range of outfits you can put together, and still have money left for a VK at Yolo on Wednesday.

Lecture Outfit

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Let’s face it, the lecture outfit – or skipping lectures outfit – is what we all wear most at uni. It usually consists of jeans and a t shirt and is basically as comfortable as possible whilst still looking acceptable to the outside world. The stores we visited had some great options like this super cute jumper, found in the Tenovus shop for only £3.99!

Club Outfit

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Saturday night and you’ve got nothing to wear out? Not a problem, we found this fab club dress for less than a fiver.

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Or if you wanted to be a little fancier, go for something like this never worn Mint Velvet dress for just £22.99, again found in the Tenovus store.

Work Outfit

We all know the pain of not being able to make your student loan stretch until Christmas and having to dish out your CV all over the St David’s Shopping Centre. We hope and pray for an interview to come in and then have a meltdown about what to wear when they do. Well we found some amazing interview outfits which will make you look totally professional – even if you’re not.

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A steal at £5.49!

Brunch Outfit

Whether it's sunny side up or eggs over easy, this brunch inspired outfit will leave you feeling eggcellent (please don’t hate us).

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And perfect for these colder months!

This dress is perfect for a brunch date with the girls and was only £6.49 – you can’t go wrong!

Date Outfit

If you’re lucky enough to bag a date whilst at uni, these stores have got you covered. We found a ton of cute date dresses which would work great for dinner, drinks or even a cinema trip.

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This gorgeous checked dress was found in the RSPCA shop and cost just £5! Jazz it up with a pair of boots and some jewellery and you’re all set. Let’s just hope there’s a second date on the cards, because this store had loads of other amazing options to choose from, at really affordable prices.

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This gem was also hiding in the RSPCA store and would be absolutely perfect for date night. Only £5.99!

Shoes

We're yet to find a student with spare money for shoes. For most of us buying new trainers is a weakness, and we buy them knowing full well we’ll have to live off baked beans for the next three weeks as a result.

Well with the help of charity shopping, our days of beans on toast for every meal are no more! The British Heart Foundation store had so many pairs, like pink and orange Vans for just £3.99 each!

Coats

Living in Cardiff, you can’t survive without a decent coat; it's cold, it's damp and sometimes you have to rock up to lectures looking like a drowned rat. Well, we found loads of great coats and jackets in the British Heart Foundation store to keep you warm and cosy all winter – and basically all year round in Cardiff weather.

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How about this fab pink duster to keep you toasty?

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Or this adorable checked duffel coat for just £11.99?

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Need something a little lighter? We fell in love with this leather jacket for only £8.99!

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We even found a teddy bear coat for £20.

Ballgown

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This was definitely the highlight of our trip. Society balls come around about once a year and cause mass panic as we scramble to find something to wear that won’t cripple us financially. We managed to find this gorgeous, full length evening gown for just £9.99!

So, next time you feel the pull to go shopping, and find yourself mindlessly heading into town, why not turn around and give charity shopping a try? It’s eco-friendly, affordable and all the proceeds go to charity, so everybody wins! You never know, you might find a date outfit, a ballgown, or even your perfect pair of jeans like me.

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These were just £2.99!

Happy Shopping!