I've been asked a number of times 'where are the best charity and thrift shops in London?', all I say is avoid the majority of zone's 1 and 2, as they're no different from Topshop & H&M most of the time, and head to the more unassuming areas, rather than 'trendy' areas where all the good items are snapped up within seconds. Charity shopping isn't about buying something just because it's cheap, it's the fun of finding something with potential, that no-one else will have, and displaying your creativity without the need for labels and obscene gestures of wealth.

My 6 Favourite-

Harrow- PDSA, Scope, Salvation Army
Morden- Scope, Relate, Oxfam
Wimbledon- British Heart Foundation, Scope, Cancer Research
Archway- Marie Curie, Relief Fund, Mind
Balham- British Heart Foundation
Clapham North- Save The Children, PawS, Age Concern.

Philip Lim is the master of chic, cute shift dresses. He uses simple designs and clever shapes to bring classic items to a younger generation. A younger generation who has the hundreds of pounds it costs to buy one of his lovely dresses....

This is actually Primark, retailing at £10 originally, but I bought it for £4 in Relate in Morden. The grey shift is similar to Philip Lim's design, but the paint-style detailing echos Miu Miu and the Prada fairy-paintings from a few seasons ago. It has less structure than the Lim design, giving it a more off-duty feel.

I love this girls outfit so much i'm going to nick it. Her ray-bans, white plimsoles, candy stripe dress and denim bomber give her a rockabilly style which she pulls off with such conviction it's clear she didn't just head to Oxford Street and copy the mannequins.

I picked up this for just £1 in East Ham. Denim Jackets are a pound a penny, but try a few on before buying, avoid stretch-denim and anything too tight. and only wear bleached denim if you like Bros.

An awkward colour to pull off, depending on your complextion, but these ladies manage it quite well. Every so often we're told yellow is the 'in' colour, but for those who arent told what to wear and given things for free, it can be a canary-coloured minefield.

This girl has clashed yellow, pink, and orange (hair) and somehow pulls it off completely. in block colour with black tights and heels she looks creative in a 'I know my colours' way, rather than a 'i rolled in some paint' way.

Can rely on Paris to grab a trend and run with it all the way to the paparazzi. Although credit where it's due, wether it was intentional or not her matching yellow with orange works very well.

Which brings me to one of my favourite vintage items ever. I didn't actually buy this, It was handed down to me from my sister, who bought it from a Northern (don't ask where...) vintage store for £20. I've never seen another purse like it, it holds so much, and has cute black button and gold clasp detailing, complimenting the orange colour. Better than Topshop anyday!

Like Alison Mosshart and Kate Moss above, every girl needs a vintage band t-shirt. purchasing one from a high street or designer store completely misses the point of wearing a battered old worn-in shirt. Buy from H&M, Topshop, or Marc Jacobs for between £10 and £200.

Or, take but a few minutes to shift through a thrift store and find any number of tacky-but-cool old tshirts. In my time i've seen shirts for Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Neil Young and Blondie, but the above was my favourite. A classic baseball 3/4 sleeve shirt with the Meat Loaf bat design. Bad taste in an ironic/funny way. and a snip at £2.50.

To get yourself a touch of Parisian art-school chic, you only need a stripey Bardot style jumper and brown leather satchell. Both are available all over the high street and through designers, but they are also two of the most-found items in thrift stores. The jumper below was bought for £3, and the satchell £2.50.

The Chanel 2.55 (made Feb 1955) is the mother of all handbags. It goes with everything, will last forever, and is the ultimate status symbol. A rare thing, a true design of effortless STYLE rather than 'it' bag FASHION. effortless if you can afford the £1,200 price tag. However, the highstreet has recently (don't know why it's taken them so long...) put out some decent copies.

Topshop, Mango, Zara and Miss Selfridge are doing good replicas for around £40, however a few years ago I managed to pick up the above handbag for £2.70, it may be lacking the flap-over top, but it still has the chain detail and black quilting, so i'm happy.

quilted handbags are no longer considered only for Ladies Who Lunch, they can add a touch of sophistication to an off-duty outfit (below), or pull together a chic european ensemble (above).

Henry Holland's 'House Of Holland' S/S 09 show was inspired by 90s fashion and gaudy polka dots and florals. Prepare to see polka dots everywhere this summer, in the same way stars were everywhere last year. The top below was previously a dress, purchased summer 07' from a Northampton charity shop for £2.75.

An electro-inspired 80s twist on polka dots is this white and blue V-neck batwing top. Again, previously was a dress, but I shrank and decided it looked better as a top worn with a body-con black mini. One of my more expencive eBay purchases, at £14.

The classic Fred Perry cardigan, retailing at around £75, can be worn with many different outfits and always brings a British edge, beloved by indie boys and girls nationwide. For £4 I picked up the below cardigan in Scope in Moden, although without the Fred Perry crest, the navy and white cardigan still looks smart. you can buy badges with the Laurel emblam off eBay for less than a pound, simply fix to the front and hope no-one notices...

The above image was from Luella's S/S 08 collection, inspired by superheroes, geeks and nerds. I loved it. Her ditsy floral designs were copied all over the highstreet, main offender being Topshop where their skirts, shorts and dresses in the pattern retailed for around £40. The blouse below I got off eBay for 50p, with P&P around £1.50.

I was, and still am, completely obsessed with Luella's boots (catwalk pic, girl on the left) the sad reality is i don't have £600 to spend on boots, and I cant walk in anything higher than 3 1/2 inches. When i discovered the boots, below, on eBay I almost had a heart attack. In reality they look alot cleaner (damn camera) but have the lace-up studded detail and gothic-geek style of Luella which i love. and at a heel of 2 1/2 inches i can actually walk in them. After some fierce bidding I won them for £9, £4 P&P.

The above dress, a silk and leather sleeveless scalloped confection, is a jaw-dropping £2,700. yes, really. For a more human budget, try the New Look lookalike. a bright burnt orange shift dress with cute scalloping round the pockets, neckline and down the buttons. It's not an exact replica but it's alot more wearable and alot less money!

and for shoes...

Luella always designs the most gorgeous dresses, shoes and jackets, and for S/S 09 her mary-jane heels in candy colours are top of many girls wish-list. New Look has come up trumps with these replicas, a brighter pink and deeper purple, the £35 heels still have the love heart toes and strap detail.

90210 actress Shanae Grimes wears a tailored black blazer, with sleeves rolled up to display a leopard print lining. I bought the jacket below from a Morden charity shop for £4.50 and cut the sleeves at a 3/4 length, adding a strip of leopard print material to give the illustion of rolled up sleeves.

Contrasted with leggins and an edgy hairstyle, an old gentlemans jacket can give your outfit an unexpected twist. Burberry are the masters of thick coats, but if you don't have a grand to spare i'd recommend looking in any charity shop, there are literally rails and rails of old jackets. The one below was from PDSA, i removed the shoulder pads and raunched the material to give it a more feminine shape, and rolled up the sleeves for a contemporary edge.
it cost me a mere £1.

Below is A/W 09 D&G, silk pajama style jacket. Expected to retail for around £800, I bought the above jacket as part of a twin-set secretary suit. Dark purple with white polka dots, very similar to the D&G jacket. for a jacket and skirt i bought mine for £10, Shock & Soul in Islington.

The famous American Apparel 'Melangé' skirt, as worn by Alexa Chung and countless other 'it' girls. Retails at £25. I hand-sewn the skirt below using material bought off eBay for £2, £1.90 P&P. Very simple design, near impossible to tell the difference!