Knickers Model’s Own - A Fantastic Charity Shop Challenge

After recently losing her beloved mum to breast cancer, charity shop fanatic, Caroline Jones, has pledged to raise money for Cancer Research UK by wearing nothing but charity shop clothes for the whole of 2015.

The challenge doesn’t end there, Caroline has decided that she’s going to rock a different charity shop outfit every single day, showing off each look on social media. She hopes that by doing so, she can prove just how great charity shop clothes are while raising money for Cancer Research UK.

Caroline’s Mum, Mary Benson, was 72 when she passed away a few months ago, and Caroline hopes that her year long adventure will help to remind herself of the fun times the two of them spent together, trying on outfits and sharing fashion tips.

Caroline has vowed that for the next year, the only clothing that she will buy new is her knickers, hence the name of her blog and Facebook page, Knickers Model’s Own.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, Caroline said: “Mum was a very stylish woman before and after her cancer. The fashion side of it really helped with keeping her spirits up.

‘The reason I started doing this is because I wanted something to focus on this year and I wanted to do something for Cancer Research.

“I also want to get people wearing charity shop clothes and get people away from this stigma that comes with wearing charity shop clothes.

“Obviously there is a massive gap in my life now and I want to fill it with something positive.”

I think what Caroline is doing is absolutely fantastic and I hope she’s successful in raising lots of money for Cancer Research, a charity that touches so many people’s lives. Caroline’s right, even though there are so many amazing bargains to be found in charity shops across the country, there’s still this little niggling in the back of many minds that suggests charity shop clothes are something to be ashamed of.

I talk about charity shops quite a lot on this blog and I’m even having a Second Hand Valentine’s Day! I think what I love most about pre-loved items is the idea that someone else owned them before me. I love the idea of wearing a dress that a girl wore on a first date in the sixties, or a handbag passed down between generations. Sure, you’ll never really know who owned the clothes before you, and the reality might be far from romantic and empowering, but it’s all about using your imagination. It’s about reusing something that was once special to someone, but could now end up in the bin if it wasn’t for second hand shops.

It’s perfectly possible to look gorgeous in charity shop clothes, just take Paloma in Disguise, for example, who I recently wrote about after discovering her fashion blog which predominantly shows her wearing stunning charity shop items.

If you know first hand just how beautiful charity shop clothes can be, please let me know. If you have any photos, send us a link. I’d love to hear from you!

And if you’d like to donate to Caroline’s cause, take a look at her Just Giving page. Alternatively, if you want a little more bang for your buck, you could pop into a charity shop and leave not only having donated to a worthy cause, but also with a brand new dress to wear this weekend.

Photo credits:

Black and white dress with belts

Caroline outfits courtesy of Knickers Model’s Own