Designer gear does not have to come at a steep price, that is according to a glamorous mum. Ann Khoshaba has perfected the art of acquiring a designer wardrobe without resorting to high-end shops and a depleted credit card.
Instead, her ‘designer stores’ of choice are charity shops and she claims she's managed to nab herself an entire wardrobe of designer items, from labels such as Prada, Hermes, Chanel and Gucci, at bargain prices.
The 55-year-old says in the last 10 years she's forked out around £15,000 on similar labels from second hand stores, with each item costing anywhere from £20 to £200 second-hand.
The mum-of-three says if she had bought her exclusive wardrobe of clothes new, it would be worth 20 times what it is now.
Ann has more designer labels than a London catwalk could parade, among them collection of Chanel bags, Valentino dresses, Louboutin heels and Hermes scarves.
Her winter wardrobe is up and running – thanks to her charity shop buys - and it is of course stylish but nothing like as expensive had it been bought in a high-end store. One of her winter coats this year will be a oh so stylish Prada coat, for which she parted with £150.
The list of labels continue, with a Vivienne Westwood scarf and more bags this time by Gucci, and Miu Miu. Among her other bargains are an orange Valentino dress for £75, a Cartier desk clock worth over £3,000 for £100.
Ann knows what she is looking for and has trained her eye for that designer item among the racks of clothes in charity shops. She said: "Some charity shops I walk into and think, ‘Is this a charity shop or a boutique?’ Some are amazing and all the items they have are in mint condition."
The excitement of finding a designer item with an affordable price ticket is still there. "I get a thrill when I walk into charity shops - I get a buzz that I don’t get when I’m going into a boutique or normal shop. It’s all about sustainable fashion for me."
Stylish Ann’s initial foray into charity shops 10 years ago was not to hunt for high-end items. Instead, she was searching for vinyl for her cafe in Chiswick, west London.
But all that changed when she chanced upon a near-perfect pair of Chanel heels in a charity shop.
She fell in love with the shoes and but they also acted as the catalyst for her search for other designer pieces since, and it doesn’t show any sign of slowing down. Today she dedicates most of her spare time on her charity shop quest for more designer bargains.
For anyone else inspired to follow her lead, Ann advises perseverance and patience. Designer items are out there, you just have to dig a little deeper, and sometimes travel a little bit further she says.
On a holiday to the Cotswolds recently, Ann found a nearly-new pair of Christian Louboutins in their original box for just £25. Their retail price would have been in their hundreds if not thousands.
In a bid to promote sustainable clothes shopping and to bag yourself a designer bargain, Ann is waving the flag for charity shops and second hand stores and is urging people to use them more.
She started a Tik Tok account to show off her bargain finds to inspire others to go searching. Posting under the handle @ilovemylondon, her videos have attracted 2.4 million likes.
Ann could definitely be onto something. The waste charity Clothing Aid estimates 350,000 tonnes of clothes end up in UK landfill every year, which equates to around £140 million worth of used but still wearable clothes.
Do you have a story to share? We want to hear all about it. Email us at yourmirror@mirror.co.uk
