The unique charity shop Dress For Less, Isle of Wight

You may wonder what’s so special about the Dress For Less Charity shop in Newport, Isle of Wight. I don’t blame you for wondering. I used to think most charity shops are the same. Last month I popped in there for the first time with my bestie Izzy, while I was being filmed for a documentary that will be aired at some point next year.

What’s so special about Dress for Less?

Where does the profit go?

Well most if not all charity shops claim that most the money they profit from our donations go to a charitable activities. Unfortunately some charity shops take a huge chunk out to pay their chief executives according to This Is Money. Of course, I understand that charities can’t run completely free and that some money may need to go on electricity, fundraising and marketing costs. However Dress For Less run by a very lovely lady called Debbie is different, because ALL profits are gifted to the island based charity Sight for Wight! Sight for Wight is a charity that supports visually impaired islanders and their loved ones.  It’s lovely to see that this is all based locally.

Special pieces I have spotted

Another thing I found great about this particular charity shop is the fact it has so many lovely clothing items brand new with tags and lots of unique and interesting pieces with lots of detail, such beaded evening dresses and embroidered blouses.  While browsing the boutique, I have also spotted many popular upmarket brands such as Michael Kors, Monsoon and Karen Millen to name a few.

Since it’s also a dress agency, they have a large variety of high quality pre loved and new dresses for any occasion and age! If you have a special event coming up like a party, prom, wedding or a ball, but don’t want to spend a fortune on a dress that you would only wear for the one occasion, try popping in to see Debbie or one of the friendly volunteers to look for a dress to impress for a fraction of the original price, support Sight for Wight and be more eco-friendly at the same time.

The 50/50 selling service

Dress for less offers a service called 50/50, whereby designer & known branded clothing in excellent condition can be sold on your behalf for on a 50/50 basis. Therefore the donor receives 50% of the sold price and the other 50% goes to Sight for Wight Charity. If you wish you can also entirely donate any clothing , shoes, handbags and accessories that are in excellent condition. I love this idea, because it will encourage many islanders to be more environmentally friendly by recycling, reusing and reducing!

Since I have a few bridesmaid/ball gowns new with tags by well-known wedding dress designers, I am planning use the 50/50 service. If you would like to donate something, please do contact the boutique first as you can only donate by appointment during the corona virus pandemic.

Dress For Less location & opening times

114 St James Street

Newport

Isle of Wight, UK

PO30 5HB

Tuesday 10:00-16:00

Thursday 10:00-16:00

Friday 10:00-16:00

Saturday 10:00-16:00

Dress for Less can also be found through Facebook here.

If you are like this, you may also like the Drop & Swap Ryde also based on the Isle of Wight