for more information, please see the "North-South Brocki Tour" post in January 2016, or check out the CARITAS Secondhand website
"Expensive" CARITAS, in contrast to "cheap" CARITAS two doors down, is how I refer to this place. It's proper name is "CARITAS kleider, Birmensdorferstrasse 52".
This is one of my favourite places to shop for clothing in Zürich, the others being "cheap" CARITAS and Hardbrücke CARITAS in Bogen C of Viadukt.
This is the store with the nicest secondhand clothing in the city, so far as I have been able to establish. There's a really upscale designer boutique (read: full of snobby old women who look like Botox pincushions!) in Seefeld (Divinas, if I remember rightly) that has the really expensive stuff, but I can't afford anything in there (I looked. I wasn't necessarily welcome, but I looked around anyway!). I'm not one to buy something solely for the label, so I'm probably not their target customer even if I did have the cash to burn. Maybe if I was invited to a party in Cannes - then I might go looking for a Dior gown there. Maybe.
"Expensive" CARITAS isn't so high-end that it's a parody of itself (like that place in Seefeld is! I find it so funny that a company could take itself so seriously selling exclusively USED CLOTHING!), but it has the nicer stuff, the higher quality stuff, and quite a bit of designer stuff, too, without the attitude and collagen-injections. ;)
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| Note the prices on the mirror! I don't think I noticed this before today! :S |
I've seen customers here who seem to be the sort to frequent the snooty Seefeld boutique, too (also old and Botoxed-beyond-recognition!), but generally speaking 'expensive' CARITAS caters to a wide range of customers. Which means, you'll probably like it. :)
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| The cheap-stuff bins are in the expensive, designer-stuff section (go figure!). So make sure you do a proper sweep of the store! |
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| 3 proper change rooms. So nice! |
'Expensive' CARITAS really isn't expensive per se - it's just that I go there after I go to 'cheap' CARITAS (kleider netto), and everywhere seems teuer in comparison!
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| There were about 6 dresses I wanted today. But I was good and resisted temptation. ;) |
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| I took a photo partly for the blog but also partly to help me cope with the fact that I wasn't going to allow myself to buy any more dresses this month/season! Seriously tempting store for dresses! |
When I'm in the market for something I can wear to the office, or the opera, or to a wedding or interview or a night out, I head here. I've bought garments here that I've worn on an 'everyday casual' basis as well.
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| Shoes can be found all over the place, too - keep an eye out! Prices are on that mirror, high on the wall. Not the best spot for them, really! |
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| See, it says 15 Fr. for blouses, skirts, pants, men's shirts and pullovers, but that just isn't always the case here! Look for tags in all sections! |
I've already reviewed "expensive" CARITAS in a previous post, so if you want to make sure you've got all the dirt possible, read up!
Wanna see today's haul? Yeah, ya do! ;)
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| 15 Fr. (Kookai) - 'birds' and 'hunting' patterns were on my list for fall, after all! |
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| My "Don Cherry" shirt! 10 Fr. |
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| This was following the 2014 Fall trends - texture! :) Not real leather. 20 Fr. |
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| Another example of 'everyday' clothes from this CARITAS. Also in keeping with those fall 2014 trends (colour)! 10 Fr., as it was an untagged long-sleeve shirt. |
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| The necklace was 8 Fr., and the houndstooth scarf (gotta love houndstooth!) was 5 Fr. |
Here are the Pros, Cons and Strategies for how to get the most out of "expensive" CARITAS:
PROS:
- Three proper changing cubicles
- Lovely bright and airy store - a nice contrast to 'cheap' CARITAS!
- High turnover of garments
- Wide range of garments of varying qualities and pedigrees
- Men's wear as well as Women's wear
- Nice selection of bags, purses and even hats
- Large inventory of just about every type of garment
- Wide selection of dresses from formal to casual
- Great for 'business-casual' and garments for more formal occasions
- Staff are friendly and helpful and genuinely pleasant to interact with
- Dedicated area for footwear with a chair for trying on shoes
- Roomy and spacious, though there's a tight corner (see below)
CONS:
- "Middle"-quality items (something from the higher-end of H&M, or Mango, or Mexx, for example) tend to be much more expensive than they would be if they stayed at "Cheap" CARITAS (I suspect the donations come in at "cheap" CARITAS and the nicest pieces are shuttled here). You can find the same H&M pleated silk tank top at both places, and it costs much more here
- Shoes can be over-priced. For example, a pair of designer shoes that are scuffed and worn to the point of being nearly unwearable could cost 40 Fr. (I saw a pair of shoes I liked today for 45 Fr. that weren't in good condition.. I checked to see if it was a designer name, but I didn't think that it was!). Be careful with shoes here - you might be better off with new shoes entirely
- Not everything is tagged. Prices are listed on the mirrors near the ceiling (which I didn't notice at all until just today! Not so visible!), and sometimes the categorization of your garment into these price categories doesn't go in your favour. And sometimes things are misfiled, so check to see if your shirt has a 15 Fr. price tag, despite it being in with the untagged garments (this happened to me this morning, but I was still happy with that price).
- Limit of 3 items in the change room at once
- No shopping baskets
- Closes at 13:00 for an hour (reopens at 14:00), and like all other CARITAS shops it's closed on Mondays
- Dresses (great selection) are scattered about in at least 3 different locations (see the other post I did) for some unknown reason, with no real rhyme or reason to what goes where
- Roomy and spacious everywhere but the most-frequented racks, which are the cheaper women's tops at the far end of the store. Why they gave the nearly deserted menswear section all that room is beyond imagination!
- Tank tops and other 'stringy' summery clothes are not with the other tops but are by the windows, and there's another 'summery' section with bathing suits and skimpy stuff that's behind the 'half wall' next to the change rooms (where the lingerie is, and weirdly, some towels). I don't understand what the thought process was in splitting these two sections up and putting them so far away from each other (check every rack at every store and these sorts of things aren't a problem!)
STRATEGIES:
- Go to "cheap" CARITAS at opening, then come here if you're not looking for anything specific - the best steals are to be had at "cheap" CARITAS first thing in the morning
- Go straight here at opening if you're in the market for work wear, suiting, or anything fancier than 'casual'!
- Check all the sections - upscale/designer is to the left as you enter (on all three sides of the store, next to the cash desk), and prices vary quite widely here (some are still very affordable!). Hats are on the wall amongst the men's wear, but are almost all ladies' hats (check every section! Thrifting mantra!)
- The mates for the unpaired shoes displayed outside on the windowsills are kept at the cash desk - just bring in the shoe and ask for the other
- There is LOTS and LOTS of room to stand aside somewhere in the store and try things on quickly over top of your 'thrifting uniform' (see Thrifting Tips) if the change rooms are full, or if you have more than 3 items (change room max. is 3 items, unfortunately)
- There can be a 'cheap' or 'sale' bin near the cash desk, so make sure you go to the 'expensive, designer section' even if you're looking for the cheapest items in the store! The 2 Fr. belt bin was around the far side of the desk by a glass display case - I wouldn't have seen it if I hadn't been scouring the 'designer' racks diligently!
That's it from me - all the best on your trip to 'expensive' CARITAS! Remember that 'expensive' is really just a relative term! ;)
TiZ
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