If you want to avoid giving all your money to large clothes retailers with questionable ethics, or you simply want a more eclectic shopping experience (or wardrobe!) then head away from Oxford's big shopping centres and check out some of these smaller, independent clothes stores.
This doesn't have to be an expensive move - though if it's black tie and ballgowns, or top hats and corsets you're after, some of these shops will certainly help you empty your wallet!
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Vintage Shops
The Ballroom
5 & 6 The Plain, OX4 1AS. Map. Tel 01865 202303 / 241054
Open Mon - Thu 10am - 5.30pm, Fri 9.30am - 5.30pm and Sat 9.15am - 5.45pm
Fabulous formalwear for hire and to buy. Mixture of vintage (some reasonably cheap), from 1930s onwards, and contemporary. Ball gowns, top hats, black and white tie, kid gloves, blankets, shoes, belts, jewellery...all squashed into a glass-fronted, two floor palace at the start of Cowley Road. Large wedding dress selection and fitting room. Knowledgeable staff to help with fittings. They will buy and sell on commission for you.
Unicorn
Ship Street, off Cornmarket. No phone.
Open Mon - Sat 10am - 5.30pm
Treasure trove of almost everything and then some, all piled precariously together. Beloved by student drama productions, people with time on their hands and fans of Mr Ben.
Reign Vintage
No longer a physical outlet on Cowley Road, Reign is now online only.
Eclectic assortment of vintage clothing (mainly 60s-80s), gloves, shoes, hats, jewellery, coats and other accessories. New stock in regularly. Both genders catered for. They do not buy.
The Retro Room
60 St Clements St, Oxford, OX4 1AH. Map. Tel 01865 251005
Open Mon - Sat 10:30am - 5:30pm
Boutique that stocks a good assortment of quality second hand clothes and shoes, including designer and vintage items not too worn and reasonably priced. They will buy certain 'this season' or remarkable items for sale on commission.
Antiques on High
85 High Street, Oxford, OX1 4BG. Map. Tel 01865 251075
Mon - Sat 10am - 5pm, Sun 11am - 5pm
Vintage clothes, costume jewellery, bags, accessories and even vintage Japanese kimonos (!) stocked.
Charity Shops (and what they work for)
City Centre - West Oxford - Jericho - North Oxford - East Oxford - Cowley - Headington - Eynsham
City Centre
British Heart Foundation
32 St Ebbes St, OX1 1PU. Map. Tel 01865 726531
0870 120 4141 - National number
Open Mon - Sat 10am - 5.30pm, Sun 11am - 5pm
Fund research, prevention, support, care and information for people with heart disease and their families.
Oxfam (online)
17 Broad St, OX1 3AS. Map. Tel 01865 241333
Open Mon - Sat 9.30am - 5.30pm, Sun 11am - 4pm
The very first Oxfam shop, opened in 1948, still going strong.
Oxfam Bookshops
56 St. Giles, OX1 3LU. Map. Tel 01865 310145
Open Mon - Sat 9.30am - 5.30pm (Thurs open till 7.30pm), Sun 11am - 4.30pm
and
15 Turl Street, OX1 3DQ. Map. Tel 01865 248310
Open Mon - Sat 10am - 5.30pm, Sun 12 - 4pm
Good selection of fiction, non-fiction and academic. Some rare and antiquary.
West Oxford / Botley
Sobell House Hospice Shop
21 The Square, Botley, OX2 9LJ. Map. Tel 01865 251204
Open Mon - Sat 9am - 4.30pm
Fund care for people in Oxfordshire with life-limiting illnesses, and support for their families.
Sue Ryder Care
5b or 27 Chapel Way, Botley, OX2 9LS. Map. Tel 01865 204986
Open Mon - Sat 9.30am - 5.30pm
Support people with a wide range of neurological diseases and life-limiting illnesses, as well as their families, carers and friends both in this country and abroad.
Jericho
The Mind Shop
118 Walton St (opposite The Phoenix), OX2 6AJ. Map. Tel 01865 310990
Open Mon - Sat 10am - 5.30pm
Work to create a better life for everyone with experience of mental distress.
Sobell House Hospice Shop
4 Dartington House, Little Clarendon Street, OX1 2HP. Map. Tel 01865 559927
Open Mon - Sat 10am - 4.30pm
Fund care for people in Oxfordshire with life-limiting illnesses, and support for their families.
North Oxford
The Helen and Douglas House Shop
268 Banbury Road, Summertown, OX2 7DY. Map. Tel 01865 515383
Open Mon - Sat 9.30am - 5pm
In aid of respite care / hospice for children and young adults.
Oxfam (online)
223 Banbury Road, OX2 7HQ. Map. Tel 01865 511018
Open Mon - Sat 9am - 5.30pm, Sun 11am - 3pm
Donated clothes, books, homeware and acessories. Wide range of stationery, greeting cards and Fairtrade food.
Scope
Mayfield House, 256 Banbury Road, OX2 7DE. Map. Tel 01865 554770
Open Mon - Sat 9 - 5
Support and campaign for disabled people to achieve equality, with special focus on people with cerebral palsy. Second-hand clothes, shoes, accessories, homeware, bric-a-brac, books, CDs, DVDs, games, musical instruments, sports equipment and collectibles.
East Oxford / Cowley Rd / St Clements
Age UK
21-22 St. Clements Street, OX4 1AB. Map. Tel 01865 722898
Open Mon - Sat 10am - 5.30pm, Sun 11am - 5pm. May be open later - try the door!
Promote the well-being of all older people and to help make later life a fulfilling and enjoyable experience.
Age UK, Cowley Road
183 Cowley Road, OX4 1UT. Map. Tel 01865 251539
Mon - Sat 9.30am - 6pm, Sun 11am - 5pm
After iterations as a bookshop/internet cafe and "retro emporium", this Age UK branch is now closer to a standard charity shop. Large clothing collection, plus homeware, books and dvds.
Barnados
160 Cowley Road, OX4 1UE. Map. Tel 01865 204593
Open Mon - Sat 9.30am - 6pm, Sun 10am - 4pm
Used to run orphanages, now campaign and work to protect children and young people from poverty, abuse and discrimination.
The Helen and Douglas House Shop
156 Cowley Road, OX4 1UE. Map. Tel 01865 249988
Open Mon - Sat 9.30am - 5pm
In aid of respite care / hospice for children and young adults.
The Helen and Douglas House Shop, Rose Hill
74 Rose Hill, OX4 4HS. Map. Tel 01865 774729
Open Mon - Sat 9.30am - 5pm
In aid of respite care / hospice for children and young adults.
Oxfam Shop (online)
133-135 Cowley Road, OX4 1HU. Map. Tel 01865 722951
Open Mon - Sat 9.30am - 5.30pm, Sun 11.30am - 4pm
Men and women's clothing, wide range of music, dvds and books. Fairtrade chocolate and Oxfam greeting cards.
Cowley
Oxfam Superstore
6500 Alec Issigonis Way, Oxford Business Park North, Oxford, OX4 2JZ. Map. Tel 01865 396322
Open Tuesday and Saturday - 9.30am to 5.30pm; Thursday - 9.30am to 7.30pm; Sunday - 10.30am to 4.30pm
Oxfam's first ever superstore: a cavernous warehouse lined high with secondhand clothes, books, brick-a-brack, sports equipment, toys, furniture and electricals, plus the Sourced by Oxfam range.
Age UK
45 Upper Barr, Templars Square Shopping Centre, OX4 3UX. Map. Tel 01865 771517
Open Mon - Sat 9am- 5pm
Promote the well-being of all older people and to help make later life a fulfilling and enjoyable experience.
British Heart Foundation
117 Pound Way, Templars Square Shopping Centre, OX4 3XH. Map. Tel 01865 396134
Open Mon - Sat 9.30am - 5pm, Sun 10am - 4pm
New and second-hand items: books, music, clothes, shoes, homeware and cards.
Emmaus
242 Barns Road, Oxford OX4 3RQ. Map. Tel 01865 763698
Open Mon - Sat 9.30am - 5pm, Sun 10am - 4pm
Hugely useful store selling mainly furniture, plus clothes and other bric-a-brac. Emmaus offers a place to live to homeless or vulnerable people, and teaches residents how to recycle, refurbish and rebuild furniture. Sells a mix of donated and self-constructed items.
Shaw Trust
115 Pound Way, Templars Square Shopping Centre, OX4 3XH. Map. 01865 714885
Shaw Trust supports people with disabilities and disadvantages into employment and independence.
Headington
The densest cluster of charity shops in the city are located on London Road. They are all within walking distance of each other, and you could do a lot worse than spending a morning crawling through all of them.
British Heart Foundation
94a London Road, Headington, OX3 9AJ. Map. Tel 01865 308907
Open Mon - Sat 9.30am - 5pm, Sun 10am - 4pm
Good-sized branch of the BHF's charity shops, just around the corner from the Headington Shark.
Cancer Research UK
79-81 London Road. Map. Tel 01865 761029
Open Mon - Sat 9am - 5.30pm, Sun 10am - 4pm
and
114 London Road OX3 9AX. Map. Tel 01865 768199
Open Mon - Sat 9am - 5.30pm, Sun 10am - 4pm
The larger branch at 79-81 has adults' and children's clothing, books, and furniture, while the smaller branch at 114 sells adults' clothing and books, and media (DVD's etc).
CLIC Sargent
108–110 London Road, OX3 9AW. Map. Tel 01865 744402
Open Mon 10am - 4.30pm, Tue - Sat 9am - 4.30pm
Provide individual support to children and young people with cancer and leukaemia and their families, through practical (clinical, emotional, psychological, social and financial) support, campaigning and research.
The Helen and Douglas House Shop
14 Windmill Road, Headington, OX3 7BX. Map. Tel 01865 762555
Open Mon - Sat 9.30am - 5pm
In aid of respite care / hospice for children and young adults.
Marie Curie Cancer Care
108–110 London Road, Headington, OX3 9AW. Map. Tel 01865 308158
Open Mon - Sat 9am - 4.30pm, Sun 10am - 4pm
Marie Curie Nurses provide free nursing care to cancer patients and those with other terminal illnesses in their own homes, and provide practical and emotional support for families and carers.
Oxfam Shop (online)
83-84 London Road, Headington, OX3 9AA. Map. Tel 01865 742452
Open Mon - Fri 9am - 5.30pm, Sat 9am - 4pm, Sun 10am - 3pm (but allow leeway as it depends on volunteers)
Oxfam are dedicated to fighting for an end to poverty and suffering worldwide, by campaigning, development work and emergency relief.
Sobell House Hospice Shop
119 London Rd, Headington, OX3 9HZ. Map. Tel 01865 764400
Open Mon - Sat 9.30am - 5pm
Fund care for people in Oxfordshire with life-limiting illnesses, and support for their families. This branch only sells clothes at £2 per item, shoes and handbags as well as children's clothes at 4 items for £2.
Eynsham
West Oxford Animal Rescue Centre
35 Newland Street, Eynsham, OX29 4LB. Map. Tel 01865 236166
Open Mon - Sat 10am - 4pm
Outside the city limits, but founded and run by people in Oxford, the Eynsham WOAR charity shop has been selling clothes, books, toys and games, china, jewellery etc since June 2010. All proceeds go to animal welfare. Registered charity no. 1045203. Volunteers and contributions welcome. (Emergency Animal Rescue Tel: 07840 334217).
Fairtrade
Indigo
Indigo is currently online, with occasional popups.
Indigo is Oxford's only ethical clothing shop, hosting a wide range of men's & women's clothing, baby wear and accessories, as well as gifts, homeware and jewellery. Brands include People Tree, Braintree, Komodo, Privatsachen, EKO, One Life, Nkuku and Made.
The Windmill
104 London Road, OX3 9AJ. Map. Tel 01865 236944
Open Mon - Sat 9.30am - 5.30pm
Independent shop selling fairtrade, ethically sourced, recycled and environmentally friendly (including Ecover refills) products.