Designer clothes worth £50,000 dropped off at charity shop by mystery donor
'It's fantastic to get all this stuff, it has just caused a huge interest'
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Your support makes all the difference.A charity shop has received a generous donation of designer clothes, collectively worth £50,000.
The designer bundle was unveiled in the shop window for the Mind charity shop in Tunbridge Wells, Kent last week.
The donation, given to the shop by a regular, unnamed donor, featured costly items of clothing from brands including Prada, Chloé, Gucci, Rupert Sanderson and Erdem, a Canadian label previously worn by the Duchess of Sussex.
A Mulberry dress which retails at more than £900 was put on sale at the charity shop for £425, less than half of its original price.
Meanwhile, a pink, floral silk skirt by Erdem, which is worth more than £1,100, was put on sale for £245.
Staff at the Mind charity shop are hoping to raise at least £15,000 for the mental health charity by selling the designer clothing.
They explain that many of the items gifted to the store have never been worn, and still have their original price tags attached.
"It's fantastic to get all this stuff, it has just caused a huge interest," says shop manager Alison Homewood.
"We have had Prada, Gucci, Mulberry, Kate Spade and a lovely houndstooth check Burberry style coat by Gucci which went for more than £400.
"It's amazing. We are really, really busy, but we are not complaining."
Ms Homewood explains that when she received donated items without price tags from the donor, she went on the brands' websites to ascertain how much they usually retail for.
"The items came in at the end of last week - it is a regular donor and she donates stuff to us on a regular basis," the shop manager states.
Ms Homewood says that while the drop-off of "glamorous, high fashion items" was "exciting", all donations to the charity shop are equally appreciated.
"We treat every donor the same. It doesn't matter if they are dropping off one item or 100 items, we are always grateful," she says.
"It's fantastic to get all this stuff but it does not detract from the normal donations - the stuff we sell for £5 or £6."
Over the past two decades of business, the Mind charity shop has raised more than £2m for charity.
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