Clapham Common Charity Shop: Shelter Boutique, Open Sundays

Shelter's Clapham Common Boutique is at 31 The Pavement, Clapham Common, London SW4 0JE, and it opens from 10am to 6pm Monday to Saturday and from 11am to 5pm on Sunday. The shop line on its own page is blunt: "This is not your average charity shop." Every pound it takes helps Shelter, the housing and homelessness charity, so a Sunday afternoon of browsing here does a little more than fill a wardrobe.

The Pavement is the row of shops that faces Clapham Common on its north side, a few minutes from Clapham Common station on the Northern line. That makes the boutique an easy stop before or after a walk on the grass.

Shelter calls this shop a boutique rather than a branch, and the label reflects how it is run. The listing describes a carefully chosen mix of designer, high-street and vintage pieces, plus homeware, books, DVDs and CDs. In other words it is two shops in one: a clothes rail on one side and a general second-hand corner on the other, so a visit can end with a jacket, a novel and a picture frame.

Start with clothes, because the designer and vintage items are the reason to come. Donated stock changes daily, so there is no fixed menu of brands to chase. Instead, use the labels as a quick filter: check the inside collar of coats and the waistband of trousers, and look at the seams and lining before you look at the label. A well-made coat from a modest brand is often a better buy than a worn-out designer piece.

The books, DVDs and CDs are the cheapest way to get something out of the visit. They are easy to flick through quickly and tend to be the part of a charity shop that regulars check first. If you collect records or discs, look at the shelf edge on every visit, since a new box of donations can turn up at any time of day.

Homeware is the category people forget. Glasses, plates, lamps and small decorative pieces come through alongside the clothes, and a boutique that cares about presentation tends to display them together so you can see a set. Prices are not listed on Shelter's shop page, so I will not quote any, but the fair test is simple: if the same cup or jacket would cost twice as much in a high-street shop, the price is working for you.

Saturday is the busiest day on The Pavement, because the Common and the nearby cafes fill with people, and the shop gets browsers who have come in with no list. If you want to look properly, go in the morning after 10am on a weekday, when the rails are fuller from the previous day's donations and there is room to try things on. Sunday is gentler, and the 11am opening is later than the rest of the week.

A judgement call: if you need a very particular size or colour, this is the kind of shop where waiting for the perfect piece is a mistake, because it will not be there next week. Buy the thing that fits now. If you are only after cheap basics such as plain t-shirts, a larger Shelter shop is likely to have more rails, and you can use this boutique for the more unusual pieces.

Shelter also asks for volunteers and good-quality donations on the shop page, and the community angle is part of the point. If you are clearing out a wardrobe, bring clean, folded items in a bag and hand them over at the till during opening hours, rather than leaving anything outside the door. Ask the person on the till what the shop is short of, and you may save yourself a wasted trip.

After the shop, cross the road and walk onto the Common itself. The bandstand and the ponds are within a short stroll, and the paths are flat enough for pushchairs and for carrying a shopping bag. On Saturdays you can walk to the community food market on Venn Street, which runs every Saturday, for something to eat before or after your browse.

If you want to carry on shopping, Clapham Old Town and the streets around Northcote Road are within reach, and there is another Shelter boutique on Northcote Road at Clapham Junction, which makes a pair for a charity-shop round if you have the energy. The two are different shops with different stock, so seeing both on the same day gives you a real comparison.

Address: 31 The Pavement, Clapham Common, London SW4 0JE. Opening hours from the Shelter shop page: Monday 10am to 6pm, Tuesday 10am to 6pm, Wednesday 10am to 6pm, Thursday 10am to 6pm, Friday 10am to 6pm, Saturday 10am to 6pm, Sunday 11am to 5pm. The nearest station is Clapham Common.

Use Karpo APP to string the shop together with a Common walk and a stop at the Saturday market, then go in with a loose list. Look at homeware and books first if you are on a budget, then work through the clothes. Keep your bag light, take a moment at the till to ask what has just come in, and remember that the money you spend goes to people facing bad housing and homelessness.

If the shop is busy, do a lap of the edges first, since the best pieces are often on the walls and the end of the rails rather than in the middle. Take your time with the fitting area, check that zips and buttons work before you buy, and leave with something you will really wear.