Donating Costumes, Props, Artefacts or Haberdashery?

Thank you for thinking of us! 

Gladrags’ collection of theatrical and historical costumes has grown over the past 25 years by receiving kind donations from many sources and we are extremely grateful for the impact we are able to make as a charity because of these contributions.

So that we don’t run out of room at our store, and because we are passionate about sharing resources, we sometimes make a decision to pass on costumes / fabrics to community groups who, for example, need to have their own costume box. We also sell items to raise funds for our community projects, for example surplus stock or clothes that have a second-hand value. 

If you feel that you would not want this to happen to your donations, then please reconsider whether Gladrags is the right place for them and see our recommendations below of other places to give to at the end of this page.

COSTUME RE-HOMING SCHEME: If you are a community group or good cause that would like more information about our ‘costume re-homing’ scheme, please join our Facebook group 'Rehome-it!' or email us by using the contact form. 

OFFERING DONATIONS TO GLADRAGS 

We accept donations of useful, clean items (see below).

  • Sift your donations to ensure what you offer us is relevant (see below).Generally speaking a few well chosen gems are more useful to us than a large bag of mixed donations. Due to space limits in our store, max two bin bags ideally.
  • Please email or call ahead to confirm what you have to offer and arrange a suitable drop-off time.
  • We will probably ask you to send us photos of what you are offering us. 

What we can accept (storage permitting)

  • Vintage in reasonable/good condition (small repairs are possible).
  • Bridal occasionally
  • Useful theatrical and/or historical style costumes e.g. Sherlock Holmes cape, Medieval dress tunic, military jacket. 
  • Theatre or Panto costumes  from previous productions
  • Authentic world dress, traditional or modern
  • Animal costumes (and sometimes food-based costumes e.g. banana)
  • Small items suitable for reminiscence - e.g. old tickets, programmes, childhood memorabilia
  • Matching sets of costumes or accessories - occasionally 
  • Small props occasionally, especially if suitable for reminiscence or teaching resources
  • Sewing equipment and fabric remnants 1m and over - only occasionally due to space, please check with us!

 

What we can't accept - 

  • Large Props - e.g. bric-a-brac or any large items like furniture 
  • Fancy Dress- e.g. all-in-one replica / character / novelty costumes in shiny / nylon fabrics e.g. evacuee, Jack Sparrow;  non-durable novelty accessories e.g. made of card / flimsy plastic, or  'sexy costumes' e.g. ‘sexy’ firefighter. 
  • Real animal fur
  • Underwear
  • Weapons
  • Modern clothing, t-shirts, hoodies, woolies, stretchy clothes and trainers. Occasionally if good quality/of value we will sell as a fundraiser.
  • Anything damaged, stained, damp, wet, dirty or smelly. ( we have no laundry facilities on site). 

We have generally have plenty of the following -

Hats, belts, shoes, ties, gloves, modern style clothing, and fabric scraps. 

 

Some alternative places to donate to ensure your items are used and otherwise are responsibly recycled -

Let us know if there is anywhere you know of, that re-uses, and recycles and we can update our list. 

Follow us on social media to find out about our sale events, costume re-homing and other initiatives > 

 Facebook @gladragscostumes     Instagram @gladragscostumes