FASHION bible Vogue has just named its favourite UK charity shops and a Brighton store is among them.

Reporter Harry Bullmore went for a browse:

I love a bargain. Most people I know do.

The flicker of a yellow reduced sticker on my favourite food at the supermarket sends my mind into overdrive.

Boring? Yes. True? Most definitely.

As a result, charity shops are a natural port of call when looking to update my wardrobe.

Now, I’m not the most fashion-savvy man in the world. Far from it in fact.

My shelves are stacked with jeans and woolly jumpers, and I’m a firm believer that you can’t go wrong with a pair of sturdy brown leather boots.

But, after discovering that Brighton was home to one of fashion-magazine Vogue’s top vintage charity shops in the UK, I decided to let the staff there have a crack at reinventing my dress sense for £20.

So I headed down to Friends of Brighton and Hove Hospital charity shop in St James’s Street, Brighton, after work last week.

Vogue’s editorial co-ordinator Soey Kim had claimed she loved the store because she felt “the messier the charity shop, the better the haul”.

I wouldn’t say the store was messy (though admittedly The Argus and Vogue are likely to have somewhat different outlooks on life) but there was certainly an eclectic mix of items on offer.

As I walked in, the piercing eyes of famed train robber Ronnie Biggs glared down at me from the top shelf of a bookcase, his autobiography propped open in front of a row of worn paperbacks including Harry Potters five and seven.

A wooden flute was delicately placed on top of one of the clothes rails while a weathered manual in the corner claimed it could teach me how to fly a Spitfire.

I was greeted by the friendly faces of the staff – Jack Lynn (one of the management team) and shop assistant Joss Sullivan.

Dressed in chinos, shirt, tie and a jacket, I challenged the pair of them to transform me from full work mode to “night out” while sticking to my strict budget – a crumpled £20 note I pulled out of my wallet.

“I’m totally in your hands here,” I proclaimed bravely as Jack held two T-shirts aloft – one with the figure of Kanye West on the front and the other emblazoned with the image of a cat in space, wearing sunglasses and shooting lasers from its eyes.

I may have bitten off more than I could chew here.

But then some prize items came to the fore. Nearly-new River Island trousers, a well-fitting grey suit jacket and a Ralph Lauren Jacket flashed before my eyes, each costing no more than £10.

As the duo searched through the overflowing rails they regaled me with tales of the high-ticket items which had passed through the store.

“You find amazing things,” Jack said. “I think that’s what is so exciting about charity shops, they can push you to wear clothes you might not wear otherwise.

“You can see something and think, ‘wow, I never would have thought to wear that’.”

A book of John Lennon’s cartoons, a collection of Thomas Hardy’s books, and a Hermes silk scarf worth hundreds of pounds along with several major labels have all been sold at the shop, but bosses “always look to keep things affordable”.

They often check online for a guide before pricing up items.

My clothes were chosen for me and I was handed a heap of trousers, shirts and more before being directed over to a changing room in the corner.

I worked my way through a series of outfits and, against my better judgement, posed for a picture in each one – evidence of my catwalk debut can be seen on these pages, complete with uncomfortable poses.

Each was judged by Jack and Joss, before a decision was made.

An H&M gingham shirt, red Gap corduroys and a Ralph Lauren blue jacket made up my new ensemble.

The “night-out ready” brief may have been lost along the way, but I was very happy with my haul. However, I did fear my tight budget had also been forgotten in the flurry of outfit changes.

Now, the nervous moment.

I approached the till and watched on as the prices of the three items were totted up.

“That will be £20 exactly please.”