Gothic shoppers travel hours to get one-of-a-kind alternative outfits from Wolverhampton charity shop

A new direction at Wolverhampton charity shop has drawn attention from across the region with a new range of cheap, alternative clothing.

Since targeting the ‘underserved’ audience, Wings & Paws Rescue’s new supervisor Raven Bradshaw has found a way to help her peers’ shopping habits alongside the animals that come into the shop’s care.

TikToks promoting the new-look section of the shop have garnered thousands of views, and that is quickly translating into real-life interest as shoppers have travelled from ‘over two hours’ to see the unique range, including clothes Raven has made herself.

“It's a really underserved demographic,” she said, “There's nowhere for us to get affordable clothing.

“And it's helping our animals at the same time, because we're a charity, and we adopt animals, we look after them. It helps to pay for their veterinary bills”

The small, non-profit charity has rehomed hundreds of cats, dogs, birds, rabbits, horses, lizards, tortoises, hamsters, snakes and a hedgehog, while currently taking care of plenty more who are too sick to be adopted as yet.

Raven herself owns two rats, and only started at the shop two weeks ago: “The shop has done really well. And then all the pieces outside, they’re customised. So I spray paint them, and I bleach them myself at home in my spare time.

“There's a big gap in the market for it. We only really have Blue Banana in Wolverhampton, and it's quite pricey. So it's somewhere for people to come from our community and get a bargain.”

“We've had people travel over two hours, a lady had come from the hospital. Her partner had gone and picked her up, and they travelled all the way down here two hours away, and then they went back to the hospital. People have also travelled from Walsall and Telford - hours away.”

The success of the new range has prompted the store on Warstones Road to organise a charity catwalk to promote the new styles on offer, which is set to take place on December 5.

“It was my manager's idea, the lady who owns a charity, her name's Clare [Vowles]. It's a non-profit organisation, so it's going to be affordable.

“It'll only be like £5 per ticket, but it's a way to display some pieces, to have a good night for the alternatives in the community, and to raise money for our little charity.”

Further details on the event will be released on the charity shop’s Facebook page soon - follow to stay up to date.