Frenzy as charity sells Beckhams’ clothes for Haiyan relief

LONDON, United Kingdom – Queues formed around the block outside a London charity shop on Friday, November 22, after Victoria and David Beckham donated 20 boxes of clothes and shoes to raise money for victims of the Philippines typhoon.

Designer shoes and suits belonging to the Spice Girls singer turned fashion designer and her football icon husband were on sale at the British Red Cross shop in the wealthy Chelsea neighborhood for as little as £100 (120 euros, US$160) each, a fraction of their original price.

Buyers arrived at the shop up to two hours before it opened in the hope of getting a bargain, even if most of Victoria Beckham’s clothes will be too small for the average woman.

“We’re going to close early because we’ll be sold out – everything has gone really quickly,” Red Cross spokeswoman Laura Hinks told Agence France-Presse.

“The clothes were priced very reasonably. David and Victoria wanted everyone to have an opportunity to buy something.”

They included a pair of Victoria’s striking cowprint boots and denim and snakeskin cowboy boots with her name picked out in gemstones.

A similar mass donation by Victoria Beckham to a cancer campaign in 2010 raised almost £7,000, but there were no immediate figures for Friday’s sale.

Hinks said the famous couple had set an example: “They’re really hoping this encourages other people to go to their local British Red Cross shop and donate clothes.”

The window display featured a white suit and black shirt belonging to the former England captain, while there was a t-shirt with his wife’s nickname Posh and a white jacket with “Spice Girls” on the back.

There was also a sign reading: “Customers are limited to one VB or DB item only.”

Inside, 5 shelves were stacked with Victoria’s shoes and a rail of David’s jumpers on sale for £35 each.

There was also a red short skirt featuring the names of the couple’s sons Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz.

Even men were even snapping up pairs of Victoria’s heels, some of which later turned up on eBay.
A woman proudly tried on her new Le Silla high heeled shoes in the street, while another showed off a yellow Chanel jacket.

Victoria Beckham had earlier posted a picture of herself on Twitter sitting among a pile of boxes as she packed up the clothes, along with another snap of a cascading pile of shoes.

“Everyone has something in their closet they were holding onto, a dress, suit, or pair of shoes they thought they might wear again,” she said in a statement.

“Dig them out, bag them up, drop them off and give someone else the chance to buy them, raising much needed funds for the Red Cross aid effort.”

Super Typhoon Haiyan, which flattened dozens of towns in the central Philippines on November 8, has left more than 5,200 dead. – Rappler.com