Better Together

In 2024, the UN concluded that over 676 million women and girls lived within 50km of an active conflict, the highest figure since the 1990s. This is a remarkable number, almost unfathomable to the average Londoner whose life is rarely marred by such instability. Women for Women, founded in 1993, is a charity which seeks to aid the female survivors of these conflicts. With the degradation of aid funding and the ever-looming threat of global belligerence, it feels like as good a time as ever to support one of Women for Women’s most successful initiatives, the #SheInspiresMe Car Boot Sale. 

Now entering its tenth year in operation, the Car Boot Sale is the collaborative brainchild of Alex Eagle (of her eponymous fashion and design store, Soho), Women for Women and Selfridges. Spanning two storeys of the department store’s car park, the sale is full of designer goods new and old, with contributions from such brands as RIXO, Charlotte Tilbury and Jimmy Choo. 

Prices run up to 70% off retail, and the profits are astounding. Last year, with 36 sellers, the sale racked up £415,000 in one day, bringing the grand total to over £2.2 million since the sale’s inception in 2016. All of the proceeds are utilised to their fullest potential, providing women in need with medical aid, global community and the education to care for their families and defend their rights – knowledge that can spread through communities and passed down generations. So far, over 600,000 women have been reached. 

Many of us claim to want to shop with a conscience, and the car boot is a good chance to do so. With ambassadors like Sophie Turner, Charlotte Tilbury and Elizabeth Debicki, there will be no shortage of unique pieces on offer, ranging from designer dresses to celebrity’s pre-owned handbags. Alex Eagle, whose idea the car boot initially was (and a TANK alum, no less!), says that even after ten years “people are still blown away by the pieces they find.” Here at Because, we’ve loved the sale for a long time – bridging the gap between the thrill of finding a piece you love and making a positive impact whilst doing so, we are excited to see the project enter its tenth year. 

Early bird tickets go on sale today, the 23rd of March, and general release will begin on the 26th. The car boot itself will be on the 16th of May, in the Selfridges Oxford Street car park.