The official thrift/discount store bragging thread



darkmatter7 said:

We need a secret code or something, an SF mating call of sorts.

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or



hyakku said:

Oh and Nataku, I've got a trade pending with beck, but let me just say nice score on that PRL blazer with him, I'm hoping that we work something out today because im loving that ticker pocket.

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Yup, spoke with him this morning. He's quite excited about the suit he's getting. It's all I've heard about!

As for the shopping policies, when I worked at the Salvation Army there were a lot of rules that were there, but were never followed. Buying from the back room was one of them. It was stressed but followed by a wink. We had to tell shoppers we followed it but in truth, there was a lot of nice merch that never made it out of the back room. It was really the only perk to working there besides it being really laid back and 5 minutes from home. You do only make minimum wage. There's gotta be some sort of perk to keep you there.

I would bet my first Brioni suit that #2 more accurately reflects the general demographic around these parts.
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jkidd41011 said:

People I've talked to who work at goodwill say they have to come in on their off day if they want shop there.

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Yeah, one of the GW employees told me the same thing.

Whole lot of nothing during my recent run. I only picked up a PRL tie. Passed on:

striped Zegna orphan coat
striped PRL made in italy (Corneliani?) coat
Canali tan trousers, they were snagged in a couple of places, but I think they also had something really wrong with them (huge ink stain?); can't remember.

They also had a NWT black J. Abboud fused suit. Probably donated by Macy's or something. Not buying dept store stuff anymore, but maybe my dc peeps would like to go get it. This was at the GW Glebe & 50.



Shiny said:

This was at the GW Glebe & 50.

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I tried going there this morning. Glebe was absolutely mobbed, so my NoVa road rage kicked in and I just turned around. Glad I didn't miss anything!

GHo said:

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My first listing on B&S is this tie.

Picked this up because it seemed nice. It is, of course, way too big for me

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This raincoat will also be up for grabs. It's Canadian made, but it's still pretty cool and is in great shape:




Also picked up some nice trousers for MattR.

Picked up some solid items today.

-2 Brooks Brothers, slim (purple label), French Cuff shirts with Banker's Collars
-2 Vintage Made in the USA Pendleton shirts
-1 pair of Zanella Platinum Pants (Navy) w/ double pleats

All available, pictures later



Imhoff said:

Really? Was there an article or story about it?
And that Last Chance is scary...

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When we lived there, you could tell who the flippers were because they had a shopping cart full of stuff, and they were usually rude. My wife found a Burberry purse which she still owns, and.a woman comes up pushing here cart asking "are you buying that?"

When my wife was there, she mentioned that they didn't previously have a limit on purchases and the cashier told her it was due to people buying up anything high end at one time.

Not sure how it's any scarier there then a goodwill? You go a couple blocks west and you're in the financial district (my old office was in the building Ruths Chris is in).

Had a disappoinitng day. Found a few Versace suits, all were trashed, torn and riddled with moth holes. The only thing in decent shape was this Versace Jeans Couture blazer/jacket.




On a positve note, grabbed these last week, all available
-RLPL pink gingham 16.5 french cuff
-2 Zegna linen shirts - L
-Borrelli Napoli - M linen



hyakku said:

IEdit: On that note, funny question I've been meaning to ask. Does anyone else form pseudo alliances when thrifting sometimes? I'll be out and sometimes see someone that looks like they know their stuff getting things in their size, and I'll toss hem something and ask them to keep a look out for any Jackets or pants or whatever I'm looking for in my size as they are going through the racks. It's worked out a couple of times for me pretty well lol.

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i did this once. i was shopping at the downtown goodwill (sainted memory!) and i found a mint rlpl suit that was just too big. there was a guy dressed pretty nicely pawing through the suit rack at the same time and i thought it might fit him, so i pointed it out and explained it was like a $2,000 suit. he looked at me and said "dude, if i wear that on the street, i'm going to get rolled!".

hyakku said:

Edit: On that note, funny question I've been meaning to ask. Does anyone else form pseudo alliances when thrifting sometimes? I'll be out and sometimes see someone that looks like they know their stuff getting things in their size, and I'll toss hem something and ask them to keep a look out for any Jackets or pants or whatever I'm looking for in my size as they are going through the racks. It's worked out a couple of times for me pretty well lol.

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A few months back, I heard a guy asking a GW associate if they had any turntables. They didn't. I approached him about the 2 I had that I was getting rid of. We made arrangements and he came and picked them up that weekend. Turns out he works for the main Clarks Bostonian store here in Hanover. Since I gave him the turntables free of charge, he now calls me and tells me about the sales and offers me an extra discount. He also told me about a collection of footwear in the attic at the main store. When Clarks aquired Hanover Shoe Co. one of the transferred employees began setting up a sort of highlights collection of Vintage Old Stock Hanover shoes. The employee has since left the company / died and the collection sits incomplete and with no hope of completion. He told me they are mostly Shell Cordovan and many of them are prototype styles which were never released. I am hoping to build a good rapport with him so I can one day have a peek and maybe take a few or all of them home.

I see my turntable friend out at the thrift stores every now and then. He always comes over and evaluates my shoe finds.

tben said:

Picked up some solid items today.

-2 Brooks Brothers, slim (purple label), French Cuff shirts with Banker's Collars
-2 Vintage Made in the USA Pendleton shirts
-1 pair of Zanella Platinum Pants (Navy) w/ double pleats

All available, pictures later

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hmm I wonder if these fit...oh yea, sizes would help

These are thrifts from a while back, but I've settled in at a new weight, thus, they're available.

Really only one shirt and one pair of pants are brag worthy, so I'll hide anything about the rest.

Zegna Medium blue FC shirt 42/16.5. (shirt in center of group shot)


Zanella for Nordstroms 2 pleat trousers. Marked 34, but they've been let out to between 35 and 36. One of the buttons is missing, easy fix.



I also passed on what appeared to be an older BBGF suit. 3-button, single vent navy pinstripe. Didn't fit me, but I can go back if anyone is interested.



Now for a last question. I saw a pair of Church's Salisbury penny loafers in brown suede today. They were nearly new, but a bit steep for thrift prices. Size was, I believe 9.5 G, although I was told (I think wrongly) that they were custom. Here are a couple of pics - anything here indicate that they are anything other than RTW? (No pics of the whole shoes, but you can see them on Herring's site.)



jkidd41011 said:

When we lived there, you could tell who the flippers were because they had a shopping cart full of stuff, and they were usually rude. My wife found a Burberry purse which she still owns, and.a woman comes up pushing here cart asking "are you buying that?"
When my wife was there, she mentioned that they didn't previously have a limit on purchases and the cashier told her it was due to people buying up anything high end at one time.
Not sure how it's any scarier there then a goodwill? You go a couple blocks west and you're in the financial district (my old office was in the building Ruths Chris is in).

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Jesus that's sick. I think we've got flippers out here but they are usually pretty polite and I think they go for like the designer, high priced things. I don't really get why a store would stop people from buying them though, especially because most flippers are going after things that sell well (Dolce & Gabanna, Gucci, etc.) not the quality goods that people who are dedicated thrifters, or alternatively the people that actually need all these clothes search for. I think it's more likely (at least here) for an immigrant mom with a couple of kids here to accidentally buy a Brioni sweater for her son because it looks and feels nice than it is for a flipper to. I guess that's why I've never really had an issue with flippers, they kind of weed out all the bad things and keep the prices on the things I don't want high while keeping the GW employees in the dark about RL PL (I'm still shocked most GWs here don't mark it up, I think they thing Purple label is like a knock off lol), Brioni, etc.

Again though, I probably should've made it clear, I'm not really doing that for flipping, so sorry for anyone who was hoping I'd just be buying up all types of Kiton / Brioni stuff. I just want one or two suits from either RLPL, Kiton, Brioni, Sartoria, etc. level that fit me for myself. I'm still gonna be out there damn near daily once I get my funds back because I'm thrifting more for fun and what not, not to survive.