The official thrift/discount store bragging thread

[LeSacre]

You come here to brag and if someone likes your brag they will contact you unless you put NA

Fair enough, but you have to remember, I am just a poor college student paying ever increasing tuition. So a profit on an item = beer money

 

[chiron]

Its not stepping on toes, just more common sense within this thread if you've read though it at all. No one takes offense if an item is already sold and no one really cares why. This is the bragging thread, NOT the buying/selling thread. You come here to brag and if someone likes your brag they will contact you unless you put NA

Only because you asked nice

Just..

 

[chiron]

Fair enough, but you have to remember, I am just a poor college student paying ever increasing tuition. So a profit on an item = beer money

Whats the ebay id there ... sunshine?

 

[GMMcL]



None taken. No offence, but ....

Sounds like you're kinda taking offence...

Let's all relax, if for nothing else to allow us to start spelling "offense" correctly.

Constructive: . . . For me, I see Tom James suits like that all the time, so they don't seem like anything special, but then again, I just picked up a cheap tailor job that is very well made for what it is.

I can't speak to the quality, but the styling is way off. The button stance is appallingly low and it appears to have jetted pockets which may be a dealbreaker for some. And your OP kind of read like an eBay ad, which may have been a turn off - good pieces in this thread tend to speak for themselves. Just my $.02, as I'd consider about 5% of the suits posted here to be drool worthy.

These responses are helpful, but only for this suit.

I judge quality in a couple of ways. First, as already alluded to, check the styling. Hard 3 button, low button point 2 button, jetted/besom pockets (no flaps), unvented, low gorge, fishmouth gorge, long rise trou (hard to tell without a measuring tape), parachute width trousers (measure at the thigh), massive shoulder pads, 2 button sleeves (though the trad guys SOAK this up), are all indicative of older styling. There are exceptions to this, but this is a fairly useful high level rule. Note I didn't put pleats on this list. Pleats remain in use by many suit makers, even today.

The opposite of these are things like hand sewn button holes, hand stitching (look for irregular stitch lengths at seams -- a half lined Oxxford jacket is the best thing to examine), true pick stitching at the lapels and pockets (again, stitch length and separation will be ever so slightly irregular) and full canvas. If you don't know how to do the pinch test, you should learn. Unless I'm doing it wrong, this is NOT taking the inside fabric, outside fabric, pinching and pulling apart. That will separate the suit fabric from the lining. Instead, you're pinching the suit between your fingers and running downward from the lapel. If at some point the thickness drops off, you've just found where the canvas ends. The lower the better. Also inspect the back of the lapels and the felt of the lapel for evidence of hand stitching.

I also try the jacket on. Even if it's not my size, I can often get a sense of how high the armholes are (higher is better), how boxy the suit is (sack cut is one thing, badly cut is another), where the button point is, how the suit drapes, etc. You can and also should memorize the labels of the "good" makers (there was a thread where people ranked makers, with Kiton and St Andrews and Oxxford on top and folks like Pal Zileri diffusion at the bottom. Find it). This is a good proxy for good quality -- much better than the actual brand label.

Finally, read Orgetorix's "How to Thrift" series. Much better than my paltry explanation above.

Getting more specific: Tom James has a mixed reputation. The higher end ones can be good quality and are, indeed, made by Oxxford tailors, and use good fabric (Holland & Sherry or better). But the lower end ones are less impressive. Indeed, I've tried many on and they don't look great, though I've always chalked that up to the fact that they weren't made for ME. For example, my brother has one made for him, and it looks great. (OTOH, I have Savile Row suits that weren't made for me and still look pretty good on me). They have reasonable value outside SF, but generally are brag worthy only in limited instances. Also, I think you got a little bit of heat because your post was more appropriate for the trade thread: http://www.styleforum.net/t/287214/...y-sell-trade-want-thread/700_100#post_6195201

Hope this helps.

 

[caseyfud]

 

 

[caseyfud]



Let's all relax, if for nothing else to allow us to start spelling "offense" correctly.

it's spelled with a C outside of the US

 

[GMMcL]



it's spelled with a C outside of the US

But Fueco and GM-H are both Amurcans.

 

[mexicutioner]

Gmmcl I hope you get MCLE teaching credit for that post.

 

[Fueco]

it's spelled with a C outside of the US

But Fueco and GM-H are both Amurcans.

But my wife is a Cunuck, so I get half credit...

 

[DeadBoy]

Really I'm angry at myself that I've been hanging in this thread/forum for over a year and still can't make heads or tails out of what quantifies a quality suit or sport coat.

Everything else is straightforward, but suits are a mystery to me.

Dude, just read Orgetorix`s blog entry on this. Then read it again. Then grab the suit by the bottom button hole, put your fingers on either side of the jacket, and rub them between each other to see if you can feel an independent third layer in the middle. That`s your best bet for quality.

 

[Stewie]



Really I'm angry at myself that I've been hanging in this thread/forum for over a year and still can't make heads or tails out of what quantifies a quality suit or sport coat.

Everything else is straightforward, but suits are a mystery to me.

That being said, I found three AWESOME bike jerseys and an LL Bean down jacket today. I know what these are worth to me...

Whats funny is that I could tell Fueco was more ranting about his lack of knowledge. As noted, some of you have expertise or likes that make some of this thrifting easy...sometimes it's a crapshoot...thinking you got some great Ebay fodder, and then Ebay puts you in your place and proves to you that your knowledge sucks! As we all gain knowledge, some of us will learn to make a living off of it, others will fill their closets with quality and sometimes expensive clothing, and others will just continue to enjoy the hunt!

Fueco, stick to what you know, learn from your mistakes, and soon you will be finding LA quality finds! If your in the San Jose/Silicon Valley area, I would look for vintage hiking and backpacking items to help fund your collections of pendleton board shirts and tori richard aloha shirts (if I remember right on the aloha shirts)


So for me this week...here's what I found: (No pics at this time)

Aquascutum Norfolk Hunting Jacket

RLBL Black Velvet Smoking Jacket

Tod's Driving/Tennis Shoes

Herman Miller Meridian Desk Clock designed by Arthur Rumanoff

Dansk Mesa dishes (various pieces to flip on ebay for quick cash)

 

[chiron]

FYI

"The Tailor comes to you" is the big sell.

http://www.tomjames.com/


They are also hiring...

 

[Klobber]

Comon guys, Tom James suits are not that bad at all. Same goes for Jack Victor. Not everything our hands touch that are outside of some top 10 awesome list will be junk. I touched a Tom James suit just the other day and for sure it was half canvassed and Loro Piana cashmere fabric. Pretty spiffing suit really only pity it was a size 60R US and was for the incredible Hulk after a 5 gallon tub of ice cream binge.

I remember Mainy found a Dillards skeet blanket suit by Daniel Cremioux and it was made by Isaia nonetheless, presumably to their now defunct Gianluca line standards which means a suit of half canvassed nice fabric nature - at least Brooks Brothers 1818 or better.

Oh yeah, do not dismiss out of hand Jos A Bank anymore - they carry Italian made suits by Zegna.

Let's all relax, if for nothing else to allow us to start spelling "offense" correctly.

These responses are helpful, but only for this suit.

I judge quality in a couple of ways. First, as already alluded to, check the styling. Hard 3 button, low button point 2 button, jetted/besom pockets (no flaps), unvented, low gorge, fishmouth gorge, long rise trou (hard to tell without a measuring tape), parachute width trousers (measure at the thigh), massive shoulder pads, 2 button sleeves (though the trad guys SOAK this up), are all indicative of older styling. There are exceptions to this, but this is a fairly useful high level rule. Note I didn't put pleats on this list. Pleats remain in use by many suit makers, even today.

The opposite of these are things like hand sewn button holes, hand stitching (look for irregular stitch lengths at seams -- a half lined Oxxford jacket is the best thing to examine), true pick stitching at the lapels and pockets (again, stitch length and separation will be ever so slightly irregular) and full canvas. If you don't know how to do the pinch test, you should learn. Unless I'm doing it wrong, this is NOT taking the inside fabric, outside fabric, pinching and pulling apart. That will separate the suit fabric from the lining. Instead, you're pinching the suit between your fingers and running downward from the lapel. If at some point the thickness drops off, you've just found where the canvas ends. The lower the better. Also inspect the back of the lapels and the felt of the lapel for evidence of hand stitching.

I also try the jacket on. Even if it's not my size, I can often get a sense of how high the armholes are (higher is better), how boxy the suit is (sack cut is one thing, badly cut is another), where the button point is, how the suit drapes, etc. You can and also should memorize the labels of the "good" makers (there was a thread where people ranked makers, with Kiton and St Andrews and Oxxford on top and folks like Pal Zileri diffusion at the bottom. Find it). This is a good proxy for good quality -- much better than the actual brand label.

Finally, read Orgetorix's "How to Thrift" series. Much better than my paltry explanation above.

Getting more specific: Tom James has a mixed reputation. The higher end ones can be good quality and are, indeed, made by Oxxford tailors, and use good fabric (Holland & Sherry or better). But the lower end ones are less impressive. Indeed, I've tried many on and they don't look great, though I've always chalked that up to the fact that they weren't made for ME. For example, my brother has one made for him, and it looks great. (OTOH, I have Savile Row suits that weren't made for me and still look pretty good on me). They have reasonable value outside SF, but generally are brag worthy only in limited instances. Also, I think you got a little bit of heat because your post was more appropriate for the trade thread: http://www.styleforum.net/t/287214/...y-sell-trade-want-thread/700_100#post_6195201

Hope this helps.

Bingo bosch kabam! Summarizes everything in a harmonious manner.

 

[Fueco]

And now for the stuff that I do know...

I was in my favorite Goodwill this afternoon before heading over to spin class. I almost missed the good bike jerseys because they were tagged as women's clothing AND in the kids' section... But I spotted them.

First up is a Motorola team jersey. This is just like the one that I bought from 46n2 on here a while back, but it's one size too small. I'm sure I can find it a good home.

Next up is two early 90s Specialized Mountain Bike team jerseys. These are pretty awesome, especially because of one guy who wore one just like it; one Ned Overend. He is, arguably, the greatest American mountain bike racer of all-time, and one of the greats of cycling in general. He's still winning races these days, well into his 50s.











And this last one.... Where's the Nataku signal??

This jacket is a brilliant down jacket, very obviously well-constructed (and I'm talking leaps and bounds ahead of the LL Bean down jacket I thrifted last month). The tag says LL Bean. The styling says early 90s. The content label screams "Made By The North Face" (it has the old address from Berkeley, CA of The North Face). What gives? I need to do a little more research; but this is a very well made jacket, made in the USA, and in like new condition.

 

[VLSI]

Haven't looked at this thread in weeks (turns out the further you get behind, the less chance you'll ever catch up). Browsed the last few pages, too much text, not enough pictures.