The official thrift/discount store bragging thread - Page 159

Pretty ordinary this weekend. Went looking for an overcoat and found one, but it was a DB, so I passed. Found a very nice cotton/silk tie with alternating burgundy/navy/gold stripes. Very good weight and hand sewn, but no maker's label on it. Also found a Saba shirt (local brand of reasonable quality) that fit, so I bought that too. Took my son to DFO outlets for some shoes and found him some new Timberlands for $90 off. While I was there I grabbed an Icebreaker merino beanie for $20 - to wear under my bike helmet now that winter's coming.

Ahh, you poor folk who live where winter is COMING! I'm so glad to see winter leaving I could dance down the streets. However, now that everyone is done with their winter clothes, that's all I can find at the thrifts. I've stocked up on two BB tweed jackets,a BB wool/cashmere topcoat, a 100% cashmere topcoat by Alpacuna, a Harris Tweed carcoat and a wool/cashmere Oxxford jacket. I'll just have to store them for the summer and flip them in late October...when I'll be finding tropical weight suits and seersucker pants.

This is where STP is so great. They are always knocking out all their snow and cycling gear on special just as the seasons start here. Sometimes living at the arse end of the world doesn't suck.

BTW, what size is that topcoat you found. You may not have to wait six months to flip it.

How cold is the Melbourne winter? Sounds awfully nice if it's still good enough for some bike action...

Anyway, since our good ol' chaplain asked...

My loot for the last week, when I finally got the time and means (a new car) to expand my thrift shopping radius. Still can't do more than a couple of trips per week due to crazy school schedule though.
- suits from Oxxford, BBGF Hand Tailored, both in Spring/Summer fabric. Left behind a HF Moda (recent model w/ dual vents) due to stains on the back.
- SCs from Canali, G&H, Zegna, HF
- shirts from Etro, Polo by Ralph Lauren (blue label), Brioni (who apparently makes Hawaiian shirt ), YSL (slim fit + contrast collar = )
- ties from Stefano Ricci, Zegna, BB Makers, Polo by Ralph
- assorted mil. surplus and just cool things for casual wear

Nice haul whacked.

Melbourne's winter is not severe - akin to San Fran's. Since we've had drought for the last few years the only thing to worry about has been getting the right amount of warm clothing on.

Theoretically you can ride your bike in any weather with the right gear, but I am too squeamish to ride in the rain. I don't mind the cold though.

No way! Sure, the prices are awful for all the things we like, but I would not leave Oz for anyplace, including MA! ;P

Thankfully, eBay is a good source for the cheaper prices I like so very much!

I don't like women swooping up on all the good stuff before all the guys who'll actually wear it can get to it. I don't see what's wrong with that...... I don't go into the women's section pushing others out of the way to grab chicks clothes to go flip. I'll pick up something that I know members on here like, so they can get a chance at it. Other times I'll leave stuff behind. Other people COMPLETELY clean the place out of everything that's worth something ie: Hugo Boss, Ike Behar, H Hilfiger, Polo etc. How exactly am I like them, when I leave stuff behind for others? So the other guy can shoot out a thrifting related complaint and I can't.....?

So you'll be selling to us at cost then right because you're just doing us a favor.
We all leave behind Hugo Boss, Ike Behar, Hilfiger, Polo, etc because that stuff isn't flippable.

How is that at all different from what the woman in question did?
1. Because she's a woman. And you sound like a sexist who chooses not to venture into women's section.
(okay, elsewhere I gathered you're a nice fellow, but that was my first impression reading it)
2. Because you're on StyleForum. Really? Since when is this a good excuse?
(FWIW, most of your recent loots were sold on eBay, which explains the graphic)

On the latter point, now please tell me what you would do running across a Armani / Versace shirt or tie with (out of this world) wild prints? SF members probably don't want any part of it, but I bet you'd pick it up anyway since they have a cult following on eBay. Just one example, but you got the idea.

Point is, as others have (rightfully, I believe) claimed, thrift shopping is all about karma. Complaining that others got better picking (which is a part of the game) and sounding like a sore loser just don't help the cause.


Not like this.

You're right...my post did come off a bit sexist and I apologize. I've been thrifting a long time and I realize it's about karma and luck. Sometimes the other guy wins, sometimes you do. I guess I am just missing the times when little old ladys roamed the thrifts just looking for knitting patterns and tupperware. I made the point about women doing it because it's mostly the women (soccer moms mostly) who are rude and pushy. The guys I usually run into are patient and wait 'till I'm done with the section, as I do the same when they're looking in a certain place. It's just being circuitous. I just don't like when people clean the place out. I'm curtious and leave items behind that I feel other may want. I read the other guy's comment before me and went off on a rant on the subject. I do realize it was a bit much and I apologize

I do. And I've picked up and looked specifically for things for members as well.

^ It's all good. Good (better) luck hunting next time heh...

Very sorry to be sort of off-topic, but I feel bad not addressing this. Promise this will be my last word on this issue. One of my closest friends is currently earning his Phd in Social Psychology with a focus on immigrants and immigration. He's teaching at Columbia on the subject right now. The assertion that in the past, immigrants learned english faster is simply not true. In fact, first generation immigrants are slightly more likely now to learn the language. It was very typical for European immigrants in the 19th and early 20th centuries to live entire lives in the US without learning the language, hence the Yiddish ghettoes in NY, for example. Second generation immigrants typically learned the language. This is still the case, generally, though first-gen immigrants are now, as I mentioned, somewhat more likely to learn english. As for "good jobs, good pay, easy life and such," you think if they were living an "easy life" they'd be buying so much of their household goods at thrift stores? Thrift stores serve a variety of purposes. I've shopped at them as an adult with a (pretty low-paying) professional job as a hobby (and to get fancy stuff I couldn't otherwise afford), and shopped at them as a kid as a borderline necessity. Plenty of people shop at them as a for-real necessity. To say those people are "taking all the good clothes out of thrift shops" is the height of arrogance. Many thrift stores offer a chance at work & rehabilitation for folks who've hard a hard time for whatever reason. All thrift stores are a means of distribution that make it easy to re-use goods rather than discarding them. They have cheap clothes for people who don't want to spend a lot on clothes, by neccesity or preference, and they're a fun hobby for those of us with money. In other words, they're great. And immigrants not speaking English simply aren't affecting that. In other news, I got a nice pair of bourbon Allen Edmonds Sanfords the other day, and while they looked a bit beat up at the store, they look great with a polish. I'm not usually a fan of AE's style, but these are going to be great, especially with jeans and heavier pants.

Thanks, dude. Ignorance need not go unaddressed.