The official thrift/discount store bragging thread

[SimonC]

Bit of an odd trip the other day in which I didn't purchase but nonetheless saw:

Four Huntsman suits - three 'conventional' at one store ($1-200 each) and an amazing teal tweed shooting suit at another (an eye-watering $500).

Lots of Udeshi sample stock.

Lots of as new Chester Barrie jackets in a store I really hate because they separate the jackets and trousers, and none of the trousers could be found. The place could be a goldmine if I buy all their good jackets and checked back daily for the trousers, but I just don't head that way often enough.

An amazing Kilgour pure-cashmere flannel peak lapel SB odd jacket with buggy lining which was a bit short, though I regret not picking it up.

An orphaned Tautz bespoke jacket.

Oh, and a pair of Crockett & Jones Tetbury in suede which I did buy.

 

[Klobber]



I'm almost kicking myself.... saw a V2 Classic silk shirt crazy pattern white with random black dots everywhere at the thrift for $12...but the back of the neck was pretty beat to ****.

Beat up old V2 not really worth a pickup IMO. I personally do not like silk shirts at all, but would pick up any silk shirt in reasonable shape from one of those fashion brands. I saw an orangey Prada with some funky swirl / paisley type pattern a while ago, but a 3" rip was enough for me not to buy it.

 

[amadar]

Speaking of silk shirts, been in thrifting/SF hibernation for a while, but wanted to share a recent find. NWOT Stefano Ricci 100% Silk shirt. 16/34. Surprisingly slim fit. My size, but I am no where near baller enough to pull this off. Incredible floral pattern interwoven throughout.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

 

[Klobber]



Speaking of silk shirts, been in thrifting/SF hibernation for a while, but wanted to share a recent find. NWOT Stefano Ricci 100% Silk shirt. 16/34. Surprisingly slim fit. My size, but I am no where near baller enough to pull this off. Incredible floral pattern interwoven throughout.

Sell in on the Bay. Stefano Ricci is one of those brands that seem to have a cult following and bidding always goes high. I think it is a very good brand, high quality, but that silk shirt is meh. I think the $$$ you get for it will help any pangs of regret you may have in flipping it.

 

[Henry Boogers]

Daydreaming about my recent thrifting venture and I have a technical question:

What technology do low end suit producers, such as Stafford and the sort, employ that makes it physically impossible for the pants to be seperated from the jacket? Whatever they do I really wish it could have been utilized on the 3 orphaned Oxxfords I came across (all at different stores). I think rich people just donate the jackets at one store and pants at another as some sort of inside joke.

 

[Klobber]



Daydreaming about my recent thrifting venture and I have a technical question:
What technology do low end suit producers, such as Stafford and the sort, employ that makes it physically impossible for the pants to be seperated from the jacket? Whatever they do I really wish it could have been utilized on the 3 orphaned Oxxfords I came across (all at different stores). I think rich people just donate the jackets at one store and pants at another as some sort of inside joke.

I have seen first hand what can and does happen. I was looking through suits and SC's and a fellow picked up a suit he liked. Nothing out of the ordinary but when I went to the changing room to inspect for clothes hanging there, the suit coat was left behind but pants taken.

Also, a lot of donation centers service an area rather than one store, so if a guy turns up with a whole heap of clothes and dumps them off, I could easily see how a jacket could end up at one store and a pair of pants at another store.

Another factor to be considered is a well worn suit is likely to still have a jacket in working order, but pants absolutely trashed. Donator may chuck the pants away but donate the jacket.

 

[acosbysweater]

Had my first legit

moment today....

First, I went through a few suits on the rack, some nice stuff. Then about halfway through, I saw this:



dat Margiela?

Needless to say, I was STOKED. It's a 54EU, which is too large for me...the sleeves are hilariously long at 27", but this is somewhat alterable. Checked the cuffs:



Surgeon's cuffs, which the tailor I showed the jacket to swore up and down it was impossible to move. On to the next.

THEN THIS, wow..who buys a $1k+ sport coat and within a year or two does this to it. It looks like he got into a fight with a crayon woodchipper.




Very disappointing, though the same tailor as above consulted with me and came up with the following solution. We'll take the seam in right where the stain/tear is, thus tapering the sleeves which are wide to begin with. Then, if the stain is diminished enough, he is convinced he can effectively narrow the shoulders by shortening the sleeves from the top, thus retaining the surgeon's cuffs. He will also nip the waist as part of this process. All for $90-110.

I ended up picking this up for only $1.99 after pointing out the damage to the cashier...she suggested that she would buy it for me herself, heh.

I feel like this is more than appropriate given the quality of the product, but do you think this microstripe blazer is worthwhile to wear without matching pants?

To slightly boost the day, at a different store I found a Hardy Amies 100% cashmere blazer in navy that fits wonderfully and a pretty rad, plaid Pendleton tie.

 

[royskeen]

Tailor is full of crap that you can't alter sleeve length when you have surgeon's cuffs. They do it at the shoulders and it costs extra $$$. I've had it done and the results were great. Get a new tailor!

Had my first legit moment today....

First, I went through a few suits on the rack, some nice stuff.  Then about halfway through, I saw this:



dat Margiela?

 
Needless to say, I was STOKED. It's a 54EU, which is too large for me...the sleeves are hilariously long at 27", but this is somewhat alterable.  Checked the cuffs:



Surgeon's cuffs, which the tailor I showed the jacket to swore up and down it was impossible to move.  On to the next.

THEN THIS, wow..who buys a $1k+ sport coat and within a year or two does this to it.  It looks like he got into a fight with a crayon woodchipper.




Very disappointing, though the same tailor as above consulted with me and came up with the following solution.  We'll take the seam in right where the stain/tear is, thus tapering the sleeves which are wide to begin with.  Then, if the stain is diminished enough, he is convinced he can effectively narrow the shoulders by shortening the sleeves from the top, thus retaining the surgeon's cuffs.  He will also nip the waist as part of this process.  All for $90-110. 

I ended up picking this up for only $1.99 after pointing out the damage to the cashier...she suggested that she would buy it for me herself, heh.

I feel like this is more than appropriate given the quality of the product, but do you think this microstripe blazer is worthwhile to wear without matching pants?

To slightly boost the day, at a different store I found a Hardy Amies 100% cashmere blazer in navy that fits wonderfully and a pretty rad, plaid Pendleton tie.

 

[acosbysweater]

All of the episodes of Misfits have been or still are on Hulu for free...yeah, you have to watch three commercials or so per break, but it's so easy. I don't have to scour through false links on Sidereel like with the other shows I obsess about. Let's just hope that some boastful Hollywood exec doesn't try to make a US version and thus bring down the latter episodes of the series a la Skins. That show used to be so good, through the first and half of the second season. Now it's just a second rate Gilmor Girls with more sex.

Heh, yeah the archives. I'm definitely a latecomer to this thread and am on page 9xx. I curiously went back to page 1 and was shocked to see that it started in 2005! I've been a member of megathreads on various message boards before, and I can see how they make quantum leaps in participation and post density in just a year...I didn't realize this one would do so with such consistenly high-quality posts.

I generally avoid looking at polo shirts right now, mostly because it's never above 50 degrees. I think I'll start trudging through all of the Arnold Palmer and Club Room rough, cotton/poly shirts when the long sleeve dress shirts and overcoats disappear in a few months. Though, I did stumble across a MINT Ocean Pacific lightweight polo a few days ago...very attractive pattern and made in USA.

Ha! Yeah, I agree. I've been campaigning this for months...but no one's ever heard of it. I don't even think the DVDs are sold here; do I detect a fellow downloader?
Regarding the fake Lacoste, I must have been referring to an 80s-tastic pink polo I found awhile back. Sadly, it is no longer with us. The fit was spot-on, but the thing ripped apart after a few wears. Ah, France Korea. That was in April, though. You must be catching up on the archives.

 

[TheWGP]

Wow, that's something! Never seen MMM except a couple of items at Filenes.

How can it be 100% impossible to move the sleeves up? I thought that while expensive and annoying, it was reliably POSSIBLE... how would you tell if it's not possible?

Maybe your luck in thrift today is karmic payback for the way you handled the luck in the mail yesterday...

oh, and you do want to look at polo shirts somewhat... especially if you had other finds in that store. Closet cleanouts don't always depend on the weather. I found that NdG shirt the other day in the middle of polo shirts; sure, someone had obviously moved it there, but had I not casually scanned the polos I'd never have found it!

 

[Cotton Dockers]

^^ Yeah, that's pretty much it. Unless it's some crazy limited edition or super rare print run, they won't fetch much over the $60 mark. After all, it's just a tie. Silk shirts on the other hand.......

Is there a way to tell if a Versace tie is rare/limited just by looking at it? Or do you have to have a Spoo-level knowledge of the brand to figure it out?

 

[Brianpore]

Tailor is full of crap that you can't alter sleeve length when you have surgeon's cuffs. They do it at the shoulders and it costs extra $$$. I've had it done and the results were great. Get a new tailor!

How much did it cost to alter the sleeves at the shoulders? Thinking about having this done Thanks

 

[Xenos]

Recently:

Hilfiger black velvet blazer; ticket pocket; dual vents; Made in Italy:

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Isaia brown corduroy blazer; dual vents; Made in Italy:

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Angelo Roma blue SC; dual vents; surgeon's cuffs; Made in Italy

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Chester Barrie cream dinner jacket; NOS; NWT (basting stitches, pockets sewn); dual vents; Made in England

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

 

[Nataku]

^^^ Crazy finds!!

Is there a way to tell if a Versace tie is rare/limited just by looking at it? Or do you have to have a Spoo-level knowledge of the brand to figure it out?

I'm no Spoo, but any Medusa head ties will do well because of the logo. Silk shirts on the other hand are a no-brainer grab.

 

[acosbysweater]

Heh, Will. I am more than grateful for the bounty that came in the mail yesterday, and I think you will be also when you get yours in a few days.

I was dumbstruck upon seeing that Margiela tag. I thought I suddenly teleported to the Tres Bien showroom in Paris. I found a Filene's tag in one of the breast pockets, but for a Ted Baker product, so I would assume that the person who donated this after the crayon attack also was a Filene's whore. I wonder where the Filene's was in Denver... I remember a friend who worked at the Filene's in Columbus back in the early aughts, but I never paid much mind as I was more of a TJ Maxx person back then. Oh well, it probably would've been murder on my credit cards to know about the deals that were around for most of this decade at Filene's.

Wow, that's something! Never seen MMM except a couple of items at Filenes.
How can it be 100% impossible to move the sleeves up? I thought that while expensive and annoying, it was reliably POSSIBLE... how would you tell if it's not possible?
Maybe your luck in thrift today is karmic payback for the way you handled the luck in the mail yesterday...

oh, and you do want to look at polo shirts somewhat... especially if you had other finds in that store. Closet cleanouts don't always depend on the weather. I found that NdG shirt the other day in the middle of polo shirts; sure, someone had obviously moved it there, but had I not casually scanned the polos I'd never have found it!