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The official thrift/discount store bragging thread

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LooknGr8

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Kids talked me into going to their favorite Children's Museum today, which doesn't take much, because while it's an hour drive, it's a few minutes from an outlet mall that has Orvis, BB, PRL and Hickey-Freeman, ha!

A couple discussion points to follow...but here we go:



Left column is all Orvis. Right, from top, H-F, H-F and...BB mainline wool cardigan sweater vest I was unnaturally attracted to (guess I want to get my Ward Cleaver on). $180 total on that, although the retail was over $1,000 (which leads to one of my discussion points).

Went to a usually solid goodwill, and I found this curiosity for which they stung me $5.99 but I bought it so that I could talk about it here:




Discussion points:
1) Who makes Coach ties, and do you guys see them? Seems fairly average to above average to me -- as in, nothing special, about as good as a BB Makers, worth keeping but not one I'd show off or brag about like Kiton or Marinella -- although they are way better than the Beene/Hilfiger/Van Heusen/DKNY stuff that I pass on. Label sez made in USA, by hand.

2) I am curious: Describe your tolerance/pain threshold, costwise, at outlet stores. Those H-F shirts retail $245 with an outlet price of $175. They were 70% off on sale, and today they were 20% off that, bringing the NWT price to $33. I was in for two at that price, which filled a couple gaps/upgrades I was looking for. When you're buying for yourself, what will you pay for various items (shirts, pants, etc) at outlets or Last Call/Rack type places? I feel I should be more thrifty, but OTOH that's a hell of a deal and I do treat myself once in a while. I could not bring myself to purchase the $1,295 blue wool cashmere blend SC 60% off + 20 more percent even though I wanted it on me more than I do Kate Upton. That definitely had a too-high pain threshold.

3) So, I was shocked to learn that, sometimes, BB mainline and "346" are one and the same. I had a long discussion with a clerk (oh my goodness, one of those 40-something smokeshows with whom I prolonged the conversation just to hang out with for a couple more minutes!) and she said most of the time BB main line is better fabric, better construction, etc...and price 3x "346." Then I showed her two purple cardigans that were identical in price, buttons, construction and everything: Except one was BB mainline, labeled "Extra FIne Merino" and had a little drawstring bag with extra buttons. The other was "346" and just marked "100% Merino wool" and she admitted they were identical. So that BB main line label means nothing, I guess, unless it's also accompanied by "made in Italy" or some such (both of these identical sweaters were made in China -- the tipoff -- as well as identical starting retail prices and buttons). Is this a new trend, or am I just slow on the uptake and it's been going on a while?

-------------------
Is the BB mainline vest I got one of those "346" jobs? No. It has a 346 tag, but the original was lost, it must have been a return. The outlet store threw on a 346 tag and hand-wrote price and SKU#. I put back the BB mainline sweater that was identical to the 346, ugh, even at 70% off I had to pass after realizing it was a bait-and-switch deal. It was the principle of the thing.

I have confessed before that I have two 346 suits I use for business travel and am perfectly comfortable with them and blend in fine in a conservative business dress environment. But today, buying that sweater, woulda felt duped.

In the same vein, for $337, I also could have gotten a fused suit at H-F, marked way down from not quite 3x that (wow, H-F sells fused suits for that kind of cake???)...my lesson learned was: Chat with clerks before stepping into the NWT world. Losing $6.99 at SA on spec and finding out what you bought is a ************* is one thing. $337 is quite another. At least for me.
 
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Pawz

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Is this a new trend, or am I just slow on the uptake and it's been going on a while?

Not every single type of item will manifest a difference in construction/quality. For example, a 346, a BB Makers, and a BB Golden Fleece polo will all appear indistinguishable, from the inside out. Now, compare sport coats by each label. See a difference?
 
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AlanC

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Thrifted these today:




Leather Soul version for comparison:

232


Edit: Since I've had a couple of inquiries about these, they're my size (9.5B), and also on the CDI last, which is a foot balance system last (Alden model 302). They're in great condition.
 
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LooknGr8

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LooknGr8

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Its probably the knot tie-er not the tie. I will take the blame for that. I guess I need a lesson. Thanks, I appreciate the feedback.



Someone posted this Sprezzatura thing elsewhere on SF and after screwing around with it for weeks...it works for me. I'm short-ish (5-8 1/2) and my tie tying is f'd up because typically the narrow part of the tie is where the knot happens...and this fixes knot size and the other problem (some ties end up with the point at my knee...OK that's an exaggeration but you see where I am headed...)

[VIDEO][/VIDEO]
 

mexicutioner

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:bounce2: @ THOSE ALDENS. gets my vote for Thrift Find of the Week.

couple of quick finds (none available, all for personal consumption):

John W. Nordstrom made in italy flat front wool flannel pants, medium blue, Loro Piana material, appear to be almost-new:
CzcAC.jpg


APC women's trench coat i found for the wife (might be too big for her, if it is i'll put it on the trading spreadsheet in case your lady could use it)
ljeMf.jpg


AE Park Avenues the wife found for me:
lCH9T.jpg


remember guys, the family that thrifts for each other stays together!
 
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Typhoid Jones

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Typhoid,
I think that Isaia is an orphan.

Quote:
x2. IIRC the A after the model is for suit. If it was a jacket it would have a G.

Thanks for the confirmation. It looks like I'll be on a mission to bring down some rogue pants in the near future.

So today:

1x Burberrys beige, brown, and green houndstooth patterned sport coat with double vents. Marked EUR 56 R.

2x vintage Coach belts in black and brown. Both marked 40.

1x Luciano Barbera for Louis Boston brown, maroon, & olive houndstooth / plaid patterned sport coat with working surgeon's cuffs and double-vents. Marked EUR 50 R.

1x Oxxford Clothes solid tan sport coat. Marked 44 E T Onwentsia.

and a bunch of vintage 1960's summer wear.

Quick question - Fugly COOGI (made in Australia) sweaters? Worth picking up for Dr. Cliff Huxtable?
 

Metcarfre

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Hey, not sure how this should work, but I spotted these Alden tassel loafers today. 10D I think. Not my size and a tad expensive (for a thrift store...), but maybe PM if interested and we can work something out?





 

mexicutioner

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one weird thing i passed on today: a Pierre Cardin Couture (or maybe it was Perry Ellis Couture) tuxedo jacket. had BRIIIIIGHT red interior lining. weird.
 

MVarga

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This is my first post, I've been lurking and thrifting for about a month, but this is my first find of any significance. I found two pieces that may either be blazers/sport jackets or orphaned suit coats. I'm not entirely sure which, but they were cheap, so I took a gamble.

First, 'Burberrys' jacket:

http://i.imgur.com/LZwC3.jpg



Close up on fabric, sorry about the picture quality; the piece is black.

http://i.imgur.com/pcw5L.jpg

And tag:

http://i.imgur.com/Kkhxw.jpg


It's my understanding that 'Burberrys' is a separate line from Burberry London. Is this correct?

Next is an Oxxford:

http://i.imgur.com/7dy9N.jpg



Tag:

http://i.imgur.com/XoyR9l.jpg

Most of what I find is stuff like Lands' End, Banana Republic, LL Bean, Eddie Bauer, and the like, so it was pretty exciting to find these things. I left behind two other Oxxford jackets that clearly seemed to be orphaned jackets. But I took a gamble on these two. Are they orphaned suit jackets?

Sorry about the pictures, bad camera phone and I can't figure out how to embed pictures.
 

Brianpore

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This is my first post, I've been lurking and thrifting for about a month, but this is my first find of any significance. I found two pieces that may either be blazers/sport jackets or orphaned suit coats. I'm not entirely sure which, but they were cheap, so I took a gamble.

First, 'Burberrys' jacket:

http://i.imgur.com/LZwC3.jpg



Close up on fabric, sorry about the picture quality; the piece is black.

http://i.imgur.com/pcw5L.jpg

And tag:

http://i.imgur.com/Kkhxw.jpg


It's my understanding that 'Burberrys' is a separate line from Burberry London. Is this correct?

Next is an Oxxford:

http://i.imgur.com/7dy9N.jpg



Tag:

http://i.imgur.com/XoyR9l.jpg

Most of what I find is stuff like Lands' End, Banana Republic, LL Bean, Eddie Bauer, and the like, so it was pretty exciting to find these things. I left behind two other Oxxford jackets that clearly seemed to be orphaned jackets. But I took a gamble on these two. Are they orphaned suit jackets?

Sorry about the pictures, bad camera phone and I can't figure out how to embed pictures.
The Oxxford is a nice pickup! If not your size I'm sure someone will want that glenplaid. FYI, you might want to put the pictures in the post instead of the link....much much easier to look at.

The Burberrys is older (idk age), but is before they changed the name from Burberrys to "Burberry". At this point I pass up most of the older stuff, quality was not as good, and not as much demand if you are looking to flip/trade due to the quality and age.
 

MVarga

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The Oxxford is my size
icon_gu_b_slayer[1].gif
, which is surprising. I live in an area that doesn't have many people that can afford this kind of nice stuff.

How do you directly embed pictures? I couldn't get it to work with the links (using
).

The Oxxford is a nice pickup! If not your size I'm sure someone will want that glenplaid. FYI, you might want to put the pictures in the post instead of the link....much much easier to look at.

The Burberrys is older (idk age), but is before they changed the name from Burberrys to "Burberry". At this point I pass up most of the older stuff, quality was not as good, and not as much demand if you are looking to flip/trade due to the quality and age.
 

Parterre

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I went to Goodwill for the first time yesterday. It was a fruitless search, but I had two close calls.

The first was a tweed three-piece by a French label I had never heard of. The vest and jacket fit me, but after finding the pants they were quite too short.

The second was a HSM tuxedo that fits all the criteria for "correctness". Peak lapels. No vents. One button. Satin facings on the lapels and pocket linings. Only thing amiss were the pocket flaps. It looked great, but I was dismayed to find it was a 43R. I'm a 42L. Also, the lapels were too narrow for my tastes- but I could have lived with that. Now, I'm not sure how this is supposed to work, but I bought it in any case and thought someone might want it... not sure how to procede. No idea of the age- I could match the label though. I took a picture of it with my (ancient) cellphone:


 
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