Quick question on a few designers

[Nataku]

Hello all! I'm a newby to the Styleforum, but I'm glad to be here as I've found some great information from pokin around the past couple nights. I have a few designers that I can't find barely any information on, but I know are pretty decent quality.

(Into junk....if you don't like reading, you can skip this part)

I work at the local Salvation Army, so I find a lot of good stuff. I've worked there a year this December, and I've noticed the wierdest trend. The really nice designer stuff sits and people just pass it by. People think Chaps and Nautica and Tommy Hilfiger are "high end" and go nuts over that stuff. Others buy the Faded Glory and George garbage thinking it's a steal because they saw the same shirt at K-Mart for $15 and they're getting it for $2. I felt bad snagging the good stuff, so I just let stuff go for a week and didn't snatch anything up. If you don't know - us thrift stores get swamped with clothes, the vast majority of it being trash. We need to "rag out" or take out stuff that's been out on the floor for over three weeks to make room for new stuff. The old stuff gets compressed and sold as rags to manufacturing corperations. It kills me to think a Brioni blazer that was barely worn is being used to wipe grease off someone's hand because people never heard of the name and passed it by. Well, anyway - come time to "rag out" the blue tags, which was the color tag we were putting out that week - all the Ted Baker, Brioni, Corneliani, Eton, Borelli....they were about to hit the truck to go downtown and be compressed, but I saved em. Don't know the real point of that passage - I just felt like letting you guys know there is some AWESOME stuff at thrift stores. Anyway...onto...


The actual designers/brands in question:
I got these from work, all like new and freshly drycleaned when they were dropped off.

1) Bruli (Swiss made), a dress shirt
2) Kris Club shirtmakers (dress shirt)
3) Avignon Clothing (made in Italy) with pearl buttons and contrast stiching (short sleeve casual shirt)
4)Bamboo (dress shirt)
5) Malatesta (dress shirt)
6) Tessabit Como (dress shirt)

If anyone has any information of these, could you help me out. I'm itching to know about them, as the stuff is really nice...and I'd really like to know how much they usually go for new/where they're sold and perhaps the story behind them. Thanks for listening to my rambling!

 

[rnoldh]

Good luck and welcome. Are you trying to sell the stuff you acquire. Or build up a fine wardrobe for yourself? Either way this is a good Forum for you.

Try Googling the brand names you cite! The only one I had heard of was Bruli, a very nice Swiss shirt, and a quick Google search got me the following:

http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:...s&ct=clnk&cd=1

BTW: STP (Sierra Trading Post is one of the Forum's Sponsored Links!)

 

[Nataku]

Awesome. I'm just trying to make myself a presentable wardrobe, and make a few bucks on the side if I don't like something/doesn't fit right. I'm beginning to need more closet space though, as I have more clothes than my girlfriend...don't know if that's good or bad

 

[rnoldh]

That's good

For you at least!

 

[Jared]

Would it be totally out to lunch to suggest that you might be able to educate some of your customers? I figure half the people shopping at thrift stores never got the opportunity to learn about brands and how to distinguish quality. What if you just posted some little signs with a suit heirarchy or ranges of original retail prices (don't waste your time or get yourself in trouble by referring to specific items)? In the thrift bragging thread some members have mentioned thrift stores that have a "designer" section that usually has nothing of the sort - could you pitch to your manager the idea of a "classics" or "quality" section? Or maybe I'm just a dreamer.

(In the short term, sure, I'd prefer to you flip the stuff in B&S. But everyone here acknowledges the virtue of good customer service, especially because some of your customers need it more than most. Also, every little step we take to rehabilitate the North American clothing aesthetic is beneficial and you are in a position to make more of a difference than the rest of us.)

 

[Nataku]

Hey. Yeah.....I've tried with a few of the usuals. I've became pretty good friends with a few - but most are old (70's-90's) and aren't going to buy an Etro shirt and the Duchamp paisley tie....they stick with the classics. I did introduce Gene, who's played golf since the 30's to the Jeff Rose and Bobby Jones collections. He swears by them now and I set a few aside for him so when he comes in he doesn't have to search through the many racks of junk. Although he still buys the old Arrow Tournament button-downs from the early 80's - some things can't change I guess! I do sell quite a few stuff on eBay now though. Before I thought of doing that as sort of wrong - but I think of it as a side businness due to only being paid $7.50 an hour. It works! I've sold a few Brioni blazers, Etro, Fray, Borelli, and Corneliani shirts, etc. Of course I only sell the stuff that doesn't fit - as I try to expand my wardrobe as far as possible

 

[VMan]

Originally Posted by Nataku

Hey. Yeah.....I've tried with a few of the usuals. I've became pretty good friends with a few - but most are old (70's-90's) and aren't going to buy an Etro shirt and the Duchamp paisley tie....they stick with the classics. I did introduce Gene, who's played golf since the 30's to the Jeff Rose and Bobby Jones collections. He swears by them now and I set a few aside for him so when he comes in he doesn't have to search through the many racks of junk. Although he still buys the old Arrow Tournament button-downs from the early 80's - some things can't change I guess! I do sell quite a few stuff on eBay now though. Before I thought of doing that as sort of wrong - but I think of it as a side businness due to only being paid $7.50 an hour. It works! I've sold a few Brioni blazers, Etro, Fray, Borelli, and Corneliani shirts, etc. Of course I only sell the stuff that doesn't fit - as I try to expand my wardrobe as far as possible

That is very nice of you, but I can't help but question the staff's reaction to you setting aside merchandise to your customers.

I had thought, a few years ago, about getting a very-part time job at Goodwill so perhaps I could sort through the good merchandise a few days a week. However, I learned that their policy states that employees are not allowed to purchase merchandise that has been on the floor for a certain period of time. I believe they are allowed to purchase 'later' merchandise, but only if they are not working on that shift. How does it work in your store?

 

[Nataku]

Yeah, the Goodwill stores are all like that. Plus the managers are more stricter, more rules....etc. I like the Salvation Army because it's really laid back. Our store is in a suburb, yet gets the most donations out of all 15 metro area stores besides the main Minneapolis store. The only thing we bother digging through if the 'bric' as they call it. Otherwise known as everything outher than clothes. All the clothes are usually in bags and get put into one of three huge bins in our donation area behind the store - then at night the bins get emptyed and taken downtown by truck to get priced by the rehab workers - then the priced clothes get distributed among all the stores. Our store gets about 1000 pieces of clothes a day. Whenever I hang clothes (take them out of the bins and hang them on rolling racks to go out on the floor and be hung in the appropriate isle), I dispose of anything nasty. Ugly stuff, you know....the stuff you don't want to even touch when thrifting. Ripped stained sweatshirts, polyester grandma pants, women's collarless blazers from the 80's/90's (one of the biggest fashion mistakes ever)...etc. It really helps keep the racks clear of junk and makes room for the good quality clothes people are going to want to buy. However if I see a nice Brioni or Zegna dress shirt with a stain or something, I'll put it out because someone MAY buy it for the buttons (like people here on the forums do) or may want to try a stain remover. I've bought lots of stuff like that, threw some lestoil on the stain and it was good as new! Anyway - enough rambling and onto answering your question. At the Salvation Army - the item must be priced first before anyone can buy it, including employees. However, being an employee, you can price it yourself an then go buy it! You also can't take stuff home from donations (aka stealing. It's immoral, defeats the purpose of the Salvation Army and just kinda makes you feel bad). We can however buy stuff from the clothing bins, as everythings already been priced already. I've found a lot of neat stuff so far! About holding merchendise for customers - my manager is really cool. Her theory is, if it gets sold, nothing to worry about. Especially since the people I set stuff aside for have been comming to that store since before I was born and buying stuff - so they're very loyal customers. I'd recommend a job at a small-town thrift or Salvation Army before any Goodwill store - although the pay is better at the Goodwills I've heard. Oh well....