The official thrift/discount store bragging thread

[woolnotmutton]

probably some of my best finds.. thomas mason goldline fabrics.. I've found 4x Hamilton shirts so far but the previous 2x were way too big : (

on a side note I went to a couple of new stores, one was huge but prices were so bad on clothing... bad selection of suit/sport jackets and I saw a thomas pink shirt which I liked for $12.80. The salvation army I went to had a lot of overpricing dress shirts were 9.99 -14.99.. seems like the people in the store do look up stuff on the internet. They do have half off sales 1-2 days a week though, so I think that makes up for it.

 

[YoungAmerican]

I worry that I sound like a broken record, but almost any piece of clothing worth buying at $5 is worth buying at $12.

 

[Nataku]

Personally, there's a lot of stuff out there that I'd pick up for $5-$6 but would definitely pass at if it were over $10.

 

[woolnotmutton]

on a side note I went to a couple of new stores, one was huge but prices were so bad on clothing... bad selection of suit/sport jackets and I saw a thomas pink shirt which I liked for $12.80. The salvation army I went to had a lot of overpricing dress shirts were 9.99 -14.99.. seems like the people in the store do look up stuff on the internet. They do have half off sales 1-2 days a week though, so I think that makes up for it.

I worry that I sound like a broken record, but almost any piece of clothing worth buying at $5 is worth buying at $12.

I had no problem buying the pink other than I just hate stores that mark up prices like that just b/c they take the time to know which one is a name brand and which one is not, takes all the fun out of thirfting and I'm pretty certain that the shirt might have become damaged with 1 security magnetic thing + 2x staples on price tag.. I hate when stores do that.

 

[ruben]



Personally, there's a lot of stuff out there that I'd pick up for $5-$6 but would definitely pass at if it were over $10.

I worry that I sound like a broken record, but almost any piece of clothing worth buying at $5 is worth buying at $12.

on a side note I went to a couple of new stores, one was huge but prices were so bad on clothing... bad selection of suit/sport jackets and I saw a thomas pink shirt which I liked for $12.80. The salvation army I went to had a lot of overpricing dress shirts were 9.99 -14.99.. seems like the people in the store do look up stuff on the internet. They do have half off sales 1-2 days a week though, so I think that makes up for it.

I'm with youngamerican on this. Higher prices are a double edged sword, sure it sucks when stores raise their prices, but usually the higher the prices the longer the good stuff stays on the shelves. Higher prices cut into big-time flipper's profit margins so they stay away, and casual shoppers are less likely to pick up something nice not in their size for their husband/friend/dad/ebay when it's more expensive. The stores I go to that consistently have the best stuff are the ones who don't have set ($4 shirt, $10 suit) prices and allow for high, but no outrageous prices on good stuff. There's a difference between the place that puts the licensed dior raincoat out for $100 and the place that recognizes quality and puts their Oxxfords out for $25.

 

[cpmac7]



Personally, there's a lot of stuff out there that I'd pick up for $5-$6 but would definitely pass at if it were over $10.

I could not say this better. I see a Lacoste Shirt for $5 and I wanna buy but anything over $8 I dont want to buy!

CP

 

[jkidd41011]

This w/e finds:

-100% Cashmere tan overcoat for the wife. This is probably 35-40 years old and is nearly perfect.
-A bespoke 1972 Andover (unfortunately not shop) sport coat. First piece on vintage clothing I've run across that actually still looks good.
-2 recent Tricots St Raphael sweaters size large (willing to trade otherwise I'll give them to my father in law)
-Tyrwhitt tie - 1st one of these I found that wasn't trashed
-BB long sleeve polo (my size)
-2 Patagonia pullovers for the bay

The Goodwill up at my parents place was so overloaded is was tough to look. Who knows what we missed.

 

[MattR]



I found an Italian tie--kicking myself for forgetting the brand--which opened up to reveal a rather naked woman having, shall we say, a good time with herself. It had a stain, so I didn't buy it, but I'd never seen a tie with actual silkscreen hardcore pornography before. (Normally, I might dry clean for so unique an item, but I didn't shall we say want to speculate on what the stain was from.) I don't think this item's going to move, so if I'm back in the same store I'll try to get a pic.

I'm not sure where you're thrifting at, and I'm sure these ties exist all over the place, but that sounds EXACTLY like a tie I passed up a few weeks ago. I remember looking it over, and when I went to check the folds, there she was a'diddlin' herself. If not for that stain, I would be wearing it to just about every major occasion I could pass it off at.

 

[YoungAmerican]

Nataku, what would you buy at $5 that you wouldn't at $10?

A great suit is a great suit. If I find a suit that is helpful to my wardrobe, it's still helpful to my wardrobe at $80. A couple of months ago, I bought a Kiton jacket at a very expensive thrift in San Francisco for a hundred bucks. Still much less than I would have had to pay for that type of jacket new, no matter what the brand. It filled a hole in my wardrobe, and I'm guessing that the price was part of what had kept the low-end flippers, the ones with a cart full of Brooks Brothers and Calvin Klein, away.

Even when it comes to something like neckties, at this point in my life, I have all the fair-quality neckties I'll ever need. A Talbott tie really has no value to me unless it's something I specifically need. If I see an exceptionally cool one, I would buy it at ten dollars I'd buy it as readily as I would at five dollars. If I saw a Borelli tie that I liked, I would buy it for twenty or thirty, even.

As for stuff like licensed Dior raincoats or Tommy Hilfiger suits for $100... I wouldn't buy those at any price, so I don't really care what they're priced at.

Looking at the prices relatively is a false economy. You end up with a wardrobe full of mediocre stuff that was $4, but you don't really need or want. I'd much rather pay $20 for something good than $4 for something indifferent.

That goes even if I'm flipping. It takes at least ten or twenty bucks of my time to sell something on eBay. So I'm not gonna buy something that's $5 and is worth $20. For those for whom this is a profession, and you need volume to pay your rent, I understand, but that isn't most people in this thread, or even most people who buy stuff and sell it on eBay.

 

[BernieStevens]



I found an Italian tie--kicking myself for forgetting the brand--which opened up to reveal a rather naked woman having, shall we say, a good time with herself. It had a stain, so I didn't buy it, but I'd never seen a tie with actual silkscreen hardcore pornography before. (Normally, I might dry clean for so unique an item, but I didn't shall we say want to speculate on what the stain was from.) I don't think this item's going to move, so if I'm back in the same store I'll try to get a pic.

http://www.rialtotiecompany.com/rialto/about.jsp

 

[Nataku]



Nataku, what would you buy at $5 that you wouldn't at $10?
A great suit is a great suit. If I find a suit that is helpful to my wardrobe, it's still helpful to my wardrobe at $80. A couple of months ago, I bought a Kiton jacket at a very expensive thrift in San Francisco for a hundred bucks. Still much less than I would have had to pay for that type of jacket new, no matter what the brand. It filled a hole in my wardrobe, and I'm guessing that the price was part of what had kept the low-end flippers, the ones with a cart full of Brooks Brothers and Calvin Klein, away.
Even when it comes to something like neckties, at this point in my life, I have all the fair-quality neckties I'll ever need. A Talbott tie really has no value to me unless it's something I specifically need. If I see an exceptionally cool one, I would buy it at ten dollars I'd buy it as readily as I would at five dollars. If I saw a Borelli tie that I liked, I would buy it for twenty or thirty, even.
As for stuff like licensed Dior raincoats or Tommy Hilfiger suits for $100... I wouldn't buy those at any price, so I don't really care what they're priced at.
Looking at the prices relatively is a false economy. You end up with a wardrobe full of mediocre stuff that was $4, but you don't really need or want. I'd much rather pay $20 for something good than $4 for something indifferent.
That goes even if I'm flipping. It takes at least ten or twenty bucks of my time to sell something on eBay. So I'm not gonna buy something that's $5 and is worth $20. For those for whom this is a profession, and you need volume to pay your rent, I understand, but that isn't most people in this thread, or even most people who buy stuff and sell it on eBay.

I see where you're coming from. I'd be happy to buy a Attolini suit at $10 or $100. Heck, I paid $40 a pop for those Isaia suits I scored several years back.

There are a lot of items though that fit in the category of "I'd buy it for $5, but not for anything about $10". Most stuff in this category is for personal casual wear and doesn't have a super high retail price to begin with.

- Lacoste shirts (as cpmac7 mentioned) for personal wear/beating around.
- Patagonia shirts for personal wear.
- Jeans for work. They're going to get oily/beat up anyway. Why waste another $5 on them?
- Tommy Bahama, Zanella, Peter Millar and Polo RL. This stuff can be very nice but is so common around here. If I see something I like for $15, I know I'll likely find one similar down the road for cheaper. Unless it's super cool (ie: wool & leather Polo RL hunting trousers) and I need to have it, I'll pass at a higher price. Plus, my closet is so packed, I want to spend as less as possible on something I may only wear once and then sell/redonate.

 

[AndroFan]

Man, one of my favorite spots is turning into a pretty nice spot:

Picked up this Loro Piana shirt. After I picked it up, I was amazed to see it is 100% cotton; I seriously thought it was cashmere. It's easily the softest cotton shirt I've ever felt. And the thick MOP buttons are gorgeous.



Oxxford suit jacket (yes? It doesn't look like a SC...does Oxxford distinguish on their tags? If so, where would I look/what would it say?). I scoured the store looking for the pants, but to no avail. The small flap of fabric on the back left vent side needs to be restitched, but it's otherwise flawless. No idea how recent it is, but it looks hardly worn. Really heavy/thick feeling for a half canvas. Really nice stuff.







Last but certainly not least, an Armani "Le Collezioni" Tuxedo. I actually found the jacket alone at first and got excited, but then bummed when I realized that there were no pants. I opened up another tuxedo jacket sitting next it, and sure enough, the matching pants were there! It's in fantastic condition and it looks pretty recent, though I'm not sure how to tell (again, is there an indication on the tag that I included in the pics below?). The jacket fits me but the pants are too big, so it's gonna have to go (which is unfortunate since I've been looking for a tux for an event coming up). Awesome piece.

 

[woolnotmutton]

Man, one of my favorite spots is turning into a pretty nice honeypot:

Picked up this Loro Piana shirt. After I picked it up, I was amazed to see it is 100% cotton; I seriously thought it was cashmere. It's easily the softest cotton shirt I've ever felt. And the thick MOP buttons are gorgeous.



Oxxford suit jacket (yes? It doesn't look like a SC...does Oxxford distinguish on their tags? If so, where would I look/what would it say?). I scoured the store looking for the pants, but to no avail. The small flap of fabric on the back left vent side needs to be restitched, but it's otherwise flawless. No idea how recent it is, but it looks hardly worn. Really heavy/thick feeling for a half canvas. Really nice stuff.







Last but certainly not least, an Armani "Le Collezioni" Tuxedo. I actually found the jacket alone at first and got excited, but then bummed when I realized that there were no pants. I opened up another tuxedo jacket sitting next it, and sure enough, the matching pants were there! It's in fantastic condition and it looks pretty recent, though I'm not sure how to tell (again, is there an indication on the tag that I included in the pics below?). The jacket fits me but the pants are too big, so it's gonna have to go (which is unfortunate since I've been looking for a tux for an event coming up). Awesome piece.

cool tux and nice shirt.

 

[rgoldstein]

Black Fleece narrow tie, wool. 16.00 at Syms yesterday.

Also scored a nice pair of black, split-toe AE Montgomerys for 179.99. That was probably the better find, and my first pair of AEs!

 

[Minarchist]

any of those shoes a 12Dish?

Nothing that big, I think they are from 8.5-10.5

Do tell...