The official thrift/discount store bragging thread

[TheNeedMachine]

Some of my more interesting recent finds:


Ozwald Boateng Bespoke Couture PURPLE mohair overcoat, 44

That thing looks interesting. And nice find - hardly ever see it. Hope you post a link on the "what I'm selling" thread if you end up parting with it.

A couple finds from today:

Some decent grabs but might be time for a new camera, unless you live on Saturn and everything is always that yellow. Or maybe I have jaundice. Oh my God, do I have jaundice guys?! Great, I have jaundice.

Also, not pictured, I purchased The Dumb and Dumber soundtrack and Best of Wesley Willis cds hahaha. Probably my favorite part of the whole haul...

I knew WW fairly well when I lived in Chicago...or, as much as someone could know him from occasional semi-social interactions. We always did the soft head-butt, saw the guy at least a couple times a week. He was an intimidating-looking dude, and could be unpredictable (you know his story), but all in all was totally sweet. I bought all sorts of CD's from him - he used to carry a big CD case around his neck and hawk his CD's wherever he went. RIP big man.

Solid navy hard 3 button no vent? nice fabric but boxy cut? Yeah.

Don't encourage him.

 

[silverwarebandit]



I knew WW fairly well when I lived in Chicago...or, as much as someone could know him from occasional semi-social interactions.  We always did the soft head-butt, saw the guy at least a couple times a week.  He was an intimidating-looking dude, and could be unpredictable (you know his story), but all in all was totally sweet.  I bought all sorts of CD's from him - he used to carry a big CD case around his neck and hawk his CD's wherever he went.  RIP big man. 

I moved here too late to meet him, but since the name change I've made a point of calling the tower the wesley willis tower

 

[jebarne]

For this reason, I developed a certain order to my thrifting; I hit up suits and blazers first. Not only does the value of suits and blazers outweigh that of shirts or pants of the same brand, but also can give you guidance about how to conduct your search of the rest of the store. If you find an orphan, then you know what size and patterns to pay close attention to in the pants section. The suit and blazer finds can be the smoke signals indicating a possible fire...if you find some suits, then it's likely that a good donation was made, letting you know that a thorough search of the rest of the store is in order.

It's great to hear that you found the matching pants on a return visit; I rarely ever reunite orphans, especially on subsequent visits.

I usually go in order myself....shoe's, overcoats, suits/SC, pants, shirts.......but when I got there a ton of people were going thru the suits, so I had to come back to it.

 

[meister]



Unknown vintage

Vintage French Shriner

Unknown vintage

These are nice. The first are early 50s a famous design a few makers copied. The second are maybe late 40s or early 50s with the white thread stitching - I think. Are they French Shriner &URNER?

 

[Fueco]

I usually go in order myself....shoe's, overcoats, suits/SC, pants, shirts.......but when I got there a ton of people were going thru the suits, so I had to come back to it.

This is where being on the West Coast has its advantage and disadvantages... Since no one over here wears suits, let alone looks for them in thrifts, I save that for last. Of course, the disadvantage is that no one donates them either, so the pickins are slim!

Anyone interested in Gitman Bros. shirt or two in a size large?

 

[Fueco]

Something that old cant really be considered "the good", even though its well made.

To be frank, the only real "good" Lanvin pieces - speaking to flip, I mean - are the ones that look like they belong in SWD instead of CM.

And, because Im tired and cranky, Ill rant for a sec - while label hunting is worthwhile obviously, some of you need to start looking more at quality and construction and shopping with taste. Finding a 3x2" label on an ugly garment that says Rubinacci is one thing - but finding no label on a 100% cashmere, hand applied collar, tailored full canvas sport coat could be even better than that.

Its much harder to thrift this way, because its not the math of learning encyclopedic knowledge of what a label looks like. Just saying. Ive found some stellar pieces that are made by nobodies, that sell for more than the "good" Lanvin. And almost certainly, Id wear something that fits and looks nice and is anon - as opposed to wearing a 20 year old "good" Canali.

(note, Im not by any means knocking the post above me - just something to open some narrow eyes a bit and teach you what I have learned)

This is an outstanding point, and I'd like to think I'm getting there. I'm certainly there when it comes to "spotting" good pieces in the sweater, shoe and outerwear sections... I practically run through the sweaters, feeling every single piece for merino wool and cashmere. I even "spotted" a cashmere sweater blended with merino and rabbit fur this way (that and the light pink color made it stand out as a women's sweater, but that's another story). With jackets, I'm partially looking at style, because I can spot a Patagonia or Arc'teryx piece from a mile away, and have the skill to not even look at Columbia and Hilfiger pieces. Footwear isn't quite as easy. I look for certain styles (wholecuts, wingtips, captoes first), then I pick up any shoe that looks interesting. If it is substantial (ie. heavy), I look further. The one time I found a pair of Edward Greens, I couldn't even see the label until I got outside into the sunlight. The shoes just freakin' oozed quality!

I'm guilty often of looking for labels because I haven't fondled enough high-quality pieces to easily recognize the dividing line between run-of-the-mill Hickey Freeman and grail pieces (though the few Oxxford pieces I've found certainly stood out from the Haggar shite!. I'm getting there, and do plan on being the most efficient motha out there doing what I do. Yeah, Spoo, I'm coming for you... Not in a bad way, I'm just aiming to turn my small business into a thriving empire.

The other advice I'll give to folks here is to expand your horizons. Don't be stuck looking only in certain parts of the store. I've found awesome pieces in everything from the book section (I once found a friend's senior year high school year book at a GW! She was quite shocked when I took a picture of her portrait and sent it to her through FB) to the small appliances section (I thrifted a CCrane Radio+ in perfect condition for something like 1/30th of retail price).

 

[ejay1]

a few thrifted things from tonight


club monaco wool overcoat



USAF flight jacket

Talbott BOC, Zegna

Columbia omni-heat

nwt Polo pheasant chinos

RG

a Pink shirt without collar or cuff fray

Marker 2002 olympics

with zip-in fleece vest

Fownes Brothers cashmere-lined leather gloves

Pendleton

Waterfield muzetto outback waxed canvas bag

 

[Fueco]

So, after 3 years of thrifting diligently in this stinking desert, I found my first Kiton. Turns out it is NWT Kiton from Saks. Unfortunately, it has paisleys on it... which probably explains why it still has tags on it.



Also found a couple more nice Charvet ties.

Has paisley fallen out of favor lately? I like paisley ties second only to argyles/plaids. Perhaps that's just me...

I don't like that particular color of paisley, but I'm sure some people do! I find all sorts of good ties around here at discount stores because hardly anyone wears them here.

 

[ejay1]

I think paisley in madder earth-toned colors are quite favorable

 

[Digmenow]



I don't think I've ever said this on here, but I seriously turned to my wife and said, "That's that guy from StyleForum."

I loled at that. You might be the first person to actually recognize me. I've had to show the picture to friends and family even though they KNEW what scenes to look for in advance!

Thanks!

 

[ATLjon]

Led Zeppelin on Spotify!

 

[ilikethelights]



I knew WW fairly well when I lived in Chicago...or, as much as someone could know him from occasional semi-social interactions.  We always did the soft head-butt, saw the guy at least a couple times a week.  He was an intimidating-looking dude, and could be unpredictable (you know his story), but all in all was totally sweet.  I bought all sorts of CD's from him - he used to carry a big CD case around his neck and hawk his CD's wherever he went.  RIP big man. 

My wife and my first "date" was at a Wesley Willis show.

 

[TheNeedMachine]

I moved here too late to meet him, but since the name change I've made a point of calling the tower the wesley willis tower

It'll always be the Sears Tower to me. I need to get back to Chicago one day - been too long, though I'd probably be disappointed with the changes to my old neighborhoods. Only positive change might be that the planetarium is correct again after Pluto was deemed no longer planet-worthy.

My wife and my first "date" was at a Wesley Willis show.

I want to party with you guys.

 

[Snoogz]

 

[concealed]

quality doesn't blow me away, but nice photographs sir!