The official thrift/discount store bragging thread

[Steve Smith]

Originally Posted by EBTX66

I've started to see quite a few young people wearing actual uniform pieces and insignia as casual wear. I know people have always done some of that but right now it seems to be in particularly bad taste. I'm a veteran and I can't even bring myself to wear an old pair of BDU's, much less some high school kid with Justin Bieber hair wearing ratty jeans, a Marilyn Manson t-shirt and a USMC dress blues jackets (with medals!). I saw that at a movie theatre yesterday and nearly choked. I wish some former DI would have seen that and squared that dude away.
In the summer of 1981, when I was in Officer Candidate School at Quantico Virginia, I overheard two Drill Instructor equivalents talking about a Candidate who they had just seen wearing his military raincoat with civilian clothes. One of them said "It looks slimy to mix military and civilian clothing". Uniform regulations allowed wearing that raincoat with civvies, but it did look slimy. I have some suggestions concerning military gear. Some of this is just opinion. 1. Never, ever, ever wear a uniform item which has rank, unit patches (squadron patch, for example), or service patches / badges / insignia (examples: SEAL badge, Naval Aviator badge, Airborne Badge, Ranger tab, etc), unless you earned the right to wear those things. Those items are all earned, and you have not earned them. Wearing these items is implying that you have earned them. 2. Never wear a military dress or service class uniform if you are a civilian. A young man posted photos on SF with him wearing a Marine Corps enlisted "A" jacket, complete with rank but without belt. WTH? That always looks stupid. 3. How about a civilian wearing a USMC patch sewn on a leather jacket? No problem, because the patch is not a uniform item. That civilian may be a Marine or may be someone who thinks the USMC is cool and is showing some solidarity. 4. How about the same civilian wearing a plain A-2 military (Army and Air Force) leather flight jacket, an undecorated G-1 (Navy or USMC) flight jacket, or an undecorated CWU-36 (green flight jacket worn by all services). No problem. 5. How about wearing the same A-2 and putting military patches on it? See #1. I have a G-1 and a CWU-36, both of which were issued to me and both have patches. I can wear them because I earned the patches. OTOH, I own a Cooper A-2 and I would never put any patch on it because I never earned the right to wear that Army jacket with patches. 6. BDU (camouflage) uniforms are field and work uniforms. They are not appropriate for wearing in public. In summary, I will say that if you were in the military you probably have a pretty good sense of what military items you can wear (not many), and in what circumstances they will be appropriate (seldom). The only military items I wear are flight jackets, and those only in limited situations. I did find a desert parka, which I posted recently in this thread, and I would wear that camping or hunting. Visual summary: OK to wear:

No, unless you rate the wings and served in that squadron:

Do. Not. Wear.

 

[Nataku]

Originally Posted by k4lnamja

I cannot and I mean CANNOT stand kids/young adults my age that wear fatigues or any military inspired clothing. War is not glorious or how shall I say, "fashionable". I see ppl wearing camo cargo shorts all of the time ... I never served but to you and every other vet, I thank you for what you've done.
I have serious issues with kids who wear stuff that still have the patches, medals and pins on them. It's not only dishonorable to the original owner who earned those, but, in my opinion it's dishonorable to our country too. It's not fashionable. As Steve Smith stated, the BDUs are for work and field. They're not fashionable, but they are built very well. The OD green sateen shirts are amazing. I have three that have been worn regularly as a work shirt since the early 70's and are still holding up very well. The rip-stop poplin stuff is great for hiking or walking through brush. I wear an old OD green M65 jacket when I need a jacket I don't care that I get dirty and I usually only wear the old jungle fatigues when I'm out in the woods. My father and grandfather were both veterans and wore their stuff from the service till it fell apart, which was a loooong time.

 

[iDressLikeA2yrOld]

I manage to find some Vintage Oliver Peoples OP-506 glasses, circa 1987, in a dark tortoise color for $1 in the "junk" glasses pile at the salvation army!

 

[rx330]

I found a pretty nice Eterna SilverLine dress shirt:

 

[Steve Smith]

Originally Posted by iDressLikeA2yrOld

I manage to find some Vintage Oliver Peoples OP-506 glasses, circa 1987, in a dark tortoise color for $1 in the "junk" glasses pile at the salvation army!


Neat find. In the last 12 months I have pulled a pair of perfect Bolle sunglasses and a pair of Ray-Ban aviator style sunglasses out of the junk glasses bin. It never hurts to give it a quick look.

 

[Nataku]

Well, I couldn't stand it any longer. I had a friend pick that Adrian Jules custom suit jacket up for me. The thing is mint. Tons of handwork. Loads of pick stitching. If I by some miracle find the pants and then find out that someone already bought the jacket, I'd be kicking myself for a long time. It was made for a high profile Twin Cities laywer. The real kicker is that it's only a year old!

 

[Temujin]

Two Samuelsohn Sport Coats, and a pair of Cole Haan MI Italy brown woven loafers in 11D.

 

[mistermidwester]

A good week (or so of thrifting, including one Doh!).

Found a great Hart Schaffner Marx navy blazer that fits me like it was tailored, as well as a load of great ties. These are three of my faves...

Also found an old plaid wool Pendleton driving cap. I have a couple of these and they're perfect when it's cold, but not cold enough that my fleshy ear flaps freeze.

Also found loads of great sweaters/sweater vests lately, all of nice wool, which is nice considering the weather we've had (and are about to have). This is my favorite of the bunch, a vintage L.L. Bean, made in Norway. It's so thick that I can't wear it unless the temps are in the single digits, otherwise massive sweat ensues.

My big DOH! was finding the jacket (and believe me, I tore the store apart looking for the pants) of a Gieves and Hawkes suit. It was marked 99 cents, so I bought it anyway. The pattern is a really faint lighter blue windowpane on navy, so maybe someone adventurous would want it even though it's orphaned, right?

Right?

Doh!

 

[mistermidwester]

Originally Posted by iDressLikeA2yrOld

I manage to find some Vintage Oliver Peoples OP-506 glasses, circa 1987, in a dark tortoise color for $1 in the "junk" glasses pile at the salvation army!

These are sweet! My wife found some really old Wayfarers in a junk basket a couple years ago. It's like finding buried freaking treasure.

 

[k4lnamja]

Maybe I'm still a newbie but I keep buying
things that have to
be tailored later. Am
I the only one in this boat? I got 2 suits, a navy blazer, 3 trousers and 3 dress shirts tailored for $300. Everything will fit perfectly. Do you only buy items that "fit like a glove"? I find thr majority of my finds for dress shirts either
need to
be taken
in and/or sleeves shortened.

On another note, I bought a Ralph Lauren suit that looks awesome on me but I just
noticed the pants are double pleated!! Can I un-pleat these? My tailor said he cannot. Keep in mind this tailor is for my "affordable" items. I've yet yo ask my high end tailor.

On an interesting note, I found a nwt audio cd set for the book, The Kite Runner for $10. I could "read" it although I already have or I might use it as a gift.

Cheers

 

[Kitontini]

Good (Not great) finds for me today!

Found a Brunello Cucinelli button up shirt, Size 54! Pale Yellow. Found an Etro Dress Shirt, Size 42. A White Sulka Dress Shirt, Size 17.5.

Found a bunch of ties! My favorites are... 2 Brioni's, Canali, Etro, Robert Talbott Carmel, and an Hermes!

I can't believe I found a Brunello Cucinelli Shirt! It was my first one!

 

[RedRaider]

Another great day of thrifting today. Hit up two stores I don't normally shop at was pleasantly surprised. At the first store I found a brand new Joseph & Fiess navy blue sports coat - perfectly functional for my job.

The second store had a great inventory of shirts and suits, unfortunately none of the suits were my size, a lot of great names. I did find a nice Brooks Brothers shirt, purple stripes, really nice condition - half off because the store was clearing out merch.

The second shirt was a custom (no designer tag), very nice baby blue, perfect cut for me. Both shirts for $3.18!

 

[k4lnamja]

Originally Posted by RedRaider

Another great day of thrifting today. Hit up two stores I don't normally shop at was pleasantly surprised. At the first store I found a brand new Joseph & Fiess navy blue sports coat - perfectly functional for my job. The second store had a great inventory of shirts and suits, unfortunately none of the suits were my size, a lot of great names. I did find a nice Brooks Brothers shirt, purple stripes, really nice condition - half off because the store was clearing out merch. The second shirt was a custom (no designer tag), very nice baby blue, perfect cut for me. Both shirts for $3.18!
Joseph and Feiss is good?

 

[amadar]

Found an awesome dark brown windowpane Brioni jacket today - two button, side vents, surgeon cuffs, in perfect condition and not dated at all, even though by the labels I can tell it has some age to it. As I'm browsing the pants section I find the matching pants, and I didn't even think it was a suit! I was so excited until I found a small rip in the back pocket seam of the pants

Picked both up anyways (no way I was leaving the jacket). Unfortunately, its a 38R so way too small for me.

I'm not sure how much it would cost to repair the rip or if it would even be worth it given the relative age of the suit. What are your thoughts on the use of the jacket as a SC? Edit: Found 2 moth bites on the underside of one of the sleeves.......damn!!!

 

[TheWGP]

Originally Posted by k4lnamja

Joseph and Feiss is good?

No, it's not... avoid avoid avoid.