What's Your Favorite Thrift Store Find??

[Pedro]

I have found many nice pieces of clothes (all in "like new" condition) in Value Village around the province of Quebec. Among them are :

Loro Piana cashmere jacket (was $25)
Two Gloverall duffle coat (one new with tags) for less than $30
Many Hermes tie
Some nice pairs of shoes
Some nice cashmere or merino wool sweater

My wife also found two nice bags (again in "like new" condition) : one Lancel and one Louis Vuitton (Epi leather)

 

[chorse123]

1 "US BEER TEAM" t-shirt. $1.50

I've never found anything great, other than casual clothes, but haven't really given much time to looking. Plus, when I have, it's invariably been in a place like NYC, which gets picked over by professionals.

 

[imageWIS]

Although not a thrift-store find, but I guess one of my better finds that I let go (I was not knowledgeble at the time) was a RL purple label navy blazer in 100% cashmere at a Polo outlet. Marked $120. I still remember what beautiful work it had.

Yeah, that doesn't seem to happen too much anymore. I have not seen RLPL tailored or sportswear (except for 3-button polo shirts) at my local Polo outlet in quite some time.

Jon.

 

[kabert]

C, care to share the name of your favorite thrift shop with all the Oxxford (I'm a 44L in Oxxford, so not to worry....).

Pedro, Value Village seems to have a key advantage (at least the VV here in the DC area) -- they will come to one's house to pick up donations; we just put it in a bag outside the front door and they come by and pick it up, leaving behind a receipt. We've donated some pretty great stuff to Value Village.

 

[VMan]

I stopped in the goodwill near my house and found three Oxxford suits (not just jackets) for $8 each, in various shades of gray.

Unfortunately, all of the jackets had some moth holes near the bottom, under the left pocket (&%$#@. moths...). The fabric was absolutely pristine, and they couldnt have been dry cleaned more than once each.

My favorite find was a navy Jil Sander suit that I kept for myself.

 

[AlanC]

The first rule in thrift shopping is to determine why it's there. Usually it's pretty obvious. I try to look hard for reasons not to buy something, otherwise you'll dribble away dollars on items you'll just have to donate back.

However, I did find a mint condition Robert Talbott tie ($1)and very lightly used Breuer tie ($1.99) this afternoon while running some errands. But I also tried on a nice suit that turned out to have mildew on the shoulder. Alas.

 

[Alexander Kabbaz]

Best find ever was a British WWI Civil Defense Coat. Easily a 25-26oz., beautiful dark-navy wool melton. The coat weights about 18 pounds. It is floor length on me (I'm 6'1&quot and has buttons or hooks from the floor to the insertable chin-piece. The collar, when turned up, fastens closed in front around the nose and the rear comes halfway up my head. Bought in about 1972 at the Canal Street Jean Store (back when they sold only used clothing). Five bucks - but I had to dig through a very, very large carton to find my size.

One of the absolute best thrift stores on the planet is the Arf thrift shop in Southampton. It is the "in" place for the well-to-do to donate their gently used's. When I say best, that's in comparison to such gems as the Upper East Side's Sloan-Kettering Thrift Shop. Major difference? Sloan-Kettering knows what the clothes are worth and prices accordingly. Not so at Arf.

 

[Mike C.]

Best find ever was a British WWI Civil Defense Coat. Easily a 25-26oz., beautiful dark-navy wool melton.

Wow, you MUST post a pic of this coat. It sounds like quite a collectors piece, and also something that I'd wear.

 

[Alexander Kabbaz]

OK - Pix Shortly.

 

[musiczone]

Several years ago I went to my local thrift store in Phila. looking for vintage clothing and stumbled across a large Persian rug.I paid $10 for it and took it to an Armenian friend for cleaning($20) and identification(Kurdish/Bijar).I had it sold in NYC for $1k, it would have brought more but it had a lot of damage.

 

[Etruscan]

I'm reminded of another thrift-store item: a waist-length olive-red-and-gold plaid cotton jacket with black knitted shawl collar/placket and brass buttons. Probably from about 1960, and very Kramer-ish. When I bought it in 1985 it was new-old stock, with its original tag ("Atomic Sportswear&quot attached. It can't have cost more than $10 or 15. I wear it occasionally and it always draws compliments.

Another good score of similar price, also new-old stock, was a pair of terra-cotta heavy cotton very high-waisted double-pleated trousers, probably from the late '40s. Whenever I wear them I feel like William Holden in Sunset Boulevard. The same day I also found a pair of apparently unworn olive-brown riding breeches or jodhpurs, with suede facings at the inside knees. These are less useful (as I haven't a horse) but they're in the back of the closet somewhere. Perhaps I'll dress up as Cecil B. DeMille next Halloween.

 

[Fashionslave]

Wow. This is like Antiques Roadshow.Keep those stories of treasures coming.Great finds of all sorts- I particularly like the Civil War coat and the Persian Bidjar rug.Near museum pieces.Yea,people think that items are donated solely due to damage or wear.While that certainly may be true,they also are known to simply "clean out" attics,closets,garages,basements regardless of the contents' value.Let's say Uncle Ned passed on,well here's his clothing.There may be a few Huntsman suits in his closet that his heirs don't particularly care or know about nor have any sentimental attachment to.Therefore,some of us on the Style Forum who have an eye the finer things yet do not wish(or are unable) to pay retail,nor care if it has been worn previously are the lucky "recipients."A friend of mine once found a full set(4 or 5 pieces) of Bottega Veneta luggage and paid only 15 bucks.

 

[Fashionslave]

Oops-I meant Civil Defensecoat. Sorry,Alex.

 

[Brian SD]

Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche navy sports jacket for $5.

 

[Horace]

This is a rather pathetic one: and it isn't even really a find:

a beautiful Paul Stuart suit 43R+ (just slightly longer than an R) -- the jacket was perfect. And it fit me perfectly, over a wool v-neck sweater. The trousers, hanging elsewhere, had a large hole in one of the legs. So large infact, that it wouldn't have paid to have them sent to the reweaver.

It would've been my first truly grand suit purchase from a Salvation Army.