The official thrift/discount store bragging thread

Today I found a pair of black Artioli dress shoes with a gold buckle in my size (11). They are a little bit snug but not uncomfortable at all. Found them at a Value Village for $14

Edit: I sprayed the shoes with some rubbing alcohol mixed with water and put them on with 2 pairs of athletic socks and let them dry. It stretched the leather enough to get rid of the snugness of the shoes and now they fit great.

I feel like I have either been getting really lucky lately, or I am just getting better at spotting good items because I have been finding a lot of good stuff this past few weeks.

Although I've all but given up on thrifting now, on the rare occasion I still muster the courage to brave the incessant annoyances that are common place when one enters the thrift store these days. It's been so long since I've found anything of note. Of course, if I wanted to pay $75 for a tattered BOSS orphaned suit jacket, or really splurge on a $175 navy pinstripe Canali jacket, why I would find loads every time. Still, when I am in a self-flagellating mood and decide to hit a thrift, I make an effort to look for the jackets with no obvious maker's tag. Invariably, the thrift store staff fail to see "BOSS" or "CALVIN KLEIN", etc., anywhere on the jacket and deem said items as worthless, and price them accordingly. Of course, often, they have guessed correctly. But, every now and again, they fail to check for quality construction, and inside the right inner pocket. For here is where one can find discretely placed makers' tags from Savile Row and similar quality tailors. Such was my find today.

All of that is to say I scored a fantastic bespoke tweed sportcoat in my size by Hall's Brothers of Oxford for $3. This was one piece absent from my wardrobe and I can't wait to sport it this fall. Shame the Canali was too big ...

I just picked up 2 fully canvassed vintage Southwick for The Andover Shop jackets yesterday, both 3 roll 2 sacks, in my size. One navy blazer w/ gold buttons, and one heavy grey herringbone tweed. They look to have been worn little, as they have the older Southwick label, but are in excellent condition throughout. Also picked up a pair of Allen Edmonds Castine driving moccasins in my size too. They are in fantastic condition, and look like they were really worn only for driving by the previous owner. At first I thought they were brand new, since the left shoe looked unworn, but the right one had some wear at the back right of the heel, and at the top left of the toe--exactly where you would expect wear from driving! Who knew!!?? Here's a pic of me wearing the tweed blazer: a pic of the older Southwick label: and the AE Castines:

Originally Posted by 83glt

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Although I've all but given up on thrifting now, on the rare occasion I still muster the courage to brave the incessant annoyances that are common place when one enters the thrift store these days. It's been so long since I've found anything of note. Of course, if I wanted to pay $75 for a tattered BOSS orphaned suit jacket, or really splurge on a $175 navy pinstripe Canali jacket, why I would find loads every time. Still, when I am in a self-flagellating mood and decide to hit a thrift, I make an effort to look for the jackets with no obvious maker's tag. Invariably, the thrift store staff fail to see "BOSS" or "CALVIN KLEIN", etc., anywhere on the jacket and deem said items as worthless, and price them accordingly. Of course, often, they have guessed correctly. But, every now and again, they fail to check for quality construction, and inside the right inner pocket. For here is where one can find discretely placed makers' tags from Savile Row and similar quality tailors. Such was my find today.

All of that is to say I scored a fantastic bespoke tweed sportcoat in my size by Hall's Brothers of Oxford for $3. This was one piece absent from my wardrobe and I can't wait to sport it this fall. Shame the Canali was too big ...


Great score!!

Originally Posted by 83glt

Click to expand...

All of that is to say I scored a fantastic bespoke tweed sportcoat in my size by Hall's Brothers of Oxford for $3. This was one piece absent from my wardrobe and I can't wait to sport it this fall. Shame the Canali was too big ...



Excellent find! Glad to see you've found a loop-hole to an ever-growing problem. I had a good stroke of luck myself today. Two hauls from two stores.

- Recent Oxxford "Hand Made in Chicago" olive and blue check sportcoat. MTM. Feels like a linen blend. 2 btn front. Fits like a 46-48R. Too large for me, unfortunately.


The rest of these I'm very excited about because they're all my size. Likely all from the same donor.

- 3 MTM Oxxford shirts.

- 2 recent Zegna striped dress shirts in my size.

- 3 Polo RL 1/4 zip cashmere sweaters

- 2 Polo RL 1/4 zip lambswool/silk sweaters.

Originally Posted by Nataku

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Excellent find! Glad to see you've found a loop-hole to an ever-growing problem. I had a good stroke of luck myself today. Two hauls from two stores.

- Recent Oxxford "Hand Made in Chicago" olive and blue check sportcoat. MTM. Feels like a linen blend. 2 btn front. Fits like a 46-48R. Too large for me, unfortunately.


The rest of these I'm very excited about because they're all my size. Likely all from the same donor.

- 3 MTM Oxxford shirts.

- 2 recent Zegna striped dress shirts in my size.

- 3 Polo RL 1/4 zip cashmere sweaters

- 2 Polo RL 1/4 zip lambswool/silk sweaters.

score!

You make me sad Nataku. Is everyone is MN that well-dressed?

A bit OT, but maybe an inspiration to us thrifters. Now this is what I call a score: $45 -> $200 million

Hit a couple of store tonite. Found a Brooks Bros. Makers tie I didn't already have at the first but nothing else much of interest. Picked up 2 suits at the second store. The first one was an obviously well made, solid navy, side vented suit by Valentin Yudashkin. For all the new guys asking "what are good brands" etc I think this find reinforces reading the entire thread and learning about labels, construction quality etc. I had no idea who Yudashkin was before coming home and googling him but I can recognize a Caruso label from a mile away! A couple of hangers over was a charcoal pinstripe, 100% cashmere Armani Classico suit. I leave tons of Armani behind because it's usually dated Collezioni or Mani stuff but this was obviously of great quality and I understand Classico was the Black Label predecessor.
All in all, not a bad day for less than $50.

Originally Posted by matt22616

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Is everyone is MN that well-dressed?
Sadly, no. All the local thrift stores are well stocked with Puritan, Apt. 9 and George. On another note, here's a great new stain-removing product I found. Goop's Orange Power hand cleaner. Best part, I found it at the Dollar Tree store. They sell them on their website too: http://www.dollartree.com/cleaning-s...1301/index.pro I've been testing it out on various shirts over the past month or so and I think it's safe to say that this is just as effective and much easier than the Oxiclean/vinegar treatment. I dab a little on the stain and let it sit for 2-3 hours. Into the wash it goes with warm water and the stain is 90% gone, if not removed completely. Just today I used this on two white and blue stripe Oxxford shirts I thrifted that had light collar staining. The yellow ring around the collar is gone with one wash. I'm very pleased. Just wanted to pass the tip along! Start rescuing those collar-stained shirts!

Originally Posted by Nataku

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On another note, here's a great new stain-removing product I found. Goop's Orange Power hand cleaner. Best part, I found it at the Dollar Tree store. They sell them on their website too:

http://www.dollartree.com/cleaning-s...1301/index.pro

I've been testing it out on various shirts over the past month or so and I think it's safe to say that this is just as effective and much easier than the Oxiclean/vinegar treatment. I dab a little on the stain and let it sit for 2-3 hours. Into the wash it goes with warm water and the stain is 90% gone, if not removed completely. Just today I used this on two white and blue stripe Oxxford shirts I thrifted that had light collar staining. The yellow ring around the collar is gone with one wash. I'm very pleased. Just wanted to pass the tip along! Start rescuing those collar-stained shirts!

whoah this could be big!!!!!!!!!

I've been using the other Goop for a while, the stuff that is not citrus. It has even gotten berry stains out! However, it did not remove ring around the color, so I did not mention it here. But I didn't let it sit so long. Thanks for the tip!

Found 8 Brooks Brothers silk knit ties today. They are a little wide for me, but I will likely keep most of them.

Found three Hub Ltd Gitman white dress shirts in my size the other day, $20. A few light stains that came out in the wash.

Thanks for the tip dude...this is one surely most all of us can use!

Originally Posted by Nataku

Click to expand...

Sadly, no. All the local thrift stores are well stocked with Puritan, Apt. 9 and George.



On another note, here's a great new stain-removing product I found. Goop's Orange Power hand cleaner. Best part, I found it at the Dollar Tree store. They sell them on their website too:

http://www.dollartree.com/cleaning-s...1301/index.pro

I've been testing it out on various shirts over the past month or so and I think it's safe to say that this is just as effective and much easier than the Oxiclean/vinegar treatment. I dab a little on the stain and let it sit for 2-3 hours. Into the wash it goes with warm water and the stain is 90% gone, if not removed completely. Just today I used this on two white and blue stripe Oxxford shirts I thrifted that had light collar staining. The yellow ring around the collar is gone with one wash. I'm very pleased. Just wanted to pass the tip along! Start rescuing those collar-stained shirts!