Nataku
Distinguished Member
- Joined
- Nov 10, 2006
- Messages
- 9,834
- Reaction score
- 27,443
You have apparently gathered up some split-suit karma. Will you please fly down here and accompany me to a couple of Goodwills? If I see one more Belvest, Oxxford, or Zegna orphaned suit jacket hanging next to Canali, RLPL, or HF suit pants I'm going to have to do the old flaming monk thing in the parking lot. Please, God, make them stop!
My advice to the new guys:
1) have patience
2) go often
3) learn the brands and/or learn how to tell quality
4) try not to be caught up in the rush when you do find something. An Oxxford with a couple of moth holes is not a good find. Maybe one out of 100 of us would actually spend the $100+ bucks to get it re-woven. As much as it hurts just leave it.
5) NEVER leave Kiton or RLPL. That stuff is pure gold on ebay: even the slightly damaged, out of date suff.
6) Even if it's in perfect shape you really shouldn't wear a 6 on 1 DB with massive shoulder pads and triple-pleated pants.
7) On the other hand, no one but one of us cares if it's unvented or double-pleated, as long as the rest of the coat's style is recent and the pants aren't baggy.
8) If a shoe doesn't fit there's no way to will it to fit.
9) If that suit is 2 sizes too small you're not ever going to lose the weight.
10) No; you really can't get away with wearing a long if you're 5'8", even if it is a BNWOT Etro.
11) Re-thrift your mistakes: I promise you that no one on the B&S is going to buy them. It'll just make you look like an idiot.
12) Don't give away your spots to anyone you don't trust - I gave away my former best spot to a guy on here who send me a sob-story PM. He was a
13) Don't be embarrassed to tell others that your stuff is thrifted. I get far more compliments over how little I paid than when I was just trying to impress people with the brands.
I have to agree, I'm very happy with how often I find the trousers or jacket to a separated suit. I do find a lot of orphans, too.
Also, excellent advice on all counts. I'd like to emphasize #7 and #8, as those were my biggest mistakes starting out. I used to grab Canali, Zegna, etc whenever I saw it. The stuff had huge shoulders, a gorge about level with the armpits and sub- super 100s wool.
I'm very discerning now and even if it's Zegna or something, I'll only grab stuff that won't look out of place today.