The official thrift/discount store bragging thread

Originally Posted by Nataku

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Wow - amazing score!!

I found a Horsey jacket once, but it was old (had the 1992 olympics tag on the inside) and wasn't pure cashmere. You got real lucky!

yeah this one says something about 1992 on the tag but its all in italian so ive got no clue what the hell it says. (it doesnt have the olympic rings)

Passed on two lots yesterday, both at Goodwill. The first consisted of about 10 Turnbull & Asser shirts in colorful "British" colors. A few would have been good, but all had owner's initials on the pocket, so no go. The second lot consisted of Versace buttondowns with contrasting collar and cuff lining. Horrid.

Picked up a Brioni plaid, casual, buttondown in XL. Also, powder blue "Best of Scotland", v-neck cashmere sweater and an Alan Flusser sold at Bergdorf Goodman black cashmere double-breasted blazer, double-vented, ticket pocket. Has some moth holes, the repairs for which I will price with the reweaver to see if it's worthwhile.

Just curious, how much are you guys willing to spend on alterations, repairs, etc., on a thrift store find before you scrap the whole thing?

Little Christmas Eve thrifting here... two stores, one a bust, the next one: Martin Drake Imperial #8 shell cordovan longwings - never heard of this brand but it's solid and very comparable to old Florsheim gunboats. Going to have to use a light & camera to try to read the sizing information, though. Barba shirt, size M, first Barba I've seen. Bills Khakis salmon-colored slacks waist 36 and super long Oxxford olive wool trousers for myself - finally found a pair that's alterable to fit me, instead of the small ones I've always found before. It's sad, but the thing I was most happy about: a Mainetti Ermenegildo Zegna hanger. Older, black with "rubbery" shoulders & felt trouser bar - but I've found two nice hangers in two DAYS in NC, which is more than I've found in six MONTHS in Columbus. Definitely keeping. Passes sadly included a pair of Florsheim #8 shell cordovan tassel loafers - one tassel was missing, otherwise perfect. Seriously considered picking up to have a watch strap made from or something, but thought better of it - if they had been my size, I would have cut a tassel off the other shoe and bought them. Unfortunately people on Ebay tend to want both tassels! As far as alterations - it really depends on the item and what your needs/wants are. I spent about $50 once letting the chest & sleeves out on an Oxxford sport coat that I paid $1 for - it was a 46L and I needed a 48L - and I'd probably spend more than that for something else amazing if I had the chance. I'm spending about 35 bucks to have alterations done on a Charvet shirt that I picked up off the 'bay - that includes a french > barrel cuff conversion from the best tailor in town who's also a shirtmaker, though. As far as "average" stuff? Not going to pick it up for myself if it's too far off at all. I've paid to have pants hemmed and the waist let out, or to have a jacket's sleeves moved up or down, but beyond that? Just not worth it - paying for major surgery on anything less than a really really rare item is just going to lead to disappointment. It's not so much about a number of dollars as it is the amount of work you'd need to have done, your tolerance for slight imperfections, and the alternatives you have available. Paying $35 to have that Charvet altered wouldn't make any sense for me if I didn't still have a few Roundtree & Yorke shirts in my closet and horrible luck thrifting nice shirts in my size.

Originally Posted by Xenos

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Passed on two lots yesterday, both at Goodwill. The first consisted of about 10 Turnbull & Asser shirts in colorful "British" colors. A few would have been good, but all had owner's initials on the pocket, so no go. The second lot consisted of Versace buttondowns with contrasting collar and cuff lining. Horrid.

Wow - I wish I had the willpower to turn down 10 T&A shirts! PM sent on them, hoping they're my size. I don't really care if there are initials on the pocket, as they will be worn under a jacket anyway. On the cuff is another story, though.

Bought a flannel Burberry nova check shirt on Ebay for $55, near new.

Not nearly as fun as the $7 burberry shirts I've bought at thrift stores this
year.

Like hunting at a game farm, where's the challenge?

A couple nice finds on Christmas Eve eve. Two Ascot Chang shirts (the first I've seen in these parts) that appear never to have been worn. I was really excited by these as they had no size tags, but had been marked as 17.5s by the thrift. My size. Sadly, for me, they fit perfectly at the neck and sleeves, but were slim cut through the body, which I'm not. As a side note, one of them has a collar which I've seen before, but don't know the name for. The collar itself is a standard point, but there is not top button and the tops of both sides curve gently at the top. Anyone know the name for that type collar? BTW, the fabric on one is Thomas Mason and the other Alumo.

My disappointment was softened a bit by finding two Viyella plaids, both of which fit me perfectly. In this part of the world and at this time of year, Viyellas are my favorite casual shirt.

saw a canali sc and a few corneleani's that are too big. i think they were going for $25-40 each. is that a lot to pay at a thrift?

i picked up a brooks brothers tie that is nice but fell in love with and brought home a solo io tie. i dont know anything about this italian brand but its very beautiful.

i also saw a beautiful e zegna suit. dark grey with plaid squares. they were trying to sell it for $150. I think they know what's quality vs what's not. I was still going to pay for it but the shoulders were a little tight and for some reason it had 5 or 6 very small burn marks or maybe they were from moths (although i wouldnt know what that would look like).

are burn marks/moth bites repairable?

Originally Posted by Rugger

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Having an internet capable phone is crucial for noobie thrifters. Saved me from a couple Tasso Elba shirts that I "thought" I remembered from Barneys.

LOL...true true. That said, I have a couple Tasso Elba ties I picked up on deep discount at Macy's and they are pretty well made.

Originally Posted by Xenos

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...Just curious, how much are you guys willing to spend on alterations, repairs, etc., on a thrift store find before you scrap the whole thing?

Forcing yourself to pass on something nice that needs major work/repair is one of the hardest things to learn. It's a tough call because anything short of Kiton, Brioni, etc. that needs major work I usually pass on. However, when I do buy something nice that needs work I also realize that I can sell it online for a good profit even if it has issues. I saw a Kiton suit jacket on eBay last year that looked like the guy had been mauled in it - there were HUGE gashes missing in the back - and if I remember correctly it sold for over $100. My guess is that someone paid that much just so they could take the labels out and sew them in something else.

I passed on a pair of Brioni slacks yesterday because they were standard light gray, pleated, and they had a very faint wear hole below one knee. I maybe could have flipped them but would it have been worth the effort? Last year I would have kept them for myself and had them repaired but now I know something better will come along someday. You'll figure out the right balance for yourself after a while based on how rich your hunting grounds are and/or how much work you're willing to put into the hobby.

Originally Posted by tonylumpkin

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...As a side note, one of them has a collar which I've seen before, but don't know the name for. The collar itself is a standard point, but there is not top button and the tops of both sides curve gently at the top...

Is it the old "Pat Riley" collar?

Originally Posted by Rugger

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Having an internet capable phone is crucial for noobie thrifters. Saved me from a couple Tasso Elba shirts that I "thought" I remembered from Barneys.

It's funny how when I encounter something that looks really high end but it's a label I'm not familiar and I Google it usually the first site that comes up is this one.


Yesterday: visiting Houston and I'm shocked at how much more Goodwill is down here than Dallas. I saw a nice pair of Cole-Haan's that I might have picked up but they we $39! At Goodwills in Dallas all shoes are $5.99. The one's down here have also started that "boutique section" foolishness. I saw a pair of Murano (Dillard's) dress pants for $19.99. Sure, they still had the store tags on them but the tags were marked down to $9.99

I did find a few things for the wife and son and on literally the last rack at the last store I found a BNWT Polo blue label made in Italy sportcoat in my size for $19.99. It's the traditional 2B, center-vent, wool-and cashmere in a very large black/white glen plaid with a purple over-plaid. I have no idea why something that nice and with the sleeve ticket still on it would get donated but I'll gladly give it a good home.

^^I've never understood why some people balk at paying for regular alterations on thrift buys. Doing the necessary alterations is just part of it. Now, you have to start with something in the right size ballpark. Don't try to make a 46L fit a 38S. If there are "issues" (unfortunate stains, moth holes) I will almost always pass. If the moth hole is minor and the suit is great I might take a flyer on it (for my own use, not to sell).

Originally Posted by Xenos

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Passed on two lots yesterday, both at Goodwill. The first consisted of about 10 Turnbull & Asser shirts in colorful "British" colors. A few would have been good, but all had owner's initials on the pocket, so no go.

If the initials were on the pocket then they were very gettable. Generally, you can carefully remove the pocket on a cotton shirt with a seam ripper (I generally am able to talk my wife into doing this for me). One wash and the holes from where the pocket was sewn on will disappear (generally). Many/most prefer not to have pockets on their dress shirts, anyway. I have done the pocket removal on a number of shirts.

Originally Posted by tonylumpkin

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As a side note, one of them has a collar which I've seen before, but don't know the name for. The collar itself is a standard point, but there is not top button and the tops of both sides curve gently at the top. Anyone know the name for that type collar?

Originally Posted by EBTX66

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Is it the old "Pat Riley" collar?

No. the Pat Riley has curves on the front edges of the collar points. What I'm talking about is the top of the placket, and the other side, being rounded at the top...with no top button. In effect and open collar shirt. The collar points themselves are straight. I found this Lido collar and it looks pretty close to the one I found.


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Originally Posted by AlanC

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^^I've never understood why some people balk at paying for regular alterations on thrift buys. Doing the necessary alterations is just part of it. Now, you have to start with something in the right size ballpark. Don't try to make a 46L fit a 38S. If there are "issues" (unfortunate stains, moth holes) I will almost always pass. If the moth hole is minor and the suit is great I might take a flyer on it (for my own use, not to sell). If the initials were on the pocket then they were very gettable. Generally, you can carefully remove the pocket on a cotton shirt with a seam ripper (I generally am able to talk my wife into doing this for me). One wash and the holes from where the pocket was sewn on will disappear (generally). Many/most prefer not to have pockets on their dress shirts, anyway. I have done the pocket removal on a number of shirts.
how can you tell if they are moth holes or not? i saw a zegna suit that i was THIS close to buying but it had multiple very small holes on the jacket. one on the lapel, and another on the body of the suit. is this repairable? if so, how? oh, the holes i saw could've been burn marks. for instance, the guy was probably smoking in a drunken manner and when he went to ash his cigarette, some of the particles could've gotten on his jacket. wait. now that i think of this scenario, it was probably moth holes than cigarette burns but i dont know how i could tell. haha

Christmas Eve finds. Instead of sugarplums, I had visions of these tags dancing in my head. Unfortunately, not my size. These are 46L and 48L. And one 50. Several are 100% cashmere. Super nice.

Wow - seriously?! 10 Brioni jackets?!

Originally Posted by Nataku

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Wow - seriously?! 10 Brioni jackets?!

Actually, eight Brioni jackets, one suit and one tuxedo. I still can't believe it myself. The tuxedo is wool and mohair with peak lapels. Very nice. If these had been my size, I would have been in hog heaven.

I actually left another Brioni suit and sport coat behind.