The official thrift/discount store bragging thread

Found a really cool shirt by Truzzi today. Size 44/17.5 so I posted it on Ebay,
would've kept it. Casual shirt with awesome fabric and thick buttons, well made.

Found anice pair of AE black wingtips 8.5
2 Zegna Sport Coats
Brooks Bros black tux, 2 piece
Canali blue birdseye or nailhead suit for me, n0 tailoring!

Back from another Value Village excursion with some slim-fit Brook Bros button downs ($13 each) an Original Penguin tie, some Scottish brand wool plaid tie, and what I believe is a perfect-fitting zip-up reversible cashmere cardigan. No label so I can't tell anything about it, but it's soft as a baby's neck and a bit of fuzz from the armpit smelled like hair when I burnt it. I also returned with QUESTIONS:

1. What am I feeling for when I test the fabric of a suitcoat/sportcoat? Should good wool always be soft, supple and drapey, or is it sometimes stiffer?

2. How can I tell if a jacket is canvassed? I understand that when I pinch the front, I should feel 3 separate layers. But does a fused layer sometimes come loose? Or does a real canvas layer sometimes stick a little bit to the wool layer?

3. Is it possible that the soft, supple, drapey Lands End herringbone sportcoat I saw today was really canvassed? I didn't buy it because I wasn't sure, plus the sleeves would need lengthening and had a stain that I wasn't sure could be cleaned.

I guess the final question is: 4. Should I have posted this to a different thread?

Didn't get anything today as I didn't find anything in my size. I've attached a pic of the RLBL 3/2 roll grey glen check sc w/ a hint of lavendar and ticket pockets. I looked everywhere for the pants but wasn't there. If someone wants me to proxy, let me know. 44L. It's really a beautiful sc. Can someone tell me who makes Pronto Uomo? I've seen TONS of suits from this maker and was curious why there are so many! Cheers

^^ RLBL as in Blue Label (Polo), right? Do you recall if it was made in Italy? If so, I may be interested. I really like the Corneliani for Polo stuff.

Found a nice pair of vintage Florsheim's tonight. Cordivan in color. They need a polishing and a new set of laces, but look great.

Originally Posted by AlanC

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^That's the first Ricci item I've ever thrifted, and the only one I remember seeing. When I checked the retail prices online I was a bit shocked at the prices, too, and I'm generally pretty immune to ridiculous retail prices by now.

yeah their shirts retail $600 plus and a suit i had recently and sold was $7000.
also i have noticed soem Ricci ties now come with a button on the backlabel,i think its so you can button it to your shirt instead of a tie clip.

Originally Posted by Orgetorix

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Here's my thread on what I did. Not sure if that's what you're thinking of or not.

http://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?p=3066497

there you go,i knew u were reading the thread,by the way thanks i followed your method awhile back and chukkas came out great

Pronto Uomo is a Men's Warehouse brand, methinks.

Originally Posted by Nataku

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^^ RLBL as in Blue Label (Polo), right? Do you recall if it was made in Italy? If so, I may be interested. I really like the Corneliani for Polo stuff.
Hey Nat I believe it was made in the US. I'm like 99% positive b/c I always look at the tags. It was recent suit too. Once again, 44L grey glen plaid with a slight hint of lavendar. Ticket pocket. Double vented. No surgeon cuffs. Small moth hole near the buttocks area of the sc. Honestly, you could take a part of the inside and put it there. The hole is on the "darker" part of the suit if that makes sense so it's really not noticeable but I'm very anal about stuff so I pointed it out. Oh, and no pants! Let me know Cheers Edit: Oh, and 3/2 roll. It was a blue label but it sure felt like a Corneleani. Wished it was in my size though. Oh well.

Originally Posted by ArthurVandalay

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Pronto Uomo is a Men's Warehouse brand, methinks.

Yup. Depending on the vintage some of it is decent. They used to have a line of shoes made in Italy and suits made in the U.S. and Italy. They now have a "Red Label," "Pronto Couture" line that thats Italian made and fairly nice for the price.

Most of what you'll see in thrift shops is probably crap made in China. Ask me how I know.

Originally Posted by Tyrone MacStiophain

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1. What am I feeling for when I test the fabric of a suitcoat/sportcoat? Should good wool always be soft, supple and drapey, or is it sometimes stiffer?

2. How can I tell if a jacket is canvassed? I understand that when I pinch the front, I should feel 3 separate layers. But does a fused layer sometimes come loose? Or does a real canvas layer sometimes stick a little bit to the wool layer?


A newb's thoughts, and some further questions:

1. It's more a lack of syntheticness, I find. Cotton and wool slide under the fingers with ease, while the synthetic mixed into cheaper fabrics produce a bit of drag and a slightly plasticy feeling. Soft 'n' supple is part of it, but I've felt some really soft acrylic. This is one of those things that I have no idea how I know, but I can run my hand along a rack of coats and about 80%, I pick out the decent-to-great ones. Tweeds still screw me up, though. I always check labels on tweeds.

Subquestion: Sometimes I find what FEEL like good fabrics on labels generally derided here. Do mid-grade labels with poor-quality construction sometimes use decent fabric?

2. This one, I have to say, you will know when you find it. I came across a much too large Isaia SC the other day and did some inspection. As soon as I pinched it, I immediately thought, "OOooooooh, so that's what canvassing feels like." It's is much thicker and heavier than I expected, which makes sense now why it's so important. The heft makes the drape more continuous, so that it follows the form of your body, and half-canvassing passes because the part of your body the coat is actually draping over is still canvassed, while the uncanvassed half just hangs.

Subquestion: The Corneliani coat I picked up feels sort-of canvassed at the bottom. Are there differing grades of canvas, that can be used even in the same jacket? I can still feel a thicker-than-nothing layer down there, but it is definitely not as thick as the top, which is more akin to the Isaia jacket I felt up.

I visited a quite large thrift shop / flea market shop which mostly has furniture etc. But they did have some clothing related things as well, and amongst all awful 70s polyester shirts and ties I found this Sambrook Witting & Co wool duck tie for less than $1:



I also found an old London made cigar case as well, also for less than $1:



/C

Originally Posted by MacDaddy

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Ther are a few different models,here's a few pics.I can't comment on the drill buffer without trying it.

Bought one Dremel buffer from eBay, three brushes and cans of black polish plus this 40 bucks including shipping. Let's see how it works. Thx

Originally Posted by Bartlebooth

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A newb's thoughts, and some further questions:

1. It's more a lack of syntheticness, I find. Cotton and wool slide under the fingers with ease, while the synthetic mixed into cheaper fabrics produce a bit of drag and a slightly plasticy feeling. Soft 'n' supple is part of it, but I've felt some really soft acrylic. This is one of those things that I have no idea how I know, but I can run my hand along a rack of coats and about 80%, I pick out the decent-to-great ones. Tweeds still screw me up, though. I always check labels on tweeds.

Subquestion: Sometimes I find what FEEL like good fabrics on labels generally derided here. Do mid-grade labels with poor-quality construction sometimes use decent fabric?


yeah, zegna and loro piana supply alot of fabrics to random licensee brands, esp during the 90's

so that is probably the case


even boss hugo boss used cashemere/wool blend from loro piana back then