Thrifting

[kenneth]

First time thrifting yesterday in the Buckhead/Atlanta area.. First place I went to had 3 Brooks Brothers suits in my size. Light gray, charcoal, and navy, each for $13. Snapped them all up. They're all pleated and cuffed in the pants, and all but the navy are 3 button, but hey, for $13 each I couldn't really say no. Got 2 BB shirts as well. They're all going to the tailor, but I'm really pleased with how my first time out went.

[jason_carreira]

@Kenneth great finds! Don't be disappointed if it's not always like that.

[jonATL]

@Kenneth Step off my turf, guy. Joking, of course. Most of my finds have been in Roswell, but that Goodwill in Buckhead usually has some good stuff. Buckhead Thrifique is small but sometimes has good stuff.

[kenneth]

@Jon - I was actually going to message you and ask where you typically go, lol. Buckhead Thriftique is where I found the BB suits. Small, but really nice place. I tried a few of the St Joseph places around the Buckhead area to no avail. I'll keep clear of Roswell so as to avoid any intra-Dappered territorial skirmishes, lol.


@JC - it was fun just for the experience. The suits were just an added benefit.

[jason_carreira]

Honestly the best benefit of thrifting is really getting used to judging fabric and garment construction and seeing all different levels of quality. I've learned a lot more about clothes from thrifting than from anything else.

[jonATL]

@Kenneth: The only thing I've found at Buckhead Thriftique is a prime pair of vintage Allen Edmonds Sheltons that went to Ebay. They fit me, but I didn't think I could pull them off (and I made about $35 after ebay costs, so it worked out well).


The Buckhead Goodwill is the only other place I've seen much of anything ITP. You'll find some nice jackets, but be prepared to go crazy looking for pants that most likely aren't there. I stay away from the St. Josephs thrifts because of the significant price difference that doesn't really mirror a quality difference compared to Goodwill.


I've hit up the Value Village on Moreland a few times, usually to no avail, and one of my best thrift finds came from the Goodwill on Ralph David Abernathy (shell cordovan Aldens), but I'm pretty sure I'm never going there again, especially at night.


You should check out the Salvation Army downtown if you're close. I've only been there once, but it looked like repeat visits might be fruitful.

[kenneth]

For a pair of shell cordovan Aldens, I'd go down Ralph David Abernathy in the middle of the night with a new moon. Thanks for the tips! I'll check out the Salvation Army. I'm nowhere close to it, but I'm downtown frequently enough that I should find time to swing by it at some point.

[AedanM]

Just made my first thrift find today at goodwill. A pretty nice pair of Florsheim brown leather shoes, in decent shape, my size (8.5 - hard to find) but they have some creasing on the top. Any tips for making creasing less noticeable? Would a good polish and some shoe trees make any difference?

[jason_carreira]

Some leather conditioner and shoe trees might help, but once creases have set in they're there to stay.

[jonATL]

Hooray! Vintage Hush Puppies in my size!








I also picked up some BR dress pants as placeholders until I find something better and a Burberrys tux shirt.

[michael_sprague]

ok so i went thrifting for shoes again and i found a few pairs of allen edmonds but only these ones that fit me. they say 10 1/2 but they felt a little big on me and im typically a 12. here they are howd i do? how much (if anything) could i get if i flipped them?

http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/u476/michael_sprague1/Snapbucket/3369475D-orig.jpg


http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/...5D377-orig.jpg

[alan]

@Michael: Nice find. AE Sanfords can fetch in the $40 - $100 range depending on condition. Yours have some creases so I would expect them to sell towards the lower end of the spectrum. However, the creases don't seem to be as defined as some others sp putting them in shoe trees could help for taking pics for ebay.


Here's an ebay search result for ended auctions. The good news is that they almost always sell for SOMETHING..


http://www.ebay.com/csc/i.html?rt=nc&LH_Complete=1&_nkw=allen%20edmonds%20 sanford&_dmpt=US_Men_s_Shoes&_fln=1&_trksid=p3286. c0.m283


As for the sizing, it's common for shoes to stretch once they've been worn, but to stretch 2 full sizes is unexpected.

[jonATL]

@ Michael: If the soles are in good condition, you should be able to do fairly well if you want to offload them.

[michael_sprague]

Oh wow I guess I got pretty lucky.what color pants do you guys think they would work with

[LesserBlackDog]

I'd wear 'em with just about anything but black or brown. Grey, navy, olive, khaki, charcoal, and denim should all work.