Thrifting

[chern]

Yeah I was really surprised at the quality of the shirt selection - I've never seen it that well stocked. And my Savers always has a good plethora of jackets, but I'm not really in need of one. There wasn't much to write home about in terms of shoes though, but I can't say that bothers me as I'm not as into shoes as most guys here.


I think I remember hearing about the Super Savers card, where if you buy enough you get X% of your next purchase.

[heimdal]

Got the sudden urge to go thrifting after work. Pretty thankful I did, because as soon as I came in I saw new stuff being brought in.


Scored some Ralph Lauren black oxfords size 10D for $30 and a Hilfiger navy blazer 40R for $20. And now I'm hooked.

[glen_delossantos]

Welcome to my new addiction. Be careful. It's easy to trick yourself into thinking "it's cheap and it's going to a good cause" and then all of a sudden your wallet is bare and your closet is out of space. Don't forget to factor in tailoring fees for the 27 sport coats you just bought.

[YackoYak]

^very true!


This weekend I snagged a navy & burgundy houndstooth blazer ($15) and charcoal worsted wool suit ($20). I'll post pictures once the tailor takes in the waist.


About the space: I make a point to donate one item (or more if I can bare it) for every item I buy. So lately I have been donating a lot, and questioning how many times I have worn something in the past year. If the answer is <2X, it's gone. I have some go to favorites that see a lot of wear, and a walk in closet. Trying to make it so everything is a "favorite". Then hopefully I will be done?

[jason_carreira]

Went thrifting today and got some great finds. I got a Hickey Freeman grey suit that fits almost perfectly off the rack for $10. I got a Nordstrom sportcoat that fits perfectly. I got a pair of Florsheim oxblood penny loafers. I got 3 ties, one vintage Giorgio Armani, one Aquascrutum, and one Ben Sherman.


If I wore a 16.5 or 17 I could have had some awesome shirts. I found Faconnable, Brooks Brothers, and some others in those sizes.


@Glen, I almost had a Brooks Brothers shirt for you, but I found a stain on the collar. See my pictures for a very nice Faconnable shirt that's an XS. I think it's probably too small for you because it was smaller than the 15-3 Brooks Brothers that had the stain. I did find lots of shoes in 9.5, see the pictures. Does anyone know Giorgio Brutini? There were lots of those and they seemed okay quality. There was a pair of Barneys New York that were kind of beat up, but could be TLC'd back to good shape I think.


Here's the pics:


https://picasaweb.google.com/113945713053434575160/Thrifting?authkey=Gv1sRgCOLihM3S8Puy_wE#


Pics 1-9 are the shoes for Glen in 9.5


Pic 10 is the XS Faconnable. It's a nice purple check.


Pics 11-12 are a probably size 48 Aquascrutum overcoat I found that seemed vintage. Kinda ugly IMO but worth a photo.


13-18 are the 3 ties I got


19-20 are the suit coat of the Hickey Freeman


21 is the Nordstrom sportcoat. Note the purple and green highlights... It's gonna go with the Aquascrutum tie I got.


Best part is that my girlfriend went with me to look and she knows more about clothes than I do, so it was great to have her to bounce things off of

[jason_carreira]

Oh, I also found out Goodwill here has a designer boutique where they take the stuff they consider the best. There was some okay stuff in there. Several Hickey Freeman suits (none nicer than the one I got), a couple Brooks Brothers, but also lots of Jos. A Bank and made-in-Columbia late year Oscar de la Renta. I really fell in love with a Burberry DB sportcoat (probably early 90's since it had the Burberrys' tag) with peak lapels... It fit PERFECTLY through the shoulders and was like 1/4" too tight at the button... Really gorgeous. But when I just bought a Hickey Freeman suit for $10 I just couldn't justify spending $50 on it.

[glen_delossantos]

@Jason - sick, sick finds. Was this at Savers? I'm guessing because of the shoe aisle. Looks like Savers to me. Mine has the best selection for shoes.


Speaking of shoes, thank you for finding those for me. I would absolutely love if you could pick up the two lace-ups for me. I've been scouring the thrift stores in my area for a decent pair of wingtips and I simply cannot find any in my size. I like the beef-roll pennys as well but I have a pair that looks exactly like that one except it's made by Dexter. But yes, please please please hold the wingtips and cap-toes for me.


Also, I'll take that XS shirt if nobody else wants it. My brother-in-law, who lives with me, can make XS shirts look very baggy. He's that small.


In terms of Giorgio Brutini, I'm sorry to say that the brand is not of the best quality. They are very fashionable and eccentric, though.


Great finds on those suits and sportcoats. Is there a different name that this "Goodwill designer boutique" goes by? I have not heard of a charity driven thrift store doing this. Sounds awesome.


Lastly, the last picture of the Nordstrom blazer says "38" on the tag. Is that the size? Just wondering because you said you were a 40-42 and I just picked up a Nordstrom sport coat in 38 and it fits me perfect (I'm 38-40S)

[glen_delossantos]

https://picasaweb.google.com/110774800589808843144/Thrifting?authuser=0&feat=directlink


Updated my "Thrifting" album with new pics. There's a trashed Lanvin sportcoat, sad story. There's also a few sportcoats I found for myself, namely a vintage Nordstrom navy blue blazer and a plaid patterned sportcoat. Also, I got lucky finding 3 Pendleton wool shirts. Yay, America.


@Jason - I found you a couple sportcoats. First is a brown corduroy blazer. There's no branding or size tag but it fits like a 42. Will need tailoring. Also, there's a tweed blazer that's slightly too big for me. Again, there's no brand or tags on it but it looks to be Harris tweed (has the orange and blue) and the pattern is a sort of glen plaid. The color is a gray-ish brown.


I might need to start a new "bragging lounge" thread for thrift store finds...

[jason_carreira]

Yeah, my best finds were at the Savers (the shoes, the suit, etc) but I did get the Nordstrom sportcoat and tie at the Goodwill near my house. That Savers has been the best spot so far and it's where I got the Prada and Hugo Boss shirts last week. One other amazing thing I found there this time was a Pal Zileri cream colored summer-weight suit. It felt amazing and it fit me perfectly except for the sleeves being about an inch too long. Unfortunately I found moth holes on the left side by the pocket. Anybody know if that can be fixed? I mean, those suits go for $300-500 used on ebay and it felt so nice...


@Glen, so you want the Giorgio Brutini lace ups and the Barneys? I can go after work and get those and the Faconnable shirt if they're there.


I've tried cord blazers and I can't seem to make them look right. I even found one that was cut just right for me and it didn't look right. I've got to think about the tweed... gotta see what my budget is like.


But I definitely want the HF you picked up.

[glen_delossantos]

@Jason - I already picked up those sportcoats for you. If you can grab those shoes and that shirt, I'd greatly appreciate it. I'm not sure when I'll hit up the thrift stores again. Probably some time in the middle of the week and then again on the weekend. About the tweed jacket, you can always hold onto it until you can factor it in for tailoring. I mean, if this is an exchange then I'm not asking you to pay me. If I decide to set up some items in a classifieds section, I'll let you know


If you find out how to repair moth holes, let me know because I have the same issue in a couple of my thrifted jackets.

[jason_carreira]

Okay, cool. I'll run up there this evening. I probably won't be going out again for a couple weeks 'cause things are about to be busy, especially next weekend.


From what I've seen online, the only way to fix moth holes well is a re-weaver, which is a bit much for me to do to save a thrift store suit, even a really nice one.

[Tat]

Wow from the pictures of your guys' thrifting finds, I'm really jealous. My goodwills and thrift stores in my area, don't even compare to what you guys have depicted. The places I go to have like 10 shoes to look at, and half of them are sandals, and the other half are woman's. The blazers and coats had 12 total between all sizes...What a terrible selection.

[jason_carreira]

This Savers is the first one I've visited where the selection of shoes wasn't horrible. At the others it was all stuff I wouldn't have bought new in horrible condition.


It all depends on what's been donated recently. The first time I went to the one near my house I found 8-9 really nice ties. I've only found one there since. I think you just have to be patient and go back. It also helps if you live in an area where there's plenty of office workers who are expected to dress nicer and some well-paid executives who splurge on the good stuff then donate it when they weed out their closets.

[glen_delossantos]

Agreed. It really is just luck. Some days I will go to all 3 of my local thrift stores and leave with literally nothing. Although, sometimes I wonder if location really does matter. The town I live in is a farming community but just 20mins outside is Monterey and Carmel. I think some of the old money trickles into the thrift stores.


It sounds terrible, but a lot of the good finds are the result of a lost loved one. The families generally have little use for clothing and old knick-knacks and thus, they make their way to donation centers.

[jason_carreira]

@Glen I went to Savers and got the Faconnable XS shirt and the Barneys shoes. I have bad news about the Giorgio Brutini... They were in the wrong section and were actually 8.5's. The GOOD, very good news is that I found something else for you...


Fratelli Rosetti pebble grain lace ups. I wasn't familiar with the maker, but a quick search on eBay shows them to be very sought after.


https://picasaweb.google.com/1139457...20264561337538