Let me give you some background about what prompted this one. My friends and I all believe a man should present himself well, at all times, and that personal style is of the utmost importance. As such, we all spend a lot of time reading all the others men's blogs out there. Trouble is these blogs generally tend to be written by guys with enough money to buy what they want when they want it, which can be frustrating if you're a regular guy (i.e. not a rich kid). It can be especially infuriating when you've strived all your life to overcome this financial hurtle when choosing the items of a gentlemanly wardrobe. It becomes even more infuriating when you know good stuff from garbage, and are loath to settle for crap. The so called "Trad" blogs are the worst, because these guys ought to know that thriftiness and hand-me-downs are a major aspect of this so-called Tradliness.
Q: "Nice jacket. Where did you get it?"
A: " My grandfather bought it at the J.Press store in Cambridge in 1966."
That's more like it.
Not to be all sour grapes, there are a lot of fun reads out there, guys who know what they're talking about. Check out the Links, which all link to each other. (the community is a tad bit incestuous)
So my intention, not unlike all the others, is to post pictures and musings about clothes. Cheap clothes of excellent quality. Believe me, if you train yourself to look, there's a lot of good stuff out there. And remember, a good dry cleaner and tailor can take a so-so thrift score back to its original well tailored glory for a fraction of the cost of new clothes. Besides, new stuff is pretty shoddy compared to its older ancestors anyway.
So let's begin with my most recent acquisition. It may still be warm outside, but with Labor Day behind us we're all thinking of wool and tweed. When fall hits full swing, few things in a mans closet are more versatile than a hard wearing tweed sport coat, like this one:
Made in U.S.A. of handwoven Harris Tweed, the real stuff. It's hard to tell in the photo's, but the weave is medium brown with bluish grey underneath, which means with brown pants its brown and with grey pants its grey. I plan to wear this coat repeatedly from now until April with every thing from khakis to bluejeans to bow ties and flannels. It doesn't get more versatile than that.
Price= $5.99 less 50%= $2.99! The dry cleaning will cost three times as much.
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6 comments:
I like the concept of your blog and you comments about the Trad blogs. I look forward to you future posts.
this blog is pretty much my way of thinking, and is the route I've decided to go now that I'm building my post-undergrad wardrobe.
Since the US has overproduced for so many decades, I think it's entirely possible to build a warbrobe on used/deadstock items. As you said, the older stuff is made far better, and it's less costly.
I'm looking forward to seeing where this blog will go.
a man can only garden for a few months, but he can dress sharp 200% of the time.
nice one, Giuseppe.
Gus, nice blog. I once had a trad blog and it was the absolute worst.
I buy my clothes new because I am an irregular size. But I try to keep the old wardrobe simple. My pants are gray or tan. My jackets are navy or a few herringbone tweeds. Been sticking to oxfords. I have expensive shoes, but not as many as you.
Which brings me to a point: Thrifters have too much shit. You get used to not getting exactly what you want so you tend to buy everything that even comes close.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Charles, I know what you mean about too much stuff. To my credit, though, I fell I've gotten over it. I no longer buy anything that has any significant defects( a problem I was had) or that fits so badly that it requires extensive alteration( another problem I once had). The hoarding habit was almost as hard for me to break as the smoking habit.
Now, when my wardrobe extends beyond the confines of my closet, I take a long hard llok at everything, strip it to the bones and donate the rest.
Not surprisingly the ame items always tend to make the cut.
I just browsed your entire blog - latest to first post - good stuff indeed. You have fertile ground in the Boston area to find some great threads at fantastic prices. Not so much here in FL, but we do get from time to time transplates from the north - and the sell their really nice stuff at yard sales here. I'll check your blog often. Thanks - and good luck! =Paul
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