14 December 2009

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Thrift shopping is nothing if not a mixed bag. I tend to show only the "scores" here, the good stuff, such as:

A Scottish lambswool v-neck from the "House of Tweed", $5.99. Why, oh why, are there no more shops with names as cool as "House of Tweed"?
A rust colored cotton crew neck, made in England for Brooks Brothers, $5.99. Kind of an unusual Brooks Brothers label. Anyone know its vintage? (I'm looking at you, HTJ).

Or this killer 1970's clock radio, in perfect working order, $3.99. True, many would see only an outmoded piece of junk here, quirky at best. But Mrs. G and I are both suckers brown and orange plastic home goods of the 70's. Must be misguided nostalgia for childhood, or something. I should mention it to the shrink.

But remember, shopping in these stores is not all a bed of roses. There's plenty of the bad stuff to sort through, such as:

Action Stretch slacks by Seminole (the slacks that fit). By God, if you could have seen these things. The "cloth", if you can call it that, was like rubber, thick as your thumb, and as charged with static electricity as anything I've ever touched. But I will say, judging by the myriad positions the fella on the tag is able to achieve, there certainly must have been a time and place when these slacks stood for Action, with a capital A.

And then there is, of course, the downright ugly, such as:

Black cowboy boots with a home made flame job. No comment.

In closing, if you mean to snag the good stuff, patience and a healthy sense of humor are both essential.




8 comments:

Rebecca said...

I'd have snatched up the clock radio if I'd seen it first! Now, re. those action stretch slacks....your commentary really added value to the label itself! The entertainment value would be worth the price of the slacks!

James said...

I recently used a piece of advise you gave. I found a like new Polo brown overcoat.Leather collar, removable liner and fit like a glove.$7.99! But I have the same coat by Jos A Banks!Then I remembered that just because its a bargain doesn't mean you need it.

Anonymous said...

must take the flame boot shot to my photo lab so I can analyse the shelving in more detail and finally figure out the locations of your thrifting.

heavy tweed jacket said...

Sorry, but I don't know the era of that label!

FIXED BAYONET METAL SOLDIERS said...

The Cowboy boots G now thats american.

Anonymous said...

Judging by your past ensembles, I'm surprised you didn't jump on those cowboy boots.

NCJack said...

I covet those boots!

Seth said...

Just yesterday I ran across several pair of 100% polyester "Action Slacks," only these were made by Levi, or at least according to the 70's-style script on the tag.

I agree that it can be hard to pass up cheap stuff (before I remind myself that value is the price/worth ratio). At least it wasn't hard to pass up the Action Slacks.