27 December 2009

Treasure Trove

Every now and again, the fates reward the persistence of the unstoppable thirft shopper with a full blown treasure trove. The following is practically a photographic essay of the truffles to be sniffed out in these so-called "junk shops".

Remain seated, stay calm, and prepare to witness the work of a master (you know, not to blow my own horn or anything):

Pink and white check button down shirt by Ben Silver,
Navy and wite gingham shirt, vintage 1960's,
rendered in real Viyella,
soft-as-anything grey plain front grey flannel trousers (note the brown horn buttons...a nice touch)
by Paul Stuart,
heavy weight velvety moleskin trousers in a shade of chocolate brown that my camera will not do justice,
by Kiton for Barneys New York,

some kind of no-name cotton blend twill trousers in a pale blue. The color may perhaps be a bit dated, but I think these will look swell with pennies and no socks, a white tennis shirt and navy blazer,
besides, they came with this zesty little belt. Note the faint hint of matching pastel blue in the weave...and real tan leather, too. Remember when casual slacks always came with a matching cloth belt?
Let's take a breather. There, feel better? Good, because I ain't finished yet.

1980s vintage two button tweed sack jacket with patch pockets,
cut from one hell of a piece of hard wearing wool,

from some brothers I heard of once or twice,

Navy wool suit with white stripes, 3/2 sack (in need of pressing) with three button cuffs,
1970s vintage, judging by the top pockets on the trousers, Cricketeer, an old line produced by Joseph and Feiss, for Kennedy's, and old Boston men's shop my grandfather frequented.
a genuine "Raeford Luxury Worsted". What's not to love?

Lastly, a British influenced grey flannel suit with faint windowpane plaid,

complete with ticket pocket, side tab trousers, no belt loops (only brace buttons), and forward pleats,

and even side vents. A bit out of character for me, perhaps, but much to nice to pass on.
by Country Britches for G. Fox & Co. of Connecticut. That purple lining ain't half bad neither.

Total cost of the entire haul: $30.

Yeah, you heard me. ..told you I was the master.

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

$30! You are a force of nature!! Nice haul.

M. Davenport said...

Okay, at what point do I start sending you a certain percentage of my 300clams-a-week I get for unemployment, to have you be my personal shopper? I love your finds. I live (sadly and proudly) in Des Moines, Iowa. I can scarcely find such wonderful treasures in the milieu of Salvation Army, GoodWill, St. Vincent DePaul, and the remaining thrifts... I am in awe, sir. I love this blog. It tends to be one of my three rays of sunshine as I pound the virtual pavement searching for labor-cum-remuneration. : ) Keep up the goodwork!

NCJack said...

Okay, now I officially hate you!

Have scored two pair of Paul Stuarts, heavy flannel no flaws, $15/each, and thought I was a Thrift King. And of course my nearly new Crockett & Jones walnut captoes for $12, but you are The Man!

Nice to see a "real" Viyella: it's now used on 80/20 cotton/wool blends. Trademark protection must have run out.

And Kiton?? Nicer neighborhood than my thrift store "feeders"

Anonymous said...

yea...im gonna need to swipe those kiton's from you...
thanks

Anonymous said...

Well done sir! This one should be in the thrifter's hall of fame!

Gregorius Mercator said...

That. is. obscene.

I'm particularly enamored of the grey flannel suit with the faint windowpane plaid - definitely a little jealous.

That's one hell of a haul. While I apologize for sounding so sycophantic, I must say, my hat is off to you for outdoing even yourself.

Patrick said...

I'm drooling for the gingham Viyella shirt...

Nice day's work...

Schorsch said...

All from the same place, all in your size? I've had a couple hauls like that, and I wonder how the clothes got the. The inescapable conclusion is that some well-dressed older gentleman passed, and his wardrobe was given to the thrift store. Makes the haul a little creepy, but also a bit more storied.

Sean said...

Giuseppe,

What size clothes do you wear?

At 6'5", it is tough for me to find a good fit.

Basseq said...

Good lord, I'm imagining Boston-area thrift stores full of beautiful wool blazers and Pendleton sweaters. All we get down here are stained button-ups and rayon. Or female-oriented "vintage boutiques" full of overpriced clothing.

You could probably pull together a reasonable amount of beer money being the personal thrift shopper of a couple commenters here (myself included—p.s. thanks again for the blazer).

brandon sargent said...

wow, extraordinary. cricketeer is one of the few brands with slim lapels from the 70s, i just purchased a blazer on ebay- although i wish i payed what you did. g.fox brings back many great memories- they used to have an amazing christmas display in the store in hartford.

Scott Alexander said...

Kinda speechless right now. Congratulations! Hopefully the holiday season will bless me with such a fantastic find soon!

Anonymous said...

i dress much more casual but i also buy on the cheap (exclusively). just wanted to give you an ultimate shout out from one junk hu$tler to another. keep up the great work, see you in the musty pit.

cd said...

Yup. This is a great way to go. My wife and I recently got some great finds; mine include great suede chukka boots, a Woolrich shirt-jacket, a Burberry suit coat that works as a blazer, a beautiful cashmere blue wool jacket... and more. Minus the shoes, the haul was around $30. Seriously, forget eBay unless it's a can't-live-without or truly rare item.

Anonymous said...

Good haul - I'm envious of that gingham shirt. Just don't go all Scott Schumann on us and give us a face to put to Kanye and Beyonce's "Ego" ; )

foolio_iglesias said...

Wow.I mean,wow...and I thought my finds were incredible.That price can't be beat....

James said...

Not all things are from deceased people. A lot comes from people doing the charitable write off.

Diane @ Haute Flashion said...

As James just correctly pointed out:

"Not all things are from deceased people. A lot comes from people doing the charitable write off."

I would add:

Not all things are from deceased people. A lot comes from people who can't get the weight off.

Amazing haul! You are the master!

Young Fogey said...

I might be able to find similar stuff in my neighborhood, but not all at once and not at those prices. Wow!

Scott Alexander said...

Once again, congrats on the finds! After coming up with nothing great for the past two months, I found success today. Other than 5 RL polos and 5 button-downs, some YSL and Dior ties, I came upon a classic Burberry trench for $16! So, Christmas came a little late this year. Grand total: $50. Finding thrift store gold: priceless.

John Johnston said...

Simply incredible! I've found a few nuggets here and there but never a haul like that - kudos, sir!

Percy Chatsworth said...

Is there anything you cannot thrift? You inspire me each time I go to a thrift store. (I must go sometime soon, I haven't been in over three months - which I know, isn't the way to find brilliant scores like yours).

ADG said...

Country Britches was a fun brand. I used to sell it in college.

Anonymous said...

Stunning. How's the closet space holding up?

kckclassic said...

nice finds! I've been nearly as lucky lately in clothing scores, but not quite as lucky price wise. Best finds of the past month or so are a cashmere navy top-coat, for $12, Brooks Brown Herringbone Sport coat @ $9 and a ralph lauren purple label polo @ $4!
Actually went into a few retail stores over the holidays and had massive sticker shock after doing so much thrifting.

1000count. said...

How much of this is actually wearable and will look good? You haven't shown how any of this looks on you, so it may as well be $30 spent on a pile of unwearable cloth.

Giuseppe said...

1000count,

I've worn the Viyella shirt twice already. I'll wear the Ben Silver when I get around to it. I wore the Paul Stuart pants yesterday. I wore the Kiton pants once, but they need to be taken in a bit at the waist before they hit the streets again. The blue stripe suit needed the pants lengthend abit, and I just haven't had the chance to wear it yet. The blue pants will have to wait for warmer days. The Brooks Brothers tweed needs work on the sleeves, and the grey suit also awaits alteration.

Don't worry, I know what I'm doing.

Anonymous said...

That is great! I'm going to have to check out some thrift stores in the affluent suburban areas around here.

G.Fox does bring back some memories. A big light display in downtown Hartford. Several stores were also the anchors for area malls.