I'm not one to complain about the weather, but it sure as hell has been one long, cold Winter. Dare I say it, I'm getting tired of all my Shetland, flannel, and tweed. So to lighten the mood, I thought I'd offer a little preview of the upcoming Summer wardrobe.
Pictured left to right: a Brooks Brothers tan poplin suit, inexplicably tailored with a darted jacket and forward pleated trousers; a no name, made in USA seersucker suit in classic blue and white; a knockout vintage cotton blend navy and white gingham check jacket from the Andover Shop; a vintage 1980s real Madras jacket from J. Press; and an unusual jacket in grey and blue seersucker tattersall check, also from J.Press
Also, a pair of grey and white forward pleat seersucker trousers from Bill's Khakis and a pair of pale yellow silk and linen forward pleated trousers made in Italy for Polo. These items ought to supplement my usual warm weather uniform of navy jackets and tan trousers quite nicely.
All of these items were picked up at thrift stores over the course of the last four months or so, with the exception of the Andover Shop jacket which was acquired through buddy Zach. Outside, Mother Nature continued to batter us with cold winds and piles of snow relentlessly, leaving everyone in a search for all the sweaters and blankets they could gather. But thrift stores are wonderfully chaotic and random places, and the most successfully thrifters know that you have to get what you find when you find it. If you wait for summer to look for thing alike this, there may not be much left.
Get it while you can.
One of the thrift shops I frequent has just put out their shorts collection. It's not like their customers are looking for cruise wear! There's still snow on the ground here.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I've had a similar thought about footwear the last week or so. I want desperately to get back into my various pairs of thrifted Allen Edmonds and vintage stuff, but we've still got snow and slush everywhere. Bean boots are great for that kind of slop, but not when they are the only thing you can wear out of the house for almost three months now. And a suit or similar ain't the thing to wear with Bean Boots. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteBest Regards,
Heinz-Ulrich von B.
I don't know how much longer I can take it! I've been going to the thrift stores up here in Canada for almost 2 years and it's Eddie Bauer,Dorkers,Chaps,Kirkland Signature,Denver Hayes,Mexx,various Sears brands,Old Navy, and Gap garbage as far as they eye can see! They're bursting at the seams with this garbage. Why, today in fact, I went through 350 (I counted) shirts in the "large" rack, and not one good one (3 were so-so, if you like generic Nautica crap.) I'm about ready to give up on thrifting and go back to retail. Maybe it's due in part to the fact that we don't have Polo/Brooks Brothers stores up here. What do others think?
ReplyDeleteI believe the late Ms. Joplin would endorse this sentiment.
ReplyDeleteFed Up... have you tried church and hospital thrift shops? one of the best ones around here is a private psychiatric hospital. Also, go to thrifts in better neighbourhoods.
ReplyDeleteFed Up,
ReplyDeleteThrifting is an intensely local game. If everyone around you wears junk, then all you will see in the thrift stores is junk.
To echo Pigtown, go to the thrift stores in the nice neighborhoods. You might have to travel to a big(ger) city where men dress professionally—or at least used to. Private charity thrift stores generally have nicer clothes than chains, but they might also have, er, "nicer" prices. For example, my local Cancer Society thrift store has some very nice things, but the prices tend to be significantly higher than the local church thrift stores.
Good luck!