Rules of Thirfting : Accept Heartbreak

Yesterday I found this pair of pants, 90% wool/10% cashmere, navy blue chalk stripe, with forward pleats, a high waist, and brace buttons. Made in Italy for Paul Stuart, the tag showed that they were the bottom half of a suit (obviously) in my size. It's no rare occurrence for a suit to become separated in a thrift shop, so I searched for the jacket in the sports coats with no luck. Determined, I hunted through the outerwear, still no luck. Undaunted, I rifled through both the ladies jackets and outerwear. I even put Mrs. G on the task. Still, nothing.

Once, I managed to reunite a suit from two different Salvation Army stores. I considered taking a gamble and buying the trousers in the hopes that the coat might turn up elsewhere. Silly I know, but I've been wanting a navy chalk striped suit ever since I was a kid. Amazingly, common sense prevailed and I left the trousers behind.

I awoke today with a nagging feeling that I was going to bring this garment back together, so first thing I traveled to the other store in search of the orphaned coat. No dice, but I did pick up a crazy red tweed jacket with bellows pockets and a half belted back (coming soon to the AAW Shop).  Like a man possessed, I again visited the first store in the hopes that the coat may have been put out later in the day after I left. On the drive over, I saw myself wearing the suit, with a collar pin, wool challis tie, and black lace ups. The trousers were still there, but not the coat. Reluctantly, I gave up.

This story serves to illustrate not one but three of the basic tenets of thrift shopping:

1) Persistence is the one thing that separates the men form the boys

2) In order to do this successfully, you have to be willing to accept an occasional heartbreak 

3) Only a crazy person would do this

p.s. You know I'll probably make another pass at this in both stores next week. Commit me.

Exceptions to Every Rule

This is my new favorite pocket square. It's a true classic in navy on white, with a varying pattern that gives it a nice modern vibe. Because of the varying scale of the dots and stripes, it's incredibly versatile as it can be folded so any bit you like shows. Lately, I've been wearing ti with the tiny pin dots at the center showing, with a just a little bit of the big stripes sticking out behind.

But it's made of (gasp!) polyester. That kind of stinks, but for 99¢ I ain't complaining. I'm the only one who knows anyway.

There are exceptions, after all, to every rule.

What's In A Name? (guess)

Silk knit ties in solid colors are a useful component of a man's wardrobe, especially in Summertime. Good one's have some weight and heft to them, but also a lightness inherent in the weave. They strike a great balance between dress and casual, which is often just the ticket for looking nice on sweaty hot days when more sensible people just wear shorts, or at least eschew ties altogether. I have quite a few in my arsenal these days, and they have become warm weather favorites. Pictured above are two of mine in different shades of green. Both work well with a navy blazer and tan trousers. The darker one keeps things a bit more subdued, while the kelly green is the more GTH  ( that's "go to hell" for those who don't know). Both help keep other Summer items like bold striped shirts and madras jackets in check with an anchor of solid color.

They are the same width, and the construction is of perfectly equal quality. Look closely.

Both are made in Italy. Both were purchased at thrift stores for less than $5.00 each.

I've often spoken of the pros and cons of brand consciousness when thrift shopping, so forgive me if I seem like I'm beating a dead horse. While a knowledge of brand names and their respective design and quality is of course helpful in thrift shopping, it is no match for the ability to directly recognize quality in clothing, regardless of brand name or provenance. Simply put, good stuff is good stuff, no matter where it came form. Similarly, junk is junk. With that, I offer this little guessing game. No prizes, just for fun.

One of these ties is from a popular mail order/mall brand. The other is from a venerated American men's shop. Can you tell which is which? Based solely on these photos, what makes you think so? I'll reveal the answer in a few days.

p.s. even more new items in the Shop. With 92 of a possible 100 items now available, we're operating at high capacity. Vintage 1960s repp ties, suits from the Andover Shop, Paul Stuart,and others, and a couple of cheap novelties. Have a look.

United Nations

I write about men's clothes, and being from Boston, my own experience and personal style lies heavily in the classic American East Coast camp. While "Made in USA" have of late become nearly holy writ on a clothing label, I'm not one to marry myself to such a narrow field of vision. Last time I checked, the Europeans knew their way around the finer things too.

The general look of today's ensemble is in many ways rooted in the British countryside. Tweed jacket, broad glen checks, informal tie( the other perfect knit tie; silk with white dots) and a yellow vest, all brought down from the equestrian tradition. A tab collar on the shirt would have been great here, but a short pointed spread works pretty good, too.

The jacket hails from the quintessential American brand, Brooks Brothers. A recent piece, made of fine, soft wool, $7.49. Continental/Neapolitan details, such as soft shoulders, high gorge two button front and four button cuffs define this coat...

...as well they might, given its Italian provenance. Truthfully, I prefer my Brooks Brothers old, undarted and American, but a piece like this for practically nothing is too good to pass up.

The Brothers strike again with the tie, and once again we have the Italians to thank for it.

The yellow/buff vest is a very English convention when rendered in soft doeskin. This one, a vintage number likely from the early 1960s, is knitted of fine wool, maybe merino, and has a killer vintage pocket detail and tiny side vents.

Once again, the Italians are to blame. Full fashioned...good thing, I just hate it when my clothes are only partial fashioned.

Below, a favorite pair of vintage charcoal worsted slacks, well fitted yet narrow enough to remain in keeping with the overall continental vibe here, with chocolate brown suede USA made Allen Edmonds shoes, and silly skull and bones socks...just to drive you crazy.

A real Bavarian Alpine hat, adorned with a vintage hat pin from the Andover Shop, is the whipped  cream on top.

And since my birthday is this weekend, my parents, as usual and despite my yearly protest, gave me a card full of money with the instructions that it not be spent on anything responsible. In the past I've used this money to pay a bill, or something. This year, I decided instead to do it right. A lunch of sushi and a Sapporo is in keeping with the days theme of internationalism...

...as was the bag of drink that came hone with me tonight. Chateau Tariquet 15 year old Bas Armagnac, from France, was a gift from the job ( working in a wine shop has its advantages). Bunnahabhain 12 year old single Islay malt Scotch and Kopke Colheita 1997 Port rounded out my own use of the birthday cash. Consider my house "Winterized" as it were. A man's got to keep warm, you know.

shop news: the Shop has more items than ever, including most recently some choice coats and other outerwear. You've got to keep warm too, you know.