Perils of Thrifting : A Law of Averages

The " Law of Averages" we discussed in our last post does of course have a converse side to it. When you buy old things, you are of course buying things which have been worn previously. There will be no real way of knowing how much they were worn, and how well the previous owner, or in some cases owners, took care of his garments. Sometimes, a great find doesn't last too long once you have it. It's especially true of lighter materials like cotton and linen. I've had no end of great shirts bite the dust after I've worn and washed them only once or twice.

After wearing it only half a dozen times, the trousers to my recently acquired seersucker suit have reached the end. Torn wide open, down the seat and partway down one leg, they are now irreparably damaged. Remember what I said about the difficulty of finding old seersucker in good condition? Well, turns out that's very true.I suppose it's partly my fault for wearing it to work on a night when I had to bend and lift a number of cases of wine, but it's disappointing nonetheless.

But that's really all it is, a disappointment, and a relatively small one at that. Perhaps it's my years spent selling perishable goods at my other job, but I've learned to accept that there will be a certain amount of inevitable loss that needs to be factored in here. The trick is to try to keep that loss to a minimum. And as the law of averages states, even accounting for loss, alterations, and mishaps, I still come out very far ahead. Plus, there always an element of chance involved, which I suppose is sort of fun, I guess. Beats hell out of satisfying that fix with scratch tickets anyway.

p.s. make with the fat jokes all you like. This happened two weeks ago, and I already heard them all from those present at the time, and of course Mrs. G and the children.

Reader Questions: The Middle Ground

Reader Rob writes:

Hi Giuseppe,

I've been reading your blog for at least a couple years now and I have to say I am still mystified by suits.  I think mainly from a lack of hands on experience.  I do my best to make a decent appearance, despite being a chronically underemployed recent college grad, but I the only real occasion to wear my solitary suit is funerals. 

What really has me stumped is the fit/cut trends.  I'd really like a well fitting conservative suit, but all I seem to see is the shapeless suits all the dads wore when I was a kid in the 90s and the ultraslim/too small fit that's currently trendy.  What do I need to look for or ask for to get at that middle ground?  Can you give me a rundown of the general evolution of these trends over the decades that I'd be likely to see thrifting? 

Rob's question speaks to on of the core issues that faces those of us who favor classic clothing when out thrift shopping : the avoidance of overt trend and fashion. This is true for wearers of classic styles who shop new as well, but doubly so in the world of thrift shopping as the fashions and trends one encounters are dated and passe. The photo above is a good example, showing many of the late 1980s styles that are currently represent a large portion of whats available second hand these days. Big shoulders, low button stance, and lots of pleats. It can be tricky finding something that works for you in such circumstances, but not impossible.

Truthfully, thrift stores can contain a wide range of cuts and styles from different decades. Trim cut 1960s jackets with razor thin lapels share space with broad lapeled polyester pieces from the 1970s , big shouldered 1980s clothes, bad full cut 1990s things, and even newer stuff. And a lot, if not most of it, is bad leftover stuff that wasn't good in the first place. So how does one find the middle ground between the too tight, too short, too small look of today and the "boxy" old stuff in the thrift shop.

As with so many questions in menswear, it all comes down to finding a good tailor. When you search the thrift shops, look for suits made of quality cloth in conservative colors like navy or grey with a moderate lapel. Knowing good brands is helpful, but not necessary. Remember that a good suit is a good suit, regardless of band, as much as a brand name can trick you into accepting something of lesser overall quality. Some of the best stuff to be had in a thrift store originally came from small local men's shops you may never have heard of. Try them on until you find one that fits well across the shoulders and chest, then have a good tailor alter them, taking in the sides if necessary and removing some of that undesirable boxiness. It will cost extra, but in the end you will have a better fitting good suit for a fraction of the cost of a new one. And don;t forget, some what we now call "boxiness" may actually just be proper shape. In our current climate of too small/too tight, anything with breathing room can look baggy. Being comfortable always looks better than holding in your breath.

Above all, be persistent. Thrift shopping well takes time and determination, but the payoff, when it comes, is always worth it.

Read The Right Label ; Read The Label Right

Brand names and labels are such a tricky beast, especialy when it comes to second hand shopping. Some are a guarantee of quality, others a guarantee of brand marketing. Most fall somewhere between the two. A label can be a household name and represent nothing but crap, or a label can be something you've never heard of and represent real quality.Sometimes a label can be a real surprise, if you learn to look at it after you look over the garment and judge it on its own merit. For example:

Here's a really nice tweed jacket. It has soft shoulders, high cut notch lapels and a two button darted front with just the right amount of waist supression. A good combination of English and traditional American detailing makes this piece both comfortable and sharp. And check that check: pattern matching from body to sleeve is pretty tight.

A perfect shade of gray tinted tan, with a large but faint windowpane plaid in brown and rust. ..

...with real braided leather buttons...

...and rendered in Scottish woven camel hair cloth, soft and luxurious to the touch.

Read the Right Label: Maybe you're not from the Boston area, or if you are maybe you're to young to remember, or don't remember, Kaps mens clothing stores. They were the real thing, since 1885. In the old days, when I worked at Simon's, Kaps stores, and the Kapelson family who owned them, were referred to with the due respect and mild jealousy befitting a worthy rival. Good stuff, always priced fairly but at it's worth, which was never cheap. Kaps was sort of a "poor man's Andover Shop", if such a phrase could possibly make even a shred of sense.

So far, nothing should be surprising about this jacket. Its well made, it comes from a sadly long gone local Massachusetts mens shop, and it's styled just how I like it. But there is a surpirse;

Read the Label Right: Chaps is like some kind of fourth rate label from Ralph Lauren for the malls and off price stores, right? Crappy junk meant only to create revenue through brand name licensing, right? I thought Kohl's owend it, right?

Maybe so, but not always, not like this. In the pre-over-seas-labor days, much of Ralph's stuff was high quality union made goods from the USA, and the Chaps brand was no exception.  In the days before brand names were just a commodity to license and sell, Chaps was turning out the goods. I may not specifically remember Chaps as a brand in such a light, but I do remember Kaps as a store in such a light, and I know they never sold junk. Buying this jacket used in not so much wearing yet aniother piece of Ralph's clothes as it is hiniring the Kapelsons.

Reading this blog, you may think that I just trip over $1000 suits for a buck every time I walk out the door, but believe me, it takes a lot of patience and study to pull this off.

p.s. the above jacket, along with many other new items, is up in the Shop. A shameless plug, perhaps, but a plug nonetheless.