29 August 2010

Secrets of Thrifting

Good things often come in pairs:
Like these two made in USA blue Brooks Brothers button down oxfords, in my size, $9.98 for the pair.

In a down and dirty thrift store, if you find one Brooks Brothers shirt in your size, that obviously belonged to a guy who brought his shirts out to the cleaners every week, keep digging. Chances are there are more similar shirts in the same size, likely having belonged to the same fellow, who bought a dozen new in the 3 for $200 sale, then got rid of all those perfectly good old ones all in one fell swoop.

If you're especially lucky, his suits will be there too, also in your size.

10 comments:

matt said...

is the "4" on these shirts just an abbreviation for "34" or do they just size them differently?

Anonymous said...

Or, not to be morbid, but maybe he died and the family didn't know what to do with Grandpa's clothes bc no one wanted them, or fit in them, or he only had granddaughters.

tintin said...

Those 'Makers' tags peg the shirts in the early '90s according to old timers at the Madison store. Should be an unlined collar. Matt-Brooks drops the three since all sleeven lengths are in 30" increments except for ADG for whome they make a custom 13 1/2 -23.

David V said...

Keep looking is the key.
You have to go through a lot of stuff from guys NOT your size to hit your guy.

Anonymous said...

Just got four pairs of Bill's Khakis following this method. Thanks!

Mark

Young Fogey said...

Here, here!

At one of my favorite thrifts, I recently encountered a huge bundle of recently-donated ties. Although they were quality ties mainly from France and Italy, I found only one that I liked. Given the timing, the ties' origins, that most of them were narrow, and the prevalent colors (olive, rust, and brown), it's safe to assume that they came from one guy's closet.

Last weekend, at the very same boutique, I found a cache of Brooks Brothers ties, as well as others of simliar pedigree. Sixteen dollars later, I have ten "new" ties, only one of which needs to go to the cleaners. Classics all, they are made of either English or Italian silk (and one 50/50 wool/silk poplin), in stripes and foulards, in navy and red.

You will often find singletons, but you may also get lucky and strike the motherlode now and again.

Perseverance: there is no greater path to success!

Anonymous said...

I agree with you - happens all the time - I find my size in a label I like, and sure enough, I find another, or a few, if I'm lucky!

NCJack said...

Might have been the first time at Jr. League thrift, found two Paul Stuart and one unlableled but identical wool flannel trou, already tailored for me, and several other items in my (approx.) size. Total for trou: $40, retail about $1K, and "like newish"

Hasn't happened since, of course.

Anonymous said...

Happened to me while thrifting in New England over the summer. I reached into a tie rack because I was drawn to a particular stripe, only to pull the tie out of the group to find it a child size far too short for my 5' 11" frame. It was a BB no less. In less than a minute I found a set of 5.

Ann said...

Check out this Brooks Brothers shirt! Thrifted of course! http://endlesssummertreasures.wordpress.com/2014/04/18/brooks-brothers-shirt/