The official thrift/discount store bragging thread

[GHo]



I know... that was a great tie though. I was tempted to keep that one.

the red striped one? I ******* missed the end of the bidding on the Ben Silver red one yesterday. Wanted.

 

[goneAWOL]

Hi AndroFan!

Thanks for understanding.
The point that I wanted to get to was that: Does there seem to be an unjustified premium put on bespoke garments?
Say for example that a bespoke Brioni suit may cost you 15,000-50,000 dollars. OK, yes it is made to fit to your body and your body alone.
But then say you bought a Brioni suit off the peg for 6,00-10,000 and then had a professional tailor do the alterations.
Is it conceivable that an off the peg Brioni, altered professionally, could, to the naked eye, and to the perception and feel of the wearer, be equal to a bespoke Brioni?
Now, to the next logical thought in the mind of a thrifter like myself. Say you find a mint Brioni bespoke jacket or suit at a thrift, and I have seen them for 5-6 bucks; could I reasonably expect, with a professional tailor, to have my 6 buck find come close to a bespoke Brioni, assuming relatively minor alterations say to the cuff length, and side seams?
Thanks !

I can't imagine a bespoke suit fitting significantly better than a professionally altered off the rack suit that was the your size to begin with. I've always thought of Bespoke things as more of a status symbol or pride type of thing, kind of like a custom ordered Lambo, rather than something you would get for better "fit". So yes, I would say that you could reasonably expect a 6 buck find come close to a bespoke Brioni, given that you have the ridiculous luck to find a bespoke Brioni close to your size in the first place.

 

[preppycanada]

Thanks, that was the conclusion which I had come to in my own mind, but just wanted to see if others shared my opinion. At the moment, the big news in men's fashion is this stand-off between tailoring and designers.
Tailors are naturally pushing bespoke product and hyping the value of bespoke and tailoring, whereas designers are constantly pushing new fashions and diffusion lines.
Myself, I like quality garments that fit well.
It seems to be a no-brainer that thrifts are a great place to pick up high-quality men's garments, then have them altered professionally or by yourself ( I have Mary Roehr's Altering men's ready to wear).
You can build up an absolutely awesome wardrobe for pennies, and then the money you have saved by not buying retail, you can get a nice 80's 911 Carrera. Not pretentious, and a bulletproof boxer 6 motor

 

[pnutpug]



They are 8B (size listed as 8 AA|B indicates AA heel, B width). A B width makes them wearable for more people. Those have ebay goldmine written all over them. Fantastic shoes!

Yes, those will go for a ton, especially, I think, in Japan, and especially if you have the box. I got $150 for a pair of used EC vintage shoes without breaking a sweat about a year ago that were, IIRC, around a 10.

 

[AndroFan]

I actually disagree somewhat. For people with really standard body types this may be true, but for someone like myself with a very odd body type (freakishly wide shoulders, very long torso, very narrow waist and small chest), even the best fitting off the rack items still leave a bit to be desired, and tailoring can only do so much. For example, in terms of 'standard" otr measurements, a 41L is probably a perfect fit in the chest and jacket length for me...but invariably, the shoulders that are typical on a 41" chest jacket end up being way too narrow at 18.5-19" (I'm ~20" in shoulders). I could size-up to a 42-43L to get the broader shoulders, but the chest on them ends up being too big, and the waist doesn't look as good when I get it suppressed since it's naturally bigger to start with.

I think I'm exactly the kind of person who would see significant improvements in overall fit from a bespoke vs. otr tailored suit.

I can't imagine a bespoke suit fitting significantly better than a professionally altered off the rack suit that was the your size to begin with. I've always thought of Bespoke things as more of a status symbol or pride type of thing, kind of like a custom ordered Lambo, rather than something you would get for better "fit". So yes, I would say that you could reasonably expect a 6 buck find come close to a bespoke Brioni, given that you have the ridiculous luck to find a bespoke Brioni close to your size in the first place.

 

[capnwes]

I was home for Easter weekend and showing my Dad some boots I'm saving up for. He said, "Your grandma gave me a pair like that and they've been sitting in a box in the closet for years" He came back with these:
Unworn Vintage (1939) Edwin Clapp boots. Original receipt and everything. Thankfully these are Sz 8AA, and I'm 8D, so I'll never be tempted to wear them. Unfortunately I forgot to bring them back with me, so I'm sure they're back in the closet. At least I them stuffed them and they're ready for my next visit/rescue.


There were some women's boots from the 20s (you can see a sliver of one in the background of one pic) in the box as well. Ridiculously tiny.

Nice.. I sold a pair of similar Florsheims which were several years older, but extremely beat up for $300 a while back. They went almost immediately via BIN. If you should decide ot sell them, they will do quite well.

 

[fritzl]



Thankfully these are Sz 8AA, and I'm 8D, so I'll never be tempted to wear them.

don't you want to walk in your daddies boots?

 

[mexicutioner]



I was going to say Nataku's found some amazing SW&D stuff!

your words are like a dagger through my heart. hello? NWOT epaulet trousers? APC trench?

 

[preppycanada]

Hi AndroFan

Cool. Yes, I understand your point completely. It all makes sense now. The governing factor is the body type and morphology. If your body proportions greatly deviate from the majority, then an off the peg garment will need many major alterations such as shoulders, collar and side seams.This can get expensive.
I guess I have lucky in that regard. I am shorter- 5'8" with short arms, normal chest, normal shoulders. Althletic build, but most off the peg stuff tends to fit well. At most sleeve shortening.
I have found some great jackets, sportcoats, and blazers at thrifts - paying between 3 bucks and 6 bucks max per jacket. I have found Zegna, Armani, Daks, Baumler, Tombolini, Hugo Boss, Hilfiger, All of them fit well on the chest and shoulders, looks like bespoke, just minor shortening to do on the sleeves on some of them.
I find the drop on European jackets perfect for me.
Except for Canali, they tend to be more like the American Brooks Brothers sack profile.
I saw a Brioni DB jacket two days ago, way too big for me. Mint condition. I think I will go back and get it just to study it. 6 bucks. The craftsmanship was incredible. The buttons alone are a work of art.

 

[Brianpore]

I'm not sure what BP's talking about, since nothing about this looks trollish to me, so I'll answer seriously: I've found a few bespoke pieces that weren't exactly "perfect" for me, but I know others have. And with a very good tailor, there's really a negligible difference between a piece that fits you like a glove because it was made for you, and one that was already incredibly close but just needs some relatively easy fixes (longer sleeves, let the waist out/in, etc.). There are a few things that are just impossible to fix perfectly, so those are the aspects you're really looking for to be perfect already when you pick the item up (shoulders, jacket length, chest size).

I define a "motherload" piece as any Brioni/Kiton/etc. that's workable in your size, so yes, I guess technically one that was MTM for someone your exact body type would be the motherload of the motherload.

Quote:

First post on the forum...asking a open ended general "thrift" question in a thread dedicated to bragging about what you find (not asking questions)....maybe not troll, but def the wrong place for your first post/question. This is going to lead (as it already has) to a 20 message back and fourth discussion about Bespoke clothing and thrifitng.

PS - just had woken up when I read it and was like wtf...sorry to label the new guy a troll, just wasnt feeling how this was relevant bragging to this thread.

 

[AndroFan]

Definitely pick the Brioni DB up. There's a very active behind-the-scenes trading scene here, so after you pick it up, post pictures of it to brag and label it as "available" along with your size, and I'm sure someone who is interested will message you offering to trade you something great in your size.

Hi AndroFan

Cool. Yes, I understand your point completely. It all makes sense now. The governing factor is the body type and morphology. If your body proportions greatly deviate from the majority, then an off the peg garment will need many major alterations such as shoulders, collar and side seams.This can get expensive.
I guess I have lucky in that regard. I am shorter- 5'8" with short arms, normal chest, normal shoulders. Althletic build, but most off the peg stuff tends to fit well. At most sleeve shortening.
I have found some great jackets, sportcoats, and blazers at thrifts - paying between 3 bucks and 6 bucks max per jacket. I have found Zegna, Armani, Daks, Baumler, Tombolini, Hugo Boss, Hilfiger, All of them fit well on the chest and shoulders, looks like bespoke, just minor shortening to do on the sleeves on some of them.
I find the drop on European jackets perfect for me.
Except for Canali, they tend to be more like the American Brooks Brothers sack profile.
I saw a Brioni DB jacket two days ago, way too big for me. Mint condition. I think I will go back and get it just to study it. 6 bucks. The craftsmanship was incredible. The buttons alone are a work of art.

Who cares, it's something interesting and tangentially relevant. More inane and unrelated topics have certainly been discussed at length here.


Quote:

First post on the forum...asking a open ended general "thrift" question in a thread dedicated to bragging about what you find (not asking questions)....maybe not troll, but def the wrong place for your first post/question. This is going to lead (as it already has) to a 20 message back and fourth discussion about Bespoke clothing and thrifitng.

 

[tenloe]

Hi, I'm a new member and first time poster. I just picked these Alden Original Tassel Moccasins in superb condition at my local thrift store for $10. I'm over the moon and just had to share it with someone. My wife just doesn't get this sort of thing. I only found the left shoe and they had to hunt in the back of the shop to find the right one for me. I was so nervous that they weren't going to find it and that I would have to leave empty handed. They also had two burgundy Ferragamo tasseled loafers but they were a mismatched pair. They took my number down and will call me if/when they find the missing other halves. Keeping my fingers crossed!

 

[ATLjon]

OK, so this isn't a big deal for some of you, but this is a white-whale find for me. In these parts, seven-folds are as rare as happy Braves fans.





(I had to buy the BB Makers tie in order to get the price tag to $4, which is apparently close enough to the $5 minimum on credit card purchases.)

 

[AndroFan]

Nice, and not just rare for you; I've actually only ever found 1 seven fold...but it was a Kiton, so I guess that makes it ok.

OK, so this isn't a big deal for some of you, but this is a white-whale find for me. In these parts, seven-folds are as rare as happy Braves fans.





(I had to buy the BB Makers tie in order to get the price tag to $4, which is apparently close enough to the $5 minimum on credit card purchases.)

 

[capnwes]

OK, so this isn't a big deal for some of you, but this is a white-whale find for me. In these parts, seven-folds are as rare as happy Braves fans.





(I had to buy the BB Makers tie in order to get the price tag to $4, which is apparently close enough to the $5 minimum on credit card purchases.)

I've only ever found one 7 Fold here too. It was a Robert Talbot and ugly enough to wipe my dogs ass with.