Goodwill buys

[Lamplight]

There is a way to size trousers without trying them on and I've used it for years when shopping at thrift shops.
Fasten the waist closure and fly. Hold the pants by the waistband on either side above the front pockets, then keeping the waist opening of the pants closed, wrap the waistband around your neck. If the waistband overlaps itself by at least two inches the pants will fit your waist. Works every time.

I'll have to remember that next time. I'll make sure to try it when no one is looking, though.

 

[davestlouis]

I almost had a great deal today...Brooks Brothers 3 button charcoal suit at a Goodwill I had never visited before...$20. Unfortunately it was a 46R, not a 48R like I wear...it was just too snug.

 

[goldendawn7]

I once found a camel Burberry Trench coat in perfect shape with the zip out lining intact at a good will for $40. Bought it and enjoyed it for about a month, though I tired of the 'Inspector Gadget' comments. After that, decided it was 1 size too large and flipped it on fleabay for about $200.

God I love the goodwill.

 

[jamespowers]

I almost had a great deal today...Brooks Brothers 3 button charcoal suit at a Goodwill I had never visited before...$20. Unfortunately it was a 46R, not a 48R like I wear...it was just too snug.

Send it to me. I'll make it fit.

 

[Cigarband]

I once found a camel Burberry Trench coat in perfect shape with the zip out lining intact at a good will for $40. Bought it and enjoyed it for about a month, though I tired of the 'Inspector Gadget' comments. After that, decided it was 1 size too large and flipped it on fleabay for about $200.

God I love the goodwill.

A source I've used for years is Dry Cleaners. People forget and leave stuff there and after 90 days they sell the clothes.
I got a London Fog Camel hair Overcoat about 5 years ago
for $15.00! I hope whoever stole it from the Wedding reception I was attending got a better price for it.:eusa_doh:

The trick with the waistband was taught to me by an old Carny when I was a kid working at Geauga Lake Amusement Park. He was a Romany (gypsy) and a font
of knowledge.

 

[davestlouis]

Some success today...navy poly/wool blend suit, SB, center vent, pleated/cuffed trousers, has a faint red windowpane. Jacket fits well, pants are big in the waist and seat, will need some attention there..$12 The label is a made-up Italian name, suit made in the Philippines. Not a great item, but a good rainy day suit.

Looked at a Brooks Brothers jacket that was being sold as a sport coat, but I think it started as part of a suit...glen plaid, pretty, but I already have 3 glen plaids that I rarely wear, so I passed. It was $15 at the Scholar's Shop. Passed on a Jos. A Bank navy sport coat for $18...I already have 4, what on earth would I do with another?

Not a bad day, overall.

 

[St.Ignatz]

My Sis was in town so it was the thrift circuit for a week. Sport Coats mostly for me.
Countess Mara $5.00
Perry Ellis $6.50
Savile Row camel hair $6.50
Traditionalist linen $0.99
Tom D.

 

[cookie]

A source I've used for years is Dry Cleaners. People forget and leave stuff there and after 90 days they sell the clothes.
I got a London Fog Camel hair Overcoat about 5 years ago
for $15.00! I hope whoever stole it from the Wedding reception I was attending got a better price for it.:eusa_doh:

The trick with the waistband was taught to me by an old Carny when I was a kid working at Geauga Lake Amusement Park. He was a Romany (gypsy) and a font
of knowledge.

Recently I thrifted a Canali tie that I had coveted (but could not afford the AUD180 price tag) at Vinnies and there was the "executive dry cleaning" tag still attached! No guessing where it came from.

I almost had a great deal today...Brooks Brothers 3 button charcoal suit at a Goodwill I had never visited before...$20. Unfortunately it was a 46R, not a 48R like I wear...it was just too snug.

For USD20 you could put it in the Classifieds or eBay.

 

[davestlouis]

Cookie, I'm too lazy to deal with reselling anything, and I don't do ebay...I got burned on several purchases and got no support from fleabay so I just quit cold turkey. I do buy some things on the local craigslist. I like that because I can see and feel the items, and get immediate gratification. I drive to their house, see the item, hand over the greenbacks, and away we go.

 

[Trotsky]

The Salvation Army near me has been a gold mine of.... shoes. $2 a pop, I bought a great pair of JC Penny brown brogans from the '60s or '70s and later found a pair of older Johnston and Murphy Brown oxfords, not the best of shape but they will work very well for me. Not much else. No Goodwill in this town and one non-chain thrift which I have to hit yet.

 

[Lamplight]

Nothing this weekend, but last weekend I found a cream colored linen jacket for $4. I already own a pair of linen pants, and the jacket just happens to match perfectly. It's not vintage at all, but it looks okay and it was literally in brand new condition (it still had the tags on it). I'm keeping my eyes peeled for a high quality navy blazer, but so far the thrift stores around here have only turned up bottom-of-the-barrel coats. I'll keep looking though. That's part of the fun!

 

[Ghostsoldier]

Picked up a super-heavyweight, long wool London Fog (gray herringbone) topcoat for 10 bucks at the Goodwill Saturday....
Rob

 

[Mr Mueller]

Have a thrift store near me. Most people that care about clothes don't visit it because of its shady locale, but I do and they have suits for days. Went thumbing through the suits the other day and ran across a very nice mid-fifties 2-piece. Pleated trousers, navel high waist. Nice charcoal ghost stripe fabric. Mint! $9.95! Not my size (its like a 44), but I picked it up anyway. Be a nice eBay flip if the college doesn't buy it.

 

[Talbot]

I was recently holidaying in TX and passed a goodwill in Houston. I hadn't planned to stop, but sometimes these things just seem to beckon.

Waiting for me inside were two charcoal grey Jos A Bank suits, one single breasted and one double. Also found a light grey single breasted Ralph Lauren suit which will be great for summer.

The three suits set me back a total of $100. They will need some altering, but I object to paying large amounts of money for officewear.

 

[tonyb]

The gods smile again ...

This afternoon, at the Value Village, a 1955 dated brown flannel notch-lapel two-button suit, patch pockets, no vent. Tag inside pocket says it's a size 43. Double pleated, high-waisted, drop loop pants. Truly excellent condition. Not a thing wrong with it. Not a thing. Fits quite well everywhere except length of trousers, but there's LOTS of material to work with there, so I'm confident the seamstress can make everything right.

Twenty clams.

Just a minute or two before coming upon the suit, I had commented to a fellow, just as we were both bemoaning the lack of decent shoes on the rack, that I often stop by the Value Village on my way to my wife's nearby office, just to kill a few minutes, so there would be nothing novel in walking out the door empty-handed.

I'm just thankful that the store workers failed to recognize the suit for what it is. Generally, when the Value Village gets donations of anything that might be considered antique/vintage/collectible, they put it in a section devoted exclusively to that sort of merchandise, where it has to be retrieved by a store clerk from a locked case or an otherwise inaccessible rack, and they price it accordingly, which is to say they ask a whole lot more than I'd ever pay them for it.

 

[Widebrim]

The gods smile again ...

This afternoon, at the Value Village, a 1955 dated brown flannel notch-lapel two-button suit, patch pockets, no vent. Tag inside pocket says it's a size 43. Double pleated, high-waisted, drop loop pants. Truly excellent condition. Not a thing wrong with it. Not a thing. Fits quite well everywhere except length of trousers, but there's LOTS of material to work with there, so I'm confident the seamstress can make everything right.

Twenty clams.

Just a minute or two before coming upon the suit, I had commented to a fellow, just as we were both bemoaning the lack of decent shoes on the rack, that I often stop by the Value Village on my way to my wife's nearby office, just to kill a few minutes, so there would be nothing novel in walking out the door empty-handed.

I'm just thankful that the store workers failed to recognize the suit for what it is. Generally, when the Value Village gets donations of anything that might be considered antique/vintage/collectible, they put it in a section devoted exclusively to that sort of merchandise, where it has to be retrieved by a store clerk from a locked case or an otherwise inaccessible rack, and they price it accordingly, which is to say they ask a whole lot more than I'd ever pay them for it.

Great find! And drop loops on a '55? Nice. It takes patience, but eventually you do find some solid articles of clothing at the second hand stores.

 

[Widebrim]

Have a thrift store near me. Most people that care about clothes don't visit it because of its shady locale, but I do and they have suits for days. Went thumbing through the suits the other day and ran across a very nice mid-fifties 2-piece. Pleated trousers, navel high waist. Nice charcoal ghost stripe fabric. Mint! $9.95! Not my size (its like a 44), but I picked it up anyway. Be a nice eBay flip if the college doesn't buy it.

:eusa_clap

 

[tonyb]

Great find! And drop loops on a '55? Nice. It takes patience, but eventually you do find some solid articles of clothing at the second hand stores.

True, that. If a person expects he'll find great bargains on nice old stuff every time he goes hunting, well, he's just setting himself up for disappointment.

My fave thrift shop fairly frequently gets vintage stuff, but it's one of those small, off-the-beaten-path places. The Value Village is something like 30,000 square feet (larger than that, maybe), at the corner of Main Drag and Busy Street. The chain bills itself as "the thrift super store." It's a reliable source of cheap but serviceable housewares and kid clothes and oodles of other everyday stuff your typical struggling working-class household could always use. But vintage men's wear? Not so much.

 

[tonyb]

Here it is ...

 

[tonyb]

Cookie, I'm too lazy to deal with reselling anything, and I don't do ebay...I got burned on several purchases and got no support from fleabay so I just quit cold turkey. I do buy some things on the local craigslist. I like that because I can see and feel the items, and get immediate gratification. I drive to their house, see the item, hand over the greenbacks, and away we go.

You just summed up why eBay (and the like) won't spell the end of in-person transactions. People still like to touch the merchandise. They want to assess for themselves what they're getting and who they're dealing with, and not have to rely on someone else's account of that.

I feel your pain. And I understand your reluctance to venture at all into the reselling world. Still, I've been known to buy old stuff that I'll never wear (usually because it doesn't fit and couldn't be made to at any reasonable cost) just to pass it along to someone who could use it.