Reunited

[thunderw21]

The below 1930s belted back jacket was purchased 3-4 years ago from a small shop. I looked around for the matching trousers but was unable to find any, leading me to believe that it was just a sports coat. It's pretty unique with the woven plaid fabric pattern.

Recently I was back at that same small shop and was surprised and very happy to find the matching trousers! At some point they had been seperated to be sold individually and the trousers only now made it to the rack.

They need a cleaning and need to be lengthened just a tad, but otherwise they fit me.

The same woven plaid pattern!

The two pieces are reunited again in my closet.

 

[Shangas]

Very interesting. When do we get to see a shot of them together?

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

Congrats! A beautiful suit! I would be glad if I only had the sportscoat but together this is GREAT

 

[thunderw21]

Thanks!

Very interesting. When do we get to see a shot of them together?

Crappy photo but you get the idea.

I'll post better ones after it's been cleaned and lengthened.

 

[Oldsarge]

That's very interesting. I believe that the cloth is a Glen Check but I've never seen one in dark blue before. Congratulations on an very nice find. I especially like the slanted breast pocket.

 

[Fidena]

Thanks!



Crappy photo but you get the idea.

I'll post better ones after it's been cleaned and lengthened.

Looks great!

 

[scotrace]

I wonder why they would break up the set? Surely more $ with a complete suit?

 

[thunderw21]

I wonder why they would break up the set? Surely more $ with a complete suit?

That would make the most sense. That shop, though, is a tad eccentric: $25 for an absolutely perfect 1940s tuxedo and over $200 for a plain-jane 1950s suit?

I've bought another suit from there, a 3-piece. A little later I found another matching pair of trousers for that suit in the pants section. For some strange reason they seperated the two pairs of trousers, selling one with the suit and the other seperately.

[huh]

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Very cool story! Glad you were able to get the two pieces back together. Better look hard, there may be a vest, too!!!

 

[AntonAAK]

Reunited after 3-4 years! That is amazing.

Great suit.

 

[Shangas]

Very cool story! Glad you were able to get the two pieces back together. Better look hard, there may be a vest, too!!!

AET is right. Keep your eyes open. For all you know that's a three-piecer without a waistcoat.

 

[thunderw21]

I looked but didn't see a vest. Maybe it'll get out to the rack in 3-4 more years.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Maybe they didn't. Often this stuff comes to vintage dealers in big bundles, and the jackets and trousers aren't always bundled together - usually but not always.

I have had a similar find to thunder's, but there was only 3 months between finding the jacket and trousers. They were in different branches of the same store.

I wonder why they would break up the set? Surely more $ with a complete suit?

 

[Edward]

That would make the most sense. That shop, though, is a tad eccentric: $25 for an absolutely perfect 1940s tuxedo and over $200 for a plain-jane 1950s suit?

That doesn't entirely surprised me. Over here, it's really not hard to find a beautiful 30s or 40s db dj & trews for about a third of the price of the most basic 50s suit. I have always put this down to black tie having received comparatively less wear than a lounge suit for most people, thus the former survives in greater numbers and therefore can command a smaller price than rarer lounge suits. That and as fewer of us wear black tie so much these days.... [huh]

 

[Shangas]

I'm a volunteer in a charity shop and from my experience with the situation with regards to clothes, it is generally very chop-and-change. People will donate ANYTHING to a charity shop, and I mean anything. I've seen things there you wouldn't find anywhere else other than a flea-market. That said, people who do send stuff to charity shops just want to get rid of it and pass it on to someone else who might like it. So they don't take that much care in how they package things.

As a result, it's not unknown for people sorting through clothes to misplace stuff and mix it up unintentionally. I know, because that's one of my jobs there. When you're sorting through literally hundreds of garments in a given day, sometimes things get broken up. Sometimes I find a full suit. If I do, I hang it as a suit and put it on the pricing-rack.

Sometimes, I find components of a suit. I'll hang them seperately. If I find that a jacket and trousers or jacket, waistcoat and trousers match, then I'll join them up as a suit. But if for whatever reason, all the components aren't found (perhaps the jacket's in one bag and the trousers & vest are in another), then the jacket's hung up on its own and the trousers & waistcoat are hung up on their own.

Later on, another volunteer may notice that they're one and the same, and join them together and have it repriced & sold as a suit, but sometimes it doesn't happen.

Also, it's not unknown for people actually steal clothes from charity shops. I've heard of it happening at least three times. I remember coming across a suit marked as "3 Piece - $80". It had a jacket and waistcoat (grey pinstripe). But no trousers.

I took them to the assistant-manager and asked her about them. She was adamant that it was a three-piece suit because she hung the damn thing up as one. So stories like this aren't rare. Sometimes it's just a case of mixing and jumbling up by accident, sometimes it's through foul play.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

IAlso, it's not unknown for people actually steal clothes from charity shops. I've heard of it happening at least three times. I remember coming across a suit marked as "3 Piece - $80". It had a jacket and waistcoat (grey pinstripe). But no trousers.

Yes! In my experience, the one piece most likely to be stolen (or at least bought separately) from a thrift store suit is ... its trousers. I've come across this again and again.

 

[thunderw21]

Yes! In my experience, the one piece most likely to be stolen (or at least bought separately) from a thrift store suit is ... its trousers. I've come across this again and again.

That's odd. Why do you think that is?

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I think it's because men today find trousers more useful than full suits, suit jackets, or vests. It's also because hipsters like wearing suit trousers that have stripes, plaids or checks.

 

[Fidena]

Egh, that's why I mostly avoid my vintage clothing. I really want to wear it, but I don't want to be thrown in with that crowd. We shouldn't let them ruin it for us, right?

Should be fine as long as I don't roll my chinos up to my knees.

 

[TCMfan25]

If only there was a waistcoat...