Wednesday, August 3, 2011

The Art of Thrifting: Rule No. 1

The Art of Thrifting 

If you follow blogs such as An Affordable Wardrobe and Street Etiquette, then you are fully aware of the power of thrifting. The items that these guys often find (for pennies on the dollar), truly make scouring second hand stores for that stand out piece look like an art form.  So with that in mind, I decided to try my hand at thrifting and come up with some basic rules on how to thrift with the best of them.

Rule No. 1: There is no such thing as an off season.

Summer time is upon us, so you probably are looking for lightweight fabrics but don't be afraid to search through the wools and tweed sections.  I grabbed these sportcoats for $6.50 a piece during one of the hottest days of the year. The sleeves are a little small but I think Andy Spade said it best when it comes to those things,
"I like my clothing with character. Things that have been lived in - imperfect and with stories. I don't mind if it's too small. I don't mind if it's too big. One thing I hate, though, is the perfect length." (via Esquire '03)



8 comments:

  1. Only suckers pay full retail.

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  2. At what price did you lock down these threads?

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  3. tweed x elbow patches x thrift = nobrainer. good stuff

    look for old matchbooks or barn nails in the pockets haha.

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  4. I love vintage stuff. Things always have a way of coming back into style.

    -Emily (www.urbanadventurer.com/blog)

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  5. Excellent quote from Andy Spade. I think one of the best characteristics of a good dresser is just that - they don't look like they are OTR.

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  6. You look great! I love that you are making this into a series.

    keep it up!

    xoxo,
    Poca
    www.stylespotrun.com
    Thrifting Trends/Thrifting Runway/Thrift Fashion

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  7. This is true. Being a Texan, I shop for my tweed jackets mostly during the summer (here is Texas a typical summer is in the 90's or over 100 degrees) because no one wants to think about wool when everyone is sweating! Last summer, I bought 10 jackets (mostly tweed with three being navy blazers in tropical wool and melton wool). I paid about $70 in all.

    Now that it's winter, the choice and selection is lower than it was over the summer. But it's all good because I got the pick of the crop! Always make a list of what you want and use the list to guide you through your search and ALWAYS shop off season as well as during season. This is a top thrifting rule.

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