All posts in Thrifted

Thrifted: More Ties

I went out thrifting on Saturday morning and came home empty handed. Lamenting over my failure, I opened up my tie drawer and decided to take a trip down memory lane. Actually, Before I get to the ties let me do a quick recap. As I mentioned in a previous post ties are one item that you should always look for when thrfiting. Why? Well, there are only ties and long ties in terms of sizing. Long ties being the exception. This is why finding a tie is more probable than finding any other clothing article. Okay, on to the ties.

I selected three ties that I had thrifted in the past and loved. Each one of these ties has a brilliant pop of color set against a neutral backdrop. The Don Lopper has red on a pale yellow, the Reis of New haven sets red against green, and the Giacomo tie features red (,blue, and yellow) on brown (maybe this post should have been about “red accents”?). I remember finding each of these ties and it was the colors that drew me to them. They are all different from one another (I know that two are paisley, but they are different). However, they all live together in my tie drawer away from the solid and regimental/repp stripe ties.

Don Lopper paisley tieDon Lopper Beverly Hills

close upA very nice paisley

Don Lopper paisley tie tag

Reis of New Haven tieReis of New Haven

Reis of New Haven tie close upThis is a beautiful tie. It has a wonderful feel as well

Reis of New Haven Tag

 

Giacomo tieGiacomo

Giacomo tie close upAn absolutely great flower pattern

Giacoma tie tag

Alright, I know that I said that long ties are the exception and that you should only buy things items that fit, but here area two long Rooster ties that I just couldn’t pass up. The colors of the plaid and the worn texture of the cotton got me. I had to have them. I only paid a $1, but I still don’t know what I am going to do with them. I guess this is what happens when you don’t stick to the rules.

Rooster plaid tie

plaid rooster tie close upClassic

plaid rooster tie tag

Rooster blue tie

rooster blue tie close upBrilliant blue

Rooster tie tag

I am not going to let last Saturday discourage me from thrifting. Writing this post and taking pictures of these ties has restored my faith.The thrifting gods have been good to me. Plus, I need to find a tweed or corduroy jacket so that I can wear that brown Giacomo tie. It is too bad that 36 shorts are such an evasive species. To all my fellow thrifters, I wish you the best of luck out there. To everyone else, I hope that you have enjoyed the pictures.

 

Thrifted: A Piece of Clothing History

Every now and then you get rewarded for your patience. This was exactly the case when I found this shirt at my local thrift store. I saw it, and immediately got excited. It was blue, it had a button down collar and a flap pocket. Two, it was 100% cotton and it had an interesting label. Not just one label, but three labels.Woodhouse Clothiers Hanging up

The first label caught my eye in the store, because it referenced what appeared to be a local clothing store shop in Columbus, OH. I live about an hour’s drive from Columbus and I wasn’t familiar with the store. I was definitely interested in learning about it due to the nice quality of the shirt. Of course, I purchased it.Woodhouse Lynch Clothiers

Later that night, a quick internet search provided me with some information. The store, Woodhouse Lynch Clothiers was located in Downtown Columbus and opened in 1972 by Mr. Tom lynch. From the article I found it sounded like the type of establishment that I would love. Mr. Lynch cared about preserving conservative clothing and taking very good care of his customers. It seemed that he ran not just a store, but a club of sorts.  In the article he mentions that he has dressed every Ohio governor and Columbus mayor since the opening of his store. Disappointingly, the article was about the closing of the store. The article was dated 2008 (Here is the full story).

Retford

The second label I did not research until later on. The first label referenced the store, this one seemed to reference the supplier of the fabric or the maker of the shirt. I was familiar with this as it is common, or rather was common for a brand to make a shirt for a local store.The label reads Retford imported cotton. I did not turn up much information on this label. There was a lot of information about Retford.  A town located  in Nottinghamshire in England, but I have not yet verified the connection. I did see a few other shirts with various Retford Classic or Retford imported cotton on Ebay, Etsy, and other forums. There was no specific information listed with them. Though I did see it associated with the third label in my research.Kenneth Gordon

The third label was the smallest of the three. I did not notice it until very recently. It is located on the back of the size tag. This label is for Kenneth Gordon in New Orleans. I am familiar with Kenneth Gordon. I believe that it is comparable to Gitman Bros., Brooks Brothers, and Troy shirtmakers. I read that Gitman Bros. and Kenneth Gordon were owned by the same person. However, I am not certain of this. I do know that shirts were manufactured in the U.S.A and that Kenneth Gordon seems to have a solid reputation. Kenneth Gordon shirts are still for sale today, but not all of them are still manufactured in the U.S.A. This discovery made a nice addition to the piece’s history.

This is why I thrift. Not only did I get an excellent shirt, but I now own a piece of local history. It are finds such as this that  keep me motivated to go out on Saturday mornings knowing that I will probably come home empty handed. I know that if I remain patient and persistent that I will eventually experience moments of success such as this.

Thrifted: Wool Tartan Ties

Wool Tie Close-up

Thrifting is one of my favorite activities. I like to spend a few hours on Saturday mornings looking through racks of clothing in dingy little stores hoping for the perfect find. It is part hunt and part research. I search for bargains and get a chance to see a lot of clothing that I would probably never otherwise come across. For instance, this morning I saw a really interesting Gant suit. I had to pass as it was not my size, but it was fun to check it out. I am going to start featuring some of  my thrift store finds here from time to time. I thought a good place to start would be with ties.

Ties are something that I always look for when I am thrifting. The main reason for this is that they only come in one size (ok, there are long, children’s, and clip-ons too). The other reason is that ties with traditional patterns are very mainstream. Both of these reasons center around availability. Simply put, there are more of them.

The ties I decided to feature first are my Wool tartan ties. Actually, I am not sure if the tie on the left is a tartan. I am going to have to do a little research ( I have been looking for a good book on tartans). I like all of these ties a lot. I didn’t pay more than $3 for the most expensive one. All of them are in very good condition(the middle one is almost dead stock) and are  all 100% wool.

Wool Tartan Ties

Wool Tie Close-up

One of my favorite parts of thrifting is looking at labels.

Windsor shirt label on the back of tie

Pnedleton label on the back of tie

label on the back of tie

These ties were great finds. I have to think that they are such good finds because I stuck to the rules of thrifting. There are only three rules, but following them really helps to improve the quality of your purchases. Here is a quick overview of the rules.

  1. Never buy anything that doesn’t fit. This sounds easy, but controlling the urge toe “make it work” is hard.
  2. Never buy anything that is stained, worn, or tore beyond repair. This rule might be more for me ( I have bought these type items and never used them).
  3. This rule is just for me. Only buy articles of clothing that are 100% natural fiber. Again, this rule is just for me. It is not only my preference, but helps me get a sense of the item’s quality

Follow these rules and you will end up with some great new additions to your wardrobe (like my ties!). Another thing to remember is that time and patience are key. In order to be successful you must spend time thrifting and be able to continue on even after multiple unsuccessful trips. If you can stick to these rules, are a patient person and have more time then money, then I would give thrifting a try. It is fun and can be very rewarding.