The relative nature of successful thrift shopping as it applies to price comparison may be something I've discussed before, but it's a subject that bears frequent reiteration. The following is a prime example.
This past Saturday, I made a pick up trip at the worthy Mr. Lee's tailor shop. Three pairs of pants, all second hand, of course.
Two fresh pairs of khakis, one in a classic English tan shade and the other in it's paler cousin, frequently known as "stone".
Both from J. Crew. One, a "dressier" pair of "Essential Chinos",
The other, from the more relaxed "broken in chino" line. Now, I know J. Crew is essentially mall junk from a sweatshop, but I'm tough on khakis. I run through them like water. As much as I'd love to support a company like
Bill's, it'll be a cold day someplace before I spend
$195 on cotton pants, no matter how nice they are. I find J. Crew khakis happen to be cut just how I like, and there isn't a thrift store on earth that doesn't have hundreds of them in stock at any given time. Besides, I know better than to pay $65 for them at the mall. Cut me a break, they're not Dockers after all.
The third pair are a gem, though. Bulletproof moleskin, the real stuff.
By
Johnstons of Elgin,
Made in England. I've already worn this pair two days running. Easily my new favorites. Warm as toast and hefty, yet indescribably soft, and cut with a military style high waist and dead straight leg. Excellent. Still available at the Johnstons website,
a new pair will run you 75 GBP, or roughly $120. So lets talk relativity, and how two of these pairs of pants were effectively free.
Each pair of these pants cost $5.49. It cost $12 per pair for hemming, putting the total cost of each pair at $17.49. Admittedly, that's a steal for even a pair of J. Crew khakis, never mind the fact that these have also been tailored to my specifications. Or...
The total cost of the three of them, alterations included, was $52.47, or roughly 33 GBP. So I paid less than half price for the moleskins, free alterations by my own tailor, no shipping, and got two pairs of J.Crew khakis, also with free alterations, as a bonus, a "spiff" as they say in the mens clothing trade, or "free goods" as they say in the wine trade.
That math is convoluted as hell, to be sure, but why not? It's this kind of relative thinking that helps me be so successful in the thrift stores. If you're going to pull off the crazy bargain hunting like I do, you've got to be willing to see potential and think creatively. And find yourself a good tailor, of course.
