A long while ago, I ran across a rather insane tartan sport coat at the thrift store. I simply couldn't resist it, and stashed it away amongst some other clothes, only to forget it about it last fall in the midst of trying to pack up all our belongings prior to a house purchase (which subsequently fell through).
This summer, though, I took a couple pieces to my tailor and re-discovered the tartan jacket, so I took it in as well and had the requisite work done. It again got stashed for the proper time, which happened to arrive this week.
Work holiday parties are as good of a time as any to kick out the jams, and while this particular piece got me some snarky remarks, I felt like it also worked pretty well (and I received some compliments as well).
Of course, the trick with a jacket like this is to not go too crazy and look like a clown (although some would argue it's bad enough by itself). It's loud enough that there's really nothing more needed, so I tried to limit my color palette to ones already in the jacket. A simple white OCBD and navy wool trousers were the base, then I tried to pop the gold with a vintage gold grenadine and a black and gold pocket square. A black belt and captoe oxfords rounded it out (I'm wearing house slippers in the pictures because it's been mucky around here).
As I mentioned in the original post, it's likely not something I'll wear more than a couple times a year, but that's part of the joy of thrifting, knowing I only have $25 dollars invested in it, and it will easily provide me with many, many times that amount in terms of sheer enjoyment.
Happy Holidays to you and yours. I hope that 2013 treated you well and 2014 is even better.
