Something for now and something for later.

If your wardrobe is comprised largely of clothes that were bought at thrift or discount prices, you know that one of the best rules is to get while the getting is good. Finding something that fits well that isn't in season is no reason to not buy it if you're paying only a small pittance of what you'd normally pay, and by doing so you're often rewarded with some of your best finds during the time of the year when you can't even wear what you just purchased.

While ties are certainly a bit more season-agnostic than a lot of other articles of clothing, like other accessories such as shoes and belts, there's certainly a time and place for everything that works just a bit better. My personal luck has been quite good lately in both regards, as I've found some stunning ties that will add to my winter wardrobe, as well as several that I can pack away and surprise myself with again in six months.

First up is a batch of really varied, and lovely ties that should work well all through the cold months. The far left tie is a cashmere paisley piece by Etro (who are usually a bit garish for my taste), while the middle is a vintage Robert Talbott wool plaid. The far right is a first for me, a really old Bert Pulitzer limited collection made from imported ancient madder. It's really beautiful and I finally see the appeal of ancient madder ties.

Possibly topping the cold-weather haul is another varied batch of ties for the summer months. On the left is a mega-vintage PRL seersucker tie, while the 2nd and 3rd are both older Lands' End (I'm still not decided on the flower print, but for some reason I find it engaging for now). The beige/pink/navy stripe tie is another vintage number, and despite looking and feeling like cotton, it's actually a paper-thin wool piece. Very odd, but will probably work best in the spring. On the right is yet another shiny bubblegum number in pink and baby blue from Lands' End.

Now, if I could just thrift a couple more summer-weight sport coats that fit my ape arms, I would really be in business.

I Ralph, you Ralph, we all Ralph for Ralph

This year has been a doozy, but I'm not gone yet. The past few months found me struggling, then largely succeeding at one of my largest work projects ever while trying to still fit in family time and other important things. This blog found itself lower in the pecking order, and so it fell by the wayside.

Now that fall is here and things have normalized a bit, I plan on firing it back up again. I've had some quality finds lately, and I'm feeling a bit more motivated to write a little bit here and there.

Although it certainly isn't my most exciting score as of late, one of the more fun things I've come across lately is this package of boxed-up Polo Ralph Lauren equestrian mugs from the mid 80s. Made of super-heavy ceramic, they're a little too small for my robust coffee-drinking needs, but for a couple bucks I certainly wasn't going to leave them on the shelf.

Although I've certainly tried to be more picky when buying things at thrift stores over the years, I still have my weak moments where I buy something without really having a home for it. These still might end up in our cabinet at some point in the future, or maybe someone will end up with a retro white elephant holiday gift in their future. There's some fun in that as well.

New Style Share coming within the next week or so. Stay tuned.

Yay or nay: One button too many?

I know that some fellows avoid three-button sport coats and suits like the plague, but I have a full three pieces in my collection with three buttons that I wear, and one of them has become almost a staple over the course of the past couple months (more on it below). While I certainly prefer a 3 roll 2 style, and I'd certainly never go above 3, to my eyes a three-button doesn't look so bad at all (especially on someone with an extra-long torso).

It could be, however, that I'm just trying to make excuses to justify wearing this great micro-houndstooth sport coat that I picked up on the cheap. Made by Hickey Freeman out of 100% cashmere, it has the softest touch of just about anything in my wardrobe, and fits like it was tailored for me without any alterations.

I've mentioned it before, and I'll say it again that it is incredibly rare that I find something that fits just so, and my judgement may be impaired here. In terms of checkpoints, it fills all three (great maker, great fabric, great fit) nicely, but sometimes I feel like the extra button looks a bit dorky.

It's been cold (near record, actually) here, hence the extra sweater layer between shirt and coat. The forecast looks to trend upward soon, and so I must ask myself if I need to store this sport coat for the summer or try to find it a new home forever. What say you?

Complementary caps

There's a reason that I haven't made too many posts about hats on this blog, and there's a reason for that. As a person who is roughly six and a half feet tall, I simply get self-conscious wearing them most of the time. My ears get cold very easily in the winter, so I stick to a knit cap of some sort, and while I've taken to wearing flat drivers caps during cool spring and warm fall days, most others end up tucked away except for rare occasion.

Having said all of the above, I recently came across a couple hats that I simply couldn't pass up, even though both fall a bit on the bolder side of the aisle.

First up is a vintage Stetson drivers cap in a bright, cherry red. This is exactly the sort of cap that I've been wearing a lot lately (I have a tartan and a couple tweed flecks by Pendlton), but this one is screaming loud. I'm telling myself that I can get away with it once in awhile, and photo proof may or may not happen ever.

Next up is another vintage hat, this one a killer green herringbone tweed by Pendleton, complete with a medallion and a couple feathers (for good measure). This one definitely isn't as low-profile, but at least has a more reasonable color palette going on.

I'll never be able to pull off a fedora, but I think I can get a couple wears a year out of both these slightly jaunty hats. For less than $5 each, that's probably worth it, right?

Before the buyout

It's long been known that vintage (before they were bought by Gap and given a make-over) Banana Republic clothing and accessories are actually very well-made and in a completely different realm than what the brand has become known for in recent times. In fact, Scott Adams has gone so far as to dedicate a site to Banana Republic when they were known as a "Travel and Safari Clothing Company." Needless to say, if you walk into one of their stores today, you're probably not going to find anything that holds up very well on either of the aforementioned.

I've often talked of patience on this blog in regards to thrifting, and I've certainly tested my own while trying to hunt down a new briefcase or satchel for work use. Since last summer, I've been dragging around an older messenger bag that I received back in the era when I was cycling to work every day. It's certainly seen better days, and has several holes and wear spots that have had me in search mode for a half a year or so now. In a combination of sheer frugality and the thrill of the hunt, I passed over several decent bags in the past couple months that would have set me back a little more than a Benjamin Franklin.

My patience finally paid off this past week in the form of a new, old stock bag by the aforementioned Banana Republic. Likely made in the mid 80s or so, it's made of a light green, super heavy cotton twill, with a ton of nice detail work and very solid construction (made in the United Kingdom).

All leather trim and brass fittings, it should definitely take a beating. On the plus side, it has enough room for me to haul my lunch, my umbrella, and anything extra I need to stow in it through the course of a day.

So, after my long wait, I managed to pick up this piece for a grand total of $12 (before tax). I doubt I'll find anything better for a long while.

Patience is a virtue

When I first started thrifting seriously for clothes, I bought everything of even middling quality that came close to fitting me. It was only upon finding that I had far too many useless, ill-fitting clothes cluttering up my closet that I had to change my mindset to one of biding my time until the right items came along.

Although I haven't been finding the wealth of ties that I used to when I went out more often, I've still run across a couple treasures lately. One is this heavy silk Turnbull and Asser in white with navy stripes and check. It has a couple tiny little pulls, but they're only noticeable on super close inspection.

While I haven't been hitting the physical stores as much as in the past, I've managed to pick up a few great finds here and there on ebay. One example is this pair of made in Italy J Crew wingtip boots. J Crew isn't always known for their quality, and these boots looked ridiculously beat in the auction photos, but a couple points stuck out to me while looking at the auction.

The first is that the heel is actually stacked wood, and the boots are entirely made of leather (except the heel). There are a few J Crew lines that have been licensed by seriously quality makers (in fact, they have done some with Alden), and these appear to be top shelf. One of the things I'd wanted over the past year was a pair of boots just like this, and instead of forking over $300 or more for Allen Edmonds or something of similar quality, I managed to make these mine for under $50 including shipping. After a quality polish, they've done quite nicely, and I'm guessing that if I take care of them, they'll last me a decade or so.

I'll admit it's fund to splurge and strut your stuff with something new once in awhile, but I somehow manage to get that same feeling when I find a screaming deal.

Slow motion tie haul

Although I haven't had a big tie bonanza in some time, there was a period of about a month where I found one decent tie every time I ventured into a thrift store. They were often the only good things I found on my adventures (other than some great toddler outfits), but a couple of them filled holes and some others will probably find themselves returned to the wild at some point.

First up is this stack of really varied pieces, from several different makers.

I don't have too many green ties, so the Lands' End on the left definitely fills a void, and while I knew nothing of Pineda Covalin, the Mexican bird motif charmed me (in an Hermes, Ferragamo-esqe way). The construction on it is quality and I can't quite decide whether I should keep it or not. The Polo piece is one that I'm still torn on as well, as I fluctuate between thinking it's bold and something I need to keep while at other times thinking I need to burn it with fire. The far right Lands' End is also a keeper. Lovely summer colors.

Stack of madras and plaid, again from different makers.

After not finding any madras for ages, I ran across three all in just over a weeks time, including the two, old Talbott pieces in the middle. Of these three pieces, my favorite may very well be the really unique "Country Traditionals" plaid cotton tie by Pendleton. It's not madras, but the greens, blues, and reds are really lovely and it's casual in all the right ways.

I've promised myself I will get rid of at least one tie from my collection with every one that I bring in, so this slower uptake makes for easier decisions than finding two handfuls in one swoop.

Trip to the tailor part two

About a month and a half ago, I wrote a post about taking a stack of sport coats to a tailor in order to get them in more wearable shape. Because of weather conditions, one of them (a thick lambswool number) only got worn a single time before it was put back into storage for the spring/summer, but another of the three has made several appearances (and should work through spring).

This particular piece was one that I actually found way back in the summer of 2011 (it definitely would have made my list), then wore once and promptly returned to the closet because I realized it didn't fit me as well as I would have liked. Alas, at the same time that I had a couple other sport coats fixed up, this one (sleeves lengthened and waist suppressed) was altered as well.

As with a fair portion of my favorite clothes, this piece doesn't have a designer label, but is instead from a regional shop, made in the days when there were a lot more small clothiers and quality items made in the United States. My guess is that it's actually an orphaned jacket (and what I would give to have gotten the pants and possible vest along with it!) and the through the magic of thrifting I was only able to acquire the one piece. It's made of a nice, medium-weight wool and features some nice detailing (including the ticket pocket), and filled a niche in my wardrobe, so I certainly can't complain.

On this particular occasion, I paired it with a white button-down, a vintage gold grenadine tie, a plain linen pocket square, some darker chinos, and my trusty Florsheim ankle-boots. Kind of a disparate mixture, but nothing was too outlandish in color, so it didn't feel awkward.

As with the previous piece, the tailoring results on this jacket were nice enough that I've piled up another batch of items to take in and have worked on (including this beast). More results will be forthcoming.

How low can you go?

When you own a house that's closing in on 100 years old, there's always a list of things that need to be done. Lots of the list is hopefully small, but once in awhile a bigger thing needs taken care of and it's usually enough to throw schedules and routines out of rhythm. That's what's been happening in my world the past two weeks, but fortunately the worst is over and done with.

Because this is a blog about style on a budget (or a bargain), I've often thought about making a post featuring an ensemble with the absolute bare minimum invested, just to see what I could pull off. Over the years, I've purchased shirts, trousers, ties, and even shoes and a couple suits and sport coats for a single dollar each, but I've never tried to combine them all into something that would add up to be a single outfit comprised of items purchased with Washingtons.

I thought of the above just last week, because I came darn close without even really trying to do so. The jacket is an older Jos A. Bank piece that I picked up over the winter during a blowout sale (for $1), and it was the first time I wore it. Obviously, it's not top-end quality, but with an infant who still sometimes spits up without advance notice, I'm not going to sweat it. The tie is a Polo Ralph Lauren linen number, also purchased for a dollar, and the cream chinos and vintage Florsheim wingtips below (both unpictured) were the same price.

The only thing that really bumps up the average price is the shirt (Lands' End), which was purchased off ebay in a lot and came out to $8 including shipping. The pocket square is a lovely vintage piece from Yankee Whisky Papa, and it worked absolutely perfectly here.

I've never been one to fawn over designer names (although I certainly get a kick out of finding them on occasion), and after putting this all together I felt like it all came off pretty nicely. When I realized that I'd probably only invested about $25 total in the ensemble (give or take), including undergarments, it made me feel even better.

After all, I've got a college fund (and a nearly 100 year old house) to worry about.

Non-Discrimination Policy

If you're a thrifter who seeks menswear accessories on a regular basis, you probably already know that one of the best places to find certain items is actually in the women's accessory area. I personally scan through scarves and silk shawls and squares just about every trip out, as there's often something great to be found. In fact, I've run across both of the ascots that I own this way (and passed on several others), and have found a lot of great pocket squares by digging through mounds of polyester discards as well.

Really, though, I'm not super picky when it comes to pocket squares, and even use women's scarves on occasion. I have a couple smaller vintage Vera pieces that pop with color and fit into my breast pocket nicely, and I've even previously posted about a souvenir scarf that sometimes pokes a corner out of my pocket.

It's a good thing I don't discriminate, either, because otherwise I probably would have passed on the following vintage cotton ladies handkerchiefs.

A couple with organic colors and flower prints.

A couple more with brighter colors, and more flowers.

A simple, purple handkerchief, with the most glorious worn texture.

At 13 by 13 inches, they're exactly the sizes they need to be, and depending on whether I'm feeling simple or want a bit more dash of pattern, I can let nothing but block colors and lines peek out, or more of the flowery prints. I've already worn a couple on separate occasions and their lovely colors and unique texture make them new favorites in the collection.

Out with the old and in with the slightly less old

Earlier this evening, my wife and I finally got rid of the piece of furniture that we'd owned for nearly as long as we've known each other. Way back when we first met, a mutual friend of ours was getting rid of said piece of furniture (which she herself had bought used!), and my wife snagged it for her small apartment as a way to save a bit of money. Later, it moved with us to our rental house, then finally the house that we bought, where it lived for years and years as we slowly purchased nicer pieces to surround it with. It was one of those pieces that was comfortable as hell, but frankly was starting to really show its age. It had a few ink spots from a dropped marker, the fabric was starting to show wear in multiple spots, and one of the cushions was permanently flipped upside-down after one of our dogs found a small tear in the covering and decided to perform crude surgery on it (see below).

We'd talked about paying to have someone re-cover it, but ultimately decided against it due to the cost involved and the fact that a new upholstery job simply wouldn't mask some of the larger issues. In the meantime, it's just been sitting there as we kept our eyes out for something interesting at a reasonable price. Fortunately, our patience (or indecision) paid off, and we ran across this insanely beautiful couch this past weekend.

Made by Patrician (who apparently cater more specifically to the corporate, healthcare and government markets), it's a very well-constructed sofa in the mid century modern style, running a full 7+ feet in length. It has a chrome frame, naugahyde cover, and it looks like it's barely been used. I have no idea what this sort of thing would cost new (even back in the late 60s or early 70s when it was likely made), and even though we needed some help from family who own a van in getting it home, I think it was well worth the c-note we spent on it.

Tie bonanza: The continuing saga

I've made several previous posts about finding loads of great ties in a single score, and after a long drought of nearly a year, I recently stumbled upon another amazing batch of cravats. I haven't been out thrifting as much as usual lately, so the find (which was actually hidden below a pile of unsavory polyester numbers) was even more exciting. Oh, and they were just $2 apiece, for those keeping score at home.


This first pile is my favorite of the pile of Brooks Brothers ties that I snagged. I've been looking for the whale motif for awhile, and while it needs a bit of a steam, I was happy to find it. The vintage BB tie with Santa Claus was a bonus, and the two repp stripe pieces will become staples.


These are my favorites from the rest of the stash, and represent some of the better textures that are now housed in my tie collection in general. I couldn't go wrong with another Lochcarron tartan, and the Donegal tweed is such a thick, luscious tie that I about drooled on it when I found it (same with the vintage Viyella). The Weatherill was a brand I'd never heard of, but is of very nice quality. The final Brooks Brothers is just icing on the cake.

In several places above, I hinted at even more ties, and they will be featured in the next edition of Style Share, which I'll unveil on Sunday evening (yeah, it's several days away, but I need to get pictures done). There will be several ties to choose from, including Brooks Brothers, Polo Ralph Lauren, Sulka, and more. If that piques your interest, stop back and stake your claim.

Landlocked skipper

In addition to hunting for great things for ourselves and sometimes others, my wife and I often just keep an eye out for interesting items in general when we're at the thrift store. A couple years ago, my wife picked up just such an item, and it's been sitting in a closet or hanging on a rack in our house since.


Blue chambray-colored vintage jacket with sailboat schematics print. Effing amazing.


Here it is from the front, pictured with vintage Maus And Hoffman raw silk tie.


Here's a detail of the front button and the Neiman Marcus tag. I have no idea where this one was sold, but I'm guessing it wasn't originally from my landlocked state.


Here's another detail shot from the front. It's unique and cool enough that I think it's worth seeing one more time.

So, the real question is what happens to this piece? It doesn't fit me (nor anyone else I know), and there's a minuscule stain on one lapel that makes me leery to try to sell it (although a decent dry cleaner may be able to remove it). But seriously though, a small stain does nothing to diminish the total cool factor of this thing. Technically, it could be labeled as "go to hell," but that sounds far too crass for something so breezy.

Maybe it will live with us forever.

Silk and steerhide

No, the title of this post doesn't refer to anything kinky, rather it's just a way of introducing some of my favorite finds from the past month or so. As I mentioned in a previous post, I haven't been getting out to thrift as much as usual, but I have gotten out once in awhile and run across a few things worth bringing home.


First up is a vintage silk knit tie in shiny gold. It's easily among my favorite tie finds this year, and yet I haven't found the occasion to wear it yet. I will have to remedy that soon.


I've never heard of this brand of tie before (DiMitri), but the raw silk in red, white, and cream was irresistible. It's been perfect for the warmer weather and has just a touch of texture to really set it off.


Vintage Robert Talbott in one of the more unique color combinations that I've run across in awhile. The khaki color is fairly straight-up, but the off hues of red and blue are a bit more understated and probably best suited for late summer and fall.


Best for last? Vintage, unworn hand-tooled full-grain steerhide Levi's belt in my size, complete with a chunky brass buckle. I've worn this on many a weekend with some dark denim and have even thrown it on with some khakis and a jacket during the week and feel like I'm hiding a secret. I know you're jealous.

Thrift karma in action

Years ago, when my wife was a poor undergraduate student, she decided to splurge a bit and treat herself with a nice pair of Ray Ban sunglasses (about $100). After owning them for only a couple weeks, she accidentally left them on a desk in a computer lab after writing herself bleary-eyed. When she returned, they were gone, and she swore to never spend more than $20 on a pair of sunglasses again.

My thrift scores have been few and far between lately, but when I saw the almost brand-new pair of Ray Ban's sitting in the sunglasses pile at my local store (including their original case and cleaning cloth), I knew I had to buy them. At the time, I wasn't quite sure they were in a style that my wife would like (and I hadn't yet heard the aforementioned story), but they were nice enough to buy regardless.


Needless to say, she was stoked to see what I'd found, as the dark tortoiseshell Ray Ban's were the same exact style of the ones that she'd lost so many years ago.

As I mentioned above, they're immaculate, without a single scratch and had only a single fingerprint smudge on one lens, which buffed off easily with the enclosed cloth. Not too bad for $4.

Thrift store musicians

Part of the fun (for me, anyway) of doing a lot of shopping at thrift stores is finding the little bits of former lives in the items that you buy. I have a couple shirts that have names sewn (or written) on the inside neck label, and I've found ticket stubs, notes, and funeral handouts in jackets that I've purchased. In books, I've found cards, inscriptions, homework, and even money a couple times.

Of course, this former life personalization is the reason that many items end up at a thrift store to begin with (I can't count the number of times a perfect item has had to be refused due to holes or stains), but all in all I've found myself charmed more than I've been frustrated. Just the other day, I found a teacher note to a student in a book that said "Sally had a GREAT day in music class!" and it brightened my day a little bit.

That's probably a long way of getting to the point, but it's an important one when talking about the music of The Books. The duo of Paul de Yong and Nick Zammuto have released 3 albums to date, and this week they just put out their fourth, The Way Out. They make skewed pop music that really sounds like nobody else out there, and yes, there's a thrift store element involved.

One of the key components of their music is sampling, and a large portion of those samples (especially on this new release) are pulled from home VHS tapes, home-made cassette tapes, and even answering machine tapes that the two have found in thrift stores. They cut up the samples and re-arrange them in a way that fits the song, then add their own instrumentation (and sometimes vocals) over the top, creating something amazingly emotional in the process.

Take, for instance, the first "single" from their new album, titled "A Cold Freezin' Night." For this song, they pulled a variety of different clips from an old Talkboy tape (more back-story on the song on their blog). It's two kids trying to one-up each other and recording the process, and the two turn the song into a lively, and dare I say catchy song.

As if that weren't enough, the two also create a video for each song, cut perfectly in time to the song (and again, largely using found footage).

If that song didn't do it for you, check out one of their older cuts, titled "Classy Penguin." The construction elements are similar, but the song takes a completely different direction. Oh, and the video captures some beautiful little nuggets out of every day life. Basically, you'd have to really be a grump to not crack a little smile or feel a bit wistful watching it.

And really, that's where the group shines the most. They take slices of life that really meant something to someone at some point, recapture then, then add their own little elements on top of them and set them off into the world as songs and videos. Over the course of their albums (and especially The Way Out), there's a lot of joy, a little bit of sorrow, and a dash of absurdity for good measure. In essence, they capture a great slice of humanity, and they're some of my favorite musicians because they do so.

A dollar goes a long way

During this past holiday weekend, one of the local thrift stores in our town had one of their righteous, stock-clearing days where every clothing item was marked $1. Some celebrate the holiday by blowing stuff up. Our idea was a little different, as my wife and I set the alarm clock and raided the sale, grabbing a huge bundle of clothes for something like $22 total. What did I snag?

Nice pants! Pity they're too short.

First up is a vintage (note the non-scripty tag) pair of Brooks Brothers red khakis. These stuck out like a beautiful sore thumb on the pants rack at the store, and I was amazed to find that they were my size in the waist (!) only to be saddened that they were about 3 inches too short in the inseam, with nothing left to be let out (insert sad face here).

So, I now have a dilemma. Do I chop them off into some shorts (despite my self-conscious issues about wearing shorts?) or what?

Can't beat those 70s tags!

Next up is a pair of dark chocolate brown vintage Wrangler corduroys in exactly my size. New with tags, even. Many will scoff at these, but they're actually made quite well (in the United States, no less) and sharp looking. These will become staples of my wardrobe when the weather turns colder.



In the accessories department, my wife (who loves the thrift as much as I) found these lovely (also new, old stock) men's handkerchiefs stocked in the women's section. Made by Lehner in Switzerland, a stamp on the back states:

Exclusive Import of

Holder Menswear Inc.

1265 Broadway

New York, New York 10001

In searching the internet, it appears that store is defunct, as I could find no mention of it. That said, these are some sharp numbers that will certainly make a nice pocket square.



One of my finds was a pair of new old stock Chess King (anyone remember that brand and/or store?) pants that were rather unremarkable in and of themselves. However, the pants were the kind that came with their own belt, and that belt was the above number which just rocks my socks. Bright braided red and green with real leather. The pants will be re-donated (they're way too short anyway), but the belt is mine! All mine!

In addition to the aforementioned scores, I got a killer 100% wool sweater (I'll post a picture when the heat isn't so oppressive), a semi-gaudy Ben Sherman shirt, a super nice pair of L.L. Bean wool pants, and a couple other random things that aren't quite as exciting (except for the new, old stock fluorescent green soccer socks, but those probably deserve their own entry).

Oh, and speaking of green, these were another grab...



Navy green suspenders with green dots, new in the original packaging (again). They even have their own set of buttons, which is nice considering I have a pair of project pants I was going to add suspender buttons to anyway. Thrift store serendipity strikes again!

My new nickname is "Skip" or "Chip"

The other day I was doing my usual skim through the local thrift store bookshelves when I ran across The Official Preppy Handbook. I'd been aware of this book for some time, and even knew that author Lisa Birnbach (along with designer extraordinaire Chip Kidd) were planning an update of sorts with True Prep, which is slated to come out in a couple months.

What I didn't know was that the aforementioned Preppy Handbook was out-of-print (so my 99 cent buying price ended up being a pretty good score). I also didn't know that it was largely a snark fest.



I guess that if I'd actually paid attention and read about the book a little more, I would have realized such, but I honestly figured that it was something like Take Ivy with more prose and illustrations instead of pictures.

And actually, after looking through it, there is some quite useful information, including definitions that I hadn't quite picked up on and some other little nuggets that are entertaining at the very least. That said, there are times where it borders on Mad Magazine-esque humor.

Or, at least I think it does.

Perhaps it's meant to be straight-up serious and my midwestern roots simply can't comprehend it all.

At any rate, it's a fun little book to have, but probably no substitute for Dressing the Man: Mastering the Art of Permanent Fashion or The Esquire Handbook of Style: A Man's Guide to Looking Good when it comes to actual advise on not looking like a slob.

I left my heart (and part of my wallet) in San Francisco

While long stints with no updates are certainly nothing new to this blog, the reason I've been silent this past week is because my wife and I went on a much-needed vacation. Our destination choice was San Franciso, a city I hadn't been to since I was a teenager (and then for only a short time). We had our minds set on relaxation, food, and seeing some sights, with a bit of shopping thrown in for good measure.

There have been numerous other people write about the city more eloquently than I'll be able to in this entry, but I will say that this trip bumped it to the top of my list of most-loved cities in the United States. The international flavor, west-coast vibe, and sheer number of places, people, and things to see in the city were overwhelming for our short visit, yet I felt like we took a lot in during six days and over 30 miles walked (plus many more covered by mass transit).



We saw the coast (and three dolphins swimming together!), walked through a bunch of different neighborhoods, visited 3 museums, ate a ton of great food, went to the farmers market, saw some city landmarks (City Lights Bookstore, Haight & Ashbury, etc, etc), and generally tried to take it all in.

Wearing my favorite vintage chambray with sleeves rolled up, getting ready to dig into a plate full of Ethiopian food.

If you've been there, you know that San Francisco is something of a shopping mecca. Within 4 blocks of Union Square alone, there are flagship stores for just about every high-end outfit that you could possibly think of. Saks Fifth Avenue, Burberry's, Harry's Of London, John Fluevog, Alden, Allen Admonds, Brooks Brothers, Hickey Freeman, Hermes, and probably 100 more. The Levi's store even had a custom, made-to-order shop.

Needless to say, most of these places were completely out of my league in terms of prices. I do like to look at clothing and fabrics and cuts of things (and sometimes snark at prices), so I went into some of the aforementioned stores (and several others) while there. In the midst of all the madness, I even managed to find a couple deals.

First off was a pair of gun metal gray Alfani desert boots. I'd been looking for a pair and even held off an a sale pair of Clarks the day before leaving town, so when I ran across these for $26.00 (plus tax), I made them mine.

Yes, the soles are man-made, but for less than 30 dollars including tax, I could live with it.

Speaking of Clarks, a few days later I ran across a pair of desert bucks in the clearance section of a store that shall not be named. They were the only pair of shoes in my size in the entire section and looked like they had been drop-kicked around the store a few times, but after breaking them in the past couple days, they already have a killer patina. Crepe soles and totally excellent, especially for $27 (plus tax).



It wouldn't be a true vacation without hitting a few of the thrift stores that San Francisco had to offer, and since my wife had already mapped out locations, we managed to make our way through about 8 or so during our visit. Again, I managed some pretty good finds.

First off is a Kenneth Cole three-button 100% wool jacket with a Nehru collar. Many will scoff at Kenneth Cole (and I know I certainly have), but this one fit me perfectly and has a lovely cut. For $7 I couldn't resist it.



Next up is another jacket, this one from the St. Michaels (so, pre 2000) Marks & Spencer line. Like the Kenneth Cole, it's not exactly a high end jacket, but it's made from a nice, light super 100s wool, and I have a feeling I'll get some use out of it during these hot months.

Look at those arms, this thing needs a good steam after being rolled-up in the carry-on.

Lastly (and possibly my favorite) is a vintage Pendleton tweed jacket that fits like it was tailored for me. Super nubby 100% wool made in the U.S.A. with some super-bright pinpoint flecks of color woven in. Oh, and leather elbow patches and braided leather buttons.

My gosh, it's full of colors.

Even though the last day was completely socked in with fog, blocking our view of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco is a city I would recommend anyone visit.

I can't wait to go back.