Eastern MA Thrifting-- Boston/Cambridge

I was out in Eastern Massachusetts today (I reside in the other end of the state), and thought it would be a great opportunity to check out some of the local goods there to be thrifted. I planned a route ahead of time that took me through Waltham (my actual destination), Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, and Natick. I really enjoy getting to visit the Boston area, and this was one of the few times I've had free range to just explore or do whatever I wanted there for the afternoon.

From a warmer time of year... October

My first stop turned out to be at a small locally run thrift in downtown Waltham, and I stopped by on the way to lunch, as I didn't even know it existed before my sister who I was traveling with mentioned it to me. Items were priced reasonably, and at fixed prices-- so all long sleeve shirts were $5.56 or something like that and so on. There were quite a lot to go through, but I did come across a Brooks Brothers dress shirt in white that was worth picking up. It was one of their "Made in USA" models and the more of those you have in your wardrobe, the better. Other than that, the store was not organized by size so the chance of stumbling across the right pants were slim to none, and since I didn't want to spend hours there, I quickly glanced over everything else and headed out for lunch at a local authentic Mexican joint.

Thrifting on a Sunday can be a difficult task. Some stores are closed all together, and others have limited hours. This was the day I had to work with though, so I made the most of it. I plotted out a route that took m e into Boston, and my second stop was right within the limits of the Boston University Campus. The Goodwill store there is on Commonwealth Avenue, and while parking in the busy city streets was a bit of a pain, it was a worthwhile place to check out. Here I found a Brooks Brothers tie, sweater, and a D-ring belt from LeatherMan Ltd.

Spring colors? I don't own much green so this was a welcome in near-new condition @ $9.

You can never have enough of these

...or these

 This location was very busy and I have a feeling my timing (it being later in the day) in the day may have been a bit off; coming in early typically yields better results, but I knew I wasn't done yet. While there was apparently a Store in Cambridge (somehow the address didn't show up in my search for it this morning) I didn't make it to that specific location today sadly. I did drive trough the area though on my way to the store in Somerville which is pretty damn close. Crossing over the Charles river is always a joy for me and driving through the area brought back some good memories of racing there.

Center of the Northeast trad universe...

The Goodwill in Somerville (260 Elm St.) yielded some excellent finds as well. There was a large men's section downstairs with lots and lots of shirts. I came across lots of nice stuff but sadly most of it was a size or two big. I did however find a pink stripe RL OCBD that fit, and two more polos to add to the ever growing collection for spring 

RL and BB (slim fit!) @  $5 ea.

Over in the pants department, I found yet MORE new with tags J.Crew chinos, and at $6 you can't not buy them.

I am beginning to think there is some kind of conspiracy involving these, but I'll still gladly wear them

Also on my shopping list, if you read the previous post, were tuxedo trousers. I found a pair here that had the right waist measurement, but had no identifying tags accompanying them. I searched around for the matching jacket but it was no where to be found. I hope they are 100% wool, but I won't cry if they are not. I bought them on a bit of a gamble hoping they would match one of the two tuxedo jackets I have back at home (and to my luck they did, but that's another topic for a post to come)

These will make a comeback in a future post. 

What I was very happy to find here however, were these two gems. Ties (vintage, I believe) from J.Press.

These poor things were in a giant heap of ties in a big bucket, but fortunately they have no visible wear from the endeavor. These will mark the first J.Press item(s) I own so I was glad to finally get that company into my collection. To make the deal even sweeter, they are not overly wide, and in fact, have a quite appealing slim width, making me believe they predated the ugly wide-tie fad of the 80's. 

I looked through every suit and jacket hoping to find a similar offering from J.Press but either there were none to be had, or they had been snatched up by another smart thrifter earlier that day. There was a Press shirt in a size far too large for me that I considered snapping up for resale, but I figured I'd let it make someone else's day who may find it in the store. 

My last stop was planned for Natick, MA (A Savers store) where there is also a Brooks Brothers retail store. Whenever you have close proximity to a retail outlet like that, there's a good chance their stuff will wind up back in the thrifts so that's what I was banking on. Sadly I had squandered most of the day, and the store was closing at 6PM. I drove like a madman to get there in time to look things over, and I'm fairly glad I did. I wanted to stop in the BB store as well, but they also closed at 6.
While the ties were rubbish, the pants offerings scant, and blazers nothing to write home about, I stumbled across some really fantastic shirts.

Two Ermenegildo Zenga sport shirts. Both have button -down collars although one is concealed. 

For those of you unfamiliar with the brand, Zegna are a luxury Italian fashion-house known for their high quality (and very expensive) suits. This pair of shirts were no suit, but they were both made in Italy and are of very nice construction. The retail price of a Zegna shirt is typically $300+ ea. so this was a real score. Ironically, they were priced far lower ($5 ea) than some of the other shirts (For example, ones from places like TARGET and GAP) that were right next to them. I believe this is because they were both rather wrinkly, but a quick ironing once I got home got them looking brand new. Each has rather large diameter mother of pearl buttons. Zegna, another first for my wardrobe! 

The shirt has an interesting construction for the placket, it's of the same cloth as the collar which is something I've never seen before. 

Also on the racks was a slim-fit BB OCBD in blue, the classic. It has a bit of collar wear, but a worn in oxford shirt is actually more of a badge of honor than a disgrace. 

The shirt finds for the day

I checked out with 4 minutes to spare, and had a nice drive back on I-90 with a couple full bags, another successful journey. I estimate an overall "savings" of around $900 for the trip!

Spent:

• Shirts L/S $30
• Shirts (polo)- $10
• Sweater- $9
• Pants- $10
• Ties- $12
• Belts- $3

Total Spent- ~$70

Retail value:

• Shirts- $180 
• Polo shirts- $100
• Sweater- $80
• Zegna Shirts- $400
• Pants $100
• Ties $150
• Belt $30

Total Value- $1,000

I give Boston area thrifting the thumbs-up! Can't wait till next time I'm back.