Affordable stylish stuff you can find on eBay and elsewhere 🧵
Note that not everything on this list is going to fit your criteria for affordability because I didn't write this list specifically for you (as I don't know you). It's for a general audience. Take what's helpful; leave what's not.
Carhartt Double Knees (~$60)
Tough, durable, and handsome. Also a little fuller through the leg, which looks better than skinny chinos. Wear with denim trucker jackets, chore coats, and bombers. Black and brown are good colors.
Shetland Sweaters (~$50)
Type "(scotland, scottish) shetland sweater" into eBay's search field and click the box for "include description." Shetlands are a bit itchy (wear them over a collared shirt) but they have more texture than the smooth merinos at the mall.
Ralph Lauren Outerwear (~$100)
Ralph Lauren has been making clothes for over 50 years, almost always with the same aesthetic but in diff proportions. Go to your local thrift store. Find a Ralph Lauren coat, like this one below. Try it on. I bet you will look great.
Lee 101J (~$100)
Sizing is all over the place, so try to shop at a thrift store. These run super cropped, so not great for tall people. But IMO cooler than the Levis Type 3 bc it has dropped shoulder seams and neat silhouette. Storm Rider has corduroy collar & blanket lining
Vintage Sweats ($30)
You know the cropped hoodie with dropped shoulder seams that designers sell? Those are modeled after vintage sweats by companies like Russell Athletic and Champion. You can find those on eBay for super cheap. Camber is pretty great too, but runs big
LL Bean Totes (~$30)
If you see someone with this bag at a flea market, they're rich. The good news is that you can get their bag for like $30 on eBay. Find the most beat-up version possible and just put it through a wet wash. The patina is charming.
Vintage T-shirts
Find a vintage t-shirt you like. Prices can range anywhere from $5 to a bajillion nowadays bc of collectors. But if you're not hung up on status, there are tons of cool looking ones for cheap. Wear with chore coats or even tailoring.
Ralph Lauren Preston Cords (~$30)
Search eBay for Ralph Lauren Preston corduroy pants. It's a slightly fuller leg, higher rise cut. If you find it too baggy, you can have a tailor taper them from the knee down. Wear with Western shirts and loafers. Or oxford button-downs.
Vintage Fatigues and Cargo Pants ($50)
Available on eBay and at military surplus stores. I like German Army pants (they are post-war). Made from moleskin, but not the plush English kind (kind of rough like canvas). Size up. If you normally wear a 30, take a 32.
Crescent Down Works (~$125)
Made in Washington, super well-built, and comes with leather backed buttons. Rocky Mountain Featherbed is also good (more Westernwear flavor). Wear with chunky Arans during the fall season. Both are plentiful on eBay.
French Chore Coat ($75)
Just an easy layering piece. Buy ones that fit slightly loose (very fitted chore coats look bad). Wear with jeans, fatigues, or workwear-styled chinos. Lots of designer versions nowadays, but vintage is super affordable and easy to find on eBay and Etsy.
Suede Totes (~$100)
You can find vintage LL Bean ones on eBay, but they're kinda expensive. However, lots of good no-name vintage stuff for cheap. Vanson also sells new ones for like $170 on their site. Suede takes a patina quickly, so best with rugged workwear.
Wrangler Western Shirt ($30)
A little more rugged than your basic oxford cloth button-downs. Nice with jeans, fatigues, and workwear-styled chinos. Can even be worn underneath tweed sport coats in the fall. Like $30 on eBay and $50 new. Get the "Lake Wash" if you buy new.
Vintage Fishing Jackets ($150)
For people who are into quirky, offbeat workwear and OK with experimenting. Vintage fishing jackets run super short and wide. Cool with LVC 1947 501s, grey sweatshirts, and black Blundstone boots. I like the ones from the now defunct brand Ideal
Remember that if you buy on eBay, there's going to be a lot of hits and misses. You might get stuck with stuff that you don't like or doesn't fit. Double check measurements and return policies. Be cool about the process. What you save in money, you'll spend in time.
If you find this sort of thing useful, I do two eBay roundups every week for Put This On. The list is mostly focused on classic menswear, tailoring, workwear, Americana, offbeat Japanese brands, and the like.
look at a photo where someone looks good in a t-shirt. what do you notice?
to me, there's often a certain ratio between their torso and legs. 🧵
sometimes this is achieved by the person tucking in their t-shirt. sometimes the person in the photo is sitting down, so you can't really tell what's going on. but there's always a specific ratio between torso and legs: slightly cropped torso, long legs.
sometimes a long t-shirt can look great, as long as its part of an intentional aesthetic. see rick owens, evan kinori, 90s hip hop aesthetics, skater style, etc.
Who dresses better? Alpha males or little dogs? Let's explore. 🧵
Tate's leather trenchcoat has crumpled lapels and is not very practical for the rain.
Pepsi's plastic coat is both functional and stylish. The baby blue trim and little snap button keep this from looking like a tarp. The sneakers are also a nice touch!
Pool fastened the bottommost button on his suit, thus causing the jacket's front edge to drag. Also, he's missing a tie, and most notably, wearing a beanie.
Blitz knows that beanies are for casualwear, so he wears a charcoal flannel. Black tonal coloring is very death metal. A+
there's a theory that when you wear something bold, you have to tone everything down so that you don't look like a clown. in fact, depending on the item, you should lean into the look. 🧵
if you're going to style metallic gold sneakers, think about who would have worn such things in history. i think of guys like rick james and elton john. thus, grey suit is totally wrong—you have to go tiger striped jacket and leather pants, or short shorts with gold bomber
reasonably, rep. nehls is not going to show up for work in such an outfit. not because it would be inappropriate, but because he doesn't have the personality to pull it off. the outfit would overpower him. he needs to keep it somewhere in the realm of tailoring.
— Jacket is shorter than halfway from collar to the floor (most evident in the third pic)
— A bit too tight through the waist
— No structure inside, so the garment wears like a cardigan. There is no shape like the jackets in the first tweet
The most egregious is this jacket. Sometimes, these short jackets can work in very casual outfits (see the Engineered Garments Bedford in the second pic). But Poilievre's jacket is still too small. Plus, the unique cut and fabric require that it be styled in very specific ways
I will explain why you shouldn't wear a shoulder bag with a tailored jacket. By shoulder bag, I mean bags suspended by your shoulders—messenger bags, backpacks, totes, and such. 🧵
A tailored jacket is made up of many layers of material, including haircloth, canvas, felt, and padding. Some of these layers stretch across the shoulder line. This is what makes a tailored jacket look good—it builds up a certain silhouette.
If you take your hand and run it across your shoulder, going from the back to the front of your body, you will find that your body is not perfectly symmetrical. There is a hollow as your shoulder curves forward, away from your shoulder blade.
Please note this list is done without regard to price. The only measure is coolness. Some of these can be had for cheaper on eBay.
Also, please don't use backpacks with suits or sport coats. You risk ruining the shoulder line.
And Wander. Cool technical backpacks, some with a big zip across the front for easy access to things at the bottom of your bag. Would look great with modern outdoor gear, such as waterproof parkas, beanies, chunky sweaters, hiking boots, etc. Look like a cool hiker.