OK I'm sure I'm blanking on a ton but off the dome, some pretty reliably cool small / smallish lines that are priced *relatively* low that we've written about are Stüssy, Manresa MFG, 11.11, IJJI, Randy’s Garments, 18 East, Gramicci, and Satta... Again, definitely spacing out and forgetting a bunch more.
And of course there’s obvious mass-apparel sources known for good design, e.g. (the Lemaire-overseen) Uniqlo U and Muji. There's another comment in here from garmento Spyfriend Becca with positive inside intel from UU.
Erin has gotten good stuff from solid if sort-of-timeliney-feeling places like Le Bon Shoppe. Along similar lines people love Outlier, and for natural dye stuff there's Industry of All Nations, which I first encountered at Mohawk and seems to have expanded into a more DTC / timeliney operation. I use that term not as a pejorative, just as a kind of categorizing / vibe-identifying tool !
Not exactly "cheap," but I find at a sale price the quality (great, long lasting material) vs. price matrix works for Engineered Garments, Orslow (105 jeans, for example), Lady White Co. and Beams Plus.
For high quality bombproof basics check out Freenote (tshirts, jeans, pants). Columbia Knit also has a one-off section on their site and you can cop dope rugby polos for $20! Dehen makes really solid stuff in Portland, and has a factory sale where to release one of a kind pieces where it's easy to get a "hero piece."
Also stores like Standard and Strange feature a second-hand section now!
Thank you so much for this piece, Jonah. This sort of thoughtfulness alone justifies the LOW LOW PRICE of a subscription - and imho, true swag is an emination of thoughtfulness.
Similarily to another commenter, I ask myself a whole bunch of questions before I cop anything (but especially new things): How will this item age? Will it look better for years of wearing? Will mending actually *improve* it as it gets older? Also, someone mentioned learning to make his own tees (I bow to you, sir!!), and in that vein I’d like to encourage everyone here - yes, even the dudes - to think about adding some handcraft skills to your bag of tricks. You mentioned sewing above, which is something I personally believe everyone should know how to do, just for the basics alone (hemming! Low-key alterations! Solid mending!), but knitting, crochet, embroidery, visible mending, and (hear me out) spinning, etc etc, have so much to offer. It takes an investment of time and a willingness to be kinda crappy at something for awhile, but there is truly nothing like the satisfaction of seeing an $300 beanie and knowing you could make that baby yourself for less (and for real, a simple lil hat knit with someone’s beautiful handspun will enswaggen any outfit and will ALWAYS rock so much harder than nearly anything you could buy). On top of that, you’re helping preserve important skills, becoming part of a rich, diverse community, busting stupid ideas around gender and age that NEED TO GO - so many good things come to people who learn how to make sh*t themselves. I know this is a wall of text but seriously, have a think on it. There’s never been a better time to learn these sorts of things than now, what with all the resources that currently exist, and makers always love to teach newbies. YOU CAN DO IT.
OMG JUST DO IT (in the non-cursed, anti-corporate sense, obvs!). Oakland and the Bay more generally have so many amazing resources. You could walk into Verb today and be all, YO, WHO WANTS TO TEACH A DUDE TO SPIN and people will come running, customers included! 😝 I swear it’s not as hard as it looks at first, it just takes a little practice. (PS, yeeeeeears ago I used to hang out at a coffee and yarn shop here where one of the other regulars was a guy who used to bring in his Majacraft Rose wheel and just sit in the cafe and spin. It was rad.)
Accessories-wise, here's one that some BBSP-ers might like: https://samueltweedshop.myshopify.com. They produce mohair scarves and throws, generally for other people (De Bonne Facture, Prada, …) but also sell direct – priced majorly on the low – from their factory in Huddersfield. I've had a few pieces off them and the quality is super-nice. Shout-outs to what remains of the textile industry in the North West of England ;-)
@Jack - not to shout out a huge corp but having worked on the inside at Uniqlo U, I can assure you that many of the fabrics are super high quality, some of them are actually woven or knit in Japan as well. The design team came from major luxury houses and all of us remarked that the fabrics we were using were actually nicer than the fabrics we used at luxury houses. They are sometimes the exact fabrics Lemaire uses in his collection. (The garments themselves however are def made in China which is a separate consideration). There is lots of second hand Uniqlo U available out there as well if you don't want to support the corporation. You can try searching both "Uniqlo U" and "Uniqlo Lemaire". Just beware if you are buying from a seller in Japan- you need to size one size up for the American equivalent, and the pants inseam will be 1-2" shorter than items bought from other countries.
Thx Becca -- UU was one of the "big corpo options" I was gonna shout out for sure, love the inside intel... I'd heard anecdotally that the Fast Retailing budget allows them to do sick materials development (some times anyway).
I would add that if it's possible to see a UU piece in person, that's recommended, however, because not *all* the fabrics hit the standard you're talking about, even when they photograph nicely !
"We’re an enlightened anticonsumerist dope-jawns sletter miracle....". And that's why we're here. The increasing costs of everything has meant that even the most dope items require budget consideration in a way they didn't before. I've shifted to long-termism, partly because of Spy HQ. Buying quality now on the basis that it will still be quality in 20 years, if a little worn at the elbows. It also pulls you away from trend, and into more signature decisions about what you like, but also what you value.
Thanks for the lovely article, I'm new here. Came for the non-sponsored insights, staying for the woke discourse.
I'm living in the swag-capitale-of-Canada Montreal( sorry Toronto) and I think the style here has a certain je-ne-sais-quoi. The cold climate keeps the layering game strong, and there seems to be a silent understood secret handshake of style amongst almost everyone that lives in this city that can effortlessly blend vintage and thrifted pieces with simple staple clothing and make it look *on point*
Not to say there aren't those people here spending serious cheddar on their swag here, but the strong creative community that makes up a lot of Montreal thats always pushing the style culture forward and away from copycat complacency.
As for me: I'd love to throw a great recc for quality basics at fair but not supercheap price point called House Of Blanks. Made in Canada, zero branding, great colours. Pretty sure they're the manufacturer for a lot of other luxe streetwear brands fleece program (3sixteen, Noah).
Great quality, tees are a good deal and the hoodies aren't as affordable, but I gotta say: best hoodie I've owned.
Back when I wore more of a uniform I used to by t-shirts from as-colour who mainly supplied blanks to other brands. They were a good option for ok quality at an affordable price
I wanted to give a plug for organizing a local clothing swap — it's a great way for the swag-rich/cash-poor to come up on some new pieces they might not be able to afford at retail, and for those of us who are blessed with both swag AND disposable income to re-home beloved jawns without negotiating the cursed hellscape of Grailed (or worse, debasing ourselves with an IG stories sale).
For Bay area Spyfriends, Makeshift Center hosts an awesome annual clothing swap in Oakland, but all you really need is a backyard, some like-minded homies, and a few flyers and you can do it anywhere.
--------Our ability to afford things that aren’t cheap is under assault. Enormous companies hoard power, and ultra-wealthy people siphon wealth upwards (then spend it swaglessly). If these people didn’t control the economy, if the rest of us made more money as a result, and if we were forced to spend less on artificially expensive things (housing, education, healthcare)000---
Underneath the massive price hikes you'll find the same pressures on the makers as the consumers. For something to sell at a retail store, you gotta pay the farmer, the folks who make the plants into fibers into cloth, the people who design, the people who sew, and then the people who select, stock, pay rent, pay their staff a living wage, and so on. Every layer of this is subject to insanity from profit taking companies, and especially the landlords. I'm not going to go full Mao here (yet) as there are a handful of small landlords who behave ethically (and irrationally in an "econ 101" sense), but hiking rents across the board adds on $1, $2, $5 per layer, and all of sudden, first cost is up 50%, landed cost is up 50%, and retail is up by that much too.
Get rid of hoarding human rights (housing, food, medicine), and then there will be room for craftspeople to survive alongside the bigger brands. I know for sure I'd be out crafting jawns in my secret lab all day if I didn't have to pay my daily ransom to stay alive, rather turning out one piece a month (if i'm lucky).
There are games to be played by arbitraging and externalizing costs (I could "save" piles of money by not paying for the loaded insurance package for my staff), I could sell brands made with more externalized costs in there supply chains, but sooner or later, we all pay one way or another.
Y’all said it. Every fucking thing costs too much, and most of our incomes haven’t kept up with these rising costs. I want weavers and sewers to get paid well enough to have a beautiful life. This makes quality pants cost $250 on the low end. If we wanted to pay ourselves right, they’d cost $400. Everywhere there’s a “good” price, someone’s getting shorted
The problem is.....the weavers and sewers aren't getting the upside of the inflated prices, except in the rare (sob) circumstances that your coveted jawn is made by a business / producer whose able to sustain a business model that prioritises values and ethics over squeezing margin.
While I did a quick read, your article deserves some real thought, and I’ll go back through it much more carefully. Prices are up on a lot. I’m probably not your typical reader in that I still wear suits and sport coats with ties to work and have been buying bespoke tailoring for a long time. I also like “heritage” style, which I mix in during the week and wear on the weekends. (I subscribed to BBSP because I want to learn more about the segments you cover rather than being the target demographic for the brands you highlight.) Bespoke and MTM prices have risen dramatically. In the “heritage” segment, which I also like, the prices are really high, too. I’ve been told there’s some supply issue, but the big problems are demand and a dearth of qualified workers. I’ve always tried to support small and indie brands, but the climbing prices have made that difficult except for sales. Unfortunately, purchasing everything at discount puts small, bespoke, and indie brands in a tough spot—it’s not like their profit margin is all that great to begin with. It’s a pickle.
If you look at your own expenses and think about what you’d have to charge just to net enough to afford the absolute basics, it’s easy to see why the prices are what they are. The LEECHES profiting off life’s basics have skewed the wealth distribution so much it’s killing creativity and the ability to support creativity. Reversing the trend will take real structural/cultural changes and I think BBSP assists in getting people to think about these things while dropping dope recs. At least there are extremely cool clothes available used and they are often cooler than any new clothes you can buy. When you don’t have a lot of cash to work with you have to innovate and that is where a lot of the best looks come from. That being said I’d like to occasionally buy something new from a small maker because supporting new life in the industry is necessary if that’s what you want to see.
If you're like me and want to shop secondhand online but you're maybe struggling to make eBay work for you--I'd love to recommend the online estate sale site Everything But the House (https://www.ebth.com/). It's an internet destination my mom put me on to to shop for like, old Pampered Chef (the goat), but which also offers some incredible clothing and accessories coppable for dirt cheap. I realize this isn't THAT much different than an eBay or thrifting situation, but I personally love the experience of browsing sales and find it's much more joyous than setting up a bunch of saved searches elsewhere. And I've found some unheard of deals on luxury labels and materials (i.e., last fall I picked up a ~2006 Prada hobo bag for $40). happy hunting!! <3
The link above is to a genius book written in 1975: Cheap Chic (there are less expensive re-prints available too, the new paperback edition is the one with a foreword by Tim Gunn). Anyway, the book introduced me to the concept of "cost per wear" - in other words, a cheap thing worn once is actually a waste of money, but if you save up and buy the good thing, and then wear it and wear it and wear it, you probably will achieve a way lower "cost per wear" ratio (and while the authors were writing too long ago to worry about the waste stream, obviously you keep your beloved old garments of high quality out of the trash). It's a very entertaining and sane book that also introduced many people at the time to the art of vintage shopping.
Inspiring sletter as always! I feel in good company alongside Jack and s.c. -- I'm someone who basically 1. only buys secondhand 2. but hates and is crummy at buying online 3. doesn't like to spend a ton of money 4. but also is on her David Milch wavelength and fundamentally believes money isn't real 5. and relatedly is a broke b*tch....Luckily I live in LA, where there is a robust ESTATE SALE CULTURE. If you're fortunate enough to live in a place where estate sales are poppin off, I couldn't recommend them more for high-quality and inexpensive clothing curated by swaggy elders. Oftentimes the clothing is worn-in but in superb condition and made of excellent materials, to say nothing of the MATERIAL OF A LIFE WELL LIVED. Punch in your zip code at estatesales.net and see what comes up in your area. (Pro tip: prices are negotiable and by the end of the sale expect deep markdowns.)
OK I'm sure I'm blanking on a ton but off the dome, some pretty reliably cool small / smallish lines that are priced *relatively* low that we've written about are Stüssy, Manresa MFG, 11.11, IJJI, Randy’s Garments, 18 East, Gramicci, and Satta... Again, definitely spacing out and forgetting a bunch more.
And of course there’s obvious mass-apparel sources known for good design, e.g. (the Lemaire-overseen) Uniqlo U and Muji. There's another comment in here from garmento Spyfriend Becca with positive inside intel from UU.
Erin has gotten good stuff from solid if sort-of-timeliney-feeling places like Le Bon Shoppe. Along similar lines people love Outlier, and for natural dye stuff there's Industry of All Nations, which I first encountered at Mohawk and seems to have expanded into a more DTC / timeliney operation. I use that term not as a pejorative, just as a kind of categorizing / vibe-identifying tool !
Not exactly "cheap," but I find at a sale price the quality (great, long lasting material) vs. price matrix works for Engineered Garments, Orslow (105 jeans, for example), Lady White Co. and Beams Plus.
For high quality bombproof basics check out Freenote (tshirts, jeans, pants). Columbia Knit also has a one-off section on their site and you can cop dope rugby polos for $20! Dehen makes really solid stuff in Portland, and has a factory sale where to release one of a kind pieces where it's easy to get a "hero piece."
Also stores like Standard and Strange feature a second-hand section now!
Thank you so much for this piece, Jonah. This sort of thoughtfulness alone justifies the LOW LOW PRICE of a subscription - and imho, true swag is an emination of thoughtfulness.
Similarily to another commenter, I ask myself a whole bunch of questions before I cop anything (but especially new things): How will this item age? Will it look better for years of wearing? Will mending actually *improve* it as it gets older? Also, someone mentioned learning to make his own tees (I bow to you, sir!!), and in that vein I’d like to encourage everyone here - yes, even the dudes - to think about adding some handcraft skills to your bag of tricks. You mentioned sewing above, which is something I personally believe everyone should know how to do, just for the basics alone (hemming! Low-key alterations! Solid mending!), but knitting, crochet, embroidery, visible mending, and (hear me out) spinning, etc etc, have so much to offer. It takes an investment of time and a willingness to be kinda crappy at something for awhile, but there is truly nothing like the satisfaction of seeing an $300 beanie and knowing you could make that baby yourself for less (and for real, a simple lil hat knit with someone’s beautiful handspun will enswaggen any outfit and will ALWAYS rock so much harder than nearly anything you could buy). On top of that, you’re helping preserve important skills, becoming part of a rich, diverse community, busting stupid ideas around gender and age that NEED TO GO - so many good things come to people who learn how to make sh*t themselves. I know this is a wall of text but seriously, have a think on it. There’s never been a better time to learn these sorts of things than now, what with all the resources that currently exist, and makers always love to teach newbies. YOU CAN DO IT.
Inspirational s**t — I need to SPIN before I die !!
OMG JUST DO IT (in the non-cursed, anti-corporate sense, obvs!). Oakland and the Bay more generally have so many amazing resources. You could walk into Verb today and be all, YO, WHO WANTS TO TEACH A DUDE TO SPIN and people will come running, customers included! 😝 I swear it’s not as hard as it looks at first, it just takes a little practice. (PS, yeeeeeears ago I used to hang out at a coffee and yarn shop here where one of the other regulars was a guy who used to bring in his Majacraft Rose wheel and just sit in the cafe and spin. It was rad.)
I hope you’re writing for a living - these points are so well put and it’s all expertly explained in a breezy way 👌🏼
Accessories-wise, here's one that some BBSP-ers might like: https://samueltweedshop.myshopify.com. They produce mohair scarves and throws, generally for other people (De Bonne Facture, Prada, …) but also sell direct – priced majorly on the low – from their factory in Huddersfield. I've had a few pieces off them and the quality is super-nice. Shout-outs to what remains of the textile industry in the North West of England ;-)
@Jack - not to shout out a huge corp but having worked on the inside at Uniqlo U, I can assure you that many of the fabrics are super high quality, some of them are actually woven or knit in Japan as well. The design team came from major luxury houses and all of us remarked that the fabrics we were using were actually nicer than the fabrics we used at luxury houses. They are sometimes the exact fabrics Lemaire uses in his collection. (The garments themselves however are def made in China which is a separate consideration). There is lots of second hand Uniqlo U available out there as well if you don't want to support the corporation. You can try searching both "Uniqlo U" and "Uniqlo Lemaire". Just beware if you are buying from a seller in Japan- you need to size one size up for the American equivalent, and the pants inseam will be 1-2" shorter than items bought from other countries.
Thx Becca -- UU was one of the "big corpo options" I was gonna shout out for sure, love the inside intel... I'd heard anecdotally that the Fast Retailing budget allows them to do sick materials development (some times anyway).
I would add that if it's possible to see a UU piece in person, that's recommended, however, because not *all* the fabrics hit the standard you're talking about, even when they photograph nicely !
oh for sure! definitely not all the fabrics. I would also stay away from the sweaters unless they are merino.
TONS of Uniqlo U on Poshmark these days.
"We’re an enlightened anticonsumerist dope-jawns sletter miracle....". And that's why we're here. The increasing costs of everything has meant that even the most dope items require budget consideration in a way they didn't before. I've shifted to long-termism, partly because of Spy HQ. Buying quality now on the basis that it will still be quality in 20 years, if a little worn at the elbows. It also pulls you away from trend, and into more signature decisions about what you like, but also what you value.
Thanks for the lovely article, I'm new here. Came for the non-sponsored insights, staying for the woke discourse.
I'm living in the swag-capitale-of-Canada Montreal( sorry Toronto) and I think the style here has a certain je-ne-sais-quoi. The cold climate keeps the layering game strong, and there seems to be a silent understood secret handshake of style amongst almost everyone that lives in this city that can effortlessly blend vintage and thrifted pieces with simple staple clothing and make it look *on point*
Not to say there aren't those people here spending serious cheddar on their swag here, but the strong creative community that makes up a lot of Montreal thats always pushing the style culture forward and away from copycat complacency.
As for me: I'd love to throw a great recc for quality basics at fair but not supercheap price point called House Of Blanks. Made in Canada, zero branding, great colours. Pretty sure they're the manufacturer for a lot of other luxe streetwear brands fleece program (3sixteen, Noah).
Great quality, tees are a good deal and the hoodies aren't as affordable, but I gotta say: best hoodie I've owned.
Back when I wore more of a uniform I used to by t-shirts from as-colour who mainly supplied blanks to other brands. They were a good option for ok quality at an affordable price
Great article.
I wanted to give a plug for organizing a local clothing swap — it's a great way for the swag-rich/cash-poor to come up on some new pieces they might not be able to afford at retail, and for those of us who are blessed with both swag AND disposable income to re-home beloved jawns without negotiating the cursed hellscape of Grailed (or worse, debasing ourselves with an IG stories sale).
For Bay area Spyfriends, Makeshift Center hosts an awesome annual clothing swap in Oakland, but all you really need is a backyard, some like-minded homies, and a few flyers and you can do it anywhere.
--------Our ability to afford things that aren’t cheap is under assault. Enormous companies hoard power, and ultra-wealthy people siphon wealth upwards (then spend it swaglessly). If these people didn’t control the economy, if the rest of us made more money as a result, and if we were forced to spend less on artificially expensive things (housing, education, healthcare)000---
Underneath the massive price hikes you'll find the same pressures on the makers as the consumers. For something to sell at a retail store, you gotta pay the farmer, the folks who make the plants into fibers into cloth, the people who design, the people who sew, and then the people who select, stock, pay rent, pay their staff a living wage, and so on. Every layer of this is subject to insanity from profit taking companies, and especially the landlords. I'm not going to go full Mao here (yet) as there are a handful of small landlords who behave ethically (and irrationally in an "econ 101" sense), but hiking rents across the board adds on $1, $2, $5 per layer, and all of sudden, first cost is up 50%, landed cost is up 50%, and retail is up by that much too.
Get rid of hoarding human rights (housing, food, medicine), and then there will be room for craftspeople to survive alongside the bigger brands. I know for sure I'd be out crafting jawns in my secret lab all day if I didn't have to pay my daily ransom to stay alive, rather turning out one piece a month (if i'm lucky).
There are games to be played by arbitraging and externalizing costs (I could "save" piles of money by not paying for the loaded insurance package for my staff), I could sell brands made with more externalized costs in there supply chains, but sooner or later, we all pay one way or another.
D*mn straight, Jeremy !
You cooked with this
Y’all said it. Every fucking thing costs too much, and most of our incomes haven’t kept up with these rising costs. I want weavers and sewers to get paid well enough to have a beautiful life. This makes quality pants cost $250 on the low end. If we wanted to pay ourselves right, they’d cost $400. Everywhere there’s a “good” price, someone’s getting shorted
The problem is.....the weavers and sewers aren't getting the upside of the inflated prices, except in the rare (sob) circumstances that your coveted jawn is made by a business / producer whose able to sustain a business model that prioritises values and ethics over squeezing margin.
While I did a quick read, your article deserves some real thought, and I’ll go back through it much more carefully. Prices are up on a lot. I’m probably not your typical reader in that I still wear suits and sport coats with ties to work and have been buying bespoke tailoring for a long time. I also like “heritage” style, which I mix in during the week and wear on the weekends. (I subscribed to BBSP because I want to learn more about the segments you cover rather than being the target demographic for the brands you highlight.) Bespoke and MTM prices have risen dramatically. In the “heritage” segment, which I also like, the prices are really high, too. I’ve been told there’s some supply issue, but the big problems are demand and a dearth of qualified workers. I’ve always tried to support small and indie brands, but the climbing prices have made that difficult except for sales. Unfortunately, purchasing everything at discount puts small, bespoke, and indie brands in a tough spot—it’s not like their profit margin is all that great to begin with. It’s a pickle.
(Sorry about the bad grammar—I was writing quickly.)
If you look at your own expenses and think about what you’d have to charge just to net enough to afford the absolute basics, it’s easy to see why the prices are what they are. The LEECHES profiting off life’s basics have skewed the wealth distribution so much it’s killing creativity and the ability to support creativity. Reversing the trend will take real structural/cultural changes and I think BBSP assists in getting people to think about these things while dropping dope recs. At least there are extremely cool clothes available used and they are often cooler than any new clothes you can buy. When you don’t have a lot of cash to work with you have to innovate and that is where a lot of the best looks come from. That being said I’d like to occasionally buy something new from a small maker because supporting new life in the industry is necessary if that’s what you want to see.
Hoped you might answer my question but this was better than I expected.
Lots to think about, as ever, but my main takeaway is that I need to get back into thrifting… and work on my eBay eye.
One thing that isn’t too expensive? This newsletter. Cheap at double the price. (But don’t raise it!)
Peace and love x
If you're like me and want to shop secondhand online but you're maybe struggling to make eBay work for you--I'd love to recommend the online estate sale site Everything But the House (https://www.ebth.com/). It's an internet destination my mom put me on to to shop for like, old Pampered Chef (the goat), but which also offers some incredible clothing and accessories coppable for dirt cheap. I realize this isn't THAT much different than an eBay or thrifting situation, but I personally love the experience of browsing sales and find it's much more joyous than setting up a bunch of saved searches elsewhere. And I've found some unheard of deals on luxury labels and materials (i.e., last fall I picked up a ~2006 Prada hobo bag for $40). happy hunting!! <3
ebth is my little cop secret too!
good art/posters too!
I’d like to shout out Frizmworks. The prices are INSANE if you buy directly from their shop in Korea and the stuff is very nice!
https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31637919174&dest=usa&ref_=ps_ggl_17730966692&cm_mmc=ggl-_-US_Shopp_Trade50up-_-product_id=COM9780517523681USED-_-keyword=&gclid=Cj0KCQiAw6yuBhDrARIsACf94RWnBhDbLpRfX3yhILLmLOMIP2o5JwqLPZrdGzNc1G0bPmalYu2eoWEaAhiFEALw_wcB
The link above is to a genius book written in 1975: Cheap Chic (there are less expensive re-prints available too, the new paperback edition is the one with a foreword by Tim Gunn). Anyway, the book introduced me to the concept of "cost per wear" - in other words, a cheap thing worn once is actually a waste of money, but if you save up and buy the good thing, and then wear it and wear it and wear it, you probably will achieve a way lower "cost per wear" ratio (and while the authors were writing too long ago to worry about the waste stream, obviously you keep your beloved old garments of high quality out of the trash). It's a very entertaining and sane book that also introduced many people at the time to the art of vintage shopping.
Inspiring sletter as always! I feel in good company alongside Jack and s.c. -- I'm someone who basically 1. only buys secondhand 2. but hates and is crummy at buying online 3. doesn't like to spend a ton of money 4. but also is on her David Milch wavelength and fundamentally believes money isn't real 5. and relatedly is a broke b*tch....Luckily I live in LA, where there is a robust ESTATE SALE CULTURE. If you're fortunate enough to live in a place where estate sales are poppin off, I couldn't recommend them more for high-quality and inexpensive clothing curated by swaggy elders. Oftentimes the clothing is worn-in but in superb condition and made of excellent materials, to say nothing of the MATERIAL OF A LIFE WELL LIVED. Punch in your zip code at estatesales.net and see what comes up in your area. (Pro tip: prices are negotiable and by the end of the sale expect deep markdowns.)
yes ! 100% !