As a stylist for a high-end brand one would assume my tastes would lie in only high brands, but that’s not the case. I’ve said for years that my definition of style is not how much your outfit costs, rather the way it’s worn.
Mr. Price is a popular low-end retailer in every town and city in South Africa, a place I unfortunately can’t ever manage to find anything in. But the girls are very lucky in that Mr. Price gets all the current overseas trends and pretty much produces them in cheaper fabric. Like a version of Top Shop but not as good.
For a guy to shop in Cape Town one must spend large amounts of money to acquire a nice wardrobe full of basics. See my list of basics here.
Since a good jacket is a necessary staple in any gentleman’s wardrobe (and since I already own a fitted black blazer from Paul Smith) I decided to shop for a blazer. High End retailers will charge around R8000 for a good fitted jacket but I was looking for something cheap that I could wear whenever.
Thrift stores like Salvation Army are great to find vintage pieces for women (I found the most sophisticated fitted black velvet jacket with a red silk lining for my mother once- dirt cheap too), but it’s a lot harder for a man to go vintage without looking like a college student. I searched online and asked all over for second hand boutiques but only one was ever mentioned to cater for men; Second Time Around, in Long street. The head stylist for GQ told me that! Now the weather was scorching yesterday and made it impossible to stay outside for long.
Meet Dierdre’, who owns Second Time Around. She told me the mens stock is harder to find but she does manage to find a few gems from time to time. I’m told that Paul Smith was among a few designer pieces that made it’s way to her humble rails once upon a time. “How often do you buy clothes?” I was asked “Well...” (to be fair I have a clothing allowance at work, but she took my hesitation as an answer none the less and said “Right- because men only buy when they need something” Hmm…If she only knew.
The first time I stopped by was a few weeks ago and I found this purple jacket I wanted. The length, cut and colour was perfect but the shoulders were just too tight. I blame my obsession with being a shirtless Adonis one day.
Yesterday I ventured out in search of said blazer and came across this dove grey blazer. I will take better photos soon. The cut was perfect, needed no tailoring and was also a great versatile colour I can wear casually or more formally. Working for a high end brand allows you to mix your labels so that it all looks great. And in that lies the secret to Thrift store shopping.
- Buy Pieces that fit you well
- Buy colours that will work well in your wardrobe (as well as your skin tone)
- Go for timeless pieces
- Don’t go for items that need serious cleaning (but I suppose you could always have it dyed)
- Don’t buy for the sake of buying, rather just return often until you find something.
They have all sorts available for men here, including Cravats, Ties (I saw one from Christian Dior that must have been 25 years old) trench coats and Waistcoats. Hell they even had a furry number. If you look properly you can find something and the
Odds are it will only cost under R300.
So if you’re in Cape Town, stop by Second Time Around in Long Street (021) 423 1674
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