New Togs Part 3
I’ve been trying to make vests happen for me for a while now. I’ve been incepted by various instagram accounts that feature people wearing shearling and canvas vests. I’ve had no luck sourcing a shearling model at the thrift shops and heavy materials just hang awkwardly on my narrow shoulders. I also bought some cotton knit sleeveless pullovers from the Marni x Uniqlo and Target x Gabriella K collaborations but they are a bit clingy so I rarely wear them.
But I feel like I cracked the code with these three recent investments (I will not apologize for the pun). They key, you see is oversized knits. The first find is a wool deep V pullover. I’ve been wearing it a lot with jeans and a peasant top.
The second sweater vest is a wooly one from Banana Republic that I got at the Value Village. Super soft and basically the same plunging neckline idea as the unbranded vintage one.
Something slightly different: a colour-blocked cashmere button up long line vest, also by Banana Republic. Both of these BR knits are still on the brand’s website so I’m assuming that both of these garments were dropped off from a store (even though there’s nothing wrong with them). I can’t imagine someone paying over $100 to $300 for something, wearing it for a couple of months and then discarding it. The racks of the thrift shops these days are heavy with fast fashion clothes, so maybe the mindset that encourages disposable consumerism has extended to the higher end retail as well.
It’s much harder to find true vintage at the thrift shops. Not a vest, but I did score this 1990s made in Mexico, Baja blanket pullover by Earth Ragz. I’ve noticed that I’ve been gravitating toward earth tones lately. I also thrifted these cotton corduroy Nike pants on my most recent expedition. I’ve been avoiding buying new garments with man made materials for a while now (because that stuff doesn’t biodegrade) but I’m also aiming to avoid things with Lycra in thrifted clothes as well. There’s some elastic in the waistband but otherwise these are good (they also have pockets).