School Supplies: Thrift Military Outerwear

-There have been a lot of great posts about finding the perfect coat around the men's style blogosphere lately, so I decided to drop some knowledge on two great thrift finds that have become my most worn winter coats. It's bound to get a little rambly, so the rest of the post (+links and more photos) is after the jump.

-So a lot of bloggers have been posting a lot of great stuff lately; Like this, and this, and this (there's been a ton of talk about Barbour lately but what about Belstaff, great heritage/great coats.) And that's all fine and dandy, but one main tenant of our mission statement is to be on the lookout for affordable style solutions.
-All these photos are much larger, click on them.

-First is my favorite, a coast guard coat that I purchased at Value Village for $13. I bought it in 2005 and it's still my go-to. It doesn't have a hood, but even though we live in one of the rainiest areas of the country, I don't mind. Hoods are ugly. This coat has been through some shit and it has proven to be just as tough as a Carhartt. It has a thicker lining than a Carhartt though.

-The back has a stencil that says USCGR (Coast Guard Reserve.) I've seen two other people on campus with this coat (one of them being my homie Chad who makes good tunes,) but neither of the copies I saw had the stencil or fit as well as mine. Check the detail shots and continue down for looks at my field jacket.

-Stencil

-I love little details like this fastener.


-Next, my field jacket. I got this at the Salvation Army. It was listed at $7 but I took the tag off and tried to put a $2 tag on, but it was too tough and I couldn't push the staple into it. When I took it to the counter and said that it had no tag, they told me it was $10. Honesty is always the best option, I guess.

-I don't have any clue as of the origin on this coat. The only label is the cleaning instructions and it has two words on it that may be Italian. Not quite as cool as this, but, you know, price.


-Great detail: One of those neck things, what are they called/for? They look cool though. Admittedly, I wear this one less than the coat above (mainly because it only has one working button,) but I felt that it belonged in the same post.

-Now, here is my secret weapon. The reason I can live here and manage not to be a slave to the Northface monotony monopoly^TM Camp Dry. Spray it on once a year. It's made for tents I think but it's cheap and works great.

-Great coats, not for a cocktail party, but for navigating the rugged but stylish Pacific Northwest. The lesson, develop a good eye for thrift-shop finds. Which reminds me, I need to drop a post about my $17 Harris Tweed. Which reminds me of another point; We've abstained a bit from posting more personal type content, but at nearly a year of operation I think we've established enough of a base to start taking more liberties. If you read this whole thing, you're a champ and we thank you. Word.