Second Hand Rose

I’ll be nicely dressed at work tomorrow in my new “old” suit. I called in to Vinnies on the way home tonight and picked up a “Marks and Spencer” “Autograph” range suit that fits perfectly and I’ll be wearing it tomorrow. So if I work with you in some way, shape or form, I’ll be looking for compliments.

That’s what I love about op-shop shopping. That it fits. That someone else has already done the the adjustments. Being a shortish-medium height man with an above-average, though not exceptional, waist line, I find most off-the-counter clothing in Australia is generally too long in the leg for me.

A notable exception was the pair of jeans I bought at H&M in Copenhagen a few months ago which fitted off the shelf, both in terms of waist and height measurements.

However, when I buy clothes at second-hand stores I generally find they fit perfectly. I bought a pair of jeans in Coonamble, for example, a few years ago that cost me $2 and were absolutely perfect. I got at least two year’s life out of them.

And that’s what happened tonight. Tonight’s suit fitted perfectly off the rack.

Actually, I needed a bit of retail therapy after work today. In the midst of the usual good stuff, there was also some shitty stuff to deal with also. And so when I left work tonight, and went past Vinnies and saw that it was open, I figured a bit of retail therapy there couldn’t do all that much damage. In total, the suit cost me forty dollars which I think is a bit of a bargain.

I imagine it’s part of the M&S medium price range, though I’ve yet to have that confirmed. When I asked former Pom, now Aussie Tom125 for some advice on Twitter tonight, he just replied… “M&S? Fine for socks and sandwiches… :-P” Bastard!

Anyway I’m looking forward to wearing my new suit tomorrow, though I’ve just got to work out which shirt to wear it with. I’ve got a bit of a flashy function to attend tonight, so I want to look my best… even if it is in a forty dollar suit from Vinnies.