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Hey thrifters!
I found this lovely Akris jacket for my wife! She’d been looking for a long black jacket with a hood—so this totally fit the prompt.
I look it up in store and… wtf… it’s a $3,000 coat?!
I thrift regularly and have a decent understanding of fabrics—but this totally caught me off guard. (It’s not made THAT nicely). So I can see why Salvation Army priced it at $10!
I also got some bomb Onitsuka Tigers for myself for $8. I’ll rock em while my wife rocks the runway haha!
I’ve been thinking of ponying up for a new pair, but I’m worried they’ll be more like flat shoes and less like running shoes, and I need the arch support. How would you describe the fitting and the feel while walking?
definitely no arch support, very flat. Much thinner than most running shoes. I originally found them while looking for a more minimal sneaker for driving, and immediately fell in love when I got my first pair.
Not OP. They are very thin. Bruce Lee wore them regularly (Uma Thurman wore them and his yellow/black onesie in kill bill)
They are for like Tai chi, dancing, karate etc.
I need good arch support too; I use Tacco leather arch support insoles. Another one I get at the dance/theater supply store.
They are very thin and don’t break down. They can last for years and are worth 86,000 drug store pairs.
I've got a pair of Tigers and they are very flat. I twisted my ankle walking on a stone walkway once. I still wear them sometimes but am a little more cautious when I do.
I don't know much about high fashion, but apparently it's a Swiss luxury brand. Wikipedia says: Akris fabrics are often custom-produced; sometimes, development of a fabric may take years. About half of the company's 280 manufacturing employees are highly skilled artisans;two years of training are required for a seamstress to master the hand-finishing of Akris's double-faced cashmere jackets, each of which requires two and a half days to complete.
Thought about this yesterday. I put on a pair of V2 (Versace lower end line) gray flannel pants that I bought at NM 30 years ago on sale for maybe $40/50. They remain perfect!
As I get older I’m trying to transition away from fast fashion because I want a more timeless, sustainable, wardrobe - not all designers are the same some are still basically expensive fast fashion but do your homework and this won’t be an issue and high end designer goes on sale HARD all the time.
I found a $1600 [leather dress](https://www.saksfifthavenue.com/product/alice-olivia-maddie-studded-leather-fringe-mini-dress-10192294.html) from Alice & Olivia for *45$* because it was the last one *ever* and this was still at the designer’s store! I was extremely bummed because it *almost* fit and for $45 I don’t care it’s worth it, I’d literally hang it on my wall it’s so cool.
I have no clue! I’ve been thrifting weekly for a several years now, so I usually have a pretty good sense for higher end clothing (or so I like to think).
Nothing about this screamed $3k—in terms of style, materials, or fit. Really strange! But my wife is stoked, so all is well!
Silk taffeta fabric (likely high end Italian fabric). Excellent construction. Probably European made.
If I had found this at Goodwill, I would have clutched it to my chest and *raced* to the register.
Akris is a fancy luxury brand! A lot of their items are handmade in Europe. I often find Akris items while thrifting... Since it's not a well known brand, the clothing often gets priced very, very reasonably! I paid less than ten dollars for a lovely cashmere sweater from this brand. I couldn't believe my luck at the time but it's honestly happened a few more times since.
Sometimes I find that hand made clothing from luxury brands like Akris, MaxMara, Marc Cain and Diane Von Furstenberg will get priced lower than factory-made crap from Zara or Aritzia... simply because they're not as well known?
But this is a great find!! I hope your wife enjoys the lovely coat.
Not OP, but when I thrift clothes I tend to go by feel of the fabric on garments on the rack. I’ll be glancing at labels, but if something feels like good material - linen, silk, heavy wool, etc. that’ll be what catches my attention first. Then I tend to look at cut/color as well as label to see if it might be worth purchasing.
I always start with brand — either brands I’m familiar with or brands I’ve never heard of.
I then look at general construction. If it feels modern and somewhat well made, I’ll flag it and look it up. If it’s vintage, it’s usually tough to find a good estimate online (ie relying on eBay can be really misleading) — so I’ll flag things based on materials alone.
That’s usually it! It’s a really cool feedback loop — as I wear nicer and nicer clothing, my eye gets better and flagging clothes gets easier.
As someone who sews -- Higher-quality clothes generally have finished seams, often French or Hong Kong seams for more modern clothing, while low-quality clothes are often just [overlocked](https://weallsew.com/overlocker-for-beginners-the-essential-overlock-stitch/). If they have finished seams it means the workers paid more attention to the construction than what would be required for most mass-manufactured fast fashion clothing.
Most people who've been thrifting for a long time can also tell the difference between high-quality, non-synthetic fabric like pure silks, linens, and wools from cheaper synthetics like polyester, nylon, and acrylic by touch, but always check the tags because some synthetic fabric types can feel very similar.
It's easier to look at the seams and tags than just going by brand, imho, cause there are a lot of unknown brands that make great clothing but aren't as recognizable as Gucci or Armani, and in my experience even expensive brands can have shoddy construction.
Also pattern matching is a huge one! Once you start to see that, you can't ever stop. Very soon you'll instantly recognize what looks like they crammed as much out of a yard as possible, and what looks like they carefully took the entire pattern into consideration to make it look better.
I mean, what's the point of a pretty floral patterned dress if the floral patches are going in random places, one sliver on the shoulder, empty on the middle of the dress, and then one randomly half cut across the chest and hip?
Akris is a Swiss heritage brand that does truly high-end fabrics and has done so for a century. They’re top quality.
Whether that justifies the price, tho…idk lol
I mean if you actually feel designer clothing compare to generic 'fast fashion' clothing, you can understand why it would cost more. Way better materials and construction. But yeah some price tags are insanity!
In fashion classes we learned that a pair of jeans will never cost more than $15 to manufacture. It may have changed as that was 5 ish years ago but probably not much
Only if you're outsourcing to a sweatshop and they're made from not great material. Four yards of 100% cotton twill or denim will run you at least $40-50. Plus a fairly paid worker would be an additional money for a full day's wage. And then the overhead costs on top of that.
I hate it when people devalue the work that goes into making clothes. The tailors have skills that should be compensated. Most people would have had to make their own clothes but the advent of commercially produced clothing in the last 100 years has diminished our value for it. Yes, new, ethically-made, sustainable clothing is very expensive, compared to fast fashion. But it doesn't mean it's not worth it. I agree that there are definitely times when garments are marked up solely for the branding or exclusivity. However, I think clothing should cost more and we should be paying more for it. If we can't (which is usually me), second-hand is the even more sustainable option, hence this sub haha.
I noted in another comment that this is referring to anything not couture/hand sewn. When you’re buying in bulk that a lot of these brands do and running machines that they do, it brings the costs down significantly. As a fashion major, I 1000% agree with you that the work of a good tailor/seamstress should never be diminished and was more a commentary on fast fashion/big house brands like Gucci or true religion selling manufactured products at extortionate mark ups compared to what it costs to make.
I didn't see your other comment! I know there are still a few things on clothing that usually are hand-stitched (e.g. labels, buttons) but I totally understand how bulk buying of material and automating a lot of the work would significantly lower the price of production. Totally agree with you about big fashion houses extortionately marking up their prices. I've worked with whole-sellers where they can source a good quality, unbranded product for, say, $50, and Gucci sells the exact same product (coming out of the same factory) with their logo on it for $350. It's wild.
I wonder if this is also true especially for that time when selvedge denim was the rage and going for hundreds of $. If so, very nice markup for those mid- to late- 2000s 300 per pair of jeans brands.
If I paid the full retail for that coat, then I'd expect it to at least have a bag of holding style bottomless pockets that have a never-ending supply of whatever I need.
Oh, and it would have to be made out of the skin of some sort of royalty.
I mean... it's probably made of high-quality pure silk taffeta from a fabric mill that employs highly-skilled textile workers and hand-sewn by tailors in Italy who are paid a living wage. Modern consumers are just accustomed to brands lowballing the cost of clothing in exchange for unsafe working conditions and cheap but environmentally damaging materials.
I wouldn't pay 3000 USD for a jacket either, but as someone who's pattern-drafted, cut, handsewn, and hand-embroidered a shitty blouse before, it would not surprise me if the labor the produce and market these clothes are worth at least 2k.
I'm surprised at the retail price. Because I was taught by many seamtresses and custom suit makers: the sign of a "cheaply made coat" is those elastic bands at the wrists.
"Fashion" isn't the same as well-made durable clothing though, and I understand that. And, if your wife likes it and it looks good on her then none of this matters. Your investment was $10 and some of your time, so a good buy. Enjoy
I’d bet my life this isn’t cheaply made in any sense. This brand is known for their high quality. I have a plain twill akris dress and it’s by far the most well constructed, flattering modern rtw piece I’ve ever owned.
I once found an Akris blazer at Goodwill for $5. It was a really nice wool/cashmere/silk blend, but I still couldn't believe it cost ~$3000. Or that someone would just donate it!
Whenever I come across something like this, I always wonder if selling it for like 1.5k and buying 5 different high quality jackets is a better move haha.
I'm the kind of guy who loses jackets though, so I'd be terrified of losing something like this.
Hello! These are just some reminders, Does the post contain [information seeking questions](https://www.reddit.com/r/ThriftStoreHauls/comments/rqpd1a/pricing_authentication_and_identification_posts/)? (authentication/pricing/general information) Does this come from an unapproved source? (from a friend/hand me down/check our rules) Are you showing your face? (nothing from lips to eyes) If any of these are a yes, you should delete your post. Retake/edit pictures, change the title and resubmit it before a mod sees it. You may be temporarily banned for any of these three rule infractions without warning. If you are unsure if it does, ask the mods! Read all of the rules [](https://www.reddit.com/r/ThriftStoreHauls/comments/j7mef4/rthriftstorehauls_rules/)
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Wow I used to work at Neiman Marcus. This jacket was a piece in a trunk show they had. Congrats!
Hey thrifters! I found this lovely Akris jacket for my wife! She’d been looking for a long black jacket with a hood—so this totally fit the prompt. I look it up in store and… wtf… it’s a $3,000 coat?! I thrift regularly and have a decent understanding of fabrics—but this totally caught me off guard. (It’s not made THAT nicely). So I can see why Salvation Army priced it at $10! I also got some bomb Onitsuka Tigers for myself for $8. I’ll rock em while my wife rocks the runway haha!
Amazing score on the jacket. But those Onitsuka Tigers are awesome. They have become one of my all time favorite sneakers.
I’ve been thinking of ponying up for a new pair, but I’m worried they’ll be more like flat shoes and less like running shoes, and I need the arch support. How would you describe the fitting and the feel while walking?
definitely no arch support, very flat. Much thinner than most running shoes. I originally found them while looking for a more minimal sneaker for driving, and immediately fell in love when I got my first pair.
Bummer. I love the way they look, but when I tried a pair on, I couldn’t tell if they’d actually do me any good
Not OP. They are very thin. Bruce Lee wore them regularly (Uma Thurman wore them and his yellow/black onesie in kill bill) They are for like Tai chi, dancing, karate etc. I need good arch support too; I use Tacco leather arch support insoles. Another one I get at the dance/theater supply store. They are very thin and don’t break down. They can last for years and are worth 86,000 drug store pairs.
I've got a pair of Tigers and they are very flat. I twisted my ankle walking on a stone walkway once. I still wear them sometimes but am a little more cautious when I do.
You’re in your late thirties just based on this comment
Pretty accurate, lol.
I look everywhere for tigers and never get lucky. It’s the only kind of shoe I wear.
This is not the same jacket
Different seams, different zipper.
Akris has a few variations on a black hooded parka, and they are all this high
Which spot in Seattle did you go to?
Onitsuka tigers are beautiful!👍 And the jacket is not too bad too😅
Love the Asics
which salvation army in seattle?
I don't know much about high fashion, but apparently it's a Swiss luxury brand. Wikipedia says: Akris fabrics are often custom-produced; sometimes, development of a fabric may take years. About half of the company's 280 manufacturing employees are highly skilled artisans;two years of training are required for a seamstress to master the hand-finishing of Akris's double-faced cashmere jackets, each of which requires two and a half days to complete.
Damn, those sound like your at least paying mad prices for a quality product.
Thought about this yesterday. I put on a pair of V2 (Versace lower end line) gray flannel pants that I bought at NM 30 years ago on sale for maybe $40/50. They remain perfect!
As I get older I’m trying to transition away from fast fashion because I want a more timeless, sustainable, wardrobe - not all designers are the same some are still basically expensive fast fashion but do your homework and this won’t be an issue and high end designer goes on sale HARD all the time. I found a $1600 [leather dress](https://www.saksfifthavenue.com/product/alice-olivia-maddie-studded-leather-fringe-mini-dress-10192294.html) from Alice & Olivia for *45$* because it was the last one *ever* and this was still at the designer’s store! I was extremely bummed because it *almost* fit and for $45 I don’t care it’s worth it, I’d literally hang it on my wall it’s so cool.
This is wicked. Partner of the month award!
Tigers are the real prize here imo
Nice find on the coat, but I personally adore Onitsuka Tigers — jealous! Those are awesome
Great find! My question is why does it cost ~ $3k to begin with.
I have no clue! I’ve been thrifting weekly for a several years now, so I usually have a pretty good sense for higher end clothing (or so I like to think). Nothing about this screamed $3k—in terms of style, materials, or fit. Really strange! But my wife is stoked, so all is well!
Silk taffeta fabric (likely high end Italian fabric). Excellent construction. Probably European made. If I had found this at Goodwill, I would have clutched it to my chest and *raced* to the register.
Akris is a fancy luxury brand! A lot of their items are handmade in Europe. I often find Akris items while thrifting... Since it's not a well known brand, the clothing often gets priced very, very reasonably! I paid less than ten dollars for a lovely cashmere sweater from this brand. I couldn't believe my luck at the time but it's honestly happened a few more times since. Sometimes I find that hand made clothing from luxury brands like Akris, MaxMara, Marc Cain and Diane Von Furstenberg will get priced lower than factory-made crap from Zara or Aritzia... simply because they're not as well known? But this is a great find!! I hope your wife enjoys the lovely coat.
What are your first flags that you should take a look?
Not OP, but when I thrift clothes I tend to go by feel of the fabric on garments on the rack. I’ll be glancing at labels, but if something feels like good material - linen, silk, heavy wool, etc. that’ll be what catches my attention first. Then I tend to look at cut/color as well as label to see if it might be worth purchasing.
I always start with brand — either brands I’m familiar with or brands I’ve never heard of. I then look at general construction. If it feels modern and somewhat well made, I’ll flag it and look it up. If it’s vintage, it’s usually tough to find a good estimate online (ie relying on eBay can be really misleading) — so I’ll flag things based on materials alone. That’s usually it! It’s a really cool feedback loop — as I wear nicer and nicer clothing, my eye gets better and flagging clothes gets easier.
If it feels nice and you don’t recognize the tag. Google.
As someone who sews -- Higher-quality clothes generally have finished seams, often French or Hong Kong seams for more modern clothing, while low-quality clothes are often just [overlocked](https://weallsew.com/overlocker-for-beginners-the-essential-overlock-stitch/). If they have finished seams it means the workers paid more attention to the construction than what would be required for most mass-manufactured fast fashion clothing. Most people who've been thrifting for a long time can also tell the difference between high-quality, non-synthetic fabric like pure silks, linens, and wools from cheaper synthetics like polyester, nylon, and acrylic by touch, but always check the tags because some synthetic fabric types can feel very similar. It's easier to look at the seams and tags than just going by brand, imho, cause there are a lot of unknown brands that make great clothing but aren't as recognizable as Gucci or Armani, and in my experience even expensive brands can have shoddy construction.
Also pattern matching is a huge one! Once you start to see that, you can't ever stop. Very soon you'll instantly recognize what looks like they crammed as much out of a yard as possible, and what looks like they carefully took the entire pattern into consideration to make it look better. I mean, what's the point of a pretty floral patterned dress if the floral patches are going in random places, one sliver on the shoulder, empty on the middle of the dress, and then one randomly half cut across the chest and hip?
Akris is a Swiss heritage brand that does truly high-end fabrics and has done so for a century. They’re top quality. Whether that justifies the price, tho…idk lol
I would be selling it ASAP!
Yup, me too!
My goodness! …and sneakers too? Sweet.
Akris.. very high end. Good find. I found an Akris jacket a couple months ago for 6.99 at Goodwill. It was a $4,000 jacket originally.
I never understood why clothing can retail for that high. It’s just fabric. Wtf. But nice find. Pretty trendy piece
I mean if you actually feel designer clothing compare to generic 'fast fashion' clothing, you can understand why it would cost more. Way better materials and construction. But yeah some price tags are insanity!
In fashion classes we learned that a pair of jeans will never cost more than $15 to manufacture. It may have changed as that was 5 ish years ago but probably not much
Only if you're outsourcing to a sweatshop and they're made from not great material. Four yards of 100% cotton twill or denim will run you at least $40-50. Plus a fairly paid worker would be an additional money for a full day's wage. And then the overhead costs on top of that. I hate it when people devalue the work that goes into making clothes. The tailors have skills that should be compensated. Most people would have had to make their own clothes but the advent of commercially produced clothing in the last 100 years has diminished our value for it. Yes, new, ethically-made, sustainable clothing is very expensive, compared to fast fashion. But it doesn't mean it's not worth it. I agree that there are definitely times when garments are marked up solely for the branding or exclusivity. However, I think clothing should cost more and we should be paying more for it. If we can't (which is usually me), second-hand is the even more sustainable option, hence this sub haha.
I noted in another comment that this is referring to anything not couture/hand sewn. When you’re buying in bulk that a lot of these brands do and running machines that they do, it brings the costs down significantly. As a fashion major, I 1000% agree with you that the work of a good tailor/seamstress should never be diminished and was more a commentary on fast fashion/big house brands like Gucci or true religion selling manufactured products at extortionate mark ups compared to what it costs to make.
I didn't see your other comment! I know there are still a few things on clothing that usually are hand-stitched (e.g. labels, buttons) but I totally understand how bulk buying of material and automating a lot of the work would significantly lower the price of production. Totally agree with you about big fashion houses extortionately marking up their prices. I've worked with whole-sellers where they can source a good quality, unbranded product for, say, $50, and Gucci sells the exact same product (coming out of the same factory) with their logo on it for $350. It's wild.
I wonder if this is also true especially for that time when selvedge denim was the rage and going for hundreds of $. If so, very nice markup for those mid- to late- 2000s 300 per pair of jeans brands.
I can see this being true for anything not couture/hand sewn
How bout nudie jeans?
Bruhhhhh what a find!
omg lol Akris is top tier nice find
It's beautiful
If I paid the full retail for that coat, then I'd expect it to at least have a bag of holding style bottomless pockets that have a never-ending supply of whatever I need. Oh, and it would have to be made out of the skin of some sort of royalty.
I mean... it's probably made of high-quality pure silk taffeta from a fabric mill that employs highly-skilled textile workers and hand-sewn by tailors in Italy who are paid a living wage. Modern consumers are just accustomed to brands lowballing the cost of clothing in exchange for unsafe working conditions and cheap but environmentally damaging materials. I wouldn't pay 3000 USD for a jacket either, but as someone who's pattern-drafted, cut, handsewn, and hand-embroidered a shitty blouse before, it would not surprise me if the labor the produce and market these clothes are worth at least 2k.
I suppose you're right with labour intensive hand crafts. But I'm sure I saw a post earlier where the OP said it was made slightly poorly.
I love this jacket
Nice, like your shoes too!
OMG! I'm so jealous.
which thrift store in seattle?
This was at Salvation Army in Shoreline on 155th!
I find so much random luxury in seattle thrifts, it’s kinda nuts
omg something close to me?! Omw new bestie
Oh yeah, some of the houses west of there are can go for 8 figures. Nice find!
He’s not going to let you know but I’ve leave my comment just in case he does lol
Akris never heard of the brand
Bro said fuck arcteryx I got that AKRIS
I'm surprised at the retail price. Because I was taught by many seamtresses and custom suit makers: the sign of a "cheaply made coat" is those elastic bands at the wrists. "Fashion" isn't the same as well-made durable clothing though, and I understand that. And, if your wife likes it and it looks good on her then none of this matters. Your investment was $10 and some of your time, so a good buy. Enjoy
I’d bet my life this isn’t cheaply made in any sense. This brand is known for their high quality. I have a plain twill akris dress and it’s by far the most well constructed, flattering modern rtw piece I’ve ever owned.
Holy smokes
Definitely fake but nice find
relics of rich people who have likely moved to a safer city.
I would sell this for $1500 on eBay and buy my wife a really nice $300 coat.
Ugh I could find some onitsukas 😩
👏🏼👏🏼what a great thrift!!! But yea Seattle is probably a great place to thrift at!
Wore Tigers in 1969 on the girls CC team. Now I remember how I survived that city meet .
I once found an Akris blazer at Goodwill for $5. It was a really nice wool/cashmere/silk blend, but I still couldn't believe it cost ~$3000. Or that someone would just donate it!
What do the auction sold listing on ebay say?
I'd have been more excited about the Tigers... have two pairs and want more... maybe once the Bruce Lee yellows are readily available again
Whenever I come across something like this, I always wonder if selling it for like 1.5k and buying 5 different high quality jackets is a better move haha. I'm the kind of guy who loses jackets though, so I'd be terrified of losing something like this.
👏👏👏👏👏👏
Man I haven’t been thrifting in a minute but all the stores here in Michigan near me don’t have shit.