Broke and Bespoke

A site meant to inspire penurious sartorialists everywhere... Follow me on Twitter @brokeandbespoke


* Unless otherwise noted, all images and written content are my own. Please credit brokeandbespoke if you use any of said content and link back to brokeandbespoke.tumblr.com
Broke and Bespoke is 1 Year Old! Today marks the one year anniversary of this blog’s existence. I started it on December 31st of last year, and uploaded a bunch of old pics straight onto the tumblr from my phone that day (it was my only camera at the time), one of which was of this tie. It’s from an estate sale, and from the first day I wanted to highlight how one could go about looking stylish and well put together on a budget. Well, I’m glad to say that one year in I feel like I’m still marching to the same tune. Here’s a pasted version of the story from that first-day posting frenzy (and above is a much better pic than you’ll find in the original post): *     *     *     *     *     * Sometime over the summer (2011) I visited an estate sale in a nearby neighborhood where a lot of the older residents are now retired faculty from the local premiere public research university. I assumed, correctly that day, that this might be a real trad ‘nouveau gramps-steez’ payday. The man whose estate sale I was guiltlessly plundering was a Yale grad, as evidenced by the many Yale themed wardrobe items (including fraternity neckties, and a capella group bow ties), and the massive quantities of J. Press neckwear, and the item shown in the pic above. Needless to say, I mercilessly rummaged through the accumulated archive of this dude’s long and bow tie collection. Despite the much ballyhooed idea that real ‘trad’ style is somehow impervious to the slow sands of historical change, this guy’s collection proved that even the most stalwart trads succumbed to both bad taste and the siren wail of synthetic fibers in the 1970s. I picked out all the nice ‘timeless’ long ties and bow ties that were in wearable condition (including the rep tie pictured here). That totaled 18 items, maybe about 10 ties and 8 bow ties. I asked the person running the estate sale how much she wanted for the lot (it was being run through an outside party) and she said $2 each. I thought, “shit, that’s an amazing deal!” I looked in my wallet, and found I only had $17, and the sale was cash only, and thought “shit, why am I so broke!?” I steeled myself for rejection, or at least for the prospect of having to choose only 7 out of these 18 pieces (which still would have been a come-up), and brazenly (but not dickishly—never dickishly) asked, “will you do $17 for the bunch? It’s all I have…” The kind woman must have sensed the ‘I’m just a broke-ass dude trying to look nice for my upcoming teaching job’ oozing out of my pores and said “OK, sure, you seem like a nice guy who will put these to good use…” 

Broke and Bespoke is 1 Year Old!

Today marks the one year anniversary of this blog’s existence. I started it on December 31st of last year, and uploaded a bunch of old pics straight onto the tumblr from my phone that day (it was my only camera at the time), one of which was of this tie. It’s from an estate sale, and from the first day I wanted to highlight how one could go about looking stylish and well put together on a budget. Well, I’m glad to say that one year in I feel like I’m still marching to the same tune. Here’s a pasted version of the story from that first-day posting frenzy (and above is a much better pic than you’ll find in the original post):

*     *     *     *     *     *

Sometime over the summer (2011) I visited an estate sale in a nearby neighborhood where a lot of the older residents are now retired faculty from the local premiere public research university. I assumed, correctly that day, that this might be a real trad ‘nouveau gramps-steez’ payday. The man whose estate sale I was guiltlessly plundering was a Yale grad, as evidenced by the many Yale themed wardrobe items (including fraternity neckties, and a capella group bow ties), and the massive quantities of J. Press neckwear, and the item shown in the pic above. Needless to say, I mercilessly rummaged through the accumulated archive of this dude’s long and bow tie collection.

Despite the much ballyhooed idea that real ‘trad’ style is somehow impervious to the slow sands of historical change, this guy’s collection proved that even the most stalwart trads succumbed to both bad taste and the siren wail of synthetic fibers in the 1970s. I picked out all the nice ‘timeless’ long ties and bow ties that were in wearable condition (including the rep tie pictured here). That totaled 18 items, maybe about 10 ties and 8 bow ties.

I asked the person running the estate sale how much she wanted for the lot (it was being run through an outside party) and she said $2 each. I thought, “shit, that’s an amazing deal!” I looked in my wallet, and found I only had $17, and the sale was cash only, and thought “shit, why am I so broke!?” I steeled myself for rejection, or at least for the prospect of having to choose only 7 out of these 18 pieces (which still would have been a come-up), and brazenly (but not dickishly—never dickishly) asked, “will you do $17 for the bunch? It’s all I have…” The kind woman must have sensed the ‘I’m just a broke-ass dude trying to look nice for my upcoming teaching job’ oozing out of my pores and said “OK, sure, you seem like a nice guy who will put these to good use…” 

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    Happy One-Year Anniversary to brokeandbespoke. The man knows how to look good on a budget. Thanks for providing...
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