The online market for second-hand clothing seems to be the new frontier of retailing. Ten years ago, menswear aficionados were mostly limited to sites such as eBay, Yoox, Gilt, and various online forums for their buying and trading. Now, in addition to those, you have The Real Real and Grailed, as well as specialty boutiques such as Marrkt. A few years ago, Patagonia and Leffot opened their own online recycling programs, where you can buy gently used versions of the things you’d find in their main stores. Additionally, our sponsor LuxeSwap works as an eBay consignor for high-end second-hand clothing and deadstock goods.
For men who like classic tailored clothing, Drop93 is one of your best outlets. They’re the sister arm to The Armoury, except they specialized in pre-owned goods. “What’s neat about The Armoury is we have an interesting network of customers and suppliers,” Armoury co-founder Mark Cho tells me. “For instance, we have customers wanting to clear out their old wardrobes, which are filled with high-end pieces. On top of that, since we are on good terms with our craftsmen, we sometimes get their old stuff, too.”
This morning, the company launched a four-day flash sale, where you can take 15% off any order with the checkout code 2020FLASHSALE. The sale runs from now until May 10th (although, since the shop is based in Hong Kong, you may want to account for international time zones). And since Drop93 has been getting new shipments in the last couple of months, there’s a ton on offer.
Some of my favorite items are The Armoury’s in-house shoes. A few years ago, Mark found a vintage last in a dusty archive. The old, carved-out wooden block, probably originally made in the early- to mid-20th century, had a soft, almond toe. Mark gave the weather-beaten last to Yohei Fukuda, one of the more renowned bespoke shoemakers in Japan. Chipping away at the toe and sanding away the volume, he gave the toes a soft, chiseled edge and sleeker profile. The idea was to create something that would be reminiscent of mid-century racecars, with a low-slung silhouette and sweeping lines blowing back towards the shoe’s quarters. To compensate for the shallower profile, Fukuda-san widened the ball of the foot to ensure comfort.
The shoes are made in Northampton, the heart of Northamptonshire in the East Midlands of England, which has traditionally been the home of high-end, Goodyear-welted footwear production. They feature soles made from oak bark leather, and some of the dressier styles, such as the oxfords, have a pleasantly shaped waist and closed channel stitching. These are factory seconds, but they’ve been nicely discounted to account for the cosmetic damage. Both the burnished oxfords and suede split-toes are $310. With the promotion, however, they come down to $264.
Below are some other great deals, along with two videos Mark recently posted highlighting what’s new in the shop. Note, all sales are final.
- Armoury goat suede bomber, M ($323)
- WW Chan double-breasted overcoat, 42 ($645)
- Armoury grained leather split-toes, 8 ($232)
- Armoury chunky shawl collar cardigan, 38 ($194)
- Grey cabled Jamieson’s sweater, 40 ($84)
- Grenfell trenchcoat, 44 ($587)
- Suede Crockett & Jones split-toes, 8 ($258)
- Suede Carmina cap-toe boots, 7.5 ($181)
- Carmina tassel loafers, 12 ($275)
- Tan suede Alden chukkas, 7 ($206)
- Bennett Winch weekender ($258)
