Chap on the cheap: the charity shop challenge | Norton of Morton

In which G.M. Norton goes pattern crazy as he unveils a gentlemanly outfit for less than £50.

Mancunian Vintage and myself recently took part in a challenge to acquire his ‘n’ hers Christmas outfits for under £50 each. Read about my experience over at Vintage Manchester.

I had tremendous fun visiting the local charity shops and managed to cobble together a rather dapper outfit for the grand total of £37.94. This consisted of sports jacket, shirt, tie, trousers, shoes and pocket square. 

Doing my best Pee-Wee Herman impression

What I particularly liked about the attire I assembled were the number of patterns successfully mixed together, at least in my opinion. 

Adjusting the old bow tie

Let’s start off with the sports jacket – a lovely little black and white dogtooth check number with reddish tones. Combined with a Tattersall shirt, it shouldn’t work but it somehow does. Topped off with a red paisley patterned silk bow tie and it provides a visual treat.   

Dogtooth, Tattersall and Paisley – what a fine name for a detective agency

Of course, once you have blended together three different patterns, the secret is to know when to stop. So I decided to keep the bottom half of my outfit quite simple with a plain black pair of trousers and a pair of black Loake Formby shoes picked up for the bargain price of £4.99. The black base of the garb really draws attention to the jacket, shirt and tie combination.

The pièce de résistance though was the red satin pocket square. This was actually a ladies top which I brought home to my beloved, asking her very nicely if she would cut it up and sew a hem around it. 

Festive flourish

A pocket square adds a real sartorial splendour to an outfit and the solid red colour provides a festive flourish perfect for the Christmas party season. 

All dressed up and ready to go

I really enjoyed picking up my bargain ensemble. As an aspiring gentleman with little cash to splash, I can’t wait to see what other great buys I can pick up. 

To admire the outfit that Mancunian Vintage expertly put together, toddle over to the ladies edition page at Vintage Manchester.  

G.M. Norton

Protagonist of ‘Norton of Morton’