Men's Style Blogger Shares How to Shop eBay to Dress Like a Grownup

By Stephen Watson
August 4, 2011

Jesse Thorn Jesse Thorn, the producer and host of the Public Radio International radio show "The Sound of Young America" (an offbeat interview program about arts and entertainment) and the comedy podcast ‘Jordan, Jesse, Go’ hits not only your FM dial and your iPod, but also your computer screen, with a venerable blog called “Put This On”.

With the tagline "a web series about dressing like a grownup," the site adheres to the idea that dressing well can lead to a successful life by helping you feel good inside and out. While Thorn and his team offer plenty of tips for the modern guy on suiting up, cleaning up, and generally looking good, our favorite regular feature hits closer to home. Called simply "eBay roundup," it's a list of terrific menswear items available on the online marketplace—often from high end, heritage brands from Madison Avenue to Savile Row, and usually at great prices.

The Inside Source: What does "dressing like a grownup" mean to you?

Jesse Thorn: For us, that means understanding that how you dress is important, both socially and aesthetically. A lot of men like to pretend it's inconsequential, but those who care, often find that it's immensely rewarding, both internally and externally.

We try and build a site that's open to anyone, but still excites the enthusiast. Our videos have a segment hosted by (PTO co-founder) Adam Lisagor called "Rudiments," where we present the absolute most basic stuff... but we also did a long-form interview with the legendary magazine writer and dandy Gay Talese. Through it all, we try to be unpretentious and pleasant. So much of the fashion world is about creating elaborate fantasies; we're a bit more grounded.

Atelier Cristiani, Paris

Atelier Cristiani, Paris: Put This On suggests investing in classic, high quality pieces, like a navy knit tie with white dots.

The Inside Source: What inspires you? What do you read regularly?

Jesse Thorn: I read dozens of men's style blogs. Some are about tailored clothes almost exclusively, like A Suitable Wardrobe or Permanent Style. I also read blogs about more casual style. The only category I don't get too deep into is what you might call "fashion." I don't care too much what Galliano is showing this season. I also regularly read the big men's style communities—Style Forum, Ask Andy and The London Lounge. While I like the work of Glenn O'Brien and Nick Sullivan in GQ and Esquire, respectively, I don't spend a lot of time with magazines.

I really like the way the internet turns style into a conversation rather than a lecture.

The Inside Source: How would you describe your own personal fashion style?

Jesse Thorn: My real career is as a public radio host, and I think I have a style which reflects that to some extent. A little bit of Andre Benjamin, a little bit of Alan Alda in a Woody Allen movie... I do my shows out of a home studio, and I find that wearing a coat and tie (I rarely wear a suit at work) communicates to my guests that while they've arrived at a house and not a radio station, this is still a legitimate operation.

eBay Round Up

On Gay Talese & Limited Budgets: Put This On interviewed legendary writer Gay Talese about dressing with style.

The Inside Source: Here at The Inside Source, we're big fans your eBay shopping lists. How do you decide what items to include?

Jesse Thorn: I have literally dozens of RSS feeds of eBay searches. Many of them are for what you might call "artisanal brands". Take Henry Poole, for example. They're known as the founders of Savile Row—the original high-end English custom tailors. A worldwide search for Henry Poole might turn up one or two items at any given time, but a few dozen searches for Henry Poole and Globe-Trotter and Paraboot and Arnys of Paris and Berk of the Burlington Arcade and a bunch of others starts to turn into a great pool of candidates. A couple of times a day, I look through a hundred or so items that my searches pull in.

Then, I just wade in and pull out whatever I think is cool. Usually I focus on stuff that might go for a bargain price, but sometimes we just include fashion pieces that are unusual. A friend of ours, who goes by "The RJ Cat" (long story), is one of the great experts on these small, fine makers of clothes and accessories, and he's always sending us something amazing. My colleague Derek posted an article about a legendary dandy named Evander Berry Wall, who was famous for buying custom clothes for his dog. RJ sent us an eBay auction for his dog's memoir. In French. Needless to say, we posted that.

The wonderful thing to me about eBay is that you'll never find a store with this kind of selection, especially for men. There's a vintage shop called Bobby From Boston in Boston, and Bobby, the owner, has a warehouse in Lynn, MA. The store is the rare vintage shop with any taste in the area of menswear. The fact remains, though: Bobby has an amazing selection, but he still can't match eBay.

One of the themes on our blog is buying better, buying less... And buying for less will help you to have a better wardrobe. When we post eBay auctions, part of the message is: "You can walk into Macy's and buy a lousy pair of shoes for $200, or you can spend some time on eBay or thrifting and come up with a $600 pair for $150."

The Inside Source: What is the best thing you've ever won on eBay?

Jesse Thorn: I've been using eBay since the mid-'90s, maybe 1996 or 1997. I've won a lot of things.

Recently, I bid on and won a set of luggage from Swaine Adeney Brigg suitcases. They're all leather—what you imagine Jeeves turning over to a footman when Bertie Wooster arrives at the country estate of his Aunt Agatha. I paid a lot of money for them, especially considering that checking them on an airplane would be like sending them to their death. Still, the lot of money I paid was about 10 percent of what they would have cost at retail (just over ten thousand bucks). And I live in Southern California, so I do go on driving vacation from time to time.

There was local pickup available, and they were in Orange County, so I tried to imagine who in the OC would own Swaine Adeney luggage. All I could come up with in my mind was a Hawaiian-shirt wearing lawyer who was in the middle of a divorce—the kind of guy with a grand piano and twenty-foot ceilings in the entryway of his house on the cul-de-sac in the middle of nowhere. When I met the guy, he turned out to be one of the most elegantly dressed men I've ever met in my life. He was the most elegantly dressed man I've ever met in Orange County by a factor of ten or twenty. I emailed him to thank him, and suggested he check out Put This On. He emailed me back and said he was a regular reader.

eBay Round Up

eBay Round Up: Put this On's regular eBay roundup features great deals on classic brands its writers have found on the online marketplace.

The Inside Source: What are some of categories of menswear where you can still find the best deals?

Jesse Thorn: My most basic suit is made by Chester Barrie for a local men's store here in Southern California. Chester Barrie are one of the finest ready-to-wear manufacturers in England; they make really fine suits. They're hardly a household name, though. Especially when their brand is hidden behind the name of the retailer. The suit cost me less than a hundred bucks. It's tough to find a bargain on Armani, but luckily, I don't want a bargain on Armani.

The Inside Source: When do you feel its safe to break the bank on eBay? What big ticket items are worth the dough?

Jesse Thorn: Basics are always worth spending money on. Solid navy or gray suit. Black cap-toe oxfords. If you know the market and are filling a hole in your wardrobe, then go for it.

Also: things that really sing to you. If you can look at that little picture on the eBay listing and the item really truly touches your heart, then just go for it. The time to buy it is when it's for sale.

The Inside Source: You must have picked up a few sourcing/bidding tricks with all this eBay sourcing. Have any eBay shopping tips that you could share?

Jesse Thorn: I'd refer folks to this article I wrote about eBay shopping. My main advice is to know what you're looking for, know the market, and be patient. Also: don't settle. There's no need.