Procurement

I knew I wanted at least a couple more ties. I had enough; I think I counted and possessed 17 neckties. But, I didn’t really like some, and all things being equal, I wanted two or three more. But I did have a bunch. I certainly didn’t need more, and ties can be expensive. I always wondered exactly how my old roommate amassed the couple hundred ties hanging in his closet. Though I’m sure that clothes horse and snob would never stoop to this level, it did occur to me that thrift stores must sell ties, and surely at very, very low prices. 

I was out wandering last Sunday, and stumbled across Martha’s Outfitters on 14th Street. It's a thrift store situated next door to and affiliated with Martha’s Table which is a (relatively) well-known, Washington, DC, charity offering somewhat comprehensive services for poor people. And sure enough, the thrift store had a bunch of ties, and I bought three for a buck apiece. 

About now was when the idea that would become my life’s ambition began percolating. Martha’s Outfitters is not far out of the way on my commute home. What if I regularly stopped in to buy a tie? Why, I could buy a new one every day. Their selection included a bunch of ties, probably a couple dozen, which included a number that a (fashionably-challenged) guy like me would deem “good enough.” But I didn’t know if there were more. If they start running low on ties, will their supply be replenished? Do they have an essentially endless stock of formal wear, somewhere? If I wanted enough to reload every single day, I might need to branch out and find more thrift stores, I feared.

A long story-short: after work a couple days ago I set out to walk to a Salvation Army thrift store. A phone call told me it was open until 8, and sold ties. I arrived to find an absolute bonanza of hundreds of ties. I bought 15 of them, at $1.50 each. I left a very satisfied customer. Then yesterday I stopped back at Martha’s Outfitters after work and bought three more ties.

And I have begun!

1375 H Street NE, Washington, DC