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In the spirit of race week, and assuming there will be thousands of runners clad in technical fabrics with little white labels on the sides, Filip Pagowski-designed logos, and maybe a few little embroidered hares pounding the pavement on the weekend, I wanted to chat about running gear. Specifically the stuff I’m gravitating towards more and more.

Shamelessly, I did cover this in some detail at the start of the year at my actual job when I first started noticing it. You can read that here. As running became increasingly fashionable, I was curious to see where the style moves next. Where you might have only seen a few trendy running brands peppered around Sydney on a run a few years ago, now brands like Satisfy, District Vision, and Tracksmith are commonplace. No shade on any of them; I love all of them and will continue to wear the things I have. But at the same time, I feel that as running became so commodified, bordering on stale by the great beast that is ‘Wellness Culture’ with all its activations, matcha, and people looking to hook up, understandably, some runners are looking for a bit of personality elsewhere.

I’ve approached this sort of second-hand shopping the same way I would any old graphic t-shirt. I’m always thinking about re-contextualising old-school designs and how they can look in a new chapter of their lives. I love the ‘finisher’ t-shirts from 10K fun runs in towns with names that almost feel made up. I know Hooters used to sponsor a few marathons and half-marathons back in the day. New York Marathon t-shirts from the late ’80s and ’90s are especially great. The designs can get so outlandish that you can’t help but love them.

If you want to start hunting, I suggest you look for ones with a town name you’ve never heard of and a year in a slab serif. Preferably printed on Hanes or Fruit of the Loom. Corporate charity runs from the ’90s (sponsored by banks, telcos, hospitals, and local trades) turn up constantly and are usually cheap because nobody’s looking for them.

I’m not telling people I ran these races, nor do I hope that is even implied when ‘1986’ is in bold typeface on the tee. I think it’s just like wearing a vintage concert t-shirt for a band you like: you’re just telling people the sort of music you’re into. Just like wearing a trendy running brand today helps you find your tribe, wearing a bit of vintage running merch aligns you with your crew. It’s a shame the pricing has somewhat caught up to the demand for vintage stuff right now, but hey, we’re not at $1,000-for-a-Nirvana-tee-level… yet. This is also an open invitation to send me a photo of whatever ratty finisher tee you’re currently rocking.

Here are a few things I like:

BUY NOW FOR ~$51

Chattahoochee 10k

Who doesn’t like a ringer tee? I believe this comes from the US state of Georgia, and it’s got all the funny little details you want in an old running t-shirt. There’s the (probably unlicensed) graphic of the Looney Tunes Road Runner, the Coca-Cola slogan on the back that reads a little on the nose if you want it to, and the town you’ve almost definitely never heard of in big typeface!

BUY NOW FOR ~$39

Kruger Park Half-Marathon

A long-sleeve for the morning run. I’m impartial to a booze sponsor, and while I’ve never had the chance to try South Africa’s Castle Lager, I’m sure a cold one went down a treat after this run through Kruger Park. I thought these were hyenas originally, but my mum—an expert in African wildlife—told me they were actually African wild dogs. Much better animals to have on your t-shirt.

BUY NOW FOR ~$45

The ‘Human Race’

Fantastic name for a running event aside, I love the simple calligraphic script/blackletter-influenced font that you often see in these vintage tees. The typeface didn’t need to be all that crazy back then, especially when you’ve got the Vitruvian Man in running gear doing most of the design’s heavy lifting.

BUY NOW FOR ~$65

Cape Ann 15k

I’ll preface this by saying that this shade of yellow is quite a tough one for me to pull off, but the jogging lobster graphic was simply too good to pass up.

BUY NOW FOR ~$11

San Jose Turkey Trot

I was introduced to the concept of a Turkey Trot by an American friend a few years ago, and I find it hilarious. When everyone returns to their hometowns for Thanksgiving, sometimes these races are held the morning after a night of decent drinking before you get into eating the turkey on Thanksgiving Day. You see all sorts of fun turkey-centric designs, but sometimes the classics are the best.

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I know I’m not alone in saying I absolutely adored the recent spring/summer 2027 runway shows from Paris and Milan last month. There was lots to love about the collections, which burst with a sense of optimism and excitement that—even though it was just clothes—felt rejuvenating given current times. The thing that stood out most to me was the spectrum of colour on offer. It was an exciting proposition for the season ahead of us. Yes, I know, summer (especially here in Australia) has that brilliant light that makes dressing in colour a civic duty, but I’ve always found it interesting how that doesn’t always translate into seeing a bricolage of colour all year round.

I recently pinched a fuchsia-coloured V-neck sweater from my old man. In the wardrobe of a man whose collection of pastel-coloured shirts in various checked and striped patterns looks like an accountant’s take on an Easter egg hunt, you tend to enjoy the surprise of a colour with a little more saturation. Anyway, I’ve been wearing it a lot, and quite enjoying the slice of opportunity winter has presented for such colour (and in cosy wool, no less).

A little extra colour won’t reverse the mercury, but I have found myself considerably less inclined to surrender to it when I’m wearing some. It’s got me thinking about adding even more colour into my wardrobe, and not just in the form of graphic t-shirts or swim shorts. That’s summer on easy mode. We’re talking about colour-drenched warmers here. We’re talking about hitting the colour wheel like a Formula 1 driver. Even with spring around the corner, I’ve always followed the advice my friend Alice Birrell’s grandmother gave to her, and thus to me, and now you: don’t pack your sweaters away until after Christmas!

Hand-me-downs are fantastic, but the thing I’ve always loved about buying second-hand is that getting something in a bolder, perhaps less-worn shade always feels so much better. It has none of the tyranny of umm-ing and ahh-ing that comes with that big purchase from a shop; instead, that decision was made by the first owner long before you. You’re stepping into, perhaps, a moment of recklessness for a fraction of the price. Tell me that’s not liberating? You get to borrow an adventurous decision, and the tradeoff is so often a great outfit, and if you’re lucky, a little boldness for yourself. Here’s what I’m liking right now.

BUY NOW FOR ~$226

Maison Margiela

Look at the hue of this purple! It’s practically bursting through the screen. I love it! I’ve never got around to adding much purple into my wardrobe; it’s one of those colours that has found me without much agency. My old housemate gave me his purple Ralph Lauren button-down shirt, which he got from his dad, which I love as a summer shirt (more on that in another season). Purple might just become a great sleeper-shade for things worth passing down. Something to think about for later! For the price, this is a fantastic sweater, and with Margiela’s iconic four white stitches on your back—no one is going to run their mouth behind it.

BUY NOW FOR ~$64

Pringle Of Scotland

Though things haven’t always been bonnie at old Pringle of Scotland, the label today still counts itself as one of the world’s oldest continually operating fashion brands. I feel a certain kinship to the brand, not just because of my Scottish roots, but because it’s miraculously been resurrected from the brink of extinction so many times. I’d like to think that’s due to the quality we have deep down. Anyway, the brand sits on the luxury end of things today, but you can find amazing vintage knitwear for a pittance if you have the patience to look around. The quality has always been there, and there’s the argument it was better in the early noughties as Pringle struggled to match growth to its commitment to premium material. But that’s not my story to tell. A Pringle sweater is a sign you know what’s up with knitwear, and I think a simple red sweater is the perfect place to start. I was torn between adding this one as well, so you can have both for flair.

BUY NOW FOR ~$152

Charlton Studio

As much as we all love to get our flex on with international brands, I think we should always be saving some of our best flag-waving for the labels we’ve got right here at home. Easily my favourite part of Charlton Studio’s range is the merino knitwear. The t-shirts are fantastic for the shoulder seasons, and I adore my red merino sweater for the cool weather. It’s got such a pop to it, as does the colour on the rest of the woolly offerings. I’d have probably given this an iron before listing it, but take that as your chance to offer a few dollars below what they’re asking.

BUY NOW FOR ~$100

Ralph Lauren

I’ve seen a few brightly-coloured cable knit sweaters weaving their way through the world of late, and I have been very close to biting the bullet. I think it’s simply the only way to do it, lest thee look like Billy Crystal in When Harry Met Sally. For me, the built-in texture of the cable knit design, and the visual rhythm it offers, already has so much going on that a bold colour isn’t really shouting anything at that point; it’s just swapping a salt rim for a Tajín one. Everyone wins.

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But anyway, it feels fitting to kick this off with the brand that kicked it all off for me: Supreme.

I always found it quite funny when I would see so-called ‘insiders’ freely slagging off the brand in recent times. We all saw those “LF Box Logo Hoodie, any colour” and those “Le Bain definitely dropping this week” posts back in 2014. Good times, though. I’ve always found some of the loudest critics of the brand today are so often its prodigal sons. Like the people who quit vaping a few puffs before yours ran out, and now look at you in your raspberry cloud as if you’re a leper. It’s convenient to forget that the little red box logo was—for many—the pretty lure that got them into this whole thing in the first place. That’s before the Japanese selvedge and Antwerp Six got involved.

Supreme was my gateway into loving clothes, and I know it’s the same for many people. I am still very close with a group of guys I met through buying and selling Supreme during its heyday; I still get excited about checking out the seasonal previews, and it’s an activity I still try to do with that same group. The pang of nostalgia I get browsing old listings, though that’s often tempered with a little frustration that all the things I spent all my shekels on back in the day are much more affordable—even if I’ve only got a little more money to my name.

Even if you’re not a diehard today, to dismiss the ’Preme would be to mistake the scaffolding for the skyline. Supreme laid the blueprint for desire. All of these buzzy, community-focused brands you see today can be traced back to what James Jebbia and co. were cooking up. Supreme stores had bowls in them before everyone started putting listening bars and cortado stands in their shops—though admittedly I was never any good at skating. From the outlandish collaborations to the ones that opened the door to more brands and styles, it sits at the centre of the sprawling web of fashion interest I have today.

We’re long beyond streetwear being any sort of movement in its own right, and Supreme is now owned by VF Corporation, owner of Vans and The North Face. Things have changed; people have found their groove elsewhere, but those red bogos have more than earned their place in the canon. The brand will always have a place in my heart, and it’s actually great that all the hyped pieces from back in the day are so much easier to get (if you know where to look). I don’t have anywhere near as much Supreme as I used to, and a lot of it is not exactly where my style is at right now, but there’s nothing like a trip down memory lane, right?

After some perusing a few listings online, with nostalgia on the mind, here are some things I had and let go of, things that remind me of the past, and things I always wanted but never got around to pulling the trigger.

BUY HERE FOR ~$115

Spring/summer 2009 ‘DEFFEST BADDEST’ t-shirt

Yeah sure, the box logo t-shirts were the moneymakers, but I was always such a big fan of the graphic tees Supreme was putting out each season. I know everyone will have their own favourites; I remember buying one of the ‘Joan of Arc’ t-shirts off a guy a few years ahead of me at school and feeling like I was on top of the world. But before that, this was the shirt that got me really into it; this is the best of the best. The text is borrowed from punk rock legend Wendy O. Williams’ 1988 album Deffest! & Baddest! (sick album, FWIW) and the vampiric teeth are plucked from a 1958 poster for the movie The Brain Eaters (never seen it, TBH). It was little things like these that really got me hooked on the brand. Season after season, the brand riffed on artists, filmmakers, musicians, and other cultural figures that were passed down to me via cotton and ink. If you were curious enough to dig around, which I often was, the rabbit hole was worth the dive. Jump in now, becasue these shirts are only getting harder to find.

BUY HERE FOR ~$95

Autumn/winter 2013 corduroy ski pullover

One with a little sentimentality, this was one of the first things I bought from my now close friend Scott when Facebook groups were the greatest place in the world to cop just about anything. I sent Scott a picture of me wearing it, and my hair happened to look like a paintbrush. So, when I bought a Supreme x Budweiser T-shirt from him a few months later, he sent me a paintbrush with ‘Supreme’ written on it in his shitty handwriting. I’ve still got it. Great colour scheme, wide-wale corduroy, handy pocket on the front—it’s a fantastic jumper, but every time I see one, I’m reminded of how fun collecting this stuff used to be back in the day. I probably paid a lot more than what this is going for right now, but it was worth every penny then, and It’ll be worth them now.

BUY HERE FOR ~$153

Autumn/winter 2013 ‘Hate’ sweater

Beyond the T-shirts, I always had a soft spot for the printed sweaters Supreme did. The chainlink print one was another I liked, but this ‘Hate’ print always made me laugh. I remember on the old forum days, someone dropped a diabolical outfit featuring this sweater. The comments were vicious, and the irony of the word on the print was not lost on the guy, I’m sure. To take a more, shall I say, optimistic view, the callous (but sometimes hilarious) way people spoke to each other on the internet back then has always been at the back of my mind. Back then, the malice was centred on your whack choice of shoes. Something almost delightfully inconsequential when you think about how people talk to each other through today’s algorithmically amplified political bile.

BUY NOW FOR ~$50

Autumn/winter 2018 striped polo

I really wish I still had this, but unfortunately, unlike a lot of my Supreme, I actually lost this instead of selling it. Shame. For me, this was a funny reminder that whatever trend is rolling around at a given time, it can be found with a Supreme clothing tag beforehand. I remember seeing those Miu Miu striped polos banding themselves around all the cool girls at Copenhagen Fashion Week and thinking they looked exactly like that polo I used to have. This probably isn’t on many people’s ‘Greatest Hits’ lists by Supreme’s standards, but I like how today there’s almost a subversive cool to wearing it, and you don’t need to spend four figures on it.

Thanks for reading! One down, hey? I appreciate you starting off the journey with me. Things might change and evolve as I go, but it means a lot that you’re here with me!

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Anyone who knows me below surface level knows how much I love buying things. Not just any old things though. Actually, “old things” is quite accurate. I love buying old things. I love a deal. I love vintage. I love not paying full price! It’s about time I share the love a little bit and use my time for good, and so Talking Shoppe was born.

Since getting on the internet, it’s gone from forums to Facebook groups, to reselling stuff, to Grailed, Depop, eBay—the lot. I have spent an ungodly amount of time browsing keywords, monitoring auctions, and trying to dig up gems that are hidden behind ‘next page’ HTML code and incorrectly spelled brand names. Talking Shoppe will be a little bit of a guide to buying old things, a little bit of me (and perhaps some of my friends) doing the hard work for you in finding old things, and just a general ode to the joys of shopping online for second-hand stuff. It’ll mostly be clothes, but given that I’ve got a Noah’s Ark-type love for collecting just about everything, there will probably be things like watches, jewellery, books, prints, wine, stamps, and more that will find their way onto these newsletters. If GST has already been paid, it’s fair game in my view.

To start, the format will be me—or a guest—picking a theme for the week. That could be a trend, a piece of clothing, a colour, or maybe a designer. I’ll go out and find a few things from my compendium of sources, with a few words on why I think they’re worth your hard-earned dollars, and then you can go out and buy them! Or don’t! I don’t care! Being a conscious shopper is the least you can do in these times of mass consumerism, and buying second-hand keeps things (most of which certainly deserve to be) still in circulation. If all you take from this is a second thought next time you think about ducking into your local Z*ra for a remake of a trendy fashion piece made in the most flammable material known to man, then that’ll do me.

I’ve talked about this for long enough, and someone told me that if you have an idea and don’t do anything with it, God will give it to someone else. And much like the late-night auctions for Comme Des Garçons Homme that I have let slip away, I do not like letting other people take what should have been mine!

Anyway, stay tuned for Thursday evening drops. Retail night is mine now.