help me save some caps!

October 13, 2009 10:05 AM

costume filter: where's the cheapest place to pick up coveralls, the sort mechanics wear? Used is fine, battered and wrecked is actually preferred, as long as they're not actually ripped to shreds.

I've been digging around online, and checked ebay, but since I need three pairs in different sizes (M, 2X, and 3X, going by most of the sizing charts I've seen around), and all in the same color (blue, but not navy), I'm not having much luck finding anything in a reasonable price. Paying $40 a pair seems like quite a bit when I'm going to modify them and then distress the hell out of them, and in one case disassemble almost completely to make it fit a woman.

Anyone have a link to a place that sells cheap coveralls, or even used coveralls?

(oh, and for the curious, we're going as vault dwellers from the video game series Fallout)

posted by Kellydamnit to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (8 answers total)

I've bought stuff like this at thrift stores. Check around town!
posted by nitsuj at 10:09 AM on October 13, 2009

A uniform company would probably have old ones for sale.
posted by raisingsand at 10:11 AM on October 13, 2009

Best place I've found coveralls are Army/Navy stores. $40 seems to be the going rate online (the low I saw was $33, the high was for insulated versions). You might have better luck at a brick and mortar store.

Dickies is one of the main manufacturers and they have a white coverall if you want to try dying it in the color you want, but it's the same going price, about $40.
posted by plinth at 10:27 AM on October 13, 2009

Your local flea market, with the guy selling the old tools.
posted by WeekendJen at 10:49 AM on October 13, 2009

I was just in buffalo on saturday and was at a thrift store in south buffalo where i saw several hangin in the mens clothing isle (outside isle, righthand side of the store) ..not sure if they were all identical tho... pretty sure the thriftstore was "A Plus" (in a plaza next to some kinda meat store w/ a big yellow sign..as i recall)
posted by The_Auditor at 1:08 PM on October 13, 2009

On the one hand, Buffalo has some seriously great thrift shopping. On the other hand, thrift stores are often picked clean this time of year by folks looking for Halloween costumes. So, y'know, best of luck.
posted by box at 3:12 PM on October 13, 2009

Unfortunately I checked around and the thrift stores were picked over or not quite on target with what I needed (short sleeves instead of long, wrong colors, etc). Even the army/navy outlet (and ours is HUGE, supposedly one of the biggest in the US) was sold out.

I ended up ordering from coverallsunlimited.com, which was the cheapest I found online, and who kindly went through their selection while I was on the phone with them to make sure I got three in the same color shade and style. (since they sell by light and dark, with no specifying which color you will get normally). About $15 a pair. Ordered yesterday, they shipped the same day and I should have them monday.
posted by Kellydamnit at 8:40 AM on October 16, 2009

update should anyone looking for coveralls find this thread: order arrived super fast, they were used (which I knew) but in very good condition. No rips, tears, or stains. They had old name patches on a couple of the pairs, but they were just iron-ons and those are easy to remove. So, yeah, I'd highly recommend coverallsunlimited.com should anyone be in the market for that sort of thing.
posted by Kellydamnit at 5:56 PM on October 28, 2009