Woman Picks Up Coat at Thrift Store—Then Sees the Tag: ‘My Heart Stopped’

A woman was rummaging through thrift store bins when she uncovered a hidden gem which made her heart stop.

The Redditor, u/360inMotion, shared the 1950s Emerald Marguerite Rubel swing coat in the subreddit Thrift Store Hauls, where it garnered 5,500 upvotes.

“My heart stopped,” she wrote.

“It had been sitting right on top of one of the piles for who knows how long, completely ignored. The color immediately caught my eye and I could tell it was old when I first touched it, so it immediately went into my cart! I quickly found the Joseph Magnin tag and got excited; I didn’t even find the Marguerite Rubel tag until I got home!” she said.

A Legacy of Style

Joseph Magnin was founded in 1913 by Joseph Isaac Magnin after leaving the family’s I. Magnin store.

Post-World War II, the brand shifted upscale and became synonymous with youthful, fashion-forward sensibilities. It grew to nearly 50 stores but eventually declared bankruptcy in 1984.

Marguerite Rubel, born in 1925 in Iowa, made clothing from grain sacks during the Depression and later moved to San Francisco.

In 1945, she made chic raincoats for UN attendees, and soon established Marguerite Rubel Manufacturing, known for fashionable coats and jackets sold at high-end retailers. Her Map Jacket, featuring a world graphic wrap, became iconic—worn by President George Bush in 1991. She passed away in 2010.

A similar jacket currently retails on Etsy for around $385 and a bright pink velvet example sold for $395 on 1st Dibs.

Redditors React

The find inspired a wave of amazement.

“I have this in yellow!!” one user said, to which the Redditor replied: “That’s awesome! While researching this I read this pattern was produced in many colors. Yellow is such a happy color!

“I do love that I found green; my mom was a redhead and emerald was her signature color, so this makes me think of her.”

Other users shared their delight: “That coat is gorgeous! What an incredible find. I’m so jealous.”

“Wow! That is stunning! What a find!” said another user.

“Vintage coat of my dreams!!” added another viewer.

“Good Lord—where do you people who find these amazing things live? I’m in NYC and almost never come across anything this good,” shared another thrifter.

“Oh my word! What an absolutely STUNNING piece! Congratulations,” added another user.

Newsweek reached out to u/360inMotion for comment via Reddit. We could not verify the details of the case.

Do you have any amazing thrifting finds that you want to share? We want to see the best ones! Send them in to [email protected] and they could appear on our site.