How to date vintage clothing by its tag, one brand at a time.

Short field guides you can read standing at a thrift rack. Each one covers how to tell a brand's runs apart, what the neck label says about the year, and what that piece is actually selling for secondhand this week.

Carhartt chore coats and Detroit jackets, Levi's red tab and orange tab denim, L.L.Bean field coats, military M-65 and M-51 field jackets, Pendleton wool shirts, Woolrich.

Why the tag is the fastest tell

Most heritage brands changed their neck label every few years without changing the garment much. The cut of a barn jacket in 1992 and 2004 is nearly identical; the label is not. Learn three or four label generations for a brand and you can date a piece in the time it takes to flip the collar, which is the difference between paying $8 at Goodwill for a jacket that resells for $85 and walking past it.

Every guide here follows the same shape: the runs (what the brand actually made and how to tell them apart), the labels (what each tag generation looks like and roughly when it was used), and the prices (lowest live pre-owned listings on eBay the day we checked, so you know what "good deal" means).

Some links on this site are affiliate links to eBay. If you buy through one we may earn a small commission at no cost to you. Prices are pulled from live listings on the stated date and change daily. Era ranges are a thrifter's guide built from label styles and catalog history, not an official brand record.