Ever look in your closet and realize you got a whole lot of shitty clothes?

[earllogjam]

I took a critical look at the clothes I have and outside the dozen or so nice suits and ties that I have from a past life, I have whole bunch of shitty clothes. I don't know quite how it all happened but all those years shopping at Ross and TJ Max, only buying things on sale, and buying only comfortable stuff probably contributed to this disaster I call a wardrobe. I suppose it doesn't help that I HATE shopping for clothes either.

I don't know where to start on this. It never really mattered to me but now that I'm approaching 40 it seems that I need at least a few nice grown up clothes. Jeans, t-shirt, running shoes and a flannel shirt just doesn't cut all the time anymore.

Help.

 

[marleyisalegend]

nope, i've got good taste and all my outfits are cute. i suggest taking a more style-conscious friend with you when you go clothes-shopping just to have a good perspective. sometimes i've stopped friends from buying complete disasters, an extra perspective can help, and the employees in the store (depending on where you go) usually have good taste or sense and wouldn't at all mind helping you make a good selection.

 

[HyperHulk]

I just heard a statistic, "we wear 20% of our clothes, 80% of the time." Essentially we have more clothes than what we actually use. I found that interesting.

Here's what you can do (depending on your budget): give all of your clothes to charity. Cut everything down to what you wear the most and put that aside.

Give yourself a budget. Then go to a mall and walk around and look at the clothes in the windows and on mannequins and see ones that catch your eye. Then go to a salesperson and tell them you want a new wardrobe and how much you have to spend on it. Try everything on and only buy what you truly like. If you have a friend, take them to get another opinion.

You only need to do this once a year and change up your clothes. Make a day of it, go eat somewhere nice and go to the movies at the end. Spoil yourself, you deserve it.

But get rid of the old stuff, someone else could really use it.

 

[marleyisalegend]

But get rid of the old stuff, someone else could really use it.

GREAT idea

 

[B_VinylBoy]

I have at least 1,000,000 t-shirts that I don't even wear anymore. An exaggeration, yes... but if each shirt paid a portion of a mortgage then I would own a 3,000 sq. foot loft on Park Avenue.

In my line of work, I get a lot of promotional gear from clients and they're more than willing to give out some shirts. It's always hard to turn down a cool looking piece of clothing, even if you don't even need it. I need to go through a bunch of my old clothes and prepare a care package for Goodwill.

 

[2322]

Marc Jacobs and Calvin Klein with some DKNY thrown in would look great on you. They all make some great classic pieces you can wear pretty much any time yet aren't dressy. They also have (ahem) outlet shops where you can save a pile of cash. Ralph Lauren has shirts that would look good on you too. Get a few nice pieces from each and then go hit up Eddie Bauer for the more casual stuff as it's good quality, understated, and comfortable. Just be careful because fair-complected men can look Warhol-pale in black.

The hardest thing is finding good shoes and accessories that will go with everything. Really good quality shoes and accessories will dress-up anything and make you look good. This is more true for men than women. Buy the best quality you can. A man in well-chosen cheap casual clothes with great shoes, belt, and jacket will look like a million bucks. A woman in a cheap casual dress wearing diamonds will look like a woman in a cheap casual dress wearing diamonds.

You've got to have some friends whose wardrobes you admire for their taste and how well they always seem to look without being trendy. Those are the friends to take shopping with you.

 

[The Dragon]

My clothes are classic and well made.
I don't consider myself a slave to fashion and I will ony adopt a trend if it flatters my figure.

 

[marleyisalegend]

The hardest thing is finding good shoes and accessories that will go with everything.

AMEN. i always start with the shoes first, find a shirt that matches then pants are fairly easy but it's hard finding a good pair of shoes, they just aren't making them as stylish as they used to, and are certainly becoming outlandish with the designs, gone are simple designs in favor of stars and stripes dots and multi-colors and buckles and buttons all on one shoe lol.

 

[tripod]

AMEN. i always start with the shoes first, find a shirt that matches then pants are fairly easy but it's hard finding a good pair of shoes, they just aren't making them as stylish as they used to, and are certainly becoming outlandish with the designs, gone are simple designs in favor of stars and stripes dots and multi-colors and buckles and buttons all on one shoe lol.

I am curious as to how you dress... starting with the shoes is interesting. I have like two pairs of shoes that fit me worth a shit...

My clothes are classic and well made.
I don't consider myself a slave to fashion and I will only adopt a trend if it flatters my figure.

With a figure like yours... I can't see how it isn't constantly flattered by wearing just about anything...

 

[marleyisalegend]

I am curious as to how you dress... starting with the shoes is interesting. I have like two pairs of shoes that fit me worth a shit...

i guess you'd call my style urban but sometimes i try to dress a little more sophistimacatedly! the reason i start with the shoes is that the best shirt/pants in the world is pointless if you can't find GOOD shoes that match. i've often gotten all hyped up cuz i put a great ensemble together only to find i can't find an appropriate pair of shoes to go with it. starting from the shoes up saves me disappointment, it lets me know what i have to work with, from there it's easy to find a nice shirt then get some matching pants. accessories are FUN, it's not like back in the day where all we had was a half-empty wallet rack, now men have chains, belts, tote bags and all kindsa shit.

 

[D_Ivana Dickenside]

i did that a few months ago and i realized so much of the stuff i had was old and going out of style. everything i hadn't worn in ages was thrown into a bag and donated to charity. you should do the same if you haven't already.

i was once a sales girl at the mall and my best advice while shopping, although you said you HATE shopping but it's gotta be done, is to go with pieces that look good on you and will be in style for a while. this way you don't have to shop all the freakin time. if you're not sure what looks good on you, ask a sales associate what they would recommend.

since you're approaching 40 and i'm sure abercrombie and fitch isn't going to be your top choice, i recommend shopping at eddie bauer or department stores like macy's. eddie bauer is targeted towards mature adults and the quality of their clothes last long. macy's carries lots of nice brands too, like nautica, calvin klein, DKNY, kenneth cole, and ralph lauren, which are high end but still affordable.

at your age i recommend you go with nice polo shirts, solid button ups, fitted jeans that aren't too loose or too tight, khakis and dockers are always a plus and go they with everything, and fitted sweaters. whatever you do, do NOT buy black jeans!!! black jeans are soooooooo out of style and will land you back in square one.

i hope you find what you're looking for! let all of us know how the shopping trip goes :smile:

 

[marleyisalegend]

do NOT buy black jeans!!! black jeans are soooooooo out of style and will land you back in square one.

amen. i remember when they were "edgy", now they're tacky and don't go with anything. kenneth cole is a wonderful brand. if u wanna go uber-cheap, dickies is a great brand with comfortable clothes and talk about durable, some stains can literally be toweled off. they last forever, fit great, and look good at any age.

PS kudos for not trying to dress like you're 16 *cough* jay-z *cough*

 

[B_Think_Kink]

Go shopping with a gay friend they will tell you what looks fabulous on you or not.

 

[earllogjam]

A man in well-chosen cheap casual clothes with great shoes, belt, and jacket will look like a million bucks.

But Jason sweats don't come with belt loops and look a bit funny with dress shoes and a dinner jacket. :tongue: I don't think I'd look very good in Calvin Klein or DKNY simply because I'm more chunky that waify and those clothes are designed to look good on waify skinny guys. I get a lot of my clothes at REI these days and they work ok for me but they look like I'm always going out hiking. Comfort is a biggie with me - if I buy restricting or tight clothes that may look good I never wear them.

I just heard a statistic, "we wear 20% of our clothes, 80% of the time." Essentially we have more clothes than what we actually use. I found that interesting.

Yeah, I tend to wear the same clothes I like over and over and about 80% is just taking up space in the closet.

I never ask the sales people at Ross or outlet stores their opinion on how something looks on me. Do they have better eyes in more up scale places?
I think I just hate shopping for clothes because I'm not into fashion and because more times than not nothing fits very well on me and turns into a waste of time.

AMEN. i always start with the shoes first, find a shirt that matches then pants are fairly easy but it's hard finding a good pair of shoes, they just aren't making them as stylish as they used to, and are certainly becoming outlandish with the designs, gone are simple designs in favor of stars and stripes dots and multi-colors and buckles and buttons all on one shoe lol.

My closet is filled with formal and professional wear and the shit. I need to get more clothes in the middle range. Not too dressy but not too casual. Same with my shoes.

i did that a few months ago and i realized so much of the stuff i had was old and going out of style. everything i hadn't worn in ages was thrown into a bag and donated to charity. you should do the same if you haven't already.

i was once a sales girl at the mall and my best advice while shopping, although you said you HATE shopping but it's gotta be done, is to go with pieces that look good on you and will be in style for a while. this way you don't have to shop all the freakin time. if you're not sure what looks good on you, ask a sales associate what they would recommend.

since you're approaching 40 and i'm sure abercrombie and fitch isn't going to be your top choice, i recommend shopping at eddie bauer or department stores like macy's. eddie bauer is targeted towards mature adults and the quality of their clothes last long. macy's carries lots of nice brands too, like nautica, calvin klein, DKNY, kenneth cole, and ralph lauren, which are high end but still affordable.

at your age i recommend you go with nice polo shirts, solid button ups, fitted jeans that aren't too loose or too tight, khakis and dockers are always a plus and go they with everything, and fitted sweaters. whatever you do, do NOT buy black jeans!!! black jeans are soooooooo out of style and will land you back in square one.

i hope you find what you're looking for! let all of us know how the shopping trip goes :smile:

Yup, I have a couple of garbage bags full of clothes that I need to drop off at the Goodwill.

How important do you think it is to dress age appropriate? How foolish does one look at 40 dressing like a 20 year old college guy?

Am I the only gay guy here that is clueless in the fashion department?

 

[earllogjam]

Go shopping with a gay friend they will tell you what looks fabulous on you or not.

I don't have any gay friends that are into fashion. Hard to believe huh?

I have some lesbian friends but they're worse dressers than I am.

 

[Shelby]

I love my 'shitty' clothes. They're functional and they fit. What more could you want?

Carhartts, tees, flannels and fleece. Unless you're attending an event, all a dude needs.

 

[D_Ollyvalle Treegirth]

I coulda written this! And I really have NO excuse, since Im gay and live in NYC.
I wear the same few things over and over, cuz I hate everything else I own....

.

I took a critical look at the clothes I have and outside the dozen or so nice suits and ties that I have from a past life, I have whole bunch of shitty clothes. I don't know quite how it all happened but all those years shopping at Ross and TJ Max, only buying things on sale, and buying only comfortable stuff probably contributed to this disaster I call a wardrobe. I suppose it doesn't help that I HATE shopping for clothes either.

I don't know where to start on this. It never really mattered to me but now that I'm approaching 40 it seems that I need at least a few nice grown up clothes. Jeans, t-shirt, running shoes and a flannel shirt just doesn't cut all the time anymore.

Help.

 

[B_ScaredLittleBoy]

Yes!

All my clothes are crap. I've got 10-15 pairs of jeans but only 4-5 fit properly/I can get into. I only relatively recently started buying jeans with crotch room/next size up.

I also don't have a belt (had two, lost both) so that doesn't help when none of my jeans fit right.

I have very few fashionable tops too. One good pair of Sketchers I bought, some boots and one good pair of shoes. Everything else is decked in.

Got suits too but theyre not normal clothes. I need some new threads bad!

Oh and some lounge clothes. I've got some lounge/jog shorts and some pants but they're both...stained :redface:

 

[ZOS23xy]

I buy cheap clothes from thrift stores. If I look hard enough I can find a few flashy silk shirts and off the wall t shirts. But largely, I dress quietly, almost like a Quaker.

 

[Mem]

I don't have to look in the closet I know they are shitty and I don't care about fashion. I did when I was in my 20's, but no longer do care. I usually wear black or dark T-shirts and jeans. I hate wearing loud or bright colors. No reds or yellows or oranges for me.