For our first blog post we’re going to have a look at what’s important when buying clothes and how we make our money go further.
In most men’s wardrobes there are a few favourite pieces that get worn all the time because they are comfortable and make us feel good when we wear them (a new favourite shirt, a great pair of jeans, a comfy hoodie…). But alongside that are probably more items that are rarely/never worn that sit gathering dust & taking up space. Why did we spend all that money on things we never wear?
The following tips are designed to help us buy more of the clothes we love to wear & make us feel good and less of the expensive mistakes.
Buy clothes that fit
Having clothes that fit us well is the most important thing, both for comfort and appearance. Sounds obvious doesn’t it?!
But how many times have you ordered a supercool new shirt online that you’re excited to wear? Then it arrives and it’s cool but it’s not a great fit. You still love the shirt so you tell yourself it doesn’t fit quite right but it doesn’t matter, nobody will notice and you keep it. Then you wear it once or twice but don’t feel great in it so it doesn’t get worn much…
DON’T DO THIS!! If the fit isn’t good don’t buy it (if you’ve bought it online send it back).
So how do we avoid this?
If you’re buying in store it’s easy enough to try on a couple of sizes. Unfortunately sometimes you’ll be in between sizes. Don’t just go for the least worst – ditch it and move on to something else!
If you’re reading this then like us, you probably buy most of your clothes online. So how do we get great fitting clothes without trying them on in store?
- Buy from brands we know fit us well
- Measure yourself (waist, chest, collar) and check sizing charts
- If buying a new brand order a couple of sizes – many online stores offer free returns so make the most of this
- Return anything you’re not completely happy with
Build a capsule wardrobe
A capsule wardrobe is a selection of staple, timeless wardrobe essentials that can be combined in numerous ways to look stylish in casual through to semi-formal environments. The capsule items are generally plain and/or neutral meaning you will almost always have a base outfit that will go with more colourful & fun items so you won’t have to buy a whole new outfit to go with that cool new t-shirt/jacket/pair of trainers that you find and have to buy!
See our blog post The classic capsule wardrobe for more on how to build a versatile base wardrobe.
Avoid fads
Every year a new fad comes around – bucket hats, tie-dye t shirts, grandad collars, super longline t-shirts, 3/4 length shorts, bootcut jeans – we could go on. Some of them hang around for a year or 2, some of them (thankfully) disappear very very quickly.
We’re not telling you not to buy these – you should wear what you love – but before you buy something that is completely on trend for the current season ask yourself if you’re buying it because you love it or because it’s what everyone else is wearing?
Also, where usually we recommend buying good quality clothing that will last, this might be a time to go for a cheaper option as you’re probably not going to be wearing it in 2 or 3 years time.
Generally younger people will buy more fad items and this makes sense – younger people on average have more time to follow the latest trends & spend more time in places where these will be seen more often (school/uni, bars & clubs, etc). As we get older many of us won’t have the time to follow the latest trends (work, kids…) but also we develop more of an understanding of our own personal style tastes.
Quality over quantity
As our capsule items are timeless we want them to be of good quality so they can last for years.
This doesn’t necessarily mean spending huge amounts on the most expensive brands – expensive doesn’t always mean high quality – but we need to be aware that if we buy a t-shirt from one of the cheaper high street brands it’s probably not going to last for 5 years.
We recommend spending a little more, especially on coats, jeans, knitwear & shoes. You’ll usually save money in the long term as you won’t have to replace your capsule wardrobe so often.
Buy clothing appropriate for your needs
Our wardrobe should be practical for our needs. A dapper gent living in Norway needs a different wardrobe to a dapper gent living in Nigeria and a lawyer needs a different wardrobe to a labourer.
10 years ago most office workers had different wardrobes for work and for out of work. After wearing a smart suit to work all week it was natural to dress down in comfy, casual or sporty clothes at the weekends or dress up in “going out” clothes if hitting the town.
But with the growth of work from home & many companies now having more casual office dress codes many of us can now use a lot of the same clothes for work, play & home life.
Our view is that you should spend your clothes budget broadly in line with how often you’re going to wear your clothes. So if you spend half your life at work, spend half your clothes budget on clothes you can wear to work.
Similarly think about the climate you live in. Writing this from Scotland it is grey and cold in the middle of June – so most of my clothing budget is better spent on jeans, knitwear & jackets rather than on airy linen suits and expensive shorts.
So when building your capsule wardrobe tweak it to take into account the social environments & climate you’ll be wearing your clothes in order to spend your money effectively.
Shop the sales
So finally we move on to the main reason for this site’s existence.
The fashion world is a high volume, high waste industry. New collections are pumped out every season and the costs of storing stock are high so this means throughout the year there are nearly always sales on.
Many people avoid the sales thinking that they need the new season items or that the items in the sale must be bad as they haven’t sold or just that there is too much to search through – we disagree!
Obviously by only shopping in the sales you might miss out on a few cool things but, if you’re shopping on a budget you can make your money go so much further. The following tips will help you find the bargains
- Know what you’re looking for. Need new shoes? Filter out everything else or you’ll get information overload & won’t make a decision. It also helps avoid frivolous spur of the moment purchases on things you don’t need.
- Filter by size before browsing. Sale items are often available in limited sizes & it’s frustrating when you find the perfect item but it’s not available in your size.
- Shop the seasons. It’s not easy but if you can shop ahead then you can make the biggest savings. Want to buy a timeless overcoat for your capsule wardrobe? Then check the sales after Christmas when loads of winter clothes are discounted. You might not get much wear out of it this year but it’ll be good for next year. Need swimming shorts? Buy them in September rather than April and you’ll get a pair for half the price. It’s not just clothes you can apply this to if you’re looking to spend more efficiently – do the same with barbecues, garden furniture, sledges, christmas crackers… and you’ll save more money to spend on trainers 🙂
- Only keep what you love, return the items you don’t
- Check our list of favourite sales here
- Check our regular picks of the sales articles here
- Follow us on insta / twitter & join our mailing list to get regular updates on the best items we find in the sales.