Help a 17 year old identify the staples every wardrobe should have

In retrospect, the two regrets I have about my wardrobe choices at 25: 1) not paying enough attention to finding timeless pieces that are always in style; 2) not spending more on fewer, higher quality items. FWIW.

Originally Posted by cobrac

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In retrospect, the two regrets I have about my wardrobe choices at 25: 1) not paying enough attention to finding timeless pieces that are always in style; 2) not spending more on fewer, higher quality items. FWIW.

everyone always says this, but you really have to learn it for yourself.

You can get good deals on B&S and ebay and ****.

The thing is, if you aim for 50% of retail price, you should still be paying a large sum for each item.

Basically if something sounds too good to be true, it generally is. e.g. indochino suits sounded amazing when you get a MTM suit for $350. Except then you find out they're fused and all the actual fit pics look like ****. Better off finding a really nice suit on B&S for that price.

As a general rule, if you want "staples" that aren't going to look **** in 6 months time, I'd avoid anything that is garishly branded. You want things that are simple and time-tested. It's easy to tell if an item of clothing is a fad or not - look at how long people have been wearing it.

As has been mentioned, if you're looking for casual clothing that will never really go out of style, you want some raw denim that fits you well, some nice chinos, a pair of desert boots and some Chucks. That's what I'd recommend anyway.

Also re the boat shoes. I like them, and a lot of people like them and always have liked them - they're a staple exactly as described above. Unfortunately for you, you're 17 and they're the in-thing. If they're not "in" in 6 months time, you're probably going to feel silly if you're still wearing them, whereas a stylish older gent who has always worn them will continue to always wear them and make them look cool. They're basically due to be ruined for the next few years if you're a youngster.

There are many, many, many posts on this forum about staple items, I suggest you invest some time in finding them (aside from using all the useful information in this thread).

I buy all my staples and basics from Boris Bidjan Saberi.

I hear these are good.

Originally Posted by cobrac

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In retrospect, the two regrets I have about my wardrobe choices at 25: 1) not paying enough attention to finding timeless pieces that are always in style; 2) not spending more on fewer, higher quality items. FWIW.

nothing is always in style; this is the biggest myth perpetuated by SF

+a million to drew's post

I think fuuma said it best when he stated sometimes the most eclectic pieces are the ones most immune to time.

Raw Jeans, Chucks/Clarks, American Apparel shirts (check ebay wholesalers for $7/shirt before AA totally cracks down on them), a single cool outerwear peice, like a Leather jacket (or even Faux leather ) or just generally cool-looking slim-fit jacket from a place like H&M or Urban Outfitters (only get something from UO if it's on sale though).

Also, buy Starting Strength. Eat a lot. Get Swole.

Originally Posted by Uncontrol

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nothing is always in style; this is the biggest myth perpetuated by SF

I was at the shoe museum yesterday.

Some of the things that were considered fashionable for men were insane. Extremely long pointed shoes, intended to look like the boots of a knight. Apparently it was such a huge fashion trend that they actually had laws governing how long and pointy the toe on your shoes could be based on your social status. Then after that the trend reversed to shoes that had toes so bulbous that the front part was twice as wide as the back portion of the shoe.

Nothing's timeless guys, some things just tend to age better than others.

Originally Posted by Listi

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I buy all my staples and basics from Boris Bidjan Saberi.

You're 17 for god's sake, don't dress in stapples, get wild and KOP some Bernhard Wilhelm or something!

Here is how I dress, not that it will be useful to many as we're all different.

I have a couple of axis/areas of interest:

Dressy and black tie: so dinner jackets, suits, sportcoats, overcoats. dress shirts, pocket squares, cashmere scarves, dress shoes or boots. I like luxurious materials like cashmere, silk and linen.

My stapples: plain white tees or plain white dress shirts. I often have multiple of the same item, they're the blank canvas while the other pieces are "wilder".

Rocker: leather jackets, beatup boots, high-top sneakers, gauzy knits, flannels, tight jeans.

Quirky/conceptual designs: stuff like Branquinho, Margiela and Schneider but also CdG and Junya. The idea if to have an interesting approach to bourgeois/casual dressy look. This is where you get weird knits to go with your dress shirts, wool slacks etc but without looking like a business casual person.

I go through phases where I'll acquire more of one type then the others but in the end I can move around through all those styles and sometimes mix them up.

Originally Posted by Fuuma

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You're 17 for god's sake, don't dress in stapples, get wild and KOP some Bernhard Wilhelm or something!

Here is how I dress, not that it will be useful to many as we're all different.

I have a couple of axis/areas of interest:

Dressy and black tie: so dinner jackets, suits, sportcoats, overcoats. dress shirts, pocket squares, cashmere scarves, dress shoes or boots. I like luxurious materials like cashmere, silk and linen.

My stapples: plain white tees or plain white dress shirts. I often have multiple of the same item, they're the blank canvas while the other pieces are "wilder".

Rocker: leather jackets, beatup boots, high-top sneakers, gauzy knits, flannels, tight jeans.

Quirky/conceptual designs: stuff like Branquinho, Margiela and Schneider but also CdG and Junya. The idea if to have an interesting approach to bourgeois/casual dressy look. This is where you get weird knits to go with your dress shirts, wool slacks etc but without looking like a business casual person.

I go through phases where I'll acquire more of one type then the others but in the end I can move around through all those styles and sometimes mix them up.



Good advice, and an interesting post.

Originally Posted by impolyt_one

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I'm 28 now and have come along financially to the point where I can buy what I want, but I think if I had the foresight at 17 to get more dedicated to my style, I may have locked in my personal style long ago and be in a totally different place from where I am now. Maybe a good thing, probably not a bad thing.

I do think you should have 2 basic looks - casual and formal. You won't ever wear the latter much, but in high school, until the end, and at some points in college, I did go to enough stuff where being dressed up was required and you really don't want to be that asshole wearing sneakers with khakis and a buttonup shirt as your 'formal' look. Go black, look clean for this kind of stuff. If you can, get a proper suit, a good shirt, a simple tie, and a good pair of shoes. Girls will like it. You can choose to multi-task some of that stuff, but if it were me, I wouldn't. I'd just keep 'nice clothes' nice and leave them be. Have a nice pair of clean laceup shoes you only wear on those occasions, and they'll last several years. If you try to mix them in with casual stuff, they'll get beat up, obviously.

As for casual, it's gonna be your look 90% of the time, so do as you may. I don't raelly believe in khakis, but jeans are staple. Basic white tees. A nice pair of sneakers. Maybe a black leather jacket if you can afford it, if not, a peacoat and then some sort of windbreaker, like a Harrington. A couple v neck sweaters. A couple buttondown shirts. Keep it all trim fitting, cropped, sag your pants a bit, and enjoy being young. Do something with your hair, as well.

This is some of the best advice I've read on the forum.

But. Once you get those staples down and you have money to play with, feel free to experiment.

Reading this thread on what a 17 year old should have has made me realize I have a pretty damn big wardrobe, albeit almost everything I got at a ridiculously cheap price since I buy my own stuff.

Here are the main things I think you should have to look well dressed (for a 17 year old)

Formal clothes, aka fitted dress shirt, jacket, pants, black lace ups, pocket square, bow tie, black tie, etc. You can get it at a very reasonable price at say, H&M (my jacket and pants combined were only 60 bucks). My dress shirt is just something from express (since you wear it so rarely you don't need to worry about quality), I made my pocket square, and I have some nice looking black lace ups from a thrift shop. You don't need anything that is fancy, it just needs to be be slim, not that baggy **** that you rent. You can wear it and look great for any formal event, and you look infinitely better than all the renters at proms.

Some button downs. I have a lot from H&M and Jcrew that I picked up on sale, they're what I wear day to day. Takes a bit of searching for good ones from jcrew, but you find them. I usually wear XS but my mom taught me how to sew darts so my S ones look acceptable for casual wear (just bit baggy at chest). Oxfords were the most expensive ones to get for me, but I have a few from rugby that I found at a polo outlet that were steals, they're my favorites.

As for other tops, I have plenty of t shirts, mostly v necks from target/h&m. also some RL polos since a children's L (16) is the same size as a custom fit S and they're a steal.

For bottoms, I just wear a few different shades of (fairly) skinny jeans I got on sale (levi's, h&m), and pants from h&m. Raw jeans would be nice but I don't have the money or the patience to deal with em right now. I generally wear my pants/darkest slim jeans the most though, I'd say those are the ones you need.

Some shorts, they don't need to be anything special. Obviously you need underwear/socks/etc.

For outerwear, just an AE pea coat from ebay, a utility jacket from clearance at like hollister, and various hoodies.

For shoes, I just have thrifted desert boots, converse/jack purcell from clearance, and some plimsolls from gilt.

All in all, my most expensive piece of clothing is an ill advised $70 lacoste polo that, although I still wear, was not a good use of my money.