Man seeking a wardrobe, advice please!

That's good you let us know. I'd hate to make you look non white.

I imagine you're 5'7"and are on the slender side. I'd guess you have size 9 feet, average for the male population. That puts you into 42 Euro shoes. When you wear brown shoes, match the socks and the belt to the shoes.

 

My advice:

At the age of 21, I am going to guess you are around a junior in college. Men at that age typically do not dress well and make little attempt to do so. A button-up shirt is all that is needed for any sort of "dress to impress" occasion. People on this forum will likely point you to A.P.C., Nudie, Rag and Bone, etc. They are nice jeans, but they run rather narrow in my personal opinion (feel free to flame me everyone). For someone in your age group, I will recommend the following:

First: Return those shoes. Unless you have a fair amount of shoes or are well versed in the sartorial art, you don't want tan shoes.

Belt: Go to Express for men and pick up a brown belt: http://www.express.com/rounded-buckle-leather-belt-33322-74/index.pro
It is made in the USA, durable, and looks good.

Jeans: Let us assume that an athletic build is anything with a drop of 8 or more. I also fit this criterion, although I am a bit taller (6' 4" and drop 10 if you're curious). I have tried on a great deal of jeans and in my humble opinion, the AG jeans "protege" model fits and looks the best. It is not really narrow, but it is not baggy either. A good straight fit jean. I would recommend a darker jeans over a lighter and one without distressing marks. The "Kent" wash is very good and manages to hide the goofy "AG" symbol on the back pocket due to the stitching being in a darker blue. The 2% elastane helps it not "suction" onto your legs for lack of a better description and I find they shrink less.

Found Here: http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/ag-jeans-protege-straight-leg-jeans-kent-wash/3083500

Shoes: Everyone here will recommend Allen Edmonds shoes for new people, and with good reason. The "seconds" are extremely well priced and the blemishes are often indiscernible. FYI, a "second" is a rejected shoe with some minor defect so it is sold at a lower price. You can go either the "seconds" route or if you don"t mind dropping the extra cash, the firsts are not that much more. If you want to add a little bit of style to your shoes without being flashy, I highly recommend the Allen Edmonds Berkshire. I have one myself. It is in the 4 last, which has (from my experience) the most room in the ball of the foot compared to the other AE lasts. It is a dark brown suede with brown chromexcel accents (kind of a reddish-dark brown). Women also seem to be a big fan of it. This shoe in a "second" will run you about $200. Alternatively, if you want something a little more mainstream and cheaper. The Wisconsin Allen Edmonds Shoe Bank is selling the seconds version of the Provo model for only $100. It is made of calfskin (I recommend the dark brown) and it is also made in the 4 last and sports a rubber sole.

Berkshire: http://www.allenedmonds.com/aeonline/producti_SF4544_1_40000000001_-1

Provo: http://www.allenedmonds.com/aeonline/producti_SF4214_1_40000000001_-1

You can take this advice or leave it. The above will not set you apart so much as to really stand out, but will give you a little more style than the guy next to you at the bar.

I would not recommend anything in the above post.

Seriously. The last thing this poor guy needs is to rock loose-fitting jeans and serial killer shoes.

Translation: you will look just like everybody else, except you will be convinced you have "style."

As someone said here, it's not called look-inconspicuous-forum.

Haha as expected.

The protege has enough room to make it comfortable, but not tight IMO. Are they SF approved? Hardly. I have to back up the brand though. They are USA made and run by a very nice group of people. There is even a story (I believe even mentioned on SF) about an owner/manager paying health insurance for an employee when he could not afford it. Also, Tight jeans look silly.

I forgot that on SF, any PTB is considered a "serial killer" shoe (typically with rubber sole). However, if you want to invest in shell cordovan, you can escape the label.

Here, on the other hand, the man is quite correct, and is also convinced he has style. If you want to stand out a lot, listen to the others. If you want to stand out a little, then I stand by what I said.

greg, you're right turnups wouldnt necessarily work with dressy shoes, but you can have them hemmed. theres a 600 page apc thread on here you could look at if you are interested. ask there if you have questions.
alternatively, uniqlo japanese denim is a good option. while you're there, get a plain brown belt.
also, sorry but i don't like the shoes you got. maybe look at some paul smith boots.
Edited by robinsongreen68 - 11/16/11 at 2:32pm