Styleforum › Forums › Men's Style › Classic Menswear › spending rule?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

spending rule?

post #1 of 70
6/19/12 at 10:37pm
Thread Starter 

Is there some rule that dictates how much to spend on each item in relation to another?

 

For example,

 

$500-600 suit

$200 shoes

$100 shirt

$75 belt

$50 tie

$500 watch

 

Now if I replace the suit with a $200 mens warehouse suit, would that be very wrong (aside from the fact that it's mens warehouse)?

 

Or the other end, if I replace the suit with a $2000 one, would it be necessary to up everything else?

Reply
Reply

Featured Stories on Styleforum

Join the discussions now - Join Styleforum
The official thrift/discount store bragging thread
Follow Styleforum on Facebook for the latest news and our random ramblings
post #2 of 70
6/19/12 at 10:55pm
no real rules that i know of, but I can tell you that you're better off hunting around for a suit that fits well and tailoring it further rather then just focusing on an expensive one, and that shoes seem to get the lowest allocation but they more often then not make or break the outfit.

Shoes and watch... shoes you'll probably have to spend $200-300 at minimum to get anything that resembles a real shoe, a nice watch will make a difference but actually you don't really need to spend that much on it since there are a few ~$500 ones that will look much more expensive.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 70
6/19/12 at 11:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Notatinyman View Post

Is there some rule that dictates how much to spend on each item in relation to another?

 

For example,

 

$500-600 suit

$200 shoes

$100 shirt

$75 belt

$50 tie

$500 watch

 

Now if I replace the suit with a $200 mens warehouse suit, would that be very wrong (aside from the fact that it's mens warehouse)?

 

Or the other end, if I replace the suit with a $2000 one, would it be necessary to up everything else?

Generally what you buy depends on how much money you have. People who buy $500 shoes don't buy $1 socks to wear with them.

But since you're trying to determine proportionally and based on your suit price I will give my opinion.

You can get good shirts for $50;ties $20-30: belts $30-50

I don't wear watches but you can get a nice looking one for $100

Reply
Reply
post #4 of 70
6/19/12 at 11:10pm
The only spending rule is to get as much quality as possible for as little as possible and make sure that:

1) it fits
2) if it doesn't can be sold for a profit.
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 70
6/20/12 at 12:47am
for me

Suit
suit has to be more than 3k$usd ( i current has 2 suits one is 3K USD and another is 1.5k USD ) difference in quality is too great so the next time if i ever buying a suit i definitely wont buy suits cost less than 3k USD


Belt
my most expensive belt is a hermes belt for 800$usd (which is the cheapest hermes belt) but i have not paid more than 400usd for a belt since and probably not anymore in future (except maybe on alligator or croc leather belt, but as of now they are way too costly to me as the cheapest i ve seen in my place cost 1k USD )

Shoes
my most expensive shoe is a louis vuitton caracao in patent leather ,which costed me 1.3k USD .However i usually buy shoes cost around 700-900USD but on the exception of the LV one because it was blingy .. patent leather with LV logo everywhere.. and metal on the sole

Dress Shirt
my most expensive shirt costed me 800USD from giorgio armani it was so shiny n blingy because it was made of silk...previous i spend around for a shirt 500$usd , but economy has been bad so i spend roughly around 400$usd (but i rarely buy new shirts now)

Polo T-Shirt
my most expensive polo t-shirt is from gucci (with the gucci monogram) costed me 350$usd but yea i ve been cutting down my expenses so much i only spend around 200$usd on polo t nowadays.. but i am itching to buy new gucci polo-t but the price are abit steep starting at 350$usd ...

T-shirt
iwont pay more than 200$usd for a basic tshirts

Watch
i set my limit 5k usd for a watch... but i cant afford one yet so in the future i will save money to get a decent 5k usd watch




* btw yea notice how the pricing is slighly higher than most countries.. our countries has very high boutique markup
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 70
6/20/12 at 1:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by hermes man View Post

for me
Suit
suit has to be more than 3k$usd ( i current has 2 suits one is 3K USD and another is 1.5k USD ) difference in quality is too great so the next time if i ever buying a suit i definitely wont buy suits cost less than 3k USD
Belt
my most expensive belt is a hermes belt for 800$usd (which is the cheapest hermes belt) but i have not paid more than 400usd for a belt since and probably not anymore in future (except maybe on alligator or croc leather belt, but as of now they are way too costly to me as the cheapest i ve seen in my place cost 1k USD )
Shoes
my most expensive shoe is a louis vuitton caracao in patent leather ,which costed me 1.3k USD .However i usually buy shoes cost around 700-900USD but on the exception of the LV one because it was blingy .. patent leather with LV logo everywhere.. and metal on the sole
Dress Shirt
my most expensive shirt costed me 800USD from giorgio armani it was so shiny n blingy because it was made of silk...previous i spend around for a shirt 500$usd , but economy has been bad so i spend roughly around 400$usd (but i rarely buy new shirts now)
Polo T-Shirt
my most expensive polo t-shirt is from gucci (with the gucci monogram) costed me 350$usd but yea i ve been cutting down my expenses so much i only spend around 200$usd on polo t nowadays.. but i am itching to buy new gucci polo-t but the price are abit steep starting at 350$usd ...
T-shirt
iwont pay more than 200$usd for a basic tshirts
Watch
i set my limit 5k usd for a watch... but i cant afford one yet so in the future i will save money to get a decent 5k usd watch
* btw yea notice how the pricing is slighly higher than most countries.. our countries has very high boutique markup

Hermes Man - your purchases seem to be geared towards "designer" labels where more often than not you are paying for branding rather than any incremental increase in quality. As such, I don't think the above serves as any sort of useful guide as to the minimum people need to spend in order to be able to get good quality products.

OP - I don't think rules which state "if you spend x on your suit you should be spending y on your shoes" are very useful. As one of the above posters has said, people should really seek to buy the best they can on the budget that's available to them. If the question is how to allocate a budget between different items, then more information would be needed to do this effectively (e.g. what is the total budget, what items are needed etc).
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 70
6/20/12 at 1:49am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dib View Post

Hermes Man - your purchases seem to be geared towards "designer" labels where more often than not you are paying for branding rather than any incremental increase in quality. As such, I don't think the above serves as any sort of useful guide as to the minimum people need to spend in order to be able to get good quality products.
OP - I don't think rules which state "if you spend x on your suit you should be spending y on your shoes" are very useful. As one of the above posters has said, people should really seek to buy the best they can on the budget that's available to them. If the question is how to allocate a budget between different items, then more information would be needed to do this effectively (e.g. what is the total budget, what items are needed etc).

its just not about the label

i appreciate good craftsmanship from italian artisan
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 70
6/20/12 at 1:56am
Thread Starter 
My budget is low but flexible (preferably under $800). This would be my only suit for now as I am starting to interview once again (already read the 101 page).

I am 6'2" 255 (down from 340) but still have over 50 to go.

Because of my weight and the fact that I would like to lose quite a bit more, I was thinking of allocating more of my budget towards good shoes (assuming my foot size doesn't drastically change). So this is what got me curious about what if any is the proper amount to spend on certain items.

I am planning on ordering a shirt from modern tailor.
I would prefer to buy a pair of AEs during the Nordstrom sale.
A belt to match the shoes.
Considering a suit from suit supply (if budget will allow, otherwise I will have to find a more affordable option)
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 70
6/20/12 at 1:59am
i spend more on a piece of clothing if it is SF approved

biggrin.gif
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 70
6/20/12 at 2:03am
If you ever find yourself doing something that would please Hermes Man, then you know you're doing something wrong.

OP this is the model that I find to be most useful (In the sense that people can actually use it, and isn't just a crazy hypothetical)

Assume the suit costs $1,000 to make your percentages easier.

Suit - 1,000
Shoes - 250 - 350 (Very long term investment, up to 10 years)
Shirts - 85 - 125
Tie - 85 - 125 (Another long term purchase, wear them for 5 years or more)
Handkerchiefs - 25 - 75 (Another long term one, there is no reason that you shouldn't be buried in your first pocket handkerchief.)


It is also worth considering that to a "layman" if you are wearing a $1000 suit, you can get away with a polyester tie and basic shirt because of a "halo" effect. True clothing nerds will notice but they make up a very small section of the populace. Cheap shoes on the other hand, always look like cheap shoes.
Reply
Reply
post #11 of 70
6/20/12 at 2:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by hermes man View Post

its just not about the label
i appreciate good craftsmanship from italian artisan

Okay, although the posts of yours that I have seen would tend to suggest otherwise. In any case, my point was that the OP is seeking guidance on how to apportion costs between various items - listing out the inflated prices you have paid for a series of gaudy designer products does not really help him.

OP - I would agree with what Blackhood has said above (particularly re the Halo effect - i.e. if you have a limited budget, i would allocate more to a decent suit and shoes (where quality and durability are very important) and perhaps make do with some cheaper ties for the time being (e.g. TM Lewin) until you have the resources to upgrade them).
Reply
Reply
post #12 of 70
6/20/12 at 2:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by hermes man View Post

for me
Suit
suit has to be more than 3k$usd ( i current has 2 suits one is 3K USD and another is 1.5k USD ) difference in quality is too great so the next time if i ever buying a suit i definitely wont buy suits cost less than 3k USD
Belt
my most expensive belt is a hermes belt for 800$usd (which is the cheapest hermes belt) but i have not paid more than 400usd for a belt since and probably not anymore in future (except maybe on alligator or croc leather belt, but as of now they are way too costly to me as the cheapest i ve seen in my place cost 1k USD )
Shoes
my most expensive shoe is a louis vuitton caracao in patent leather ,which costed me 1.3k USD .However i usually buy shoes cost around 700-900USD but on the exception of the LV one because it was blingy .. patent leather with LV logo everywhere.. and metal on the sole
Dress Shirt
my most expensive shirt costed me 800USD from giorgio armani it was so shiny n blingy because it was made of silk...previous i spend around for a shirt 500$usd , but economy has been bad so i spend roughly around 400$usd (but i rarely buy new shirts now)
Polo T-Shirt
my most expensive polo t-shirt is from gucci (with the gucci monogram) costed me 350$usd but yea i ve been cutting down my expenses so much i only spend around 200$usd on polo t nowadays.. but i am itching to buy new gucci polo-t but the price are abit steep starting at 350$usd ...
T-shirt
iwont pay more than 200$usd for a basic tshirts
Watch
i set my limit 5k usd for a watch... but i cant afford one yet so in the future i will save money to get a decent 5k usd watch
* btw yea notice how the pricing is slighly higher than most countries.. our countries has very high boutique markup

A great big overdraft at the bank and a packet owing on credit cards is it?
Reply
Reply
post #13 of 70
6/20/12 at 2:49am
Quote:
Originally Posted by hermes man View Post

its just not about the label
i appreciate good craftsmanship from italian artisan

What artisan? You wear Armani and Gucci. The stuff is mass produced in large factories.

Hermes Man... teacha.gif

Artisan.
438

Mass production.
226
Could be in Italy...could be in China...could be for Giorgio Armani...could be for Walmart.
Edited by MikeDT - 6/20/12 at 7:32am
Reply
Reply
post #14 of 70
6/20/12 at 3:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Notatinyman View Post

Or the other end, if I replace the suit with a $2000 one, would it be necessary to up everything else?

OP - sorry, forgot to give you my thoughts on the above question too.

If you upgrade one part of an outfit, I don't think it necessarily follows that you need to upgrade the rest to ensure the cost ratios are the same. For example, let's assume you spend GBP800 on a nice suit and GBP350 on a pair of C&J shoes. If you were to buy a bespoke suit a few years later for GBP3000, whilst you could also buy more expensive shoes of better quality (EG, G&G etc) i think it would be perfectly acceptable and appropriate to continue wearing the original C&J's (as they would still be good quality shoes that would look more than fine with a good quality bespoke suit).

I appreciate the above items don't fall within your budget, but just wanted to use them to illustrate the general point.
Reply
Reply
post #15 of 70
6/20/12 at 3:22am
Hermes Man! Youre back! I missed you!
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Classic Menswear

Featured Stories on Styleforum

Join the discussions now - Join Styleforum
The official thrift/discount store bragging thread
Follow Styleforum on Facebook for the latest news and our random ramblings
Styleforum › Forums › Men's Style › Classic Menswear › spending rule?