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Things that you don't like spending lots of money on, and good sources for them.

Holdfast

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We all love nice clothes & accessories here, and doubtless spend more than the average bear on them. However, I can't be the only one with deep-seated irrational prejudices against paying top whack for certain classes of item. I don't mean holding out for sales or trawling B&S/eBay for your favourite brands going cheap; I mean items that, regardless of brand or quality, you simply refuse to pay more for and still wouldn't want to even if money was theoretically not an issue. I figured it might be fun to compare our value quirks and also to share cheap - but better than average quality - sources for these kinds of item.

(If you like, feel free to also nominate items that you easily loose all semblance of price restraint over and will happily splurge!)

For me, I'm miserly about:

Silk knit ties: KJ Beckett - just ordered a couple from them, so waiting to receive them, but they certainly appear to be the right price & quality.
Socks: Falke Family - I prefer cotton socks to wool, and Falke's Family range has durable, washable, relatively fade-resistant socks at a low price.
Underwear: Marks & Spencers - it's a cliche to only shop for underwear at M&S, I know, but true for me anyway.
Leather belts: Equus - can't see a reason to pay more for any other belt, considering them quality & customisation of Equus.

While browsing the KJ Beckett site, I also spotted some colourful woven belts branded Tyler & Tyler. Woven belts are certainly another item I dislike paying lots for, so I might try one of those in future too.
 
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add911_11

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Pocket Square, tie, shirt, braces
 

sskim3

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Shoe Trees - I make it a point to only get them on sale from Jos Bank at $12 or less.... still ends up being costly due to the amount of shoe trees I get.
biggrin.gif
I know you said no sales but they are practically on sale all the time.

Undershirts - i stick with the tanks and v-necks from Hanes

Socks - Gold Toe OTC socks at Costco. 4 pack for $11
 

Mr Engineer

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Shoes Trees - Jos a Bank when they are at least buy 1 get 2 free
Pocket Squares & Socks - Nordstrom Rack,thetiebar.com,Off Sacks
 

Holdfast

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Shoe trees are definitely a good call. I've kind of stopped buying more shoes, so don't need more trees, but I used to get mine from Bexley; they used to do a good discount for buying several pairs at the same time.

Solid colour T-shirts are another one for me. I tend to get mine from The Gap.
 

PiCcolocV

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Hangers - for my suits/sport coats, Marshall's (for those of you in the states) typically has cheap plastic hangers for some of their suits that have filled out shoulders similar to what you see from The Hanger Project, though obviously material/construciton is completely different. For my shirts, I either fold them (polos) or just hang them on plastic hangers (dress shirts). I wear a jacket with my dress shirts 99% of the time, so i just dont see the value for now of spending a lot on the perfect hanger for each different peice of attire.
 

Holdfast

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Hangers - for my suits/sport coats... i just dont see the value for now of spending a lot on the perfect hanger for each different peice of attire.
cheers.gif
Yup, add this one to my list too. I hoard the free plastic hangers that come with jackets/suits, provided they have the right amount of shape/width to them.
 
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mljs54

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I tend to pick up cedar shoe trees from DSW, I think they are regularly under $10 at the Union Square location in NYC.
 

FlaneurNYC

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astrocyte

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Leather belts: Equus - can't see a reason to pay more for any other belt, considering them quality & customisation of Equus.

I'm trying to solve the belt problem by switching over to pants with side-adjusters. I like the look anyway and it means one less accessory to spend money on.
 

MyOtherLife

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I have no problem paying retail for anything well made, of decent quality and made by the hands of properly paid and fairly treated workers who are provided quality materials to work with. You expect to be fairly paid for your time and so does anyone else. I don't care if I paid more for something here or there because somewhere else I saved money. These things all even out. Money can be replaced, but time, once spent, can never be recovered. Time is the killer. Don't waste it. Time and useful information are the most valuable commodities you could ever want.
 

dbhdnhdbh

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Cheap on everything. Easier to list what I do not buy at thrift stores or ebay than what I do.

Shoes- I would buy at thrift shops, but in my area decent shoes never appear at the stores. So I do Ebay

Clothing with elastic. Socks and underpants. I find elastic tends to fail, it is difficult to tell when this will happen, but buying these used ensures a shortened lifetime. If they have been washed in hot water and dried at high temp then the failure will come even sooner, but no way to tell the care history used.

Leather belts. Same problem as elastic, probably exactly the same, with degradation of elastin. They fail, and I am not confident I can tell by looking how long a used belt is going to last. Plus, all the used belts I see at thrifts in my area are clearly already worn out to the point that there would be no purpose to having them at all. I do buy belts new, online, but top out at about US $35.

Undershirts. They don't have elastic, but I like microfiber, and all I ever see at thrifts are cotton. The microfiber shirts are so durable that the get lost, or stained when working around the house long before they wear out. I occasionally buy some when they are available at deep discounts, then they seem to last forever. So I have little need to get more. Would never pay more than $5.

Just about anything else I refuse to buy new. Ties, shirts, slacks, blazers, suits, and shoes are thrift/ebay only.
 

samadhi27

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On sportcoat/suit hangers -- you can get excellent curved wooden ones from the Container Store for much cheaper than The Hanger Project. The finishing is not quite as good, but the structure is just about the same.
 

Holdfast

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Silk knit ties: KJ Beckett - just ordered a couple from them, so waiting to receive them, but they certainly appear to be the right price & quality.

Received them today (fast delivery!); very happy with the quality, the width, and the appearance of them. The chocolate brown is exactly the shade I expected; the navy is a fraction lighter but still perfectly fine. I'll probably get a black and a dark green from them at some point too. The ties are branded Nick Bronson, who IIRC also supply lots of brands (and at an identical level to their own-branded ties as far as I can tell), so definitely a good deal to get them from KJ Beckett.
 
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RDiaz

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I don't like spending lots of money on unstructured jackets and knit ties, but don't have any good sources. I just go shopping around until I find something that I like/fits and is deeply discounted.

I also get cheap socks at local markets. I destroy socks quickly no matter how nice they are, so why waste money...
 

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