Do you have to be rich to dress in style?

[gnatty8]

Originally Posted by Piobaire

Thankfully, grunge was popular when I was in college.

I can identify with this..

 

[heard546]

No, you do not. You just have to shop the right sales. I purchase high end clothing for a fraction of the price from stores like Nordstrom Rack, Off 5th Avenue, and Nieman Marcus Last Call. There are also department stores like Macy's and Dillards that offer deep discounts. And finally, there some men specialty stores that carry high end clothing from prior seasons at deep discounts. So, you just have be dilegent and don't rush into purchases.

 

[Gravitas]

A job certainly helps but it is quite easy to have style on a budget. Simplicity is key, you can easily pick up basics for cheaper, no need to buy RLBL or BoO shirts, although you can get deals on both. Overall, with a grand, you can do quite a bit.

And on a side note, I like your new avvy a lot more GS.

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by Gravitas

Overall, with a grand, you can do quite a bit.

I think it would depend on how close you are to standard sizes and what sort of style we're talking about here. If you're lucky, you can get lots of nice stuff on sale, otherwise 1k doesn't go very far at all. Some people are also **** out of luck when it comes to sizing and have no choice but to pay bespoke prices to have something that looks good on them. There isn't a shirt in the world that fits me well OTR, for instance. It kills me when i see new shipments of Borrelli shirts come in to vch knowing none of them would fit me properly. However, I wouldn't look nearly as well put together as I do if I were buying OTR, regardless of brand.

Anyway, it's a slippery slope to embark upon. I started with kenneth coles, moved up to ferragamos, and now i basically won't buy anything less than Santonis or EGs. It took me a few years to develop a sense of style, but there's no going back now. I can't imagine having to wear the clothes I see everyone else wearing.

 

[Gravitas]

Yeah, I ought to rethink that number. Some compromise would be involved and I only meant for a year of course. I have already spent well over a grand just on back to school stuff.

 

[Asch]

Do not discover StyleForum until you're out of school and making a decent income.

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by Asch

Do not discover StyleForum until you're out of school and making a decent income.

+1

It may also delay the onset of teh ****, which could be good depending upon your religious beliefs.

 

[Pilot]

Originally Posted by Asch

Do not discover StyleForum until you're out of school and making a decent income.

i'm catching myself on this mistake right now.

 

[acidboy]

Originally Posted by Asch

Do not discover StyleForum until you're out of school and making a decent income.

What? And miss out on all those "What to Wear for the Interview" threads?

 

[Asch]

Originally Posted by acidicboy

What? And miss out on all those "What to Wear for the Interview" threads?
One can always hire a pro-domme to retrospectively role-play this SF rite of passage, with the ball-crusher featured in Edmorel's last avatar applied for every deviation from UCBD.

 

[Fade to Black]

nah i don't think you have to be rich to dress in style...being rich just makes it easier for you access funky stuff like knee length mohair knits, suits with zippers and shorts/sweatpants 2-in-1 combos, all that good stuff.

 

[Mr. Potato]

Thrift and tailor. Words to go by for broke college students.

 

[MiniW]

thrift, become a reseller, spend more time shopping and looking for deals than actual buying.

other options: take out more school loans for clothes, or stop reading style forum and fashion magazines until you have disposable income. maybe re-evaluate your wardrobe and salvage some items you already own by taking it to the tailor to have it tweaked.

If you start buying nice stuff now at full price you will be in debt and probably look like a fool because it takes a good amount of trial and error before getting down a good style that is also personal. Good luck.

 

[Rock]

You don't have to ... but it sure helps.

Thrifting is good if you are in the right areas, but if you live in a rural Midwestern town, like I do, good stuff is basically impossible to find. If you are on a super strict (read: college) budget, my suggestion is to make a list of things you want, sit on it for a while, whittle it down to the bare essentials and most adaptable items. Plenty of examples abound on the forum. Investing in one pair of APC NS covered half my body for years. A girl once told me in college, "your style is pretty basic, but you always look good." Style is conditional: if everyone around you is wearing jeans and tshirts, just wearing jeans and tshirts that fit will set you apart in a good way.

Most SF approved brands are a "good value" by some measure, but don't get too carried away by hype on more expensive items unless you can legitimately afford them.

B&S, ebay, yahoo auctions etc are your best friends. If you are paying retail, you are paying too much. Patience helps.

 

[Metlin]

Originally Posted by Piobaire

Thankfully, grunge was popular when I was in college.
When I was in my late teens/early twenties, I was in college, played in a metal band, had long hair and wanted to be an academic doing physics for the rest of my life (or playing music -- I hadn't decided yet). My dress code mostly consisted of jeans, black heavy metal t-shirts and boots. My Dad has always dressed impeccably and back then, all my nice clothes were things that he insisted that he buy for me. Which I wore rarely, if at all. Eventually, I went to grad school, got a job and when I hit my mid twenties, I realized that I could no longer dress the way I did. And that I actually understood what my Dad had been trying to tell me for over ten years. These days, I've a short hair and an income buy my clothes and shoes (hopefully with a semblance of decent taste). Funny how life works.