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How much money do you think someone would need to earn (net) to afford bespoke?

lmaligaya

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whats the running price on bespoke shirts? i would think that 60k per year is too low for such expenditures (going strictly by prices ive seen on the forum) without having to sacrifice alot of things. the cost of those things is approaching the cost of an exotic vacation. (i think)
 

indy116

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Depends a lot on where one lives. $60,000 wouldn't get you much in Manhattan, but you could be comfortable somewhere in the midwest. And the number of mouthes to feed at home...
 

gomestar

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$60,000 wouldn't go too far in Manhattan. Shave a good % off for taxes, and you'll probably want some sort of healthcare, that $60,000 turns into $1600 every 2 weeks. Rent in manhattan? Good luck, an affordable studio will likely run you $1700 a month (you can find some cheaper, but if you're shopping bespoke, I don't think you'll cheap out on an apartment), so cut you income right in half. With that remaining several hundred dollars, don't forget about utilities, cable, internet, cell phone, and $82 a month for a metro card. Also: food. Expensive. And if you're wearing bespoke, you'll likely try some nice restaurants every now and then (2 people at Le Bernardin: several hundred dollars).

Now, if you lived in a place like Philly, you can find some decent housing for half the price of manhattan housing - thus increasing your monthly income by at least $900.

I wouldn't pay for bespoke on either budget, maybe a few shirts and one or two suits if that big of a chunk is worth it to you.
 

Dewey

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Also depends on how many people you are supporting. One number for a single man goes much farther than the same number spread over grandma, wife, and children.

A better question: how much money do you need to spend, on an annual basis, to maintain a wardrobe that includes bespoke shirts and tailored clothing?
 

Cornellian

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I guess it really depends.

As someone who makes <$40K a year, I can still squeeze a few bucks for bespoke shoes and some shirts. I really consider the bespoke shoes a necessity at this point, so I don't think twice about that (I'm spending about $1500-2000 per pair). However, at the rate I'm going, I'll probably only purchase 1 new pair of shoes every 2 years, so it's not like I'm going bespoke crazy. But I certainly can't afford suits, jackets, etc. at this point.

I also don't have children or a mortgage on a suburban McMansion, so caveat emptor.

Then again I have friends my age (30 y.o.) making twice my yearly salary in bonuses at NYC law firms, and they refuse to pay more than $100 for shoes. So again, it's not just how much disposable income you have, but how you choose to spend your money.
 

trajan

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Originally Posted by merkur
How much money do you someone would need to earn (net) to afford regular bespoke? By bespoke, I'm not talking about high end bespoke like Rubinacci and Anna Matuozzo etc, I'm talking about good quality "affordable" (as if there were such a thing) basic bespoke (massive generalization here I know). And by regular, I mean maybe 4-6 shirts a year and 2-3 suits per year. I estimate ~$60,000.

Funny, originally I though 60k spent only on bespoke items.
smile.gif
I guess you meant income.

Bespoke or not, it's hard to live in NY on this income.


6 shirts @400 each = 2.4k
3 suits @5+k = 15+k

--trajan
 

Cornellian

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I would say it's about a 20K a year habit, if you go all out.

But if you're not buying new things all the time, you could easily cut the number in half.
 

koolhistorian

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Depends on how much you figure your needs in clothes - if you go for a full wardrobe (even minimal) there is a significant investment, if you go gradually, you will find that you spend a lot on junk - bad shoes, bad suits, bad etc. Audit your wardrobe in parallel with your spending habits and plan it throughly - on a 5 year base. Start with a suit - full bespoke - and one MTM (or entry level bespoke, as offered by Kilgour for example). For me going bespoke with shirts is not a priority, so phase that for the end. Shoes the same, go that in the middle. My grandmother had a saying - I am too poor to buy anything else than english fabrics. Buy quality and it will last - MBA speak, it will cost you less per wearing than a glued RTW garment. If your planning is good, you will end with a decent wardrobe - my count is 5 city suits, 2 sports, 6 sports jackets, 10 dressed slacks, plus 2 dozens of good quality shirts in 5 years with the same financial effort that buying off the rack will do (given the junk we buy because it is on sale, etc). Even in the high end bespoke you find a part of the price to be paid for the &quot;label&quot; - saw that when I've compared a friend's Kiton cashmere OTR sports jacket with one of mine, custom made by a local tailor - my fit was better, the fabric was comparable (bought by me) - price advantage for the large, mine. Good luck!
 

globetrotter

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I've been wearing bespoke since I earned about 60K, but I was single when I started.
 

trajan

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Originally Posted by merkur
Forgive my naivety, but aren't these the prices for lower high end bespoke though?

But that's exactly what he asked about. For $400, you get a top quality shirt, but for 5k you only get an entry level suit by a very good tailor. NY prices.

--trajan
 

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