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New Wardrobe...1st 5 things...

BondArb

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If you guys were starting a new wardrobe from complete scratch, what would be the first five things You would buy?  Could be generic things like blue blazer, etc., or brand names...whatever.  Just looking to get opinions on what you believe the foundations of a solid wardrobe entail.  Thanks.
 

VMan

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Well, this is all going to be relative, depending on one's age, career, geographic location, body shape, and personal style.  However, here is my list - coming from a 20 year old college student living in an area with COLD winters:

1.  Pair of slim-fitting jeans with a slight boot-cut, dark wash with minimal fading (best to start out with light fading and let them get beat up over time, naturally).  Preferably Paper Denim & Cloth.

2.  Slim-cut suit, high-stance 2 button or 3-button with lapel rolled down to 2nd button, flat-front pants with slight flare at bottom, ventless or double vents.  Black, for if you are going to be wearing this suit when 'going out', or navy/charcoal if you need to wear this suit for professional meetings.  Jil Sander, Helmut Lang, or Gucci are all viable choices.

3.  High-quality white dress shirt, herringbone pattern, possibly with french cuffs and full-spread collar.  Again, this item must fit well.  Turnbull & Asser, Barba, Brioni, Jil Sander, etc. are all good options.

4.  Black or brown (depending on the suit color in #2) monk-strap shoes, with pointed toe.  Preferrably slightly antiqued.  I love my Gravati's, so I'm going to suggest this company.

5.  White or black v-neck t-shirt.  Cotton, and not too thin so as it's see-through.  Jockey works just fine, or if you want to go upscale, Gucci or Prada.

6.  A pair of trainers, for casual days.

7. Wool/cashmere blend 3/4 length coat in charcoal, or maybe black. Should hit right above the knees. Possibly with a ticket pocket.

With these items, you should be able to create quite a few outfits for all sorts of occations.  Wear the suit with the shoes and the white shirt.  Wear the jeans, suit jacket, and dress shirt.  Suit pants, v-neck tee, and shoes.  V-neck, jeans, and trainers.
 

whnay.

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Depends on the business environment.

Business Dress:

1) Dark Gray three button suit

2) Navy pinstripe two button suit

3) Black Cap toe

4) Brown semi-brogue

5) Gray mac coat
 

chorse123

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Assuming you are freakishly born into the world a 20 or 30 something man with no clothes, or are robbed at gunpoint and forced to disrobe:

1 Brown shoes, say, captoe oxfords
2 Jeans
3 Grey flannel trousers, flat front
4 White dress shirt
5 Tweed sportcoat or blue blazer
 

johnnynorman3

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(1) Great pair of jeans.
(2) Great pair of black shoes that could double for work and going out (so, something sleek needed -- oddly, I still don't have this item.).
(3) Well fitting pale blue shirt with some sort of conservative pattern -- herringbone, or navy pinstripe of some sort.
(4) Sleek medium grey or charcoal suit that could double as business and "semi-formal" wear.
(5) Pair of high-quality (i.e. retails for $200 or over) flat front charcoal grey trousers. Could be lightweight or mid-weight, depending on where you live. This is an item that does well for business or pleasure in all situations.

Well, that's five. I stuck with five, unlike Versaceman. If you assume that you have equal need for more dressy items and casual items (which is probably the case for those who are just starting to build their wardrobes, these are them in my opinion. This is a great base to build around. Just remember, buy what you could afford in six months. Therefore, if you are poor now but will be making bank in 6 months, buy the things you can afford when making bank -- and, no, a well-paying four week internship doesn't count as making bank).
 

BjornH

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Only one from me: A navy SB 3 or 2 1/2 button blazer with conventional buttons. If the cut is right it works both with jeans and your nice pants and makes you look good in most situations.

B

edited to add a button
 

amirrorcrackd

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Just remember, buy what you could afford in six months. Â Therefore, if you are poor now but will be making bank in 6 months, buy the things you can afford when making bank -- and, no, a well-paying four week internship doesn't count as making bank).
This is about the worst piece of advice EVER.
smile.gif
Anyway... 1) Dark Jeans 2) Dark (charcoal of black) Trousers 3) Pale Blue Button-Up Shirt 4) Black Chelsea Boots 5) Conservative V-Neck Sweater I left them intentionally vague. Dan
 

auto90403

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i have really grown to dislike blue blazers. at least on adult men. they look too prep school to me. to me, every man wearing one looks as though he lacks imagination or taste.

i have a dark dark dark blue almost black cashmere blazer that looks far dressier no matter what kind of pants i pair it with.
 

NoVaguy

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i have really grown to dislike blue blazers. at least on adult men. they look too prep school to me. to me, every man wearing one looks as though he lacks imagination or taste.

i have a dark dark dark blue almost black cashmere blazer that looks far dressier no matter what kind of pants i pair it with.
I get this feeling as well. one of my first items i bought from my last size jump (from 41/42L to 43/44L, 3 years ago - although I had been holding on to the 42L clothes for a while) was a (don't laugh) 2 button Chaps blue blazer with gold buttons, on sale and still horrendously overpriced at Macy's. I bought it believing it'll get a lot of wear - my prior blazer was worn maybe 10 times a year when I was in college.

I wore it maybe 3 or 4 times the first two years, and only once in the past year, if that. It just looks like too earnest, if know what I mean.
 

BondArb

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...to clarify my situation...i am 25, and work on Wall St. in a business casual enviornment. I am trying to step up my wardrobe but do not want to end up with a bunch of high fashion stuff and none of the timeless, basic pillars of a solid wardrobe. Last week, i made the first step of going through my closets and getting rid of everything I do not wear...now I have the fun task of rebuilding...

Here is my list of things i should be acquiring right away:

1) High Quality, versatile weight blue blazer
2) Blue or gray suit conservative enough to be worn on the off-occasion I need one for business yet also workable for evening/social wear.
3) 1 pair black laceups (captoe or oxford), 1 pair brown loafers.
4) the basic shirts...white, pale blue, and some normal striped patterns.
5) a great pair of jeans.

...Obviously this stuff is a little bit boring, but I believe they are the basic building blocks that one should not be afraid to spend as much as they can afford on...the more fashion-forward items are worked around these basics.
 

johnnynorman3

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(1) Skip the loafers, unless you plan on wearing them outside of the office. Please I beg you. Much better picking up another pair of leather soled lace-ups in a versatile style such as a plain toe blucher, brogue, or an algonquin (split toe).

(2) Get something more original than just a blue blazer. Trust me on this. You'll learn to hate the blue blazer. Blue base is fine, but either a herringbone weave, or a windowpane, or something like that. Personally, I find dark brown blazers with some sort of overpane pattern the most versatile. They go with just about ever conceivable shirt color you could wear, and look great with both grey and blue trousers, as well as all shades of taupe (a blue blazer, on the other hand, simply can't be worn with blue trousers). But on Wall St. a blue base would be better. But a pattern and great cut will take it out of the "bank teller" mode.

(3) Avoid the plain shirts unless you plan on wearing a tie and blazer all the time. I don't consider herringbones plain, BTW. They are semi-plain. Trust me that you'll get sick of plain shirts, especially if you aren't wearing them with ties and suits (which, really, is what they were created for -- I am talking about dress shirts here, not casual shirts). Don't worry if you only have five or six patterned shirts in the rotation -- no one will notice. They'll just know that you aren't a "Mr. Plain Shirt" everyday, which is something people will remember. Trust me on this. Don't go for overly wild, or bright, or "Gap" looking patterns. Go to Bergdorf, Jay Kos, Paul Stuart, etc. If not to buy, then just to get a sense of what kind of patterns would be good. I've found that just going to Louis Boston changed the way I view patterns markedly.

(4) Spend on great trousers. I bought too many pair of cheap trousers with inferior fabrics and poor cutting. Once you get some really good trousers, you will see how much they mean to a wardrobe. Brooks Brothers has some really nice trousers in the $240 range -- which go on sale all the time. Aside from that, you can find Incotex and that ilk for $200ish on Ebay or on sale in the stores. You could also go MTM trousers from Chan, who is coming to NYC soon. They cut a GREAT pair of trousers, and it's incredible the amount of great fabric choices you will have. For $250, you could get a trouser that fits you absolutely perfectly (and it's amazing the difference really) and in a top grade fabric.

(5) Get good socks. Over the calf, in luxury cotton/silk or wool/silk. A good pair of trousers is ruined by bad socks.
 

LA Guy

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5 of the most expensive suits with the most recognizable and popular brand names I could think of.

Then, I'll sell 'em all and buy whatever I want with the $25K.

Oh wait, I have to buy the stuff?

Then:

1) A great pair of dark jeans - true straightleg or with a slight bootcut (just picked up a pair of Da'mage Rekkos with so little distressing I am tempted to call them 2-month APCs) in a top notch denim.

2) Brown zip up slim Helmut Lang hoodie sweatshirt/jacket. Casual, but with a slim cut that lets you wear it everywhere, under or over anything.

3) Great pair of sneakers. Adidas Samoas if I was going cheapo. Pumna Mihara MY-8 or MY-5 if I get to go all out.

4) My Costume National chestnut moleskin jacket (FW 2002/2003 season. No piece of outerwear before or after have I loved so much. Did I say love about a piece of outerwear?

5) Helmut Lang dark charcoal high 2-button or three button suit. Why not. I guess I need a cool suit.
 

Charles Rogers

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1) A great pair of dark jeans - true straightleg or with a slight bootcut (just picked up a pair of Da'mage Rekkos with so little distressing I am tempted to call them 2-month APCs) in a top notch denim.
I just got a pair of Da'mage Ice's and I love them.
 

johnapril

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1) Low Quality, completely useless hot pink leather blouson
2) Yellow or magenta suit liberal enough to be worn on the off-occasion you need one as a tent on the side of El Capitan yet also seaworthy for shipwrecks/John Galliano plankshows.
3) 1 pair limegreen laceups (full brogue or patent leather), 1 pair mother of pearl suede loafers.
4) the basic shirts...D&G paisley, tin wrap, and some random patchwork patterns.
5) a ****** set of genes.
 

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