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New Wardrobe - Need Tips!

th476uy

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Hey style forum. This is my first post here and it's an important one- I'm putting together a new wardrobe and I need tips on where you think the best place would be for me to buy the following clothes. I prefer the locations to be large chain department stores rather than online-only or one/few of a kind stores. This way I can visit the stores and try on the clothes. Thanks in advance folks. New Wardrobe -----Apparel----- Colors for items Black Grey White Dark Blue Dark Green Royal Green Dark Red/Burgundy Style for all items TIGHT FIT Solid color Blank items (meaning nothing other than company logo, i.e. Polo pony) Types of items Street Shoes (Black only, Bed Stu-like Style) Belt (Black, casual) Denim Jeans (Preferably black, but I might also consider buying tight-fitting, destroyed dark blue jeans) Sleeved under shirts (Black only) T-shirts (once again, all items blank other than company logo) Polo shirts Long-sleeved tops (i.e. thermals, crews, etc.) Leather jacket (Black only) Thanks again folks!
 

Newton

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I assume you live in the USA given that you didn't say where you are from!
confused.gif


Looking through your list, there's just way too much black. I don't see how someone with this wardrobe could look good.

Just being honest.

Leather pants, black choker...?

I know you'll have a bit of colour through the t-shirts and the polos but it doesn't work for me at all.
 

th476uy

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Yes, I live in the USA.

I like wearing a majority of dark colors (black/grey) with the addition of the other colors for a minor flair/contrast. The fact that they aren't bright colors keeps them from looking tacky or out of place. On paper it might look like a lot of black, but it looks good.

Anyone have an idea on what they think a good place would be for me to buy these items? I'm considering Polo Ralph Lauren for some of them, their Fall Winter theme just so happens to be black.
 

afaludi

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A has cheap tight fitting blank clothes in black, You might like them.
 

Rome

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CoryB

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Your title is new wardrobe, but you seem to have the entire thing planned out before having stepped into a store. This leads me to believe that you new wardrobe will the same as your old wardrobe. You seem to be afraid of colour. If you like to stay along the theme of solid, subtle classic colours add some brown and greys. Both are equally easy to match, much more versatial, and much warmer (especially browns).

I also agree your list is dark and would produce a goth image. The additions of "black choker" and "leather pants" seem to indicate that is the image you wish to portray, true? What is the image you'd like to portray? We can provide recommendations for your wardrobe in addition to just providing a list of stores if we know what you are going for.

Check out the Gap; their entire fall/winter is black, grey, brown plus a bit of dark blue. It should provide you with a lot of the items on the list for quite cheap. All of these items are fairly basic and trip to a mid-large mall should cover it all, presuming you want to get it all in one shot. I'd suggest buying some, then some more, then more just to allow you to alter your purchases based upon previous ones. You'll rapidly find the sweater that you love and the ones that are just passable.

My best advice is to go to the mall and walk through every store there. Anything that remotely interests you, try on. Also try on things that aren't particularly your style just to see if you like them. Your title indicates you want to reinvent your wardrobe not just buy new versions of your old wardrobe.
 

styleoasis

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I think first you need to take a step back here, man. Ditch the goth look first off. Second, it may be hard to find exactly what you want with that specific of a list. I think I find some of my favorite clothing pieces when I don't go in to a store biased towards anything. Ditch the goth look too.

If you're going to a department store, just go around and look at the different designers and pick out what you want. I think you would be wise to broaden your horizons toward some more of the mall stores, though.

In any event, my .02...

For the dark colors, I do think Gap is good this season. They have some very stylish blacks and grays, not the huge baggy pants with the chains sticking out. As for white, the preppy labels are good...Polo, Lands End, J. Crew, LL Bean. You might have some trouble finding white right now because of the whole no white after Labor Day rule, but get out there soon; it will only get harder to find good whites as we approach the dead of winter. Your other colors are tricky; I can't quite pinpoint any particular designer or store that has that. They aren't as generic or widespread as black, gray, and white, so normally every store would have one or two nice pieces in it. Keep your eyes open wherever you like to shop.

Your style criteria is not unreasonable at all and probably what you will get if you don't buy the thug look. Don't take the no labels too far, though; Polo is not going to get rid of the pony any time soon.

It sounds like you want a skate shoe type of thing with the black street shoes. I'm not an expert on that and you aren't going to find many on this forum. Try Etnies or something, or ask some skating friends for advice. I also don't like your belt preferences. Find the studs yourself, but know that they look ridiculous and should NEVER NEVER NEVER be worn with tucked formalwear, nor should any other casual belt. I guess if you want a black belt you can get one, and you can find one pretty much anywhere. Do you know the (literal) rule of thumb for distinguishing between casual and dress belts? If its more than the width of your thumb, it's casual. Otherwise, dress. Don't wear casual belts with formalwear or dress belts with jeans. A black belt is basic, you can find it anywhere. Leather pants = bad. As for the jeans, what is your price range? Why do you only want black? Personally, I'm not a big fan of black jeans, but you at least ought to have one pair in another color. Buy your undershirts in one of the cheap packs at Target or TJ Maxx; you don't need designer underwear. What kind of tees do you want? Plain colors or graphic tees? Do you mind logo tees? As for polos, I would stick to the classic Lacoste and Polo. Izod has a nice classic white button-down made of cotton. If you want a black leather jacket, check out your local Macys. I saw some very reasonably-priced ones there. What do you mean by "long-sleeved tops?"

Figure out the goth **** bracelets yourself.
 

Max

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Leather pants? Seriously?
 

Edward Appleby

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Generally, I think that wardrobe revamping en masse is a bad idea, because you either a. recreate your old wardrobe or b. buy a bunch of **** that you're not comfortable in in an attempt to change, and end up looking terribly awkward.

I don't know where you are, but if you have the opportunity, go to some streetwear boutiques and just try stuff on. Don't go in with any preconceived ideas. If you really like something or it makes you look good, buy it. That's a sort of catalytic starting point. Once you have a couple of pieces you love, you start buying things to go with them. The effect snowballs, and suddenly you have a new, cohesive wardrobe that developed organically and fits you, not some guy you read about in a magazine or some conception of yourself that you've spit out on paper.
 

Lamo

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apc has some simple, nice looking stuff out right now. not sure if it's your cup of tea though
 

Goblin

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"Black, gray, and white" does not necessarily mean "goth." Neither do chokers and leather pants. What is this, Ask Andy Rooney About Clothes?

To be honest, the chokers, bracelets, and leather pants aren't really my thing, but everything else on your list, stylistic criteria included, looks reasonable to me, i.e., I probably own some permutation thereof or subscribe to the same basic credo. Then again, I recently posted a thread about broadening my style and palette, so take that for what it's worth.

I second American Apparel, although lately I've been more prone to say "*******" and just buy black, white, and gray t-shirts in plastic bags of 3 or 5 at Wal-Mart. If you're thin and kind of trashy-looking anyway (and I really hope you are, because there's nothing worse than a portly gentleman in a choker, q.v., any Grim Reaper video), you can get away with that ****. I'm also trying to mix in a few more "grown up," preppy elements without looking like an emo kid biting Morrissey.

Fit is the major dispositive factor in whether I can wear stuff ... there's a big difference in the way you'll look in a nice slim polo shirt and something boxy. American Apparel is nice here because it's slim, unlabeled, and widely available online.

Don't let the backlash get you down, dude. This month, the Streetwear forum is all up on Engineered Garments, W+H, etc. Next month, the "consensus aesthetic" may be back to Rawking Out, by which I mean licking the butt of Hedi Slimane via the internets, in which case you may get better answers.
 

th476uy

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afaludi -
Thanks for the advice on American Apparel. This might be surprising, but I've never heard of it up until your suggestion, I don't have any in my local mall. Now I wish I did. I have found one in my local city, I'll definately consider visiting it.

Rome -
I'm not gothic. As other repliers have, you probably mistook my wardrobe to be gothic due to the black leather pants, the black choker, and the bracelets.
My intention isn't for it to be gothic, instad I'm going for more of a sophisticated rocker look. My current wardrobe consists of tight-fitting black, blue, and grey denim, band tees, and mostly striped Polo shirts/Long-sleeved tops, and Hoodies. I suppose you could call it a "hardcore" look, and it fits me well, as I'm interested in music defined as Hardcore / Metal / Metalcore / Grindcore / Etc. and I'm in a band that plays music of those types.
I tend to buy lots of clothes at one time about every 6 months, and recently I decided I wanted to change my image to a more "sophisticated" look, which in my opinion would mean no more band tees , and instead dark, blank t-shirts. I'm also switching from striped, lighter Polo shirts to darker solid ones.
Recently I saw some black leather pants. They were tight-fitting, simple, and looked similar to your regular dark black denim jeans except they had that leather shine. I thought I would add them on the list of possible clothes to buy, however I will admit they were "iffy" to me because I had never thought about buying them and they seemed like the most drastic choice of clothing on the list.
As for the black choker, maybe I should have said a tight, black necklace instead? I currently wear a tight black and white necklace and that has never been associated with being gothic, so I figured an all black one would be a reasonable thing to put on the list.
The bracelets go along the same lines as the black choker. I have, however, decided not to buy them and have deleted them from my list due to the negative feedback I've gotten from them in this thread and the unwanted gothic connotations they have given.

CoryB -
See my reply to Rome. Also, thanks for the suggestion on the Gap, I'll be sure to visit it in my local mall and check out their Fall/Winter lineup. Speaking of the mall, you said to go and look through every store, even if it doesn't suit my current style. If you mean to say that I might not be open-minded when it comes to clothing/style, you're mistaken. I believe I'm familiar with (meaning I've been in and tried on clothes) with every store in my local mall - Abercrombie and Fitch, Hollister, American Eagle, Aeropostale, Buckle, Fast Forward, Hot Topic, The Gap, Old Navy, Foleys, just to name some. Thanks anyway though for the suggestion.

styleoasis -
See my reply to Rome. Also thanks for all the good suggestions.

Max -
See my reply to Rome. As I've said, I've taken the leather pants off the list due to the negative feedback and unwanted implications that could come from wearing them.

Edward Appleby -
See my reply to Rome. I also like your take on the "snowball" effect for buying new clothes, a good thing to consider.

Fuuma -
See my reply to Rome.

Lamo -
What's APC?

Goblin -
Thanks for the reply and all the advice, you definately have the most positive and useful feedback (no offense to anyone else). I'll be sure to check out your thread about broadening your style/pallete. Also, for the record, I'm slim (5'9'', 140 lbs.), and I'm 16 years old (hopefully the forum will still take me seriously in fashion sense despite my age, haha).
 

Rome

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That is the lengthiest reply I've ever gotten on this board, and I post a lot of silly ****. It was a joke although you probably couldn't tell because of my loathe for emoticons. Seriously, stop. You don't owe me or any one else an explanation for your choices if you feel they best suit you. You don't wear style, you exude it (or some such ****** nonsense).

And welcome to the board.

+1 on what Goblin said...
 

Lamo

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Originally Posted by th476uy
afaludi -

Lamo -
What's APC?


http://apc.fr/us/en/homme.php


Somewhat pricey but nice stuff overall. i'd recommend trying out the stuff instore if you live near one of their stockist. online catalogue's missing a few things and stock's aren't updated quickly enough.
 

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