Paralysis By Analysis

[Al Shosty]

Hi everyone,

I've been lurking on this forum for a long time, and I have to say that discovering Styleforum has had a transformational effect on my wardrobe. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

I've recently started gathering summertime clothes. I picked up a pair of white cotton-linen trousers from brooks brothers, and they've been a great alternative to shorts all summer long. To be frank, it's my birthday, and I have a bit of extra money to spend, so I'm thinking of buying a second pair of these trousers.

The problem is that this colour choice depends on what else I'm going to buy. I'll list my current summer wardrobe before going into my dilemma:

Trousers: White (above), Light blue jeans
Polos: White, Beige, Light Blue (All RL), Navy (Lacoste)
Casual Shirts (Mostly Boggi): Dark Blue, Light Blue, White, Pink, Mediumish Blue
All my cotton dress shirts (light blue, medium blue & white)
Shoes: Burgundy double monks (Meermin), Blue suede bucks (don't remember), cherry grain (burgundy/brownish) boat shoes

So, now that that's out of the way, here are my options for what to buy now. I can only buy one pair of shoes and one pair of trousers:

Shoes: Dark Brown Navy Suede (Meermin) OR Dark Blue Penny Loafers (Barker's)
Trousers: Light Beige OR Light Grey OR Navy (All Brooks Brothers)

I basically have 2 questions:

(1) So, I'm leaning towards the light beige, particularly as I think it would look stunning with a lot of my casual shirts and my current burgundy shoes. I would then get the dark brown double monks, which would then match both the white and beige trousers. However, that would leave me with the burgundy and dark brown monks being my two main shoe colours, and imo they match with very similar things and don't really provide any avenues via which I could freshen up my look on occasion. On the OTHER hand, I don't think the dark navy would match too well with the beige (it's a darkish beige), though I could be wrong about that.

The light grey trousers would also be a good option, but I feel that it kinda betrays the casual nature of the linen fabric itself, and a lot of outfits would overlap with those that I would put together with the white trousers. I'd probably get the navy shoes though, which would honestly give me more freshness as opposed to the dark brown shoes (when combined with my current burgundy ones).

(2) Aren't these types of choices so asphyxiating? I'm honestly not even having fun anymore, I'm just terrified I'll make a mistake and waste a lot of money only to end up looking like crap. How do you guys handle these kinds of decisions when you're suffering from paralysis by analysis? Trying to remind myself that I'm the only one who ultimately cares about the way I look in casual wear isn't really helping me that much. Anyway, thanks for reading this far, and I'd like to hear your opinions.

EDIT: I'm living in London, so all of this will only be wearable for 2-3 months a year at best (to be honest, most likely 2).

 

[breakaway01]

I think you're off to a good start. As long as you're buying within your means, don't worry too much about making a few mistakes along the way. All of us have done it. I think you're on the right track--start off with versatile pieces that you can mix and match with others.

I would go with the light beige over the light grey as well for a pair of cotton-linen casual summer trousers.

As far as the shoes go, again, I'd stick with versatile. You already have a pair of blue suede bucks; I wouldn't pick up a second pair of blue shoes just yet. How about a pair of polo/snuff suede loafers? Or for an even more causal look, a pair of espadrilles?