Starting From 0 - How Would You Rebuild?

[ValidusLA]

Heya all -

We are in the hills of Pasadena and lost our home in the Eaton Fire. As we ran from our home we grabbed high value stuff and documents. Saved stuff like jewelry and warches.

I also like a weirdo grabbed my ties, squares, and cufflinks. So I've got tons of those!

My wardrobe was about 10 bespoke suits, 15 sportcoats both bespoke and Armoury OTR. About 20 odd trousers bespoke and MTM. 15 pairs of CJ and Vass. Estimated figures.

I wore a olive Barbour, a blue shirt, some selvedge denim, and Islays out.
I ordered some pants from Collaro who had my sizing (mid grey, cream, rust) and called Armoury to send me a navy Balloon cause they have my alterations.

Ultimately I had too many clothes. And many of my bespoke items had glaring flaws because I made them before I knew what I know now.

I'm in the situation where my personal effects limit on my insurance is far too low to replace what we had.

But our income is much higher than it was even 2 years ago and when we bought most stuff.

I'm tempted to rebuild smaller at higher quality. Instead of 15 CJ and Vass maybe 7 Edward Green. Stuff like that.

If you guys had nothing, where would you start?

 

[jazznpool]

Heya all -

We are in the hills of Pasadena and lost our home in the Eaton Fire. As we ran from our home we grabbed high value stuff and documents. Saved stuff like jewelry and warches.

I also like a weirdo grabbed my ties, squares, and cufflinks. So I've got tons of those!

My wardrobe was about 10 bespoke suits, 15 sportcoats both bespoke and Armoury OTR. About 20 odd trousers bespoke and MTM. 15 pairs of CJ and Vass. Estimated figures.

I wore a olive Barbour, a blue shirt, some selvedge denim, and Islays out.
I ordered some pants from Collaro who had my sizing (mid grey, cream, rust) and called Armoury to send me a navy Balloon cause they have my alterations.

Ultimately I had too many clothes. And many of my bespoke items had glaring flaws because I made them before I knew what I know now.

I'm in the situation where my personal effects limit on my insurance is far too low to replace what we had.

But our income is much higher than it was even 2 years ago and when we bought most stuff.

I'm tempted to rebuild smaller at higher quality. Instead of 15 CJ and Vass maybe 7 Edward Green. Stuff like that.

If you guys had nothing, where would you start?

I’m sorry about your traumatic loss and the disarray you face. There’s no finer footwear store in Southern California than Gentleman’s Footwear. I have bought several pair of EG and C&J shoes from Steve. I have an EG MTO going too. Knowledgeable and pleasant man to deal with.
I also recommend you call and visit Peter at Tam Tailor in Westminster. Excellent quality bespoke suits and sport coats at Canali off the rack prices. Peter is also a good man to deal with.

Budd shirts, Canons Bespoke, Daniel Wegan and Gaziano and Girling visit LA about 3x a year. I’m having (or had) an excellent bespoke experience with them.

I hope you enjoy building your new wardrobe with the experience you now have. Best of luck.

 

[epsilon22]

Sorry to hear about your loss. I'm at a much earlier point in my sartorial journey than you are, but I can relate to the idea of having fewer but higher quality items as someone who has lived an expat life since I left home to college, from living in student dorms to tiny studio apartments and moving every few years, I just don't have the space to have an expansive wardrobe.

Depending on urgency, if you have the time maybe go with bespoke shoes and suits/jackets? If I were to start over, I'd probably first get two business suits, one for summer and another for the other three seasons, 4-6 sport coats split between hot and cold weathers, double that amount of odd trousers, and maybe 4-5 shoes. I mostly wear odd trousers/jackets to work, and I don't attend formal events regularly so two business suits and no dinner suit would suffice for a wardrobe restart, of course future expansions would depend on my future needs.

For the suits, maybe a navy fresco for the summer and a charcoal flannel for the colder weather. For sport coats, I'd at least want two navy, one for each weather, but I'm still in the process of figuring out what kinds of sport coats I want to add into my wardrobe (a tan/beige/cream wsl, a grey tweed, and something in checks are likely additions in near future). Trousers, probably just a bunch of greys with some beige/taupe/cream mixed in, all in high twist for summer and either flannel or cavalry twill for winter.

I'm probably clearer on what I want to do with shoes, if I were to only have 5-ish pairs, they'd probably be black oxfords, dark brown derbys, color 8 loafers, dark brown suede chukkas, and probably another pair of loafers in dark brown calf or suede. Future expansions may include derby boots, or maybe just more loafers.

 

[Son Of Saphir]

Have heard about the fires, what an awful business. My heart goes out to everyone.

Don't know anything about your lifestyle, but why not start with classic pieces that can be mixed and matched, and also some linen suits.

- navy blazer
- numerous patterned sportscoats
- bone trousers
- white trousers
- grey trousers
- navy trousers (all to match with the blazer and sportscoats)
- two light coloured linen suits
- classic shirts, and some linen ones.

Build a wardrobe like that and you'll probably never be sorry. Make the wardrobe small, and make it all bespoke. Better get busy because it will take time to assemble.

Why a small bespoke wardrobe? To minimise any losses. Fires, weight gain etc.

In the meantime you'll have to get by with rtw and make do.

 

[JohnMRobie]

Fuuuuuuuck. So sorry to hear about your home dude.

Clothing all seems so trivial when push comes to shove on that. My take is separate the urgent from the rebuilding journey which is sounds like you’re doing. Get the basics covered to deal with the day to day and rebuild the stuff you want.

I know that you know the stuff on body type, picking a house style, knowing what you like. Also that you have a tailor you like. Advantage to rebuilding and going smaller is you know the things you ordered that you never wore, the things you reached for more often. One thing I found super helpful when rebuilding my wardrobe was saying eff the check the box lists and deciding I wear navy suits a lot so let’s just order 10 of those across various seasons, weights, etc.

On shoes - So much of that is preference. EG or Lobb won’t be that much of an upgrade from CJ handgrade IMO. Honestly if it were me I’d go from 15 pairs to 5 and stick with a couple vass and mix in a couple bespoke or high end mtm.

 

[Son Of Saphir]

In the immediate short term you'll need rtw, so how about 2 sportscoats and 4 odd trousers and some shirts. Buy nice stuff that fits and keep it in your wardrobe. Why not develop a signiture style - Validus has worn that same sportscoat every week for the past 20 years and he looks great.

Golden rule = no waste. Wear everything regularly.

If you are going to minimise your shoe wardrobe I would avoid Vass. Vass have a certain look that is not to everyone's taste. Why not spend the money on perfect looking shoes on stunning lasts. None of the high end retailers like my Vass shoes, they all hate them, even the F last. Shoes are forever, so make them count and don't compromise. Buy the best shoes you can afford, you will never regret it. 7 pair is good, but 14 pair is better, all of them masterpieces, if you can.

 

[comrade]

" None of the high end retailers like my Vass shoes, they all hate them, even the F last. Shoes are forever" Why? I like Vass shoes but they are unable to fit me.

 

[breakaway01]

Hey. So sorry to hear about this. Glad that your family is OK. Yes, 'just' material possessions but there is history and memory tied up in things. The trouble with giving you specific advice here is that we don't know which of your clothing items you wore most often and enjoyed the most.

If it were me, I'd quickly replace the items that I wore most regularly with RTW, so that you have something to wear now. Even if I was going to eventually replace some/all of these with bespoke, I'd still really miss them for the time it will take for them to be made. Then once your 'high-quality' items are eventually done over the next 1-5 years, they replace your RTW items and you still have a capsule wardrobe.

 

[emptym]

Oh, that's terrible news, V! I read about it in another thread and am so sorry for your family's loss.

But I admire you for thinking of it as an opportunity. Iirc, you mentioned that you tended to wear a nice shirt, sport coat, jeans, and nice boots to work. So I agree with @JohnMRobie to focus on things you tend to wear rather than checking off lists.

I think going with makers you've worked with before is a good idea. I'd reorder most of the things I have now, if possible. A few were special orders of fabric no longer made (Zegna wsl or Breanish tweed) or the makers have died (RIP @DWFII) or gone out of business (Alfred Sargent). My favorite shoe is the unlined shell LHS from Alden for BB, which is no longer made, so that'd also be tough to replace, but I'd get some lined pairs or see if Carmina could do an unlined pair in their LHS clone the Pina.

I don't know if I'd necessarily go higher end though. Having tried some of the supposed world's finest things, I've realized I don't always need what others consider the "the best." For example, I have several pairs of Ambrosi pants, but totally happy with Luxire for pants. For shirts, I've gone back to wearing old made-in-the-US LL Bean, Land's End, Arrow, etc. For suits and sport coats, I Sarti or Spier&MacKay are all I'd need. Shoes, I'm with you on Vass and EG, and add Alden, prob just 3-4 models: George boots (tall chukkas), penny loafers, Venetian loafers, and wholecut slip-ons.

Gifts would also be tough or impossible to replace, like a belt my sister gave to me in the 80s. And worn jeans would be hard too, particularly raws ones that I'd worn for years and even spent hours repairing, like this pair. Fortunately, I think you have an in with a great source for jeans.

All the best to you and your family during the recovery.

Edit: @Son Of Saphir, high end retailers may hate Vass because they sell such great shoes for such low prices (hand-welted for GYW prices) and even undercut their own retailers.

 

[Son Of Saphir]

" None of the high end retailers like my Vass shoes, they all hate them, even the F last. Shoes are forever" Why?

(a quick side track from the main topic)

I will give my viewpoint, but please don't take it personally. This is just my understanding, a viewpoint l have held for many years.

Many of those older shoemakers born in the old communist Eastern European countries (the iron curtain shoemakers) made shoes that were very simple. They often made big bulky shoes that were simple and unrefined. You see that in Vass' older lasts, big high toe boxes, high vamps, simple shapes, wide stitching, big heels etc. Please don't get me wrong here, I have a lot of respect for Mr Vass because he has kept his prices down while being committed to high quality handmade shoes, was determined to employ all his staff during covid, and he has tried to move with the times and modernise his shoes. The thing is though...you can't get the iron curtain out of the boy, and this has made things less than ideal for Vass shoes. Now we have Vass trying to do versions of Italian and English shoes, but those shoes still have high tox boxes, high vamps, big block heels, wide welts, wide stitching and wide wheeling marks on the welts more suited to casual work boots; it is a mixture of old iron curtain shoes trying to modernise into Italian and English shoes, but it is a hybrid that doesn't really work very well.

Let me demonstrate with some photos. Great shoemakers will make a last that looks great from all angles, but the old iron curtain shoemakers make lasts that have unflattering angles and are unrefined.

U or P last - notice the classic Vass high toe box and high walls. Notice the big wheeling marks on the welt that is more casual by nature and doesn't match the style of the shoe. It is nothing like an Italian shoe, it is an iron curtain version of an Italian shoe, ie, a hybrid. How many Italian chisel toes shoes look like that? There are much better versions of chisel toes than this. People buy Vass because they are cheap and good shoes, and they can look o.,k from numerous angles, but there is a compromise of style because some of those angles are not so flattering. I want a shoe that is flattering from all angles, hence paying a bit more.


Another unflattering angle. Look at that brute of a welt. That is not refinement. These angles are important to show because Vass numerous unflattering angles. They also have that look that makes them look long and awkward which numerous dislike, these photo angles are how they look in real life. The shoe is not a refined Italian looking chisel toe, it is just a big basic shoe trying to look Italian.

A Vass F last with high walls and a nub on the toe at the end (everything is BIG), and a close cut waist to add to the contradiction. Also has a wide casual welt with wide wheeling marks on a dress shoe with a big block heel?...makes no sense, but old iron curtain features added to in an attempt to modernise the styles, but it doesn't work because everything looks off. Many people don't like Vass because they know things look off.

Another unflattering angle. The top of the shoe looks refined, but it is still a big bulky last on the sides with casual aspects added.

If Mr Vass wants to modernise he needs to make Italian shoes look like italian shoes (refined lasts with smaller stitched and small wheeling marks on the welt) and make English shoes to look like English shoes. People want refined classic shoes these days.

Mr Vass' best shoe is probably his Budapest shoe. It is elegant and has stood the test of time. It is a masterpiece.

The people in the highend shoe stores have basically said the following about my Vass shoes over the years "why don't you wear better shoes instead of those". In other words, wear shoes that look just right. Of course these people were right, all of them were right. Life is too short to wear a bunch of contradictions on your feet that look off, better to buy a well designed shoe from people who properly understand mainstream aesthetics of great shoemaking.

 

[Satmoche]

Heya all -

We are in the hills of Pasadena and lost our home in the Eaton Fire. As we ran from our home we grabbed high value stuff and documents. Saved stuff like jewelry and warches.

I also like a weirdo grabbed my ties, squares, and cufflinks. So I've got tons of those!

My wardrobe was about 10 bespoke suits, 15 sportcoats both bespoke and Armoury OTR. About 20 odd trousers bespoke and MTM. 15 pairs of CJ and Vass. Estimated figures.

I wore a olive Barbour, a blue shirt, some selvedge denim, and Islays out.
I ordered some pants from Collaro who had my sizing (mid grey, cream, rust) and called Armoury to send me a navy Balloon cause they have my alterations.

Ultimately I had too many clothes. And many of my bespoke items had glaring flaws because I made them before I knew what I know now.

I'm in the situation where my personal effects limit on my insurance is far too low to replace what we had.

But our income is much higher than it was even 2 years ago and when we bought most stuff.

I'm tempted to rebuild smaller at higher quality. Instead of 15 CJ and Vass maybe 7 Edward Green. Stuff like that.

If you guys had nothing, where would you start?

I am sorry for the loss and I hope that you and your partner will not be scarred by it.

For shoes, I would agree to stick to higher quality in less quantity. You mentioned having the financial power to do so. Based on your current occupation, the weather and what you do during the spare time, I would then select what would be worn the most.
I work in the education sector where most people are happy to wear low-waisted chinos with supermarket shoes - whilst having financial access to at least C&J. If I were to start from nothing, I would get:
1) 1 pair of brown suede oxfords, Connaught at C&J or Berkeley at EG
2) 1 pair of calf Oxford, black, either Lonsdale at C&J or Chelsea at EG
3) 1 pair of derby, burgundy / plum, Ascott 2 at C&J or Dover at EG
4) 1 pair of suede loafers, Boston at C&J or Belgravia at EG
5) 1 pair of black loafers, Cavendish at C&J or Piccadilly grain at EG
6) 1 pair of suede chukka boots, Upton at C&J or Shanklin at EG