The purchase you regret the most

[Pink22m]

I thought this topic would be interesting. What sort of clothing purchases have you made in the past that you regret? Perhaps, as in my case, it is because you purchased the item before you aquired the knowledge that you have now, and were easily persuaded by labels. For me, that purchase was 3 years ago. I purchased a Giorgio Armani Classico shirt for $380 at the Armani boutique. I still have yet to wear it, and it sits inside my armoir with the tags still attached to it. I admit to buying this shirt due to the name, and much less the quality. In fact, I was more into labels at the time, but since joining this forum and expanding my sartorial knowledge, I much prefer quality over labels. This isn't to say that Armani is bad quality, it's just that looking back, I would have spent that $400 on a Borelli.

 

[johnnynorman3]

An Armani Classico shirt probably is not too far off from a Borrelli -- Classico is the highest Armani line. Wear the damn thing or hawk it on Ebay for $150 - 200. My biggest regret? Not buying an Attolini suit that I saw in Filene's Basement for $450 last June. It wasn't my size, but it was a 44R and thus would have been easy to hawk on Ebay. I could have then bought an Attolini in MY SIZE.

But seriously, biggest regret was buying a Jones New York suit for $225 about a month before I joined this forum. Luckiliy I managed to hawk it on Craig's list for $175 and thus was "educated" for a mere $50. Wow, I was really an idiot.

 

[j]

What's wrong with the Armani shirt? You don't have to wear it with the tags exposed, you know... Â

I agree, a guy with a little knowledge and some money/credit are very dangerous. I wish the forum had been around back when I was getting into clothing in earnest. I guess my biggest regret per price would be the orange Bally loafers I bought. Granted, they were 70% off, but it was 70% off of $395 or something, and not only are they orange, they don't fit very well. I can actually see wearing them, as I like the style (I have the same ones in black and those fit well) but the fit and the orangeness... what am I going to do with these?

Edit: BTW, they are 11D's, a little long, if anyone's interested.

 

[johnnynorman3]

Wear them with your orange Kiton blazer of course.

 

[Pink22m]

I agree, a guy with a little knowledge and some money/credit are very dangerous. I wish the forum had been around back when I was getting into clothing in earnest. I guess my biggest regret per price would be the orange Bally loafers I bought. Granted, they were 70% off, but it was 70% off of $395 or something, and not only are they orange, they don't fit very well. I can actually see wearing them, as I like the style (I have the same ones in black and those fit well) but the fit and the orangeness... what am I going to do with these?

I will trade you your Bally loafers for my Armani shirt.

In all seriousness though, it is not that there is anything wrong with an Armani shirt (especially a Classico one), its just that given the choice now between a Classico shirt and a Borelli, I would definetely go with the Borelli. A few years back, I would have chosen the Armani if only for its name, letting label take priority over quality. Now, there is no doubt I am more concerned with quality then label/name recognition. Still, I do plan on wearing the thing soon. I might as well get some use out of it.

 

[Brian SD]

An Armani Classico shirt probably is not too far off from a Borrelli -- Classico is the highest Armani line. Wear the damn thing or hawk it on Ebay for $150 - 200. My biggest regret? Not buying an Attolini suit that I saw in Filene's Basement for $450 last June. It wasn't my size, but it was a 44R and thus would have been easy to hawk on Ebay. I could have then bought an Attolini in MY SIZE.

But seriously, biggest regret was buying a Jones New York suit for $225 about a month before I joined this forum. Luckiliy I managed to hawk it on Craig's list for $175 and thus was "educated" for a mere $50. Wow, I was really an idiot.

Holy crap, Attolini for $450. Dammit, why isn't there a Filene's in CA?.

 

[johnnynorman3]

I had posted about it -- HRHAndrew told me to buy it to flip it. Funny thing is, I started flipping on Ebay about 3 weeks after that. I picked up a Borrelli suit for HRHAndrew for $650 that same day.

 

[housemaidsknee]

What's wrong with the Armani shirt? You don't have to wear it with the tags exposed, you know... Â

I agree, a guy with a little knowledge and some money/credit are very dangerous. I wish the forum had been around back when I was getting into clothing in earnest. I guess my biggest regret per price would be the orange Bally loafers I bought. Granted, they were 70% off, but it was 70% off of $395 or something, and not only are they orange, they don't fit very well. I can actually see wearing them, as I like the style (I have the same ones in black and those fit well) but the fit and the orangeness... what am I going to do with these? Edit: BTW, they are 11D's, a little long, if anyone's interested.

you know some darker shoe polish might be able to change the color to something you like better.

 

[j]

you know some darker shoe polish might be able to change the color to something you like better.

I considered that, but I decided to leave that to the next owner. As I said, they are a bit too long and I already have some in black that actually fit. They do stay on my feet but they feel clumsy and I worry about chipping the toe of the sole.

 

[acole]

Black wool crepe Andrew Fezza black suit, $125, eBay.  The fused lapel "roll" has all the resilience of a pressed flower, and I've since scored Canali and H-F suits for around the same amount (or less).

I'll also admit to a few common thrift-shopping stumbles...at least one uber-padded, low-waisted, low-gorge, "In 1983, it walked the earth." monstrosity of a sportscoat; a pinstriped odd jacket that's obviously an orphaned suit coat; also a handful of well-made shirts, woven ties, and sweaters that were simply the wrong colors for me.

 

[johnnynorman3]

Ahhh, I've purchased far too many ties prior to even owning a suit to go with them.

 

[norcaltransplant]

Anything Armani in my closet. Surprisingly, the my lone olive cotton V-neck A/X sweater has been a real winner--one of the most versatile layering pieces I own.

Close second: A pair of black Ferragamo captoes that led to my discovery of this forum. I didn't pay much ($150), but I've since moved on to more comfortable and better shoes.

 

[Aaron]

Hmm...since joining this forum and learning so much about what quality clothing is, my ill-fitting suit shirts from BR, Boss, etc. I'm really hard to fit and I should have gone MTM along time ago. The purchase I regret the most was a brown leather bookbag/briefcase I bought from a luggage store that was going out of business. I got a $600 briefcase for $200 (that included tax), but now it sits gathering dust in my closet because frankly, I go to university and have no use for a briefcase. Oh well, no longer will I be blinded by a deal.

Aaron

 

[PHV]

A Giorgio Armani black pinstripe suit about 4 years ago...

 

[bslo]

1) every fused/half fused suit that I have ever purchased (especially the two Hugo Boss suits) 2) every Thomas Pink shirt that I have ever purchased--poor fit, poor materials, overpriced 3) every pair of Kenneth Cole shoes that I have ever purchased (about 5 pairs) Essentially, almost every purchase I made prior to joining this forum in Oct. 2003