Building a wardrobe of cheaper, generic brands, because you can, and want to.

G'day everyone,
Like most people here, I try to maintain my own sense of dressing well, at a price that I am comfortable with.

I've noticed there's not a lot of discussion about building a wardrobe composed of lesser or generic brands.

A lot of the clothing, shoes and accessories discussed on these boards are of the highest quality and workmanship, with matching pricetags.

In saying that, the information found on these forums vastly exceeds what I need to know for my own needs, so I thought I'd set about starting a thread where bespoke, MTM, custom tailoring and similar concepts are the exception, rather than the rule.

The emphasis here is on buying generic brands, based on affordability, attractiveness and utility, rather than luxury and the highest quality available.

They won't last a lifetime, but for the however long you own them, they'll look good, and with some care, most people won't notice the difference.

I'm currently in Oz, where luxury goods are very expensive, and salaries are not as high as the US or Europe.
For the locals, especially Sydneysiders, I hope some of you will contribute any secret places where good deals abound.

I love many of the nice handmade shoes and suits people post their pictures of. What motivates me is when I see something nice like that I always wonder if the look can be replicated within my price range.

It's a challenge I highly recommend, and like thrifting, can become addictive.

I'll start with some generic shoes I bought, but feel free to write about anything you own, or are looking for, and perhaps I or someone like me, in your area, can help.

I recently bought some shoes from a store called Emporio in Pitt St Mall, in Sydney's conservative business dress (Mid City centre)

I'm sure I've seen their superior quality cousins floating around in the Shoe Appreciation threads, so I thought I'd post some pics, as well.

I bought 2 pairs, black and brown. They're a brand called Succhi, and unfortunately a Google search yielded very little on them, except, I think, that they're Melbourne based.

Anyway, these shoes are "rounded" perforated point toes, my first excursion into either variant.

They were just under $240 Aussie in total, and for the price I'm quite pleased. I could have bought 1 pair with that, at higher quality, but I value the diversity of colour this added to my shoe collection.

I'll be wearing them this weekend to a newly married friend's place for dinner. I normally wear a size 43, but these are 42 and fit very well, so if you like them, bear in mind that the sizing runs a little bigger than you'd normally wear.

I haven't bought clothes for a while, not from Aussie shops, anyway, but I have a pretty good idea of where bargains can be found, and will be taking a friend suit shopping over the next 2 weekends to find 2 suits that are priced within $200 each. Sounds challenging, but that's the fun of it.

Anyway, let me know what you think, specifically, construction related issues from those who understand shoe construction. More pics are available on request.

Cheers all, and thanks in advance.

You may be better off hunting ebay for allen edmonds. They can be had for ~100 usd new if you're patient or less if you don't mind used ones. I don't intend offense, but those shoes do not do it for me at all. The construction appears to be poor to my untrained eyes. Not fond of the leather grain either. Perhaps other members like them, but i don't. Might I also add that Australia's own RM williams can be had for the price of those shoes. They're very nice and I'm hoping to acquire a pair of whiskey craftsman's in yearling leather soon.

SF has an appropriate amount of reverence for high-end brands. But when most members are dressing themselves, or if someone asks for help, the theme is on most bang-for-your-buck, the knee-of-the-curve, satisficing, etc.

Most MC members operate in a very narrow band of the shoe market. Anything cheaper than AE is indistinguishable garbage, anything more expensive is only worth it if you are really interested in shoes.

Your Succhis look like dressy Streetwear shoes. You'll find more flexibility for shoes over there. I'd say you paid a reasonable price for the styling and there's no way to tell if the construction is worth that much.

I think buying cheap generic clothing is what anyone intuitively knows how to do. You could say my entire wardrobe before the internet age was always based on this aesthetic. There's no point in discussing it though, anyone can walk into sears, walmart, target, or a gap outlet and get very decent, basic, cheap clothes. There is nothing wrong with it but on the same token there is nothing to discuss about, really.

Take for example your shoes. They look nice but they probably aren't up to the quality standards of the names dropped here. Why do I say that? because there are tons of similar brands at american stores too. We've seen them, but they arent that interesting and they don't get discussed. There are plenty of $200 style shoes with decent broguing or antiquing which I would buy at 50 or 75% off, but I probably wouldn't post about it. Maybe I would add them to a collection pic but they are too obvious to discuss in depth. Also my philosophy right now is pay more for something you will use more. IE you got those 2 pair of shoes for $240 AUS each, I would think about how much you would wear them, and instead consider getting a single pair of something else for $480 which I will wear more often.

Also people here get ridiculous deals through effort. You are saying how great a deal those $240 shoes are, people here routinely will get some Santoni Fatte for $300 on some clearance somewhere.

Originally Posted by Tarmac

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Also people here get ridiculous deals through effort. You are saying how great a deal those $240 shoes are, people here routinely will get some Santoni Fatte for $300 on some clearance somewhere.

Is that $300 US? Price-wise, that is more than I'd be willing to pay, as it is almost $375 Aussie, and I got 2 pairs for $120 each, or about US$200. Again, it comes down to utility, and most people cannot tell the difference so long as you maintain a modicum of personal style.
I have never heard of Santoni Fatte, or where it is available here, but it would not be at the price you pay, that I can guarantee, and goes back to what I said about luxury goods being dearer in Oz.

As for there being nothing to discuss about cheaper quality goods, I disagree, which is why I posted to begin with. The poll indicates most people will have a few quality items, and build around those with generics. That leaves both open to discussion. For exampl, which items do people buy that are high end, and what do they get that is generic?

No offense taken, Bob. RM Williams hold no appeal for me at all. I can buy blundstones for less, which look just as clunky, while other RM Williams again are priced out of what I'd pay. Their appeal seems far greater on this forum than anywhere else I have ever read.

Good point Jared, re anything cheaper than AE being indistinguishable garbage, anything more expensive is only worth it if you are really interested in shoes.
I only ever liked one pair of AEs, Fairfax, I think, in chestnut, but they did not have my size on the day.

I mean, we do talk about more "generic" stuff in the context of other discussions. Express dress shirts, Gap tees, H&M anything- it's just, like someone said, it isn't a particularly interesting topic in and of itself.

Everything I buy is medium-high to high quality at heavily discounted prices... I didn't find that option in your poll

Originally Posted by lakewolf

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Everything I buy is medium-high to high quality at heavily discounted prices... I didn't find that option in your poll

Ta, mate,
The thread will not survive, but the poll might stand on its own 2 feet, with properly considered choices.

I will recreate it within the next couple of days, with a few more variants.

I dunno. I signed on with SF originally because I was sick of wearing OTR generic-wear. Mainly because it didn't fit. So I guess I could say that up till now, most of my stuff is generic. (And plentiful). But now I'm building a wardrobe, generic is merely lingering, not joining as a new recruit. Sorry.

And btw, after buying one brand new pair of AEs and a few used that I'll eventually have re-soled, I just don't see the point of buying $100-$200 shoes: they look somewhat dressy, sure, but they're uncomfortable as hell. I see that as money poorly spent (my $200 Barneys dress shoes 'made in Italy' are incredibly uncomfortable, while my used old pair of AEs bought off ebay for $20 are far more comfy.)

I buy what I like, designer, high end, generic, doesn't matter to me as long as it's quality and looks good.

I buy stuff that are expensive not because of the brand on the tags but because of the quality and workmanship put into the item. Of course these items push a premium for this, and I am a happy camper willing to pay for it.

it's funny that people are so willing to spend top money for clothing, but half the world lives in poverty.

Originally Posted by stickonatree

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it's funny that people are so willing to spend top money for clothing, but half the world lives in poverty.
why is it funny?

Please don't let this degenerate into poverty politics.

No matter how low anyone goes in their personal spending, there will be many more people who will still live below the poverty line in your own state, let alone the rest of the world.

Originally Posted by stickonatree

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it's funny that people are so willing to spend top money for clothing, but half the world lives in poverty.

That's pretty funny.