Attire Upgrade, All Help Appreciated

Originally Posted by dsgNYC

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GQ is exactly where I started too. The price for a yearly subscription is very cheap ($10 for 1 year, $18 for 2 years) and definitely worth it, if only for the fact that reading a magazine in the bathroom isn't as awkward as using your computer. I also recommend downloading the GQ podcast. I commute ~50 minutes to work each way and found that even the podcasts that were 2 years old (or older...I think they're up to #116) really made my commute a lot easier.

I wish magazine subscriptions were that cheap here. I get Esquire from the US monthly. Its cheaper to get mags shipped in from the US than it is to get a subscription here.

GQ costs $80 per year, over here.

Originally Posted by sq4you

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avoid H&M at all costs! u spend 35 dollars on a shirt and it will rip the next day (literally, the shirt cloth tore around the button the first time i wore one i bought. complete crap quality).

Not going to say that this didn't happen, but I have 4 of H&M's better quality "real" dress shirts (I say this because they do have some really crappy shirts there, you just have to weed out the good from bad) and they've held up extremely well for the last year. $40 a pop and I must have washed and worn each at least 20 times. I guess this might be a YMMV. Also one of the shirts has really nice and thick buttons. Very substantial and look great. Not really sure why the one is so much better than the others but I don't mind.

That's the only problem with brands like H&M, Uniqlo, and Zara. You have to weed through some of the crap as they have inconsistencies with quality, fit, and style.

I forgot about the BB sale on their Pebble Grain Chukkas. That would be a fantastic place to get a great boot at a great price, assuming the get them back in stock around the same price point.

Originally Posted by Zenny

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I started my whole style journey with GQ.
Their articles on fit and style helped me alot, as well as their GQ RULES.

I like GQ Rules and the Style Guy column/blog. The actual magazine, not so much.

Originally Posted by bbaquiran

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I like GQ Rules and the Style Guy column/blog. The actual magazine, not so much.

Forgot to mention Style Guy. Love his Q&As, taught me alot about how not to give a damn.

Originally Posted by Zenny

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Forgot to mention Style Guy. Love his Q&As, taught me alot about how not to give a damn.

The Style Guy column is definitely the best part of GQ. In fact, Glenn O'Brien is a frequent contributor on their podcast...I find it fun to read his column then actually hear him speak

Originally Posted by sq4you

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I recommend Esquire The Big Black Book. See if you can find the 2007 red edition on ebay or something. the current one is a black/dark blue 2008 edition that u can find at barnes and nobles. new they are like 15 dollars each. there is lots of good info in there. especially in the 2007 one. at the back of the book there are all sorts of bits of information about how to identify a good suit, types of tie knots, how to mix and match patterns and then throughout the rest of the book there are lots of good images and explanations of items and their history. they are also good about putting pricing on each item they describe. lots of the stuff is over the top (like a 3500 dollar knit sweater) but u can find lots of more affordable stuff from brands like paul smith, etc. http://www.amazon.com/Esquires-Big-B.../dp/0641853831


if you want shirts that u can wear untucked i would recommend looking specifically for short shirts (i.e. with almost no tail). i generally tend to prefer shirts that are relatively straight along the bottom or with a very minimal angular cut. long shirt tails hanging out of a pullover is pretty douche-baggy if u ask me. if the shirt is pretty straight at the bottom u can have a bit showing to contrast without looking like a clown. for shirt brands...zara makes some nice shirts, avoid H&M at all costs! u spend 35 dollars on a shirt and it will rip the next day (literally, the shirt cloth tore around the button the first time i wore one i bought. complete crap quality). paul smith makes nice shirts. shipley and halmos (these fit amazing and have nice detials, cost about 170$ each. will last forever + garner u lots of compliments). thomas pink makes cool shirts too but generally more formal stuff (french cuffs, etc). u can find cool shirts at Rugby (youthful spinoff of ralph lauren) as well as at official ralph lauren stores (the slim ones are generally more expensive though).

if u want skinny leg jeans (which im guessing u dont) get AcnÃ

. for very good fit yet a slightly looser style Nudie (black coat black coat black coat! grey coat is cool too

. APC are pretty sweet as well. If you want looser get Diesel or G-star (g-star has some nice tapered jeans with really cool materials). everyone on here seems to talk about Paper jeans but ive never seen them or tried them on.

go to the paul smith website (note UK version is WAYYY better) and order a set from there immediately.
http://www.paulsmith.co.uk/us/shoes-...productId=5719. these shoes will last u forever
or try http://www.schuhstore.co.uk (they have paul smith as well). ive ordered from them and never had to pay import duties.

Thanks for the great advice! I'll be checking out the big black book today. I also looked at both of the shoe websites you sent, and absolutely could not find any paul smith chukkas on the second site, only tennis shoes. Any direct links? I would like to check them out and possibly buy a pair.

In response to the "clubbing" clothes, yes, I want clothes that I can wear to the club, but no, I don't want clothes that I can ONLY wear to the club. I don't want to buy douchebaggy clothes, and I think that if I look like every other a**hat at the club then not only is that not distinguishing myself from the crowd, but also not portraying a true representation of myself. I want to look good at nightclubs, but above all else classy, and not look like some fratboy out with his buds.

Some people also mentioned discount stores; I don't know any specific places like that in the Boston area. Any suggestions? We do have a filenes basement, and I sometimes go there for dress shirts, would that be a good place to check?

Also, a big question that I've had is that I wear my dress shirts every week or every other week, and after about 4-6 months of throwing them in the washer on weekends they fade and look like garbage. How do you wash your shirts without having them fade? I found that if I washed them every weekend and every other weekend used a dryel home drycleaning kit, it drastically slowed down the fading, but still by not that much. Any other suggestions?

re shirts that aren't too long

I have this problem too, most shirts are too long to go untucked especially polos...Penguin, Trovata, and Ben Sherman shirts are shorter.

For wahing use Woolite and wash in warm/cold water on gentle/knit cycle and tumble dry low or line dry...Also better quality shirts lose thier shape and color less than cheap shirts.

Originally Posted by spitfirees20

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Thanks for the solid reply! I wear my shirts untucked because when dancing at clubs it just feels much better, also tucking in a shirt into jeans just doesn't really work for me. Does everybody do that? I assumed most people who frequent nightspots wore their shirts untucked, of course with the proper hemming for the occasion. Also, I'm looking at those Brooks Bros. Chukkas, or should I say trying too.... I can't find them anywhere! Hopefully they come back soon. Here's the thread I'm looking at:

http://www.styleforum.net/showthread...others+chukkas

Also, should I really get brown shoes? I have always bought black shoes, so brown might take some getting used to.

That's the thread (well, the first of them ... a couple more sprung up more recently.) Yeah, it's hard to find that shoe right now ... stocks are depleted with recent sales. But keep an eye out ... Oh, and would you consider a Chelsea boot?? http://www.brooksbrothers.com/IWCatP...lor=Dark-brown (again, wait for better sales) (the prices in the BB clearance are back up a bit, but selection is a bit better too. Avoid the 'cavalry' chukka, but the brown suede one may be of interest.)

I am no expert on clubbing, but black shoes may be better at the club than brown. Anyhow, black shoes at night are fine. I tend to agree with a lot of guys here that brown shoes look better overall ... you can get a really nice warmth, depth, patina, whatever you want to call it, from brown that you can't from black, and black can be a bit too formal and austere. But it's not a major fashion blunder, and if black is your thing that's okay. But try getting some brown into your footwear and I suspect you'll be glad you did.

Generally, I'd say tuck in your shirt. Clubbing may be a different ballgame altogether, and I am no expert there. A guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do in order to do what a guy wants to do, right? Take this site with a grain of salt, but it may be of interest to you too ... http://www.magnificentbastard.com/

The Filene's on Boylston street seems to have a wide variety and a lot of name brands, but even at discouts their stuff is still pretty expensive, I guess because the original garment was ridiculously spendy. If you have a good understanding of quality or know labels/ designers/ manufacturers well, then you can probably score some great deals there. I bought nothing but a few ties from them, since I'm really not educated enough to determine whether dropping $1000 on a discounted HF suit is a good deal without any other information.

The Marshalls around here tend to have bad stuff. The Marshalls around DC were a lot better stocked. Really, I've not found a discount store that hits the sweet spot around Boston.

clubbing, just buy cheap black shoes, like some kenneth cole reaction or steve madden. ~$60. they are cheap and disposable, but not so cheap that it gives u blisters. people step on u all the time at the club. depends what clubs u go to, but most places pair of cheap slacks and a button up shirt and ur fine. or a pair of dark jeans with a button up shirt. you can just do a pinstripe shirt, or something loud. honestly people are out to have a good time, add a couple drinks and no one cares what ur wearin

Haha, http://www.magnificentbastard.com/ is a great link. I've been reading that and a suitable wardrobe lately, almost picked up a GQ today also but it was filled with so many ads... I guess that's just the way magazines are today. Also, I've decided to not care too much about the club scene, and just want to look decent in general. I guess if I'm tucking my shirt into jeans, I should also wear a belt, which I usually do not need because I simply don't buy pants that don't fit. Assuming I'm getting brown boots, should I also get a brown belt?

Originally Posted by spitfirees20

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Haha, http://www.magnificentbastard.com/ is a great link. I've been reading that and a suitable wardrobe lately, almost picked up a GQ today also but it was filled with so many ads... I guess that's just the way magazines are today. Also, I've decided to not care too much about the club scene, and just want to look decent in general. I guess if I'm tucking my shirt into jeans, I should also wear a belt, which I usually do not need because I simply don't buy pants that don't fit. Assuming I'm getting brown boots, should I also get a brown belt?

MB is a great site, I love the "How to spot a toolbag"

Always wear a belt that matches your shoes. If you've got belt loops, wear a belt, even if the pants fit. Jeans look a little strange without a belt.

On trousers if they fit you great then you can ask a tailor to remove the belt loops and go beltless.

Originally Posted by spitfirees20

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Assuming I'm getting brown boots, should I also get a brown belt?

Yep.

Match your belt and shoes/boots, both in colour and general texture (ie, a suede shoe would need ideally a suede belt, but at least one of some texture). Since boot and belt will be 3' apart, you don't need an exact match with each shade of brown ... just get close, like horseshoes and hand grenades.

to OP: Since you're in Boston, consider stopping by Drinkwater's in Cambridge on Mass Ave (between porter and davis square) if you're looking for a more grown man look then Gary (who is also a SF member) can help you get fixed up right.

Also, regarding Riccardi, I think their jean selection is definitely a step up from mall brands, but the one time I was in there, the girl who worked there just kept pushing nudie, nudie, nudie. Granted, she was quite knowledgable about the brand but if you're looking to go the raw denim route at all I suggest you do research here and on superfuture regarding that. If you're not looking to be that hardcore into denim, then just try on whatever makes you feel good and go for that. The Levis 514 posted earlier in the thread is a really underrated slim cut that works well on many different body types, IMO.

The H&M and Zara on Newbury street are good, but I find the H&M in downtown crossing has a much larger men's selection. If you don't mind saving up a bit of money to acquire some better (but costlier) pieces, then I'd suggest you try specialty stores like Drinkwater's or Stel's on Newbury too.

Originally Posted by robertorex

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to OP: Since you're in Boston, consider stopping by Drinkwater's in Cambridge on Mass Ave (between porter and davis square) if you're looking for a more grown man look then Gary (who is also a SF member) can help you get fixed up right.

Also, regarding Riccardi, I think their jean selection is definitely a step up from mall brands, but the one time I was in there, the girl who worked there just kept pushing nudie, nudie, nudie. Granted, she was quite knowledgable about the brand but if you're looking to go the raw denim route at all I suggest you do research here and on superfuture regarding that. If you're not looking to be that hardcore into denim, then just try on whatever makes you feel good and go for that. The Levis 514 posted earlier in the thread is a really underrated slim cut that works well on many different body types, IMO.

The H&M and Zara on Newbury street are good, but I find the H&M in downtown crossing has a much larger men's selection. If you don't mind saving up a bit of money to acquire some better (but costlier) pieces, then I'd suggest you try specialty stores like Drinkwater's or Stel's on Newbury too.

I saw Drinkwaters, however I think they may be out of my league both prisewise and I believe they appeal to an older audience, however I may be wrong. Also, I'm wearing raw jeans right now, although cheap (levis 501 shrink to wash, 2 weeks in no wash), so I was thinking about nudies. Anything particuallary bad about nudies, or do they go with most articles of clothing?