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Ultimate noob thread - recommend me X in my wardrobe - post questions here please.

toothsomesound

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^No dude, 40 dollars?! **** is a trap.

J Crew has some nice simple ribbon-whatever belts for less than that (check out the WAYWT-J Crew SS09 discussion crossover post I made with the white club shorts, I'm wearing a white and tan ribbon belt that can be found in stores for twenty five or thirty bucks, I think it's pretty solid, they have other colors too...as does Club Monaco albeit in more interesting colors.
 

Leverandon

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This has probably been addressed before on this board, but I spent a bit of time and couldn't find a good answer.

I'm a total noob when it comes to denim. What, in your opinion, is the best pair of dark-wash jeans to be had for under $100. I've traditionally gone with boot-cut, but straight leg would be fine as well. I've been wearing Abercrombie but figure that there are probably better jeans out there for that price point.

Thanks!
 

andychen

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I am definitely newbee about fashion and brand, so please don't be mad at me when I mention Macy's.

I know Macy's does not get much love here. and I know it is better to save for better stuff, but I live very close to a Macy's store, like I can walk into it everyday just as an exercise. Recently I found some pretty good deals at Macy's clearance section that I could not pass, like a nice CK sweater for $10, and PLRL fleece jacket for $25. So I will probably check it out very often. Could somebody tell me what brands in Macy's are actually OK to buy even though they are not SF approved.

I know Polo, Boss and lacoste are definitely good. I got some impression that CK, DKNY, Levis, guess are OK, how about other brands like Tommy, timeberland (not shoes), Nautica, lucky brand, club room, marc by new york?
 

Listi

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DKNY, Tommy, Timberland, Nautica, Lucky, etc. you should probably avoid.

Not sure too much about Calvin Klein.
Levi's are good (514, 511, 501 in rigid)

Polo, Lacoste, and Boss all have some good things about them I think, although overpriced at times. I don't know, I buy almost all of my polos at Ralph Lauren kids for $20-30 a pop, but if you were to pay the $70 or whatever they are at Macy's, they are definitely not worth that.
 

andychen

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sho'nuff, thanks for the fast response. I am aware of the price/quality issue that's why I only check out the clearance section for these brands. I tried to search the forum for these brands and as expected nobody really talked about these brands. so can you give me some examples of brands that have good quality? Do you mean tommy hilfiger or nautica are pretty bad brands? Thanks
 

JesseJB

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I want to break out of the dark denim+AA tee+sneakers routine I pull out every summer.

I'm feeling like I want to venture into a JCrew-ish (seersucker?) shorts and light-colored button-ups this year (think Vampire Weekend minus the douche factor) Just the thought of being comfortable in hot weather makes me want to say "the hell with it!" How can I pull this off without looking fratty? I have a Medium to Large build, Im pale and blonde.
 

RFX45

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I get my Ben Sherman's at Macys at deep discounts and they fit great, from button-ups to jackets to pants. My Macys also carries Converse by JV, which are discounted well.

I think DKNY and CK has decent striped button ups, which fit surprisingly well, as long as your not a skinny 100 lbs man. They are usually on sale for $15-$20 too, which is a pretty good price. The slim CK jeans fit pretty well too.
 

Listi

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Originally Posted by andychen
sho'nuff, thanks for the fast response. I am aware of the price/quality issue that's why I only check out the clearance section for these brands. I tried to search the forum for these brands and as expected nobody really talked about these brands. so can you give me some examples of brands that have good quality? Do you mean tommy hilfiger or nautica are pretty bad brands? Thanks
Yeah they are pretty bad. If you're looking for cheap brands you can find in a mall: JCrew can be decent if you're the right size for their clothes and has great sales. Also 15% student discount all the time, although I'm not sure how old you are, it's good for me. Their tailored fit shirts are talked about on here occasionally, I'm way way way too skinny to wear them so I have no opinion but I guess some people like them. H&M is lower quality, but it's so damn cheap and fits fairly slim usually. They're basically disposable and often have some interesting styles. American Apparel makes pretty good quality basics, although if you do all your shopping there things can get pretty boring.
 

andychen

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Listi,

thanks, I actually did a lot of search before posting this so I know that those mall brands are SF approved, but I that Macy is just too convenient for me.
 

sho'nuff

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Originally Posted by andychen
sho'nuff, thanks for the fast response. I am aware of the price/quality issue that's why I only check out the clearance section for these brands. I tried to search the forum for these brands and as expected nobody really talked about these brands. so can you give me some examples of brands that have good quality? Do you mean tommy hilfiger or nautica are pretty bad brands? Thanks

reason why no one talks about those brands (although they are decent) is because they are nothing to shout about. they are just standard stuff.

it is like saying why is there no forum for the love of paper clips, 8.5x11 paper, and staples?

go to a flagship macys like south coast or san francisco. i dont know where you live. if you are near south coast, i can shop with you. beware though. i bill $20/hour and $30/hour if you want me to say anything.

tommy and nautica are bad brands due to the designs they come out with, it is geared towards the, i dont know how you put it, black street kid baggy look, and boating kid wannabe? look, respectively. and they are bad examples at that too. perhaps there are those interested in them , but no place in this forum, i tell you that much.

hugo boss, you can find some decent pieces to fill your wardrobe: shirts, some pants, a beater overcoat or blazer.
calvin klein, is something i actually like alot. they have very good cuts for standard solid color sweaters, shirts, undershirts, and such that fill in that area of my wardrobe very nicely. nice and unassuming, fills in the area on my attire just right without bringing any attention to itself.

macys is sort of like the IKEA for clothes. you can find alot of junk , but when you are looking for that filler something, you can find it at macys and at a good clearance price usually.
 

Timbaland

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I'm not a fan of DKNY, CK, and a lot of the brands they have there. Ben Sherman slim fit fits better than those shirts. I like the fit on the Guess collared shirts if you can get them on sale. For retail I feel they're on the expensive side.

The polo custom fit are really nice and fit well if you are on the slim side. Levi's are good.
 

Steggy

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I like to browse macy's sometimes, because I almost always get my stuff online, so macys is a good place to try the sizing of something so i don't have to worry about fit. Just went there the other day actually so i could try the sizing for sperrys. Now i know what size I am and can get the kind i want online. They also SOMETIMES have some nice things on clearance. sometimes.
 

wmmk

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Originally Posted by JesseJB
I want to break out of the dark denim+AA tee+sneakers routine I pull out every summer.

I'm feeling like I want to venture into a JCrew-ish (seersucker?) shorts and light-colored button-ups this year (think Vampire Weekend minus the douche factor) Just the thought of being comfortable in hot weather makes me want to say "the hell with it!" How can I pull this off without looking fratty? I have a Medium to Large build, Im pale and blonde.


I'm kind of going for this as well. I guess I look naturally nerdy, so I worry less about frat connotations, but if you wore that with wingtips (Thom Browne style), I doubt anyone would mistake you for a frat boy. I've found than wearing buttondown collars, rather than straight collars, can also subtly make a look more Tradly than Fratty. A good bag also helps (I'm thinking about a Filson tote bag). If you wear glasses, some round, hornrimmed frames would look pretty badass with that look.
 

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