What should be in my wardrobe?

Joeyjoejoe83

I've always really been not assed about my appearance but I have taken more of an interest recently with the gym and what to wear etc.

Anyway, what should always be in a man's wardrobe? How many pairs of jeans? How many pairs of shoes? Anything in particular which you think is important?

GiftofGab

A good watch, a pair of proper sunglasses, decent shoes (brown for night wear, black laced for suits, both with heals), clean runners, a crisp suit for special occasions, casual jeans for everyday use, dark jeans for night wear, a nice belt, a few nice shirts, plain polo's and tee's. That should do it.

Victor Meldrew

GiftofGab wrote: »

A good watch, a pair of proper sunglasses, decent shoes (brown for night wear, black laced for suits, both with heals), clean runners, a crisp suit for special occasions, casual jeans for everyday use, dark jeans for night wear, a nice belt, a few nice shirts, plain polo's and tee's. That should do it.

I would add:
Wool coat (Charcoal), dresses up ay outfit for winter with a good scarf.

And (most imortant)

Make sure it all fits.... especially jeans and shirts...

Throw out the stuff that makes you look like a vagrant (old jeans are a risk in many cases...)

and...

No-one need wear a track-suit in public. You can dress normally on the way to the Gym, and shower and change back into civilised clothes afterwards.

OldGoat

GiftofGab wrote: »

brown for night wear

On a point of ettiquete, wrong. Sorry.

A wardrobe is going to be very indivudal. Few of the Gentlemen here would be happy having to live with what I have in my wardrobe (I wear suits at every opportunity and jeans only when forced to) and frankly I'd sooner eat treebark then have t-shirts in mine. It's all very unique - as it should be.
What aspect of your wardrobe are you looking to build up? Casual wear? Business wear? Formal wear? Tops, trousers, shoes?

For me a basic wardrobe would be 5 suits, 20 or so shirts, 2 or 3 jackets, 5 or six pair of trousers, 3 pair of shoes, two pair of boots.

For other wear I'd have a couple of jeans for work, a few chino type trousers for smart casual, a few of golf/polo shirts - for playing in.

Your basic wardrobe can be built up over time and then it's just a case of replacing worn out/damaged items.

SteelyDanJalapeno

Zooey Deschanel

Magic Eight Ball

GiftofGab wrote: »

A good watch, a pair of proper sunglasses, decent shoes (brown for night wear, black laced for suits, both with heals), clean runners, a crisp suit for special occasions, casual jeans for everyday use, dark jeans for night wear, a nice belt, a few nice shirts, plain polo's and tee's. That should do it.

Only if you want to look generic as ****!

qz

This has inspired me to have a major cull of my own wardrobe, gonna throw out a lot of crap I've accumulated over the years working in retail. In saying that I only have two belts

Magic Eight Ball

qz wrote: »

This has inspired me to have a major cull of my own wardrobe, gonna throw out a lot of crap I've accumulated over the years working in retail. In saying that I only have two belts

Well I refuse to wear brown shoes as 'night wear' (or at all for that matter) so I guess I'm pretty screwed myself.

krudler

Brown shoes? ugh.

own a Mr Men tshirt? throw it away. same goes for any shirt with humorous, original slogans such as "if found return to pub", they've never, ever been funny or cool.

a pair of Cons, they go with everything (even suits :pac: )

Magic Eight Ball

krudler wrote: »

Brown shoes? ugh.

own a Mr Men tshirt? throw it away. same goes for any shirt with humorous, original slogans such as "if found return to pub", they've never, ever been funny or cool.

a pair of Cons, they go with everything (even suits :pac: )

^^
This right here.

+ A person's wardrobe should reflect their personality. I doubt many wardrobes are filled with crombie jackets and chelsea boots but their an absolute staple in my world.

Try find your own style OP, and trust me when I say STAY AWAY FROM BROWN SHOES!! :pac:

qz

What's so wrong with brown shoes?

Otis Driftwood

Totally agree.Ive owned a number of pairs of brown shoes down the years and will continue to do so.

Snowie

I dont wear suits that often because i dont need to how ever i think i could do with some more dressy casual then hoodies which is i cen wear one every day for 2 weeks

so im on the hunt at the mo for dress/asual shirts..


I think with clothing everything has a time and a place...

OldGoat

Love brown shoes, brogues in particular. Great for stomping around town or through the fields. Just leave 'em at home when you are going out in the evening to a pub, club, resturant... ...

Wearing brown shoes in the evening is the Dapper Gentlemens equivelant of wearing pyjamas to Tesco's.

Logical Fallacy

krudler wrote: »

Brown shoes? ugh.

own a Mr Men tshirt? throw it away. same goes for any shirt with humorous, original slogans such as "if found return to pub", they've never, ever been funny or cool.

a pair of Cons, they go with everything (even suits :pac: )

I have a t-shirt that says "Nerds do it rarely" which i am gonna keep. lol

All my clothes fall into the comfy category i have to say...baggy jeans, tracksuit bottoms, t-shirts, hoodies, trainers, cons. I have two suits and a couple of pairs of shoes but mostly i have American football jerseys because they are comfy as ****.

krudler

I love wearing suits going out, during the summer its a bit too warm so a shirt, tie and waistcoat with a pair of cons looks the business,dressy but casual too

Logical Fallacy

krudler wrote: »

I love wearing suits going out, during the summer its a bit too warm so a shirt, tie and waistcoat with a pair of cons looks the business,dressy but casual too

Man, i'd never wear a suit out...back in the day i used to...but the clubs i tended to frequent recently were real dance orientated places...so everything was designed for comfort and cooling.

I played a few sets in a suit though, which was cool as i could instantly see people thinking i was a wanker. Which i might be, but i was the wanker they came to see play. lol

gene_tunney

krudler wrote: »

I love wearing suits going out, during the summer its a bit too warm so a shirt, tie and waistcoat with a pair of cons looks the business,dressy but casual too

You wear a suit going out?



Also, please don't tell me that by "cons" you mean converse.

LightningBolt

I don't get the hating on brown shoes for going out in the evening. A pair of dark brown shoes with dark jeans and fitted shirt works well for me personally.

I can't stand to see light blue jeans and black shoes...

For work (Client Facing):

• About 20 ties and 15 or so work shirts. (Two ply cotton herringbone is the nicest material for shirts in my opinion in terms of touch)
• Four suits (charcoal suit needs replacing though)
• Mac Overcoat
• Wool/Cashmere Overcoat (really nice black one and a navy one picked up on ebay which is in fantastic shape)
• Weeks worth of jumpers (soft merino wool can't afford cashmere yet) for casual fridays... Charles Tyrwhitt is pretty good for these
• Three pairs of shoes (one pair of loafers and two oxfords)
• Four pairs of trousers (just M&S - need to improve them)
• Pair of chords for casual fridays depending on how casual I want to look
• Cufflinks (I have a lot...)

Everyday wear:

• Five pairs of jeans ranging from fitted to baggy depending on how I feel
• Hoodies - I know I shouldn't but I own about 10 of these. In defence they're all plain, no labels or anything and are worn to/from gym or sports which I do a lot of in my spare time.
• Five or six casual shirts
• Couple of plain t shirts
• I'd use jumpers from work too when going out
• Three pairs of trainers (clean)
• Two pairs of shoes (both brown)

Conclusion: I dress a hell of a lot better in work then I do outside of it!

I've built the workwear collection up over the last two years keeping an eye out for sales and buying stuff that was not in season as you get a better price and makes it far cheaper to build collection up. As I said I tend to usually do a lot of sports so would literally go work - home - training - 10.30pm so jeans/tracksuit bottoms + hoody in the evening is quite a common site. Weekends I'd dress a hell of a lot smarter obviously!

krudler

gene_tunney wrote: »

You wear a suit going out?



Also, please don't tell me that by "cons" you mean converse.

yup, not all the time just on occasions, or when myself and the lads decide to have a suiting up night, the extra female attention makes it worthwhile course I mean converse, but who calls them that :pac:

pajunior

krudler wrote: »

yup, not all the time just on occasions, or when myself and the lads decide to have a suiting up night, the extra female attention makes it worthwhile course I mean converse, but who calls them that :pac:

Yeah cons(or similar) with a suit/slacks looks really nice. You look good but not uptight. There is a really famous picture of Kate Moss wearing a really expensive dress with a pair of cons. Looks effortlessly cool.

Otis Driftwood

The fact she is a world famous multi millionairess super model had absolutely nothing to do with it Im sure.

pajunior

Otis Driftwood wrote: »

The fact she is a world famous multi millionairess super model had absolutely nothing to do with it Im sure.

I was just pointing out how good cons look when put with something smart.

OldGoat

krudler wrote: »

yup, not all the time just on occasions, or when myself and the lads decide to have a suiting up night, the extra female attention makes it worthwhile course I mean converse, but who calls them that :pac:

I remember when we called them All Stars.

pajunior wrote: »

I was just pointing out how good cons look when put with something smart.

Like this?

Careful what you wish for.

pajunior

OldGoat wrote: »

I remember when we called them All Stars.


Like this?

Careful what you wish for.

Ah here! Now you're just trying to make me look stupid :pac:

I was thinking more like this



or

Dravokivich

krudler wrote: »

Brown shoes? ugh.

own a Mr Men tshirt? throw it away. same goes for any shirt with humorous, original slogans such as "if found return to pub", they've never, ever been funny or cool.

a pair of Cons, they go with everything (even suits :pac: )

I'll keep my Mr Cool t-shirt and matching socks thanks.

I also don't get what the obsession is with Cons.

pajunior

Dravokivich wrote: »

I'll keep my Mr Cool t-shirt and matching socks thanks.

I also don't get what the obsession is with Cons.

They just look really cool, also not just cons, vans and nannystate and a few others are just as good.

OldGoat

LightningBolt wrote: »

I don't get the hating on brown shoes for going out in the evening.

My fault. I made reference to the rules of satorial ettiquette and how brown shoes were the shoes of the country squire/bumpkin who would not be 'up' on the dress codes of the well healed and would be recognised by his innapropiate footwear worn as eveningwear.

I like the rules of ettiquette. They stem back to a time when people cared for their apparence more then they do now. Mass produced and disposable clothing has taken away all eligance and panache of tailored clothing. Wearing vans, cons, niks, addis, dunlos (or any other abriviated plimsol) with a suit just screams "WRONG!" at me.

A suit shold be sharp, clean lines, fitted. Wearing open necked shirts, half tied ties, runners, t-shirt, wellies, beanies or whatever some see as 'individual' with a suit to me just looks slovernly and lacks eligence.
Why would you do that when you can achieve the same look with jeans and hoodies?

I'm not saying that there is no room for individulism or for breaking the rules of ettiquette or for making bold statments with your clothes but please please PLEASE don't make the exception become the rule.

folan

Joeyjoejoe83 wrote: »

I've always really been not assed about my appearance but I have taken more of an interest recently with the gym and what to wear etc.

Anyway, what should always be in a man's wardrobe? How many pairs of jeans? How many pairs of shoes? Anything in particular which you think is important?

depends on the man. I rarely wear suits, so only have 2. OG has 5!

I dont like cons or brown shoes, or black shoes though you need at least 1-2 pairs, I mainly wear Vans/DCs etc.

as for the tshirts, im currently wearing my fun zombie end of the world tshirt. i dont care if people think its odd that someone of my age wears it, i like it.

As a general rule, minimum is
1 suit
1 tracky (or whatever you work out in) + 1 pair running shoes/trainers!
2 pairs jeans
3 tshirts
3 shirts
2 jumpers/zip tops(not tracksuit tops!)/hoodie - what ever is your particular fancy.
1 pair shoes
1 pair comfortable runners

7 pairs underwear.
14 pairs socks. (try to keep this to 2 distinct designs to allow for emergency matching, though not essential. who looks at socks?)

the last 2 are essential!

OldGoat

folan wrote: »

OG has 5

Actually have about 8 (9 if I can lose a few pounds) at the moment and my eye on two more but 5 would be (for me) a basic starter wardrobe.

miss_shadow

i'll tell you what you should have in the wardrobe. but pics or it's not going to happen :D

pajunior

OldGoat wrote: »

My fault. I made reference to the rules of satorial ettiquette and how brown shoes were the shoes of the country squire/bumpkin who would not be 'up' on the dress codes of the well healed and would be recognised by his innapropiate footwear worn as eveningwear.

I like the rules of ettiquette. They stem back to a time when people cared for their apparence more then they do now. Mass produced and disposable clothing has taken away all eligance and panache of tailored clothing. Wearing vans, cons, niks, addis, dunlos (or any other abriviated plimsol) with a suit just screams "WRONG!" at me.

A suit shold be sharp, clean lines, fitted. Wearing open necked shirts, half tied ties, runners, t-shirt, wellies, beanies or whatever some see as 'individual' with a suit to me just looks slovernly and lacks eligence.
Why would you do that when you can achieve the same look with jeans and hoodies?

I'm not saying that there is no room for individulism or for breaking the rules of ettiquette or for making bold statments with your clothes but please please PLEASE don't make the exception become the rule.

I think you misunderstand me, the con's/suit look is for outside the workplace or at least it is for me. It's a fashion statement nothing else, why not a suit instead of jeans/shirt. It's something different, catches the eye.

I suppose it's probably a liberation things, something so casual as cons together with the ultimate symbol of the 'daily grind'. Rebellion but in a subtle way.

desertcircus

Two suits, three trousers, ten shirts, twenty now unnecessary ties (less formal work environment), tails, three frock coats.

T-shirts should be selected carefully: slogans are fine as long as it's unlikely you'll meet someone in the same one in a given month. Webcomics are good for this.

Leinster jersey.

padi89

pajunior wrote: »

I think you misunderstand me, the con's/suit look is for outside the workplace or at least it is for me. It's a fashion statement nothing else, why not a suit instead of jeans/shirt. It's something different, catches the eye.

I suppose it's probably a liberation things, something so casual as cons together with the ultimate symbol of the 'daily grind'. Rebellion but in a subtle way.

Personally i don't think cons and a suit look good at all, both those guys in those photos look really sloppy. If you wanted to go more casual you should play around with different colors and fabrics of shirts, i think loosing the tie is fine too with the top button left open, looks better again without a belt. Ditch your cons and go for more casual types of shoes, suede looks well cool on a casual suit.

krudler

I prefer tshirts that arent bought from Jack and Jones (my clothes are not billboards thanks very much) or Dunnes with whatever wacky fad is in fashion at the time, like Sesame Street or whatever, theres loads of cool tshirt websites like lastexittonowhere.com or teefury.com that do ridiculously cool shirts that hardly anyone else would wear. I got chatting to a girl on a night out one night who was wearing a tshirt with the Nexus-7 "more human than human" Tyrell company logo on it, if you get the reference you'll already know how cool that is

pajunior

padi89 wrote: »

Personally i don't think cons and a suit look good at all, both those guys in those photos look really sloppy. If you wanted to go more casual you should play around with different colors and fabrics of shirts, i think loosing the tie is fine too with the top button left open, looks better again without a belt. Ditch your cons and go for more casual types of shoes, suede looks well cool on a casual suit.

I won't keep posting on the same point after this but while I'm at it I just think cons look cool.

You like different coloured shirts so why not different coloured shoes? (though usually I go for grey or a grey blue)

Anyway I just think they add a bit of youth and vibrancy to an outfit, but maybe in a few years I'll look back and laugh at myself for wearing them

3hn2givr7mx1sc

Dravokivich wrote: »

I also don't get what the obsession is with Cons.

Have to say I really don't like Cons.

Otis Driftwood

baz2009 wrote: »

Have to say I really don't like Cons.

I like them in the right context but a pair of trainers with a suit?

Not a hope in hell.

Who do people think they are,Zac fcukin Efron or something.

silvine

Here's what's in closet:
A few decent belts
A nice watch
Smart boxers
A day wear jacket and a going out jacket
A few v-necks
A grey suit
Black and brown shoes
Timerbland boots
a few t-shirts (polo and regular)

Lots of Issues

scotty_irish

i think i need to go shopping - i currently own three pairs of jeans, six t-shirts, 3 hoodies, one pair of trainers, one pair of running shoes, no dress shoes. one pair of shorts. total value about 50 quid, i could probably fit everything thing in one ryanair carry on bag. can wear what i want to the office, have a very active social life, do quite well with women - proof that clothes don't mean shít!

Frank Black

Get yourself a decent tuxedo as well – you never know when you will need one and although ‘tuxedo-wearing’ occasions may not be frequent, even after three such occasions you’ll be better off financially than paying to rent one.
Plus, you’ll look better, not have the hassle of having to arrange hire at the last moment and will no longer have to worry about leaving it back to the hire shop with your girlfriends elbow length gloves in the pocket that the hire shop were unable to find the next day.


Also can everyone stop saying ‘cons’ please.

Logical Fallacy

black francis wrote: »

Also can everyone stop saying ‘cons’ please.

Why?

I like Cons.

I even like the shortened reference.

Deedsie

Logical Fallacy wrote: »

Why?

I like Cons.

I even like the shortened reference.

They are awful juvenile though! You may as well be wearing a pair of wheelies or runners that light up when you walk.

Dr Galen

Well each to his own I guess. Appearance should be about what you feel and look good in.

Personally a nice pair of Converse are a great thing to have in the wardrobe. Wouldn't be my choice with a suit in fairness, but they have a purpose for sure.

D'Agger

Now that I'm earning money I can actually afford to spend some money on clothes - slowly but surely trying to overhaul my wardrobe atm - everything from socks upwards!

Regarding T-Shirts - I have a few sloganed tees and I'll hold onto the one's I quite like but I'm moving more towards plain v-neck tees atm - white, black and blue - they're in Pennys for €3 atm and they're really nice imo.

Suits: I have two suits and I rarely wear them (note to self have a suit-up night soon) but they're worth having.

Jeans - have two pairs of bootcut jeans that're beginning to fall apart tbh but I love them - have 2 pairs of straight leg jeans that are comfy but still getting used to them and one pair of Baggy jeans that I rarely wear anymore...should probably get rid of them tbh

Shoes - I still have 2 pairs of Vans, a pair of navy momentums, loafers for work, 2 pairs of dress shoes and 2 pairs of runners. Hoping to replace the Vans with more momentums.

The hard part is firing the old clothes away but I'm giving them to charity so it needs to be done.

Gandalph

Every man needs a good wifebeater in their wardrobe

JuliusCaesar

Was reading the Guardian Weekend magazine on Sat and saw a photo of a rather nicely dressed Rupert Bell, which sent me looking to young fogies and their sartorial rules. Is there an equivalent here in Ireland I wonder?

Lovely!

OldGoat

"The Chap" is one of my favourite publications.

JuliusCaesar

and lads, brown or black, keep those shoes polished and in good repair!

Tonyandthewhale

Readning this thread makes me feel like a shabbily dressed vagrant. I've got one suit, a few well worn pairs of jeans, t-shirts (no "if lost return to pub" bull**** type slogans) and the rest is all outdoor wear, hiking boots, cycling shorts, fleeces, raingear and workshirts. Questions of which shoes to wear with evening wear and the advantages of buying versus renting a tux don't factor in my wardrobe-based decision making. Then again I tend to spend at least a month of every year sleeping outside so I suppose it makes sense that I dress like a bit of bum.

Still love a crisp suit though, and cons are for kids.