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On February 08 2012 01:58 matiK23 wrote:Show nested quote +On February 08 2012 00:40 BeJe77 wrote:
So, I bought about three pairs of chino's over the week and some nicer looking upper clothing as well. OH man are these chinos comfy as hell and they look great on me! :O
What I am stuck on currently is shoes. I don't know what to get. I looked at some Wolverine 1000 mile boots, tried them on and liked them, the indy boot was great too but the Red Wing's were very stiff compared to the two other boots. They also come with much steeper price tags, but understandable due to quality/materials used.
So my question is once again is what are some great shoes that can work with jeans/chinos in the $200-250 range. I know some I think have pointed out that there really is no good fill between the $100-300 range of shoes.
So can anyone recommend me some shoes that are great for jeans/chino/every day wear? A highly recommended, good mid-$100 range work boots are LL Bean Katadhins. You can't go wrong with the 1000 miles though. Red Wings are stiff at first but will break in eventually at the cost of a few blisters. Just don't expect to wear any of these in snow as they don't protect you from the cold. Another personally recommended boots are Clark's Desert Boots. This plus raw denim jeans and you won't get the girls off ya  . Also Steve McQueen wore chinos with desert boots and he's a badass. You want to be badass, don't you?
Yeah, I have tried the desert boots, I liked them, but they didn't carry any of them in the beeswax color  !!! So I think I will order some from amazon. I also did lots of reading on reddit about this since earlier in this thread somebody pointed out that reddit has a huge male fashion section and they do! It seems that the Clark's Desert Boot is their staple for people starting out!
But yeah the 1000 mile and the indy boots were comfy as hell and nice looking but just the steep price tag has me kind of steering away...I think that the reason Red Wing's were so stiff is because they are an actual work boot and the guy said they have little padding as they were not built for comfort and require lots of breaking in...so will see...
But I do want to look like a bad ass :O!
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Desert boots are nice and will look good with jeans or chinos in a casual setting. They will run you < 100 dollars. Gilt has some nice suede ones with a leather sole today.
If you don't like dessert boots for the upper end of your price range you should be able to find a nice leather shoe that will last you a long time especially if you wait for a sale. Or check out eBay and you should be able find something in great shape and high quality easily within your price range.
Look for leather soles this will allow you to repair and greatly increase the lifetime of the shoes.
I'd would defitnaly reccomend brown shoes for primarly jeans and chinos.
Lighter the brown the more casual shoe. I'd be looking for a mid brown. Not burgundy or light tan somewhere inbetwwen.
Feel free to post links to shoes you like and we will you know what we think
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+ Show Spoiler +On February 08 2012 03:29 BeJe77 wrote:Show nested quote +On February 08 2012 01:58 matiK23 wrote:On February 08 2012 00:40 BeJe77 wrote:
So, I bought about three pairs of chino's over the week and some nicer looking upper clothing as well. OH man are these chinos comfy as hell and they look great on me! :O
What I am stuck on currently is shoes. I don't know what to get. I looked at some Wolverine 1000 mile boots, tried them on and liked them, the indy boot was great too but the Red Wing's were very stiff compared to the two other boots. They also come with much steeper price tags, but understandable due to quality/materials used.
So my question is once again is what are some great shoes that can work with jeans/chinos in the $200-250 range. I know some I think have pointed out that there really is no good fill between the $100-300 range of shoes.
So can anyone recommend me some shoes that are great for jeans/chino/every day wear? A highly recommended, good mid-$100 range work boots are LL Bean Katadhins. You can't go wrong with the 1000 miles though. Red Wings are stiff at first but will break in eventually at the cost of a few blisters. Just don't expect to wear any of these in snow as they don't protect you from the cold. Another personally recommended boots are Clark's Desert Boots. This plus raw denim jeans and you won't get the girls off ya . Also Steve McQueen wore chinos with desert boots and he's a badass. You want to be badass, don't you? Yeah, I have tried the desert boots, I liked them, but they didn't carry any of them in the beeswax color !!! So I think I will order some from amazon. I also did lots of reading on reddit about this since earlier in this thread somebody pointed out that reddit has a huge male fashion section and they do! It seems that the Clark's Desert Boot is their staple for people starting out! But yeah the 1000 mile and the indy boots were comfy as hell and nice looking but just the steep price tag has me kind of steering away...I think that the reason Red Wing's were so stiff is because they are an actual work boot and the guy said they have little padding as they were not built for comfort and require lots of breaking in...so will see... But I do want to look like a bad ass :O!
Yea Beeswax is a classic staple and should be in everyone's wardrobe imo
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United States11637 Posts
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On February 08 2012 05:12 boesthius wrote:Show nested quote +On February 08 2012 03:29 BeJe77 wrote:On February 08 2012 01:58 matiK23 wrote:On February 08 2012 00:40 BeJe77 wrote:
So, I bought about three pairs of chino's over the week and some nicer looking upper clothing as well. OH man are these chinos comfy as hell and they look great on me! :O
What I am stuck on currently is shoes. I don't know what to get. I looked at some Wolverine 1000 mile boots, tried them on and liked them, the indy boot was great too but the Red Wing's were very stiff compared to the two other boots. They also come with much steeper price tags, but understandable due to quality/materials used.
So my question is once again is what are some great shoes that can work with jeans/chinos in the $200-250 range. I know some I think have pointed out that there really is no good fill between the $100-300 range of shoes.
So can anyone recommend me some shoes that are great for jeans/chino/every day wear? A highly recommended, good mid-$100 range work boots are LL Bean Katadhins. You can't go wrong with the 1000 miles though. Red Wings are stiff at first but will break in eventually at the cost of a few blisters. Just don't expect to wear any of these in snow as they don't protect you from the cold. Another personally recommended boots are Clark's Desert Boots. This plus raw denim jeans and you won't get the girls off ya . Also Steve McQueen wore chinos with desert boots and he's a badass. You want to be badass, don't you? Yeah, I have tried the desert boots, I liked them, but they didn't carry any of them in the beeswax color !!! So I think I will order some from amazon. I also did lots of reading on reddit about this since earlier in this thread somebody pointed out that reddit has a huge male fashion section and they do! It seems that the Clark's Desert Boot is their staple for people starting out! But yeah the 1000 mile and the indy boots were comfy as hell and nice looking but just the steep price tag has me kind of steering away...I think that the reason Red Wing's were so stiff is because they are an actual work boot and the guy said they have little padding as they were not built for comfort and require lots of breaking in...so will see... But I do want to look like a bad ass :O! Pretty much everyone's answered your questions, and you can never go wrong with a CBD. I have them in beeswax and while they are fairly over-recommended on reddit(I mean their logo was a CBD for a while for christsake haha), they're recommended for a reason. They look awkward on their own, but they look gr9 with some rolled cuffed denim or chinos. CBD's are just a staple for a standard, solid look. You can also never go wrong with a 1000mile - I want the rust Originals so bad. My friend has a pair, and I've worn them and they're magnificently comfortable and look fucking sick as FUCK. His were also broken in, so I imagine pre-breaking they're not as comfortable. Casual loafers/boatshoes/etc are also REALLY great shoes to wear with chinos, especially since spring is coming up. I had a pair of sperry top-siders for a long while but I just recently had to get rid of them . I had them in white. I really, really, REALLY wanted these philly's from Keds which would look absolutely phenomenal under a light chino with rolled up pantlegs, red/white/blue watch and blue polo for dat AMERICANAAAAA: + Show Spoiler +but they only had blue during their $19 sale last month. Any other light sneaker like these keds or a jack purcell wouldn't be a bad option either. Also any nice shoe like a Cole Haan, Allen Edmonds, etc in a lighter brown will look great with dark denim. It's hard to go wrong with shoes and denim/chinos. Post things you like and we'll see! For reference - I put on my CBD's and the chinos I was wearing today and took some pictures on my shitty phone~ + Show Spoiler +
How would this kind of a shoe do on ice? Theres snow and -15degress celcius pretty much all the time in Denmark and I'm scared it might ruin a shoe like this.
Finding a CBD is impossible in Danish shops too, 1000mile too for that matter - and even if I find one they don't have them in the right size
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As an amendment and more concise question to my earlier post, is there any sort of guidelines as to what parts of a suit should be what color?
Like, if I have a grey suit, is there any specific color my vest/tie should be? Speaking of which, people seem pretty opposed to black suits outside of appropriate occasions, outside of grey what are other good colors for suits? Would a dark brown suit be terrible? Maybe navy blue? Is the general consensus just dark earth-tone sort of things or what?
Also, earlier on the thread there was a video posted that spoke about that modern tailor website, is that place legit, are there any places like that for hats?
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On February 08 2012 06:25 KOVU wrote:Show nested quote +On February 08 2012 05:12 boesthius wrote:On February 08 2012 03:29 BeJe77 wrote:On February 08 2012 01:58 matiK23 wrote:On February 08 2012 00:40 BeJe77 wrote:
So, I bought about three pairs of chino's over the week and some nicer looking upper clothing as well. OH man are these chinos comfy as hell and they look great on me! :O
What I am stuck on currently is shoes. I don't know what to get. I looked at some Wolverine 1000 mile boots, tried them on and liked them, the indy boot was great too but the Red Wing's were very stiff compared to the two other boots. They also come with much steeper price tags, but understandable due to quality/materials used.
So my question is once again is what are some great shoes that can work with jeans/chinos in the $200-250 range. I know some I think have pointed out that there really is no good fill between the $100-300 range of shoes.
So can anyone recommend me some shoes that are great for jeans/chino/every day wear? A highly recommended, good mid-$100 range work boots are LL Bean Katadhins. You can't go wrong with the 1000 miles though. Red Wings are stiff at first but will break in eventually at the cost of a few blisters. Just don't expect to wear any of these in snow as they don't protect you from the cold. Another personally recommended boots are Clark's Desert Boots. This plus raw denim jeans and you won't get the girls off ya . Also Steve McQueen wore chinos with desert boots and he's a badass. You want to be badass, don't you? Yeah, I have tried the desert boots, I liked them, but they didn't carry any of them in the beeswax color !!! So I think I will order some from amazon. I also did lots of reading on reddit about this since earlier in this thread somebody pointed out that reddit has a huge male fashion section and they do! It seems that the Clark's Desert Boot is their staple for people starting out! But yeah the 1000 mile and the indy boots were comfy as hell and nice looking but just the steep price tag has me kind of steering away...I think that the reason Red Wing's were so stiff is because they are an actual work boot and the guy said they have little padding as they were not built for comfort and require lots of breaking in...so will see... But I do want to look like a bad ass :O! Pretty much everyone's answered your questions, and you can never go wrong with a CBD. I have them in beeswax and while they are fairly over-recommended on reddit(I mean their logo was a CBD for a while for christsake haha), they're recommended for a reason. They look awkward on their own, but they look gr9 with some rolled cuffed denim or chinos. CBD's are just a staple for a standard, solid look. You can also never go wrong with a 1000mile - I want the rust Originals so bad. My friend has a pair, and I've worn them and they're magnificently comfortable and look fucking sick as FUCK. His were also broken in, so I imagine pre-breaking they're not as comfortable. Casual loafers/boatshoes/etc are also REALLY great shoes to wear with chinos, especially since spring is coming up. I had a pair of sperry top-siders for a long while but I just recently had to get rid of them . I had them in white. I really, really, REALLY wanted these philly's from Keds which would look absolutely phenomenal under a light chino with rolled up pantlegs, red/white/blue watch and blue polo for dat AMERICANAAAAA: + Show Spoiler +but they only had blue during their $19 sale last month. Any other light sneaker like these keds or a jack purcell wouldn't be a bad option either. Also any nice shoe like a Cole Haan, Allen Edmonds, etc in a lighter brown will look great with dark denim. It's hard to go wrong with shoes and denim/chinos. Post things you like and we'll see! For reference - I put on my CBD's and the chinos I was wearing today and took some pictures on my shitty phone~ + Show Spoiler + How would this kind of a shoe do on ice? Theres snow and -15degress celcius pretty much all the time in Denmark and I'm scared it might ruin a shoe like this. Finding a CBD is impossible in Danish shops too, 1000mile too for that matter - and even if I find one they don't have them in the right size
CBD's use crepe soles so theyre pretty good on ice. Like any leather, their worst enemy is salt so I would always coat it with oil regularly. Oh and don't expect these boots to keep you warm. They're the worst type of boots for that job. They have the word "desert" for a reason. If you are battling subzero temperatures, I would put functionality over looks anyday.
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@ kich: suits are made entirely out one the same type of fabric if you are talking about a three piece suit which includes a vest you should be buying the entire suit at once including the vest and it should all be one fabric. I personally am not a fan of three peices suits and would avoid them if you mean another type of vest explain yourself more maybe post a pic of a look you like Navy and shades of grey are the most classic and conservative colors. Browns and olives can be done but are less conservative and IMO harder to pull off well. Matching colors is a very broad subject that I won't try and cover in this post from my phone but google it and feel free to ask more specific questions
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On February 08 2012 07:10 jamesr12 wrote:
@ kich: suits are made entirely out one the same type of fabric if you are talking about a three piece suit which includes a vest you should be buying the entire suit at once including the vest and it should all be one fabric. I personally am not a fan of three peices suits and would avoid them if you mean another type of vest explain yourself more maybe post a pic of a look you like Navy and shades of grey are the most classic and conservative colors. Browns and olives can be done but are less conservative and IMO harder to pull off well. Matching colors is a very broad subject that I won't try and cover in this post from my phone but google it and feel free to ask more specific questions
Thanks!
As an alternative, what about wearing a vest instead of a jacket? For me this isn't a professional obligation but more of a stylistic choice. Is the 3 piece suit just no bueno? Would it look like I'm trying to hard?
At the moment, I enjoy wearing button up shirts, a tie, a vest as close to form-fitting I can get, jeans and right now I have brown dockers shoes (square toed, didn't know they weren't thrilling before reading this--but the only people that look at me are mostly nerds / the few girls I run into on campus) and depending on how I'm feeling a trilby.
Over the vest I have a dark brown blazer that I sometimes wear, but it's not the most elegant think nor does it match much with any of my vests/ties.
I wear the vest because for one, I like them, and for two, I don't like my tie dangling. I'll have to get a tie-clip or whatever they're called for when I don't want to wear a vest.
Most of the thread that I've read covers tips and ideas about most of all of that though (though very little discussion seemed to be about vests and how to properly rock them), I'm wondering if there's any insight into proper hat etiquette? Right now I own a bunch of trilby's which unfortunately got ruined due to some moving issues so I'm really only down to one.
I've tried searching for good hats, there seems to be this awkward jump between a $30 hat and a $470 hat, ~$500 is out of my reasonable price-range, but $30 isn't what I'm looking for. Google hasn't been very useful.
In particular, I enjoy trilby's and other smaller hats. Fedora's brims are too wide and baseball caps are hardly the look I'm after. I want a hat that can go with a lot of different colors (right now the one I frequently wear is grey but it seems to awkwardly clash with some of my more lightly colored clothes as it's kind of a darker grey very-poorly-made hat).
One of the biggest problems I -have- with wearing the hat though is hat-head, I love to wear them, but after even a half an hour my hair looks like this guy's: http://tekken.wikia.com/wiki/Paul_Phoenix . Does that mean my hat is too tight for my head? On that note, how tightly should a hat fit, if at all tight?
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ill be honest I don't know much about hats or vests as it is not something i would generally wear as far as a your tie a nice bar will hold it in place real well, avoid tie pins because they damage the tie
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Ok, guys, here's the worst offender. All this shirt accentuates is how terribly skinny I am, so I'm looking for a number of ways I can make it work. I'm posting pics because I've never tried the collar-with-a-sweater combo yet -- I've never owned any collared shirts other than long-sleeved dress shirts and a couple of flanel button-ups. I could use some input on a good colour for a collared shirt to go with this, or any other ideas you might have. I'm not convinced a collar may even go well with this.
+ Show Spoiler [PICS!] +
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what color dress shirts do you have? I think plain white might work ok with that sweater, although not a huge fan of the sweater to be honest.
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Right now I only have two black dress shirts, as I haven't had a job where I've needed formal dress for a while -- if I had lots to work with, I wouldn't be asking here  My mirror works for what I've got to try and combo. Unfortunately, nothing so far. The flanel button-ups don't work because they're darker and general just don't mesh well. I'll take some pics of the other two baddy shirts in a bit.
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I gotta veto that sweater aswell.
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United States2969 Posts
Get your fashion thinking caps on y'all, I need some serious help. I haven't been shopping for clothes or shoes in four years...
First, some background. I'm just finishing my graduate degree and starting a new job in two weeks with one of the major oil companies in Houston. It's a technical, office-type job and the introductory packet I was sent says that "business casual" is the appropriate category of attire in the workplace. My problem is that I have a very little appropriate clothing and the shirts/pants that I do have, don't necessarily match. My budget is also severely limited as I have been receiving a measly grad student stipend for the past four years.
Next, the sad state of my current wardrobe. Currently, I have 3 dress shirts. One is a striped Banana Republic dress shirt similar to this, but with thicker, brown stripes. The second I have is a slim, white dress shirt which is WAY too tight at the top button when I wear a tie. The third is a black dress shirt. I have only 2 pairs of dress pants. The first is black pants that were initially part of a formal suit. They are a bit short in terms of length, but otherwise fit nicely. The second is a pair of dark grey, gently striped pants that are a little more snug in the thigh, but still fit nicely. I have 1 pair of black dress shoes that are similar to these, and a pair of dark brown Sperry Topsiders like these. Last but not least, I have a standard black suit coat with three buttons. I have ~7 ties.
Clearly, my options are limited, but I am looking for some serious advice. If I have ~$350 to spend on clothing, what are the absolute necessities? Should I get a new pair of shoes and a few pairs of pants that can be worn with the shirts I already own? Should I get 2-3 new sets of clothing (shirts+pants) that are to be worn together specifically? 9 pairs of khakis? Should my emphasis be on purchasing stuff that goes well specifically with other clothing, or stuff that is universally applicable like a white/grey dress shirt?
My plan is to use the suggestions I receive here, and hit up the mall next weekend which contains the usual myriad of stores. Additionally, I have "cycling thighs" so I look like a massive 'tard when I try to wear overly-skinny pants. Thanks for helping a fellow nerd out!
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@ Solar: if your budget is as limited as you say the biggest thing to go for is plain interchangeable clothes, you want to be able to wear the same shirt two times a week and have no one notice therefore everything i recommend will be plain and boring. You will want to upgrade this ASAP once you start getting paid.
Lets start with what you do have:
- Without seeing the Banana Republic shirt it seems less ideal but passable for business casual given your dire situation.
- The white shirt again sounds passable, since you are wearing business casual you don't necessarily need a tie.
- The black shirt is not office attire and I would not wear it to the office.
- black pants and grey pants both sound passable
- the black shoes are passable although brown would be better
- the sperrys are not business attire
-the black suit coat is to formal for business casual IMO
Does your mall have an H+M because I think that would be the best store to get clothing that will be passable for a little bit until you start getting paid? In my links below I didn't worry about price just general look that you are looking for.
- Chinos in a dark-ish khaki color something like: http://www.ralphlauren.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4360392&ab=crosssell_3_11051446_4360392
- Solid lightly colored shirt, since your in a business casual environment you don't need to stick with only white and blue, id try to get a few different colors as it is what people are most likely to remember. You have 2 passable shirts id aim for 3 more.
- do you have a belt to match the shoes if not you need a black belt should be a plain black leather belt, with a plain buckle aprox. one inch in width.
- A navy blazer would be ideal but i dont know if you can pull it off on your budget
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United States2969 Posts
On February 08 2012 11:10 jamesr12 wrote:@ Solar: if your budget is as limited as you say the biggest thing to go for is plain interchangeable clothes, you want to be able to wear the same shirt two times a week and have no one notice therefore everything i recommend will be plain and boring. You will want to upgrade this ASAP once you start getting paid. Lets start with what you do have: - Without seeing the Banana Republic shirt it seems less ideal but passable for business casual given your dire situation. - The white shirt again sounds passable, since you are wearing business casual you don't necessarily need a tie. - The black shirt is not office attire and I would not wear it to the office. - black pants and grey pants both sound passable - the black shoes are passable although brown would be better - the sperrys are not business attire -the black suit coat is to formal for business casual IMO Does your mall have an H+M because I think that would be the best store to get clothing that will be passable for a little bit until you start getting paid? In my links below I didn't worry about price just general look that you are looking for. - Chinos in a dark-ish khaki color something like: http://www.ralphlauren.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4360392&ab=crosssell_3_11051446_4360392- Solid lightly colored shirt, since your in a business casual environment you don't need to stick with only white and blue, id try to get a few different colors as it is what people are most likely to remember. You have 2 passable shirts id aim for 3 more. - do you have a belt to match the shoes if not you need a black belt should be a plain black leather belt, with a plain buckle aprox. one inch in width. - A navy blazer would be ideal but i dont know if you can pull it off on your budget
I do believe that there is a H&M nearby. If not, would you suggest department stores?
I think some brown shoes would be a nice purchase, any recommendations for brown, business-style shoes? What color socks does one wear with brown shoes?
What are chinos and what do they feel like? I've never heard of them in my life.
I have two belts. One has a shiny gold buckle, the other a shiny silver buckle.
How much money will it cost me too look like Don Draper? I have a similar stature/height, I just need some goddamn clothes yo.
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You have seen chinos. you may just know them as khakis or tan dress pants, khaki is really a color where chinos are the pants which can come in any color.
For brown shoes, I would get some brown oxfords the problem is nice shoes could go through your entire budget. If you plan on buying clothes after working there for bit I would hold off on the shoes for a little bit, until you can get a nice quality pair which will last you 10 plus years. The other option would be to get a cheap pair which would last you a year or so.
The silver buckle sounds good, I would avoid the gold just a little flashy for me.
Department stores can be ok, they have lots of crap with some good stuff mixed in, the hard part is finding the good stuff.
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When I was a little more reckless with my spending, I had quite a diverse wardrobe, including an inordinate number of shoes (include leather, casual, suede, "indie," and so on). Though the shoes remain, the clothing element of the total package has stagnated, coordinating has become impossible because in the case which I need to add a final piece (brown belt, black socks, a crew neck over a v-neck, a more vintage looking leather jacket), I cannot do to insufficient income. As such, being a little serious about looking good, when you put on nice clothes and the outfit is, "Okay, but it would be better if..." is too frustrating now. I have now reverted back to jeans-t-shirt-hoodie-vans package. Though unimpressive, I know what I'm wearing and it's structurally compliant.
I also exist in no-man's land, where smalls are usually monstrous on me, but extra-smalls (if a store even sells them) are too short, too tight or whatever. So even finding fitting clothes is time consuming and discouraging, let alone clothes that look good or match.
I won't wear any accessory with gold on it. Only very few people can pull it off effectively.
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