I absolutely am just some guy on the internet! No credentials, I don’t work in fashion, I’ve only paid close attention to how to dress as a man for years. Also, this article has been asked for at meetups by people who saw me.
...guess you’re going to have to try the rules and see if your style gets worse hehehe
Well, I checked out the websites of several of the brands you listed.
What became quite obvious very quickly is that, to a first approximation, your advice boils down to:
“Spend more money on clothes. Like… a lot more money. An entire order of magnitude more money than you spend now. Devote significantly more of your budget to clothes than you do to food, utility bills, or any other expense except rent.”
So, that does present rather an obstacle to just trying entirely unverified advice…
I upvoted this article because the general advice is very good, although I disagree with most of the specific advice (the brands, which pieces of clothing are most important). Fancier companies are generally nice in ways that have nothing to do with fashion (nicer materials, more comfortable). Pretty much any brand works fine if you can find the right fit and colors. Although you may need to explore multiple brands to find clothes that fit you, it doesn’t mean you have to go straight to expensive clothes. I can’t find anything that fits me at Walmart but everything at Target does, and they’re very similar prices.
I started wearing relatively expensive clothing in the last few years, but it’s entirely for reasons that aren’t obvious visually (jeans with a very slightly stretch around the waist are a lot more comfortable, wool shirts dry quickly and don’t smell bad after physical activity).
Because I’m passionate about clothing and fabrics, I only referenced brands that are both high quality, and good value for money. If you went from eating at McDonald’s to nicer restaurants, it would be a mistake to focus solely on the price increase; you would get better quality ingredients, service… less cancer...
Uniqlo is the best you can find at a low price range.The downsides are that fabrics are lower quality, will die earlier, won’t feel as good; and that the employees’ work conditions are Bangladeshi. Quality comes at a price.
That said, if you wanted to shop at the cheapest place you could find (or more realistically, something like H&M), the rules would still apply and enhance your style. Thrift shops are also great to find good things on a low budget.
Even if you buy from the brands I recommend, it should be a gradual process; don’t ruin yourself. My personal rule is one item a month, and I wait for Christmas or my birthday if I want something expensive. But granted, you’d still probably spend more than you spend now. Although it’d really, really surprise me if it was more than food. (Like, really).
A more meta note: it seems reasonable to me to expect, if you’re discovering a new field, that achieving proficiency in that area would require investing a significant amount of resources. So perhaps you shouldn’t be as surprised 🤗
If you went from eating at McDonald’s to nicer restaurants, it would be a mistake to focus solely on the price increase; you would get better quality ingredients, service… less cancer...
If you went from eating at McDonald’s to eating at restaurants that are five to ten times more expensive than McDonald’s, then I would conclude that the price increase (or, rather, the resulting signaling effect) is, in fact, the primary or even the entire reason for the change.
(When it comes to food quality, if you went from eating at McDonald’s to eating at, say, this place, you would get at least 75% of the maximum possible benefit that you could possibly get from upgrading your restaurant preferences. Note the menu; those are main courses, and they are at most 150% as expensive as McDonald’s—not 500–1000%!)
A more meta note: it seems reasonable to me to expect, if you’re discovering a new field, that achieving proficiency in that area would require investing a significant amount of resources. So perhaps you shouldn’t be as surprised
You’re equivocating between effort and money, here. It would not surprise me that proficiency in a new field would require investing significant time and effort. If, however, it allegedly requires investing significant money, then I would either suspect that someone is trying to sell me something (or, more subtly, benefiting from the perpetuation of norms that require me to buy something)—or I would seriously reconsider my decision to acquire proficiency in said field.
I absolutely am just some guy on the internet! No credentials, I don’t work in fashion, I’ve only paid close attention to how to dress as a man for years. Also, this article has been asked for at meetups by people who saw me.
...guess you’re going to have to try the rules and see if your style gets worse hehehe
You do you measure whether or not your style gets worse?
Well, I checked out the websites of several of the brands you listed.
What became quite obvious very quickly is that, to a first approximation, your advice boils down to:
“Spend more money on clothes. Like… a lot more money. An entire order of magnitude more money than you spend now. Devote significantly more of your budget to clothes than you do to food, utility bills, or any other expense except rent.”
So, that does present rather an obstacle to just trying entirely unverified advice…
I upvoted this article because the general advice is very good, although I disagree with most of the specific advice (the brands, which pieces of clothing are most important). Fancier companies are generally nice in ways that have nothing to do with fashion (nicer materials, more comfortable). Pretty much any brand works fine if you can find the right fit and colors. Although you may need to explore multiple brands to find clothes that fit you, it doesn’t mean you have to go straight to expensive clothes. I can’t find anything that fits me at Walmart but everything at Target does, and they’re very similar prices.
I started wearing relatively expensive clothing in the last few years, but it’s entirely for reasons that aren’t obvious visually (jeans with a very slightly stretch around the waist are a lot more comfortable, wool shirts dry quickly and don’t smell bad after physical activity).
I’d love to hear more of your thoughts!
Because I’m passionate about clothing and fabrics, I only referenced brands that are both high quality, and good value for money. If you went from eating at McDonald’s to nicer restaurants, it would be a mistake to focus solely on the price increase; you would get better quality ingredients, service… less cancer...
Uniqlo is the best you can find at a low price range.The downsides are that fabrics are lower quality, will die earlier, won’t feel as good; and that the employees’ work conditions are Bangladeshi. Quality comes at a price.
That said, if you wanted to shop at the cheapest place you could find (or more realistically, something like H&M), the rules would still apply and enhance your style. Thrift shops are also great to find good things on a low budget.
Even if you buy from the brands I recommend, it should be a gradual process; don’t ruin yourself. My personal rule is one item a month, and I wait for Christmas or my birthday if I want something expensive. But granted, you’d still probably spend more than you spend now. Although it’d really, really surprise me if it was more than food. (Like, really).
A more meta note: it seems reasonable to me to expect, if you’re discovering a new field, that achieving proficiency in that area would require investing a significant amount of resources. So perhaps you shouldn’t be as surprised 🤗
If you went from eating at McDonald’s to eating at restaurants that are five to ten times more expensive than McDonald’s, then I would conclude that the price increase (or, rather, the resulting signaling effect) is, in fact, the primary or even the entire reason for the change.
(When it comes to food quality, if you went from eating at McDonald’s to eating at, say, this place, you would get at least 75% of the maximum possible benefit that you could possibly get from upgrading your restaurant preferences. Note the menu; those are main courses, and they are at most 150% as expensive as McDonald’s—not 500–1000%!)
You’re equivocating between effort and money, here. It would not surprise me that proficiency in a new field would require investing significant time and effort. If, however, it allegedly requires investing significant money, then I would either suspect that someone is trying to sell me something (or, more subtly, benefiting from the perpetuation of norms that require me to buy something)—or I would seriously reconsider my decision to acquire proficiency in said field.