Building your wardrobe: the essential shoes (and belt).

[Ed. note: this continues our series on the essential building blocks for a Midwestern guy looking to upgrade his style game from the basic polo-and-khakis. You can find the previous entries in the series on the right sidebar.]

You can put together a great-looking outfit--trousers, shirt, tie and jacket--and ruin it all with your shoes. A man's shoes can say a great deal about him:  what are yours saying? When it comes to shoes, it's important not just to select the proper pair, but also to take good care of them. You've taken the time to launder and iron your shirt and trousers, you've selected a tie without wrinkles or stains and you got that dimple just right, but all your care so far will go for naught if you finish things off with a scuffed, dirty, worn pair of shoes. Or shoes that aren't appropriate for the outfit.

So let's start right there, with shoe selection. First off, if you're reading this, don't even think about wearing tennis or basketball or some other type of athletic shoe to work (or anywhere else) if you're not wearing a t-shirt. Are there guys who can do this? Sure, but they're not reading this site (or if they are, they don't need to be). The guys who can wear athletic shoes with their collared shirts either a) care about style and already know enough about it to break the rules and get away with it or b) don't care about style.

Assuming you're not in either of those categories, the shoe you're going to want to start with is the cap-toe oxford or derby. Here are some cap-toe oxfords:

Men's dress shoe terminology has a vocabulary all to itself, and it can get confusing. Here's a good breakdown of the key terms for our purposes. Go take a look and then come back here.

Two points from that link. First, the difference between "oxford/balmoral" and "derby/blucher" aren't very important here. Either one will be fine for your purposes, but just know that, technically, the former is considered dressier/more formal than the latter. And as the link suggested, many stores in the U.S. will refer to all of them as "oxfords," anyway, whether the lacing is open or closed. (All of the shoes shown above are true oxfords.)

Second, most guys are familiar with brogues, although they are more likely to refer to them as "wingtips." Wingtips or brogues are most closely identified with the decorative perforation patterns you usually see on such shoes.

It's common to think that the perforation patterns make the shoe more formal, but the opposite is actually true. The plainer the oxford or derby, the more formal it is. One of the reasons for this is the history of the brogue. It developed in Scotland when the Scots figured out that it would be useful to perforate their shoes to allow any water that might get in the shoe as they were hunting to run out. Because the perforations were originally added for sporting purposes, the perforations make the shoes less formal. (The shoes shown above are ordered in a way that would be considered least-to-most formal.) However, many wingtips or brogues are still formal enough for everyday wear with jacket and tie, so the choice between brogues and plainer shoes mainly comes down to personal preference.

We recommend a pair of cap-toe oxfords or derbies as our "essential" shoe because of their versatility. They will be formal enough for your jacket and tie at work, but you can also wear them with slacks or nice jeans for a date night or out on the town.

Selecting between shoe brands could be (and at some point likely will be) a whole post in itself. For now, a good place to start would be Allen Edmonds. They tend to be a pretty good value, and if you can't afford a new pair, there are many selections in good shape being sold on eBay. Great shoe values can also be found in thrift stores. Two of our pairs in heavy rotation were bought for $10 each at a local thrift store. Vintage shoes from makers such as Florsheim and Johnston & Murphy can often be found there, and their vintage lines seem better-regarded and sturdier than newer offerings from these shoe makers.

If possible, get a pair of shoes with leather soles. They are dressier, and, depending on the stitching technique (Goodyear is a good one), they can be resoled when the soles have worn out, prolonging the life of your investment.

Be sure to protect your investment by taking care of your shoes. At a minimum, get some cedar shoe trees to put into your shoes immediately after you take them off. These will help your shoes retain their proper shape, assist with the drying process, and alleviate some of the smell. You can get a couple of pairs to rotate between your shoes (their effectiveness is maximized in the first couple of hours after you take off your shoes, so no need to have trees for every pair of shoes). Nordtrom Rack has very good prices for solid trees.

Also, regularly condition your shoes. This will improve their appearance and lengthen their life even if you don't regularly polish them. But why not polish them, too? It doesn't require that much time, and it puts the finishing touch on the total presentation that you've worked diligently to assemble. (Here are some additional tips for shoe care products.)

Finally, let's address the belt, which will be the easiest advice to give in this essentials series. It should be leather, and it should reasonably approximate the color of your shoes. And that's it.

Building your wardrobe: the essential jacket.

[Ed. note: this continues our series on the essential building blocks for a Midwestern guy looking to upgrade his style game from the basic polo-and-khakis. You can find the previous entries in the series on the right sidebar.]

Once you've picked out the trousers, shirt, and tie, you need a jacket to pull it all together. (In fact, some would say you shouldn't wear a tie unless it's accompanied by a jacket, but more on that in a future post.)

This recommendation took a little more thought than some of the other entries in this series. I even thought about just skipping ahead to suit recommendations instead, but decided against it for three reasons. First, by already recommending oxford cloth button-down shirts and gray wool slacks, we've been building toward a blazer/sportcoat/odd jacket recommendation. Second, it's likely going to be easier / more affordable to add just a jacket to your growing wardrobe instead of an entire suit, and that's part of the goal here. Finally, because we're starting out with the basics, it's likely that someone using this advice does not yet have many occasions requiring the increased formality of a suit over an odd jacket.

[Odd jacket? Blazer? Sportcoat? What's the difference? An "odd jacket" (in the broadest use of the term) is a jacket that is made without a set of matching trousers, so some say it incorporates both blazers and sportcoats. A "blazer" generally is made from solid-colored material a bit thicker or coarser than suit material and features metal buttons. A "sportcoat" generally is patterned and considered the most casual option; perhaps the most common example is a tweed sportcoat.]

With that background, I've decided to go with my original inclination here and recommend the classic single-breasted navy blazer as our essential jacket. Here's why:

• It's a classic menswear item.
• It possesses an unequaled versatility and can be easily dressed up or dressed down.
• It can be worn in any season.
• There are many varieties and cost options from which you can choose.
• It complements our previous recommendations in the essentials series.

Now, a few details and caveats to bear in mind.

There are those who may think navy blazers are not that versatile (too casual for work, too formal for play) and that a tweed jacket is a better first odd jacket to add to a wardrobe to complement a suit. However, I believe this is not so much the case in the Midwest. Few Midwest workplaces are "suits only." Most are business casual, and a navy blazer is more easily worn in such an environment than a suit. And tweed sportcoats, while less formal, are also only season-appropriate in the Midwest for perhaps 7 months of the year. You can wear a blazer year-round. To that end, here are some examples of the versatility of the navy blazer.

Cooler months:

Warmer months:

Concerned about looking like Judge Smails in Caddyshack? It's not too tough to avoid that look: ditch the ascot, the pocket patch, and, oh yes, the captain's hat. If the metal buttons are still too flashy for you, go for duller bronze buttons or try mother-of-pearl or horn instead. Purists say a blazer must have metal buttons, but our goal here is to find a nice-looking navy jacket that won't be confused for a suit coat. To that end, you  want a more textured material, more casual styling elements (such as patch pockets), and buttons that contrast a least a bit with the jacket material. Here's a good example.   

As mentioned above, options abound. Navy blazers can be found on eBay, at thrift stores, and at many menswear retailers online and in stores. There are many fit, styling, and button options available to match your preference. The only word of caution I would have would be that some retailers seem to be offering "blazers" with matching pants available as a separate. If the "blazer" has suit-jacket styling (tonal buttons, finer material, non-patch pockets), they are selling a suit coat, not a blazer. If the jacket does have blazer styling, then don't buy the "matching" pants to wear with the jackets, because the more informal look of the jacket will be incongruous with matching pants due to the formality expected of a suit.  

Off the Cuff: Socks; Ties; Scarves; and Value

It's our busy season at work, but we thought we should drop in and mention some more miscellaneous items not worth a full post each.

•  Looking for more thoughts on building a basic tie collection after reading our take on the essentials? Put This On has you covered.

•  The Style Blogger provides a "simple guide to sock matching."

•  Winter is supposed to be over soon, but after a foot of snow last week we're expecting another significant snowstorm early this week...so maybe it's not too late to point out this guide to four ways to tie a scarf.

•  The Pantalones finds that the "quality versus quantity" question means different things [language NSFW] depending on your position in life and your budget.

• Finally, we ran across the following photo of William F. Buckley, Jr. via Unabashedly Prep. This blog is apolitical, but we wanted to highlight the photo because it is a great example of some simple but classic American style: crew-neck sweater, button-down, chinos, boat shoes, and watch. Crisp and clean. The neutrality of most of the outfit allows the darker watch band and boat shoes to "finish" it. (And the photo's setting is pretty sweet, too.)   

Affordable Style, Part II: Buying Used

A few weeks ago we shared some tips for getting good style value while buying new. Today we want to share some tips for buying used clothing. We'll cover two sources: thrift store/garage sales and eBay.

Thrifting (and garage sales)

While shopping at thrift stores or garage sales can be a great way to save a lot of money, it can also be more time-consuming than buying new, because you have to sort through a wide variety of merchandise. Your time is valuable, so you have to take this into consideration.

Some folks like to browse through thrift stores to see what they can turn up, and this can yield some great finds, but it's also going to take the most time. If I'm on the lookout for a specific clothing item, before I go to buy new, I like to stop by a couple of local thrift stores for a quick, targeted search for the item.

When thrifting (or going by garage sales, or buying used in general), you'll want to have some familiarity with labels to help you know whether you're looking at a quality item or not. Fortunately, today's smartphones make it a lot easier to do on-the-spot checks if you run across an unfamiliar label.

Condition is obviously an important consideration when buying used. In addition to surveying the garment overall for holes and tears, pay special attention to cuffs, collars, seams, elbows, and buttons. These are the areas of a garment that will tend to show the most wear.

Even if a garment does not fit exactly right, keep in mind that an article in great condition may be well worth the purchase and some investment in tailoring to get the proper fit. Waist suppression and sleeve or cuff length on jackets and pants is generally pretty affordable. But be aware that sometimes there might not be enough material to lengthen the sleeves in a jacket.

Finally, if you live in a larger metro area with multiple thrift stores, we've found that, generally, those stores closer to the affluent section(s) of town will tend to more consistently have a greater selection of higher-quality merchandise.

eBay (or Etsy or other online used clothing markets)

There are some great deals to be had on eBay and other online sources for used clothing. However, because you won't be previewing the items in person and thus won't be able to try them on, there are a couple of online-specific points to keep in mind.

First, learn how to measure your existing well-fitting clothes and do so. Online used clothing sellers use some unique measurements beyond the typical chest size and sleeve length measurements (including a differently-measured sleeve length standard), so use the instructions at that link to determine your measurements for eBay purposes. However, different folks can measure the same garment using these methods and still come up with different figures, which leads to our second tip...

Either buy so cheaply that it won't be a big loss if the item is in poor condition or doesn't fit, or else buy from a seller with a decent return policy. Most folks selling used clothing on eBay offer adequate return policies, but always be sure to take a look at the return policy before buying the item, just to be sure.

 

Building your wardrobe: the essential tie(s).

So we've covered the shirt and the pants in our "essentials" series; time to move on to the tie! Because our goal here is to give helpful suggestions for additions to your wardrobe, and not to establish a uniform for men everywhere, we're going to provide several "basic" tie suggestions. All of these are classic and would be a solid addition to your wardrobe...add all of them for some variety that will cover you for all situations!

Before we list our specific suggestions, a few general tie tips. First, know what tie width you want. These days, the "mainstream" tie width is about 3.5".  Get much wider and you'll look dated; go 3" or below and you'll look trendy. What width you want is up to you, but a commonly-observed rule is to wear a tie that is about as wide as the lapels on your suit coat or sportcoat. This helps keep everything proportional.

Second, know that silk ties can be bought woven or printed. Woven means that the pattern is woven with differently-colored silk, while printed means that the pattern is printed on the same silk cloth with differently-colored dye. There are high-quality ties available that are made with either method. Our own preference tends to be for woven ties, as they give the pattern more depth and interplay with the light, but we'll buy a quality printed tie, as well.

Third, buy your ties from thetiebar.com. Their ties are the best bang for the buck you're going to find: made from substantial silk, many of them woven, for $15 each. These are better ties than you'll find in most department stores for $40-$60. Many of their ties are offered in different widths, depending on your personal preference.

Okay, on to the recommendations.

The Repp Stripe

"Repp" actually refers to the pattern of the weave of these ties. Their different stripes originally denoted membership in different military units, clubs, or universities. Find stripes in your school colors or favorite colors and wear this classic English tie that was later adopted as part of American Ivy League or prep style.

The Pindot Tie

More formal than the repp tie, the pindot will be appropriate in any setting with your suit, or it will dress up your sportcoat. 

The Grenadine*

Okay, the asterisk is because this version isn't actually a grenadine tie, which is more expensive. This is the Tie Bar's "Grenafaux," which gives much the same visual effect at a fraction of the price. Although this may be the most formal of these three ties, it is also the most versatile. You'll never go wrong wearing it.

Affordable Style, Part I: Buying New

Perhaps you've seen some style tips or ideas on this blog or somewhere else and would like to put them into practice. Perhaps you make a decent living, but don't exactly have a huge clothing budget. What's the best way to improve one's style without breaking the bank? We'll cover that in a two-part series, and today we'll cover the first part: buying new.

There are three cardinal rules we have for buying new. We've found that sticking to these rules gets us a lot more clothing for the money. What are they?

1. Stick to the classics. If you base your wardrobe on the classics, instead of following the latest trends, you'll save money because you won't be dropping the cash to follow the trends each season. The classics stay in style year-in and year-out, so instead of permanently storing last year's acquisition, you can bring it back out when the appropriate season rolls around again. Adopting this strategy also makes it possible to follow the second strategy, which is:

2. Think a full season ahead. What happens when a store starts getting its shipments of clothes for the upcoming season? It has to clear space by putting the outgoing season's clothing on sale. And that's when you want to be thinking about making purchases for next year. Since you're buying the classics, you won't have to worry about the trend going out of style if you buy the item and save it for 6 months. Instead, you'll save 50%-75% (and sometimes more) off the regular price of the item. So when a store puts out its fall/winter selections and puts the spring/summer items on clearance, you'll want to be thinking ahead to what you might need, or want, for next summer.

3.  Never pay full price. With only a couple of limited exceptions, you should never be paying full retail price for clothing. Even if you're not shopping clearance at the end of a season, e-mail and the internet are awash in sale codes these days, so if you're buying something without getting at least 20-30% off, you're paying too much. It's not difficult to find a code through Google or through forum threads dedicated to the topic.

With those rules in mind, let's take a look at some specific retailer categories and retailers that we've found useful.

Internet. Practically every major brand or retailer has an online shopping presence these days. The advantage of using their websites to shop is that it is usually more convenient, prices are often lower or special coupon codes are available, and inventory is usually better than at a brick-and-mortar store. One of our favorite places to find deals is LandsEnd.com. They offer quality, classic clothing and run frequent clearance sales and coupon codes. It's easy to get free shipping at Lands End, and if you have a retail store close to you, it's easy to return items bought over the internet at the store.

Outlet/Factory Stores. Outlet stores used to be a place to find regular merchandise at better prices. Then companies began branding their outlet-mall stores as "factory stores," which may still carry some regular merchandise but usually sell mostly merchandise specially made for the factory store. This merchandise tends to be lower quality than what you'd find in the regular store, but it may still be acceptable quality. Just make sure you don't buy anything that's not on sale, unless you have a coupon. Most of the time you can stack coupons onto sale prices for even greater discounts. Brooks Brothers, Banana Republic, Gap, and J. Crew all have factory store locations, and some of them have factory items available on their websites.

Discount Stores. These are stores that sell regular merchandise from a variety of labels at a lower price, serving as sort of a centralized, multi-brand clearance sale. They include Marshalls, TJ Maxx (owned by the same parent company), and Nordstrom Rack. Shopping can be kind of hit-or-miss at these places, but they tend to always be a solid place to at least find affordable dress socks and ties.

Flash Sale Websites. These are the "deal-a-day" type websites like Gilt, Rue La La, and MyHabit. The only one of these three that we've found to regularly have well-priced, useful offerings (for our style pursuits) is MyHabit (run by Amazon).

Department / Regular Stores. No problem if you want to shop at your local Dillards or J. Crew, but we like to focus on the clearance racks at these stores. We've found that Macy's, in particular, tends to have a useful clearance selection of dress shirts.

One final point to remember: you're looking for good value, not just what's cheapest. You may find a $5 shirt, but if it's uncomfortable or wears out after a few days, your money will not have been well-spent. That's why we like to find brands that make quality products and then shop them on sale or clearance. We may still spend a little more than we could on a similar item from a different maker, but in the long run, we'll spend less because the higher-quality product will last longer.

That's our summary of how to save money when buying new. In our second article in this series, we'll take a look at ways to save money by buying used.

Socks

Happy Socks

When it comes to socks, there are several "right" answers with regard to the rules, with only a couple of pitfalls to avoid. Sockwear is easily matched to the personality of the man and is one of the easiest ways (along with ties) to show a little personal flair.

First, the things to avoid. Never wear white socks with your non-athletic shoes. It is also a good idea to avoid wearing socks that are the same color as your shoes, as this combination can make it look like you're wearing booties.(Black socks with black shoes and black slacks would be an exception to this guideline.)

There is a continuum of allowable sockwear. At the most basic level, there are a couple of muted colors (charcoal gray and navy blue) that you can wear with most combinations of slacks and shoes. If you want to get a little more advanced, match the color of your socks to the color of your slacks. This will help emphasize your height a bit by visually extending your leg. These are the more conservative options and thus usually the better choices for a formal business environment or interview.

The next option is to use your socks to echo an element in your shirt or tie, such as a color or pattern. However, be careful that you don't match these too exactly: you don't want it to look like you purchased a matching tie/sock set. Argyles and polka dot patterns can be a good way to carry out this option.

The "most advanced" option is to go with brightly-colored or patterned socks that don't match any other color or pattern you are wearing but that nevertheless harmonize with your outfit. This means you have to use your style eye to evaluate whether the pair of socks contributes to or detracts from the overall look you want to achieve. Here's an example we recently ran across:

Admittedly, we can't see the shirt in this photo. However, a blue OCBD or gingham shirt, among other options, would be a good look with what we can see. (Also, note how the marled look of the socks helps mute the bold style choice of pink.)

If going with a bolder sock choice, you'll probably want to avoid a bold tie or other element. Such style accents are generally best limited to one per outfit.

Remember also that the break in your trouser leg will determine how much of your sock will actually show. In a similar vein, the other sock rule you'll want to always keep in mind is that you never want to show bare leg above your socks. So be sure to wear long enough socks (usually over-the-calf length) to keep your leg covered even when it's crossed and is thereby shortening the length of your trousers.