What Clothing To Invest In? What To Save On?

[annms]

We all have limited budgets and can't buy the cream of the crop for all items of fashion. We can only choose to spend a little more dough on a few items, and spend more sparingly on others. (unless you're very rich, of course...)

Obviously, I feel that it is wise to invest in a few quality suits, and they will last you a lifetime.

In my opinion, t-shirts should be an item to save on. T-shirts are worn and washed often, and they get old pretty soon. I have never bought a t-shirt that cost more than 60 pounds.

Other items might bring up more controversial. Jeans, shirts, chinos, etc etc.



So, what do you invest in, and what do you save on? Give me your thoughts.

[PaulAnderson]

I personally spend more money on things I wear more. I don't agree with the "will last a lifetime" statement as fashion changes. Even a good suit will go through stages of being fashionable or not. I used to buy double breasted suits with turned up trousers. They were all good quality, but I still got rid of them when everybody was wearing slim fitting single breasted suits.

I don't see the point of buying a £1000 suit if I don't wear suits that often. It'll be out of date before I get any real use out of it.

On the flip side of that I won't waste money on something that won't last long. Work shirts for me are a good example. It doesn't matter if I spend £10 or £100; they will still end up faded under the arms from deodorant marks within the same time frame.

[merc05]

I don't spend any more than £20 on a t-shirt nowadays. The GAP and American Apparel t-shirts fit me really well and they are all £20 or less, so I don't see the point in buying anything more expensive. Generally, I don't spend loads on chinos or jeans either. I usually buy my chinos from Topman, and my jeans are Levis (normally about £70-80 after using my brother's student discount lol). Coats/jackets, knitwear, and shoes are the 'investment' items for me. Generally with these items, the more you spend on them the nicer the material and the fit will be, and I think it's particularly true of shoes. I would never consider spending £200 on a pair of jeans, but £200 on a pair of shoes would be a good investment I think.

[Sam]

The stuff, in no particular order, I think you can save money on is:

• T-shirts. Should be fairly obvious to most; they're often short-lived, and brands like American Apparel do quality ones at a reasonable price anyway.
• Jeans. More controversial, and I can absolutely understand buying really nice jeans. Equally though I don't think there's anything wrong with cheaper sorts. I'm no denim aficionado but I've been pretty impressed with H&M to be honest, they do some great washes and fits. That said, they're not a worn leather patch on my Levi's Made & Crafted pair, which I picked up on the cheap in the January sales.
• Socks. I have a couple of Pantherellas but nice socks are something for other people to buy you, really.
• Casual shirts. Don't really have a justification for this one; I just know that as nice as the nicer casual shirts I've got are, the ones from Topman and the like are just fine too.
• Chinos. Definitely chinos. Topman are great for chinos; even Gary Barlow stepped out on the first show of the X Factor finals in a pair of black Topman chinos. Just change the buttons and you're good to go.
• Hats. Hats are easy to wreck and awkward to transport when they're not on your head. It's better not to have to be too precious about them.
• Ties. Ditto hats, except I do enjoy a nice tie every once in a while. As long as it's natural fibres, it's alright by me.

Those are just my opinions. And the thing is, it's not like there's any harm in buying good quality examples of those things if you want to; I just think that those are the things that you can get better value on.

[Tone]

• Chinos. Definitely chinos. Topman are great for chinos; even Gary Barlow stepped out on the first show of the X Factor finals in a pair of black Topman chinos. Just change the buttons and you're good to go.

I own 2 pairs of Topman chinos and 2 pairs of Topman chino shorts all with the ghastly white buttons. I've been meaning to replace the buttons but not really sure where to look for some nice real horn buttons or anything else suitable. If anyone has a website I can go to, I'll grab 4 sets of buttons right away.

Cheers

[Alex]

Similarly I don't spend much on basic T-Shirts or chinos. GAP for plain T's and GAP or Topman for Chinos, then change the white buttons. Also I look on eBay for these once I know the fit I like!

Shoes and knitwear I spend much more. I wouldn't buy a cheap jumper with man made fibres for example. Shirts are somewhere in between. I utilise sales as much as possible for that sort of thing too.

[Pin Money]

Cheap items for me: T Shirts, Shirts, Suits. As already stated, plain tees are no better at a high price. I don't wear suits a lot, so no point spending big bucks, and I too find that a Topman smart shirt is fine with a suit etc. I will spend a bit ona nice shirt if I really like it though.

Splash out items: Footwear, Knitwear, Outerwear & Jeans/Trousers. I wear a combination of these items every day, and you really do get what you pay for with these imo. Footwear is obvious- badly made shoes are terrible and will let you down. I avoid knitwear with substantial amounts of man-made fibres as it doesn't last and looks cheap. Well made and interesting outerwear is so nice to wear and is not something to skimp on. I like well constructed jeans / trousers with attention to detail; I feel it really lets down a look if the legwear is of poor quality.

You can get nice clothes cheap though, as the constant sales and TK Maxx aptly illustrate. I rarely spend top dollar on clothes, but always wear premium items.

[Alex]

Yep, sales and TK Maxx have been my friend for premium items. but also for cheap items, e.g instead of paying £25 for a pair of Top Man chinos or cords, paying £10 in the sales, or less on eBay.

On the subject of TK Maxx, having bought an All Saints blazer in TK maxx last week, when there was only one or two there, this week there are a number of different all saints blazers and some trousers too. People might want to check there local stores.

[PaulAnderson]

Yep, sales and TK Maxx have been my friend for premium items. but also for cheap items, e.g instead of paying £25 for a pair of Top Man chinos or cords, paying £10 in the sales, or less on eBay.

On the subject of TK Maxx, having bought an All Saints blazer in TK maxx last week, when there was only one or two there, this week there are a number of different all saints blazers and some trousers too. People might want to check there local stores.

I had an interesting conversation with a guy in AllSaints about TKMaxx the other day too. Apparently they went to TXMaxx to get rid of some of their childrens range but TKMaxx insisted on taking a collection from a previous season with it. I was told it would be unlikely to happen again, so I guess it's worth making the most of it when you find decent items.

Strange thing is that the reason given was that it would affect sales as people would wait to find things in TKMaxx. Not sure how that differs from people just waiting for the sales, or the fact AllSaints have their own outlets (which is where all the current sales stock will be going).

[Pin Money]

I had an interesting conversation with a guy in AllSaints about TKMaxx the other day too. Apparently they went to TXMaxx to get rid of some of their childrens range but TKMaxx insisted on taking a collection from a previous season with it. I was told it would be unlikely to happen again, so I guess it's worth making the most of it when you find decent items.

Strange thing is that the reason given was that it would affect sales as people would wait to find things in TKMaxx. Not sure how that differs from people just waiting for the sales, or the fact AllSaints have their own outlets (which is where all the current sales stock will be going).

Where are said outlets?

I do think it could be damaging to a brand to be seen in TK Maxx. The All Saints stuff they have there is very old stock though generally.