the materialist | financial priorities: how to spend it

the materialist: financial priorities: how to spend it

Unless you wear a head-to-toe uniform to work, it's old-fashioned to consider your M-F wardrobe distinct from your S/S giddup. Little bits should float from a Sunday look to a Wednesday look. From a wedding outfit to a business one. Vary the details and the execution, but remember that you are always the same person; dress accordingly.

Rationally, you should spend your money on the things you'll wear the most and where quality translates to longevity. Irrationally, of course, I hope you'll fall in love with something silly now and then and buy it anyway.

So the nitty-gritty of this list is up to you and what you like to (or have to?) wear. Because so many people get it wrong with their business clothes, and because so many others really seek help here, this is what you need to be told first. Spend your money:

first on SHOES. You have to be absolutely filthy rich to buy shoes that are made the way they are supposed to be made: hand-sewn to the end, around a last carved in the likeness of your foot. (See Vass, Cleverly, Lobb Bespoke, and Silvano Lattanzi.) Considering that, you should feel downright lucky that you only have to spend around $350 to get great machine-welted shoes that will last a decade. Machine-welted means you should forgo most of the Italians; for under $500 they make mostly soft, wonderful, comfortable, not-so-long-lasting shoes. Instead look to the English, one American, and one French: Peal (for Brooks Brothers), Grenson (at Paul Stuart), Church's, Alden (the American), and Weston (the Frenchy). And don't forget to take care of them. If you're on a budget, try to find shoes that at least look quality, with relatively thin soles and a toe shape not quite so extremely square, pointy, or rounded. Sales are good!

then on SHIRTS. My favorite thing to see on a guy is a well-fitting dress shirt, because they are so rare! Ultimately you must consider your dress shirts disposable, in that you'll stain it or rip it or lose it or it will just wear out after a few years. But that doesn't mean you skimp here: good fit is worth a million bucks, and higher quality here will make it last longer. (Again, try to take care of them!) Try to have them made for you, or try on a lot of off-the-rack shirts to find a maker and body style that work well for you. It's really easy for me to recommend $350+ shirts, but I know that's the extreme: I hope to find a nice $100/shirt place that's worthwhile. I'll let you know.

then bring in CLOTHING. (which means suits and jackets) Remember fit above all else, then details. No need to go overboard on this (yet). Get started slowly. Naturally you'll want to upgrade later, so save the big bucks for when you know a bit more about what you like.

and now add one single POCKET SQUARE. Now that you have a suit or sport jacket, you need a simple pocket square for your outside breast pocket, no exceptions! Buy it before you go any further. White linen is a good place to start. Like Tom Cruise for Renee Zellweger in Jerry Maguire: it will complete you. (awwwww)

and finally add TIES. The detail in how you tie it is more important than how much you spent on it, but expensive hand-made ties do have that je ne sais quoi quality about them. There are a few hand-sewn ties floating around for $85 or so, but most are >$140, and there are a lot of expensive ties that aren't hand-sewn. What's a boy to do?

and then everything else. Knits, belts, cufflinks, socks, and so on. Have fun!

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