Defining a man's wardrobe

[theRenaissance]

An ideal gent's wardrobe should revolve around staples, supplemented by accessories and some flashier items. For staples are classic, timeless and incredibly versatile in many ways. A good way to start would be these 5 key items:

• White shirt
• Leather belts
• Chinos
• Raw/unwashed denim
• Leather shoes

The white shirt - an quintessential mainstay that would take us from job interviews to night's out in town. Either made out of Oxford button-down or a simple 2-ply cotton (I personally favor italian 140s/2-play), having several of these would suffice for any man.

Leather belts - Black and shades of brown. Black for the conformist in business settings, and shades of brown for everything else. Popular choices are rich honey browns to a dark mocha shade, both are ideal pairings along with shoes

Chinos/Raw denim - Incredibly versatile for numerous occasion. I find myself going back to shades like Khaki and Olive green, with dashes of brighter colors for the summer. For jeans, a dark shade is recommended, with minimum distressing of course.

Leather shoes - We have all heard about women judging a man based on the shoes they wear. Crucial to any outfit, its often a make or break for many men. Always try to remember invest in quality pairs, preferably made of real leather, with a durable construction and flattering last. As with belts, black and brown are common choices. When buying shoes, a tip will be to differentiate your brogues from your oxford or wholecuts - lesser the seams and pattern, the seemingly more formal they get.


Would like to hear more opinions/views on how we guys go about building a versatile wardrobe. Please feel free to share your thoughts!

 

[Alpha_Hippo]

for me, the black shirt, a grey suit, bermudas , shades

 

[Bapenigo]

An ideal gent's wardrobe should revolve around staples, supplemented by accessories and some flashier items. For staples are classic, timeless and incredibly versatile in many ways. A good way to start would be these 5 key items:

• White shirt
• Leather belts
• Chinos
• Raw/unwashed denim
• Leather shoes

The white shirt - an quintessential mainstay that would take us from job interviews to night's out in town. Either made out of Oxford button-down or a simple 2-ply cotton (I personally favor italian 140s/2-play), having several of these would suffice for any man.

Leather belts - Black and shades of brown. Black for the conformist in business settings, and shades of brown for everything else. Popular choices are rich honey browns to a dark mocha shade, both are ideal pairings along with shoes

Chinos/Raw denim - Incredibly versatile for numerous occasion. I find myself going back to shades like Khaki and Olive green, with dashes of brighter colors for the summer. For jeans, a dark shade is recommended, with minimum distressing of course.

Leather shoes - We have all heard about women judging a man based on the shoes they wear. Crucial to any outfit, its often a make or break for many men. Always try to remember invest in quality pairs, preferably made of real leather, with a durable construction and flattering last. As with belts, black and brown are common choices. When buying shoes, a tip will be to differentiate your brogues from your oxford or wholecuts - lesser the seams and pattern, the seemingly more formal they get.


Would like to hear more opinions/views on how we guys go about building a versatile wardrobe. Please feel free to share your thoughts!

till now i still can't find a perfect chino! damn!
any recommendation?

 

[kingsfall]

till now i still can't find a perfect chino! damn!
any recommendation?

h&m chinos? its cheap(50-70++) yet comfortable. it has also a slit fit cut. not too long; enough to do a 2fold and it'll be at ankle level

 

[dj_flame]

Dockers Alpha chino. 70+ per pair, but great fit. Quality is better than H&M.

Since it's Singapore, I would like to add quality basic t shirts and basic shorts (linen or chino), for the weekend jaunts when the weather is too unbearable to wear button shirts or trousers/jeans.

 

[grantt]

Dockers Alpha chino. 70+ per pair, but great fit. Quality is better than H&M.

Since it's Singapore, I would like to add quality basic t shirts and basic shorts (linen or chino), for the weekend jaunts when the weather is too unbearable to wear button shirts or trousers/jeans.

For the perfect chino, it's gotta be made out of a little stretch too, this way you can get it quite tapered without being "tight" when you have a seat. H & M actually have some decent ones, but gotta find them before they get sold out (damn fast).

 

[i_got_a_question_to_ask]

Shirts - many plain blue, pink, white dress shirts and ocbd
Pants - many navy, grey
Shoes - oxford, brogues, loafer in black and brown
Belts - to match with shoe colours
Socks - to match pants and bright coloured ones for loafers

 

[theRenaissance]

for me, the black shirt, a grey suit, bermudas , shades

I concur with the grey suit! So much nicer than the boring standard black for business.

till now i still can't find a perfect chino! damn!
any recommendation?

Honestly, Uniqlo offers very good chinos for their price points. Bought 1 from their Winter collection and 2 from their Summer, slim fit for us asians, slightly stretchy for mobility, had them cuffed and shortened so it helps in hanging well.

h&m chinos? its cheap(50-70++) yet comfortable. it has also a slit fit cut. not too long; enough to do a 2fold and it'll be at ankle level

Have yet to see their chinos, but that could be a viable alternative too.

Dockers Alpha chino. 70+ per pair, but great fit. Quality is better than H&M.

Since it's Singapore, I would like to add quality basic t shirts and basic shorts (linen or chino), for the weekend jaunts when the weather is too unbearable to wear button shirts or trousers/jeans.

Good point there, one can never have enough of tees and shorts in Singapore. Questions is, where to get good quality tees?

For the perfect chino, it's gotta be made out of a little stretch too, this way you can get it quite tapered without being "tight" when you have a seat. H & M actually have some decent ones, but gotta find them before they get sold out (damn fast).

+1 Will check them out when I have the time.

 

[theRenaissance]

Shirts - many plain blue, pink, white dress shirts and ocbd
Pants - many navy, grey
Shoes - oxford, brogues, loafer in black and brown
Belts - to match with shoe colours
Socks - to match pants and bright coloured ones for loafers

I like your perspective. Adding on:

Shirts - Instead of OCBD which has been in trend for quite awhile (due to the ivy league/preppy influence), can try getting shirts in longer collars with a wider spread, preferably with removable stays. Looks alot nicer I feel.

Shoes - One can also try other options like a wholecut (very elegant look), or double monks.

Socks - For the slightly adventurous, one can play around with stripe/poka-dots socks to spice up the shirt/pants attire. It helps alot as conversation starters lol

 

[ahboy82]

how abt zara chinos. anyone got any feedback?

btw nice thread here.

 

[theRenaissance]

how abt zara chinos. anyone got any feedback?

btw nice thread here.

Thanks, feel free to contribute too! Have absolutely no idea with Zara chinos, although I had one slim fit camo pants from their AW12 collection.

 

[theRenaissance]

The Shirt Collar​

"The collar of a man’s dress shirt is perhaps its most important part; it dictates the entire style of not only the garment but of the man inside it. The angle of the point spread, the height of the point length and whether there are buttons or not all factor in to the style of the shirt. The collar lies close to your face, so expect thousands of eyes to notice it each and every day. When giving presentations, ensure that your collar is neatly starched -- and don’t underestimate how important a good collar stay is. The collar is where style is made. - Ask Men"

Some aspects of the collar includes its roll, the way which the collar turns away, creating a natural flow and by extension, framing of the face. Some examples:

Depending on one's face structure and frame, one may prefer to play around with collar spread, having a wider spread creates presence.

Especially when don with sportscoat/suits, longer/taller collars tend to look more elegant:

​

 

[Bapenigo]

Thanks, feel free to contribute too! Have absolutely no idea with Zara chinos, although I had one slim fit camo pants from their AW12 collection.

How would rate Zara men's quality? Regardless tops or bottoms.

 

[Lippyt]

How would rate Zara men's quality? Regardless tops or bottoms.

Would rate it a hit and miss in terms of fabrics. If it's sharkskin season, be prepared to see only shiny pants in store.

There is one thing I would never buy from zara - their neckties, they use absolutely horrid material.

 

[Bapenigo]

h&m chinos? its cheap(50-70++) yet comfortable. it has also a slit fit cut. not too long; enough to do a 2fold and it'll be at ankle level

Dockers Alpha chino. 70+ per pair, but great fit. Quality is better than H&M.

Since it's Singapore, I would like to add quality basic t shirts and basic shorts (linen or chino), for the weekend jaunts when the weather is too unbearable to wear button shirts or trousers/jeans.

I concur with the grey suit! So much nicer than the boring standard black for business.



Honestly, Uniqlo offers very good chinos for their price points. Bought 1 from their Winter collection and 2 from their Summer, slim fit for us asians, slightly stretchy for mobility, had them cuffed and shortened so it helps in hanging well.

Have yet to see their chinos, but that could be a viable alternative too.

For the perfect chino, it's gotta be made out of a little stretch too, this way you can get it quite tapered without being "tight" when you have a seat. H & M actually have some decent ones, but gotta find them before they get sold out (damn fast).

Been to h&m to look for chinos, but their cut are either carrot, straight(size 28 still a little loose for me), colorful or washed. Seem quite similar to top men. Actually, I was thinking of getting Norse projects chinos. Recently bought one striped tee in small and its too long and slightly loose. So, I dropped the idea of getting stuff from them in the future.

What about bespoke tailor chinos?

 

[Lippyt]

For the perfect chino, it's gotta be made out of a little stretch too, this way you can get it quite tapered without being "tight" when you have a seat. H & M actually have some decent ones, but gotta find them before they get sold out (damn fast).

You'd have to see if your preference is for a close or looser fit. If one can tolerate a looser fit (reasonable space for thighs and manhood), a non-elastic chinos looks much better when you are sitting down.

Stretchy man-chino-leggings may create unsightly rumples when sitting down.

 

[ahboy82]

Been to h&m to look for chinos, but their cut are either carrot, straight(size 28 still a little loose for me), colorful or washed. Seem quite similar to top men. Actually, I was thinking of getting Norse projects chinos. Recently bought one striped tee in small and its too long and slightly loose. So, I dropped the idea of getting stuff from them in the future.

What about bespoke tailor chinos?

i have a pair of chinos from topmen. after a few washes the chino start to 起毛, lousy quality,

for zara i oni have several jeans from them. quality quite good imo, so i was thinking maybe their pants/chinos will be good also. juz wanted to check if anyone got feedback on their pants.

 

[theRenaissance]

Would rate it a hit and miss in terms of fabrics. If it's sharkskin season, be prepared to see only shiny pants in store.

There is one thing I would never buy from zara - their neckties, they use absolutely horrid material.

Concur. If one is preparing to pay 90-120sgd for their shirts, I rather topping up a little more to get one tailored shirt, better quality, better finishing, better fit.

 

[ahboy82]

Concur. If one is preparing to pay 90-120sgd for their shirts, I rather topping up a little more to get one tailored shirt, better quality, better finishing, better fit.

nvr buy zara when no sales loh. all my zara items are bought during their sales...avg price between 50 to 80.

 

[theRenaissance]

Been to h&m to look for chinos, but their cut are either carrot, straight(size 28 still a little loose for me), colorful or washed. Seem quite similar to top men. Actually, I was thinking of getting Norse projects chinos. Recently bought one striped tee in small and its too long and slightly loose. So, I dropped the idea of getting stuff from them in the future.

What about bespoke tailor chinos?

If one has to choose between the two, I would go for the straight, and may have them tapered below the calves, although my preference now is usually straight leg down. MTM/Bespoke is another league altogether, but the results definitely warrant the effort and price.

i have a pair of chinos from topmen. after a few washes the chino start to 起毛, lousy quality,

for zara i oni have several jeans from them. quality quite good imo, so i was thinking maybe their pants/chinos will be good also. juz wanted to check if anyone got feedback on their pants.

There are better alternatives elsewhere, would rather tailor for pants.