Making over my new wardrobe

[Clayton]

Hello EDF,

I am in need of a new wardrobe. My knowledge of what defines good clothing does not extend beyond The Gap and Express, and in general I am a slob with fashion. I am about to turn 21 and I need to upgrade from my current array of random tee-shirts, polos and my one pair of trusty jeans.

- Here is me at my best just so we all know what to work with, with my standard pair of jeans and sandal combination. And hey, my new car!

the above photo is like the best I can possibly get myself to look (never mind the fact that a new haircut and actually working out couldnt hurt, I am working on that, we're focusing on wardrobe for now). Usually I am wearing those jeans with a random tee shirt i picked up from a sports store or a wal mart, and when not wearing that I'll stick to athletic shorts and a random tee. I have worn sandals pretty exclusively for the last year regardless of weather, and I think that needs to stop as well.

- i think i was trying to be retarded in front of the camera

So, I guess in a way this is sort of a continuation from my car thread where I am trying to vastly improve a single aspect of my life where the knowledge required to do it is something I'm incredibly lacking in (and I wont go in the direction of listening to what a magazine tells me nor will I shell out money for a personal stylist unless people really recommend it). Simply put, my sense of style kinda sucks and I need a complete overhaul and I'm pretty much willing to do whatever EDF tells me.

We are talking complete wardrobe. This extends down to every single piece of clothing or article (belt, shoes) that a 20 yo should want to look good. The goal in this is so I can have the knowledge in clothing to better my own self image and self esteem, and others like me to draw from it and better their own lives, because I think 2p2 has a lot of style f*ck-ups like me.

For a start, I bought the shirt I'm wearing in the first photo, plus i bought a few shirts like this from express in different colors which I'll wear at nice places like WPT Niagara. However the rest of my clothing I am completely ready and willing to donate to charity, so let's have it EDF. Please help me with a new wardrobe.

[Xaston]

Nordstrom has some nice stuff.

[Xaston]

Specifically I like a lot of their long sleeve tees.

[steel108]

1) Stop shopping at Express and Gap.

2) What is your budget

3) How tall are you

[citanul]

what sort of style do you personally like or dislike? i'm getting the impression that sot of messy blended with preppy might be OK?

[Clayton]

[ QUOTE ]
what sort of style do you personally like or dislike? i'm getting the impression that sot of messy blended with preppy might be OK?

[/ QUOTE ]

yeah, thats what i'm going for, but throwing in stuff that looks good from a professional sense (like the shirt picture i posted in the OP).

i feel like my current wardrobe projects the wrong image, and I want to get a little more sophisticated without sacrificing the fact that I'm still 20 years old.

[Clayton]

[ QUOTE ]
1) Stop shopping at Express and Gap.

2) What is your budget

3) How tall are you

[/ QUOTE ]

1) ok

2) infinite, but reasonable. i dont know what is normal to spend, but i'm willing to plunk down a couple thousand. should i spend less/more?

3) 5'9

[Keyser.]

Do people think Express is really that bad?

[Manque]

[ QUOTE ]
Do people think Express is really that bad?

[/ QUOTE ]

Express isn't bad. Especially on sale. The problem with it is that if you only shop there, you look like every other college guy who got dressed up to go to a bar.

[aufbruch]

I started writing an incredibly long reply but I don't think it's really needed - I think all you need to remember is to keep it simple. You don't need a stylist - you just need to get more involved in clothes. It's like anything - the more you get into it the easier it is to create/define your style. The more you start to refine your own feeling towards things like cardigans, man-purses and wife-beaters then the easier you will find it all.

The photo where you say you were looking retarded looks fine. You seem to value comfort so stick to jeans, polos, short-sleeved shirts and then when you need to dress it up it's pretty easy. Plainer, fitted clothes look more professional - logos, baggy, stripes etc. look younger.

The accessories are much more important than you'd think though - nice watch and good shoes can often do more than changing to a 'non Gap' brand for more visible things.

Take some time over it and don't just bin everything immediately and buy a whole new image. Think about what brands portray and what you want to be associated with. Seriously.

Go out there and try stuff on. Go into every shop at first. Over time you will find things/places you do/don't like. From your initial post I think this will benefit you more than a bunch of links to products other people like. Although I'm more than happy to do that...