The Essential Man's Wardrobe

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Inspired by a thread I saw on SZ...if you had to live your life out of a suitcase, more or less, what items do you think are essential for every man that you would put in your 'capsule' wardrobe?

Mine:

- Grey 2-button suit (for work)

- Black 1 or 2-button suit (or tuxedo even...for dressier occasions)

- Black cashmere knits...or a mix of black and grey in crewneck, v-neck and cardigan

- Button down shirt in black, white, and pinstripe

- Basic, well cut soft cotton t-shirts in white v-neck, and 5-6 in black/grey crewneck (maybe you can play around with the cuts and colors depending on your tastes)

- A pair of rugged, utilitarian boots that go well with suits or casual outfits

- A pair of well made leather lace-ups

- One pair of unwashed indigo jeans

- Black overcoat in wool or cashmere, tailored

- A pair of white low-tech sneakers you don't have to baby too much

If you invest wisely, i think you can stay within $10,000 and have the essential capsule wardrobe right there.

- oh yeah...add a couple ties to the mix. One black skinny and maybe 3-4 patterned ties for variety.

- I would also add a sporty jacket of some sort, maybe a leather, denim or corduroy jacket or a shearling parka. But I wouldn't say this is absolutely essential.

[M.O.A]

1 pair white chucks

1 pair black vans eras

black hoodie

grey hoodie

black button down

white button down

khaki m 65

Black two button jacket

slim unwashed denim

black leather laceups

brown belt

black belt

basic tee's in blue, grey, black, white, and red

white v neck

cashmere sweater

black tie

it would be so nice to have nothing but those items and just rehash the same shit everyday. I however am incapable of doing this. lol

[therealcas]

Grey Cashmere V-neck

Cotton T-shirt : White, Black, Heather Grey

Black Cashmere Crewneck

Unwashed Jeans: indigo, black

Well tailored one button suit

Dior Homme Sneakers

Hanes Boxer Briefs

Low Cut Black Socks

These items have taken me pretty damn far.

[M.O.A]

yeah aside from a couple things on my list.....thats pretty much all i wear these days. I feel so boring....

[lv d0n]

thats cuz u are. now try not being a trendhopper and you might get somewhere.

[Servo2000]

My look is basically FTBs except with the addition of a classic polo and a few graphic-print shirts to break it up and the lack of a work suit and a tuxedo, but still with a sport jacket.

[khaltire]

thats cuz u are. now try not being a trendhopper and you might get somewhere.

why you hatin?

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why you hatin?

lol the Louis Vuitton Don been takin shots at Mr. Kix for a while now.

I'd be interested to see what someone with a more traditional, workwear style would list as his essential wardrobe...after seein that post about Christophe's store, i'm very interested in this aesthetic...i like functionalism in style, and if i could i'd like to lean towards this philosophy in my style as an alter ego to the more polished and tailored side of my style.

[evisu 2000]

1 black jacket

4 white shirts

4 grey wool pants

4 black polo necks

4 heather t-shirts

4 pairs of jeans

1 pair of nice black shoes

1 pair of nice white sneakers

[viv1984viv]

thats cuz u are. now try not being a trendhopper and you might get somewhere.

whoa easy!

I think Brown and Black shoes and boots, will go well with everything, Slim and regular jeans, for casual and slightly smart. At least 2 suits, black and grey/navy. Grey and white shirts, Maybe one stripy to go with jeans. No need for crew necks, V necks are great with a plain tee underneath still great with a shirt. A long coat and/or peacoat ( depends how smart you need to be ) a leather jacket. Only black socks will suffice. Pants and boxers. Cashmere V necks by the way, 1 cardigan. A pair of converse or nike or vans will do. A dozen shirts, white tees. Brown and black belts. Cashmere scarfs. Linen shirts for summer.

Im sure ive missed stuff, I love these sorts of threads

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brown or tan brogues/wingtips/shoes/chelseas etc. look good with a grey or navy suit...if you're always workin with grey tailored pieces it works. Otherwise I would say a safe black is a better bet. Easier to pull off for the style-impaired and more versatile overall.

The look of a grey jacket, grey waistcoat, dark jeans and tan shoes is a nice look though...

[superdupersang]

title: man's essential wardrobe?

navy 140 wool suit with 2 pairs of trousers.

brown lace ups

brown leather belt

white sneakers

fitted dark denim

round and v neck t shirts in white, pale pink and grey

john smedly knits (as many as possible)

gold rimmed aviators

m65 jacket

hardwearing leather wallet

and a big man bag to hold everything

reminds of heat: you cant have anything in your life that you cant walk away from in 2 minutes when you see the heat round the corner

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reminds of heat: you cant have anything in your life that you cant walk away from in 2 minutes when you see the heat round the corner

Great quote from a great movie. +rep for you...sometimes I feel like Robert De Niro, always ready to turn around from anything no matter what and just sneak into oblivion.

[Analog]

...except for the fact the bunhead got himself dead.

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...except for the fact the bunhead got himself dead.

well, minus that part.

[ddohnggo]

fade, great list. +rep for you!

[M.O.A]

anyone care to fill me in as to why lv don is taking shots at me? I dont even know who the fuck you are. Just curious as to your reasoning behind your ways.

[superdupersang]

- A pair of rugged, utilitarian boots that go well with suits or casual outfits

-

ive never felt that chunky boots look good, at least on me, with a sharp suit.

a slick suit deserves some slick shoes

[Oldboy]

anyone care to fill me in as to why lv don is taking shots at me? I dont even know who the fuck you are. Just curious as to your reasoning behind your ways.

Well, just a year ago you were wearing Stussy and The Hundreds tees with SB dunks (with the tongues sticking out, yuck). I also remember you wearing those bandanas around your neck when every other kid on Niketalk was rockin em'. Then you had APC, Nudie, Sugarcane, LVC, blah blah blah. Nowadays you wear AA tees, cardigans, boots, Vans, and Dior Homme and PBJ denim. Don't take this the wrong way, I mean your style has changed dramatically and in a good way - props for that - but you do seem to follow whatevers trendy.

[seanfromiran]

I think I can sympathize with kixslf on this issue. My style has evolved dramtically over the past several months not because I've been following trends, but because I have been exposed to so many new styles. It all started about a year and half ago when I saw a pair of bapes. I instantly fell in love with the shoe and felt I had to have them. I got my bapes and my interest spread and I discovered niketalk and iss. I read alot of the posts there and learned about streetwear and nikes. I just observed the site for the most part and didn't integrate any streetwear into my style until this past summer. I stuck mostly to the shoes really, I've always thought crooks and castles and 10 deep have been ugly. I tried on an allover hoodie but felt I couldn't pull it off. So I bought a few jordans and a pair of hunter sbs and I felt my style was improving a lot. But then on iss someone posted a link to superfuture and I found out about denim and all of these new labels I had never heard about. I saw the waywt and thought the looks people had were really awesome. I've always worn realtively tight fitting levi's stfs, and I wouldn't wash them for months at a time because I liked them dirty, little did I know this practice actually had it's own subculture. Superfuture was like a miracle for me. I found out about all this high quality denim that you could put your own imprint into and this sounded so damn cool to me. I never really took into consideration the fit of the items I was wearing before either. Basically what I'm trying to say is that It's easy to adapt to the superfuture style because it's a really clean and sophisticated look. It feels like it will last a lot longer than all this streetwear crap, and I feel like I'm going to continue to dress in a superfuture 'til at least my late 20s probably. I'm 19 by the way. Also still like bape.

[Sook A Look]

-A Brown M-65 or similar jacket

-Plain hoodies in black and grey

-Plain tee-shirts in assorted colors

-3-4 Plaid button-ups...or flathead houndstooth shirts if I could afford them

-Several pairs of boxers

-A Brown Leather Belt

-A pair of slim-straight raw denim

-Several pairs of white crew socks

-A black pair of vans

-2 White button up dress shirts

-One black and one gray tie

-A Black leather belt

-A pair of semi-slim dress pants

-Black leather lace-ups

Pretty much my syle now.Really simple but I like it.

[philpl]

seanfromiran, i gave u rep haha....ur post is very true to point...it's like you've taken the words out of my mouth

i recently came from hypebeast becuase i was interested in japanese denim...then i looked through the waywt thread and saw many new and different, but well put together styles that i loved...now im trying to incorportate some of the SF style into my wardrobe...yea i still got some allover hoodies, sb dunks, and loud tees....but trying to tone it down and move away from those...i just turned 20 so i feel the need to look more mature...

btw the waywt thread here makes the wdywt thread on HB look like shit...no lie (no hate intended as well)

[M.O.A]

well put although it is a bit different for me.

for me, this evolution thing has been fairly slow. I didnt just jump from trend to trend although it may appear so. I came here for no appearent reason aside from the fact I was over the childish demeanour surrounding NT. It was just too much of the same. That was a little over two years ago..

Since then I ahve experianced a lot. Most importantly my eyes have been opened to a world which exists far outside the realm of sneakers, and for me It was something I trully fell in love with. CLothing and fashion have always been a passion but more recently it seems to be growing into something more.

To put it simply, I attribute my shift in style simply to a combination of expanding my knowledge of clothing and style and just growing up, because I am infact older. I love the way I dress now. I carry a lot more confidence and swagger then I used to. My life has chnaged a lot in the last year. My interests and perspective have forever been altered and im fine with that.

I understand where the hate comes from. All im saying is we all came from somewhere and in the end we all have somewhere to go.

This is a denim/fashion message board. Those are the things I have passion for, the things I love and right now that is the only reason I am here.

So lvDon, if have ever offended you in the past, somehow...i am sorry. I know its just the attitude you carry and that doesnt bother me I just want to be here for the same reason we all want to be here.

anwyays, i knwo most of you guys could care less about what I have to say or what I think but i feel it was something I had to say.

carry on with the thread, I dont wish for it to be derailed because of me.

*the comment about my denim habits seem a bit random considering I still wear all those jeans aside from the canes which I sold due to fit issues;)

and bandanna's? I still wear em. That was something I picked up in Portland as well as from SuFu. I liked it and just tried to run with it. It had nothing to do with niketalk;)

same with dunks and stussy although the NIkes are strictly for skateboarding.

[SENDkylHISPASSWORD]

I basically do this anyways, despite recently buying some more younger, fun items to mix in with my classic wardrobe.

I have and wear most of these items but this is what I would want. This is very striped down so all my leather items will be black, but I do like brown, lighter colours etc.

Latley I have only been wearing black from head to toe anyways.

Grey Suit (I've noticed these are very popular right now)

Black Suit/Tux

White Button Up

Black Button Up

Black V Neck

Grey V Neck

Grey wool pants

Slim Raw Denim

Slim Black Jeans

White sneakers

Black Chelsea Boots

Black Lace Ups

Black Belt

Black/White Ts

Black Coat - pea of duffel and a trench/raincoat

This is all very modern and minimal

I could start throwing in classics like oxfords and rep ties too but then I would need a bigger suitcase.

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ive never felt that chunky boots look good, at least on me, with a sharp suit.

a slick suit deserves some slick shoes

i don't mean something like a really chunky pair of boots...i think something like a pair of the lower cut C Diems look great with a casually worn suit.

[Double D]

Some kind of college stripe scarf.

Brown leather blazer.

Navy parka.

Grey 3 button suit.

Couple of v neck sweaters, brown and navy I guess.

Couple of hoodies, brown and grey.

Some moderately thin ties (I wear mine in the 2-3 inch range), college stripe.

Slim button downs, at the very least white and grey, probably with subtle vertical striping.

Skinny band t shirts, as many as I can fit in my capsule.

Bunch of brown and navy crewneck t shirts.

Brown leather belt.

One pair of raw indigo jeans, slim straight cut.

Grey shorts.

One pair of brown leather trainers, one pair of brown dress shoes, one pair of white canvas trainers and one pair of flipflops.

I could live off of that pretty perpetually. I do wear a lot of black in real life, but if pushed I'd take brown/navy over monochome any day.

[eastcoastrider27]

There should be a contest on SF to determine who looks the best on the least amount of money.

Like there is a budget of x amount of $ that you have to work with, and whoever looks the best wins a prize or something.

It would be cool to see all the different things people come up with.

[designersheep]

^

Cool idea, but CMF already won it

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^

Cool idea, but CMF already won it

pretty much. the man has managed to acquire peacoats that cost him less than what i've paid for underwear.

[kidicarus]

Totally agree with Double D on other dark colors over black. I wear a lot of black, but I think navy tees and cashmere crews are the most essential pieces for me. Plus they look great with indigo, without looking monochrome somehow.