The internet in general and the Gentleman’s Gazette in particular offer plenty information on how to dress, live, and behave like a gentleman. In our guides, we always try to provide lists of quality manufacturers for various price groups but nevertheless these things are sometimes unaffordable, especially if you are still in school, if you are at the beginning of your career or if your job simply doesn’t pay that much. While good quality always has its price, the Gentleman’s Gazette has always tried to cater to the man interested in classic style, no matter the size of your wallet.

You Can’t Afford Nice Things

This kind of man lives in a metropolitan area with plenty of stores to choose from. They read online magazines such as Gentleman’s Gazette; good clothing is familiar, and they know tailors, suit silhouettes, and craftsmen by name. However, this man’s finances don’t stretch to these indulgences.

Tips for Those Who Can’t Afford Quality Items

You are surrounded by all these wonderful goods, but you just can’t afford them – at least new. Be consoled. You still have a big advantage to the ones who can’t buy anything of quality even if they had the ability. Here are a few ideas to help get around

No Access to Nice Things

These men who live in a rural area or country were classic men’s clothing is hard to come by. You know a few sites where you can buy things online, but shipping costs are high, and you have to pay duties on top of that.  You could afford to buy stuff, but you would like to try things on first or touch the fabric before you buy because returns can be complicated.

Personally, I used to be a member of both of camps.

I grew up in a small town with 3,000 people. At the age of 15, I began to read about classic men’s style. I would meet with people and craftsmen, online and in person, and made sure to visit stores whenever I did have access. I researched my travel routes before so that I could meet people along the way.

Later on, I moved to Munich and then Hamburg, where I went to law school. All of a sudden, I was in living in cities with tailors, expensive haberdashers, and plenty of options to choose from, if it wasn’t for the money. So I began by creating a list of items a complete wardrobe should have and started looking on eBay and most importantly, vintage stores for items to add to my closet. If something didn’t turn out, or if I found a better quality item along the way, I sold the old things and bought new ones.

I think my shirt wardrobe was completely revamped twice in this way.

As you can see, I know exactly what it is like to have a limited budget or to live in an area without any availability. All of the hints and tips I provide here are based on my personal experience, and they worked very well for me. Furthermore, many of the things I bought years ago on eBay or at a vintage store still play an active role in my wardrobe today.

1. Know Your Measurements

You need to know your clothes measurements, plain and simple. Keep a spreadsheet, or better yet, memorize them. You’ll be best served by learning about your body’s quirks and needs, and how clothing needs to adapt.  For example, my right shoulder hangs about 1.5″ lower than my left one.  This means my armhole has to be cut deeper, and I either need a shoulder pad on the right, or the cut of the shoulder has to be different. Moreover, the sleeve has to be set in differently. I have a slightly rounded back and one arm is half a centimeter (one-fifth of an inch) longer. My right leg is slightly bigger than my left one. The fit is the most important thing when it comes to clothes.

Chances are in the beginning. You won’t even notice the asymmetry of your body. On the other hand, it won’t take a trained tailor very long to point them out once he sees you. If you want to figure out what your body’s characteristics are, wear a garment off the rack because it is symmetrical. Then have somebody take pictures 360°. It is imperative for you to stand naturally. Otherwise, the result will not help but hurt you. Once you know your measurements, spotting well fitting (usually vintage or slightly used) clothing online will be much easier.

2. Know Your Surroundings

Know your clothing style and your needs. If you work at a formal office, you need suits. For a student, combinations of jacket and trousers are probably a better investment. A banker and an artist have different needs. One is dressed more traditionally; the other one wants to stand out and can play more with colors, cuts, etc. Take a minute and write down all the places you usually go to and what clothes you should be wearing ideally.

 

Then narrow it down to the pieces that are the most versatile, because these are the ones you will end up wearing the most. If that’s too challenging for you right now, stay tuned for a follow-up post about starter wardrobes.

3. Avoid Bespoke Garments in the Beginning

The first tip I can offer you: avoid bespoke suits unless you find a really inexpensive tailor. When I say bespoke, I mean true bespoke with fittings and a fair amount of handwork and canvas interlining. No matter where you make it in the world, you will hardly ever get a product for under $1,000 that is of the best quality (including cloth), and when you start and need an entire wardrobe, you will likely not be able to afford it.

Sometimes, salesmen and marketing campaigns try to offer you custom suits for $200 – $500, but that is simply a made-to-measure suit. To fully understand the difference between Bespoke, Made-To-Measure, Ready-To-Wear and so on, please refer to this guide and video.

If you are in the market for a suit, you should understand the difference between a $100 vs. $1,000 Suit as well as a $500 vs. $5,000 Suit.

4. Know Your Alterations Tailor

Regardless of your body type, start looking for a skilled alterations tailor and learn what elements can and cannot be tailored successfully. Take a look at the work they offer and how they accommodate individual requests for difficult tasks, such as shortening a sleeve from the sleeve head. If they can do that properly, so the sleeves hang nicely without bumps on the sleeve head or wrinkles in the sleeves, chances are they can do everything else you need them to do. However, even if you find the best alterations tailor bear in mind, they are not magicians. As such, you cannot buy jackets that are too long or too short because even though there might be some fabric reserve, the buttonholes and the position of the pockets can’t be changed. Also, if the shoulders don’t fit, it is going to be difficult to fix it, just like the front-back balance.

As a rule of thumb, do not buy anything that is more than one size to small or too large because alterations will be costly and the result is often not ideal. Also, when in doubt, buy something that is slightly too big rather than too tight, because removing fabric is easy but if there is not enough cloth reserve in the garment, you can’t wear the garment.

5. Go Vintage

Vintage stores or flea markets in larger cities like London or Naples often provide quality clothing at a fraction of the retail price. Of course, it usually takes a bit of time to find something good, but if you do and the fit is ok, your alterations tailor can do the rest. Vintage shopping requires patience and practice. Look up brands, fabrics, and countries of origin as you go to build an understanding of what’s out there – the more you know, the easier it will be to spot a quality product.

When you are at a store looking for jackets, suits or overcoats, I suggest walking through the aisles looking just at the cuff buttons and buttonholes and the collar. With a bit of practice, you can identify a handmade buttonhole and a hand stitched collar.

If you find one, chances are 99% you have a quality garment. In the beginning, it may be easier for you to identify a handmade buttonhole from the back side, because it will look irregular whereas a machine-made buttonhole is consistent. Ten years ago, it would have been enough to test if the jacket had working buttonholes, but today even a blazer from H&M for $50 has that feature, so it is not a quality hallmark anymore. That being said, there are also good garments with machine/made buttonholes. As a rule of thumb, if the hole is cut first, then neatly sewn, chances are it is a higher quality garment than if the stitch density is low and you can see some fraying.

Once you identify a buttonhole, you can quickly double check if the sleeve lining is sewn in by hand. If that’s the case, you likely have a quality garment and if you want to be sure, flap up the collar and look if it was attached with hand stitching. You can do all of this without having to take a jacket off the hanger. This allows you to quickly analyze an entire store for good garments.

6. Invest in flexible, wardrobe extending pieces such as odd vests

Contrasting vests are less expensive than a jacket or a suit, and they really help you to create many new outfits with your existing wardrobe. Take a look at our odd vest guide for more details.