How Many Dress Shirts Do I Still Need After FIREing?

Depends on your life style. If jeans, t-shirt and a sweatshirt are fine, why get a dress shirt. OTOH, if you like to dress up some times, then get a dress shirt or two, a nice sport coat and a few pocket squares to add a dash of style. No reason to break the bank.
 
3- one white, one cream, one blue. Might have to wear one with a sports jacket and jeans when someone invites you to their country club for happy hour. Rem open collar ;)
 
I still have my 2 suits and 5-6 dress shirts mostly in good repair. I have worn the dress shirts a few times since ER'ing 10 months ago. I've also worn my suits ~3 times since ER'ing. I find myself in court or in hearings occasionally (retired lawyer). Also had to attend a funeral. I doubt I'll pare down my dress shirt wardrobe very much. We plan to go on the occasional cruise which sometimes requires a certain level of formal attire (like a shirt with buttons). And maybe we'll go to a nice restaurant or symphony (if we run out of other fun stuff to do). I've never considered needing the shirts for contracting or work-related purposes, but it could happen. I'm always open to making easy money!

Maybe I'll cut the sleeves off a few shirts, get a straw hat and a banjo and return to my Appalachian roots.
 
Might need to keep a few dress shirts/suits for things like changing the oil. That way your t-shirts and shorts will be clean for weddings/funerals.
 
As a chemist working in a lab, I never had to buy a bunch of dressy clothes in the first place. So I kept what I had before retiring. I have worn my good suit only once in the past 3 years. DW insists on khakis and sports coats when we go out, so I have a few of those.
 
Thanks for reminding me to do some more purging today. donated about a dozen shirts and a whole set of other crap I don't need anymore. I still like to dress up though when going out.
 
I kept 1 suit, 2 sport coats, about 5 dress shirts, 2 or 3 nice slacks, 2 pair of shoes, and a few belts and ties. The rest was sold at a neighborhood garage sale benefitting Team in Training fundraiser for cancer research. I seem to recall making about $300 from the clothes (original cost was easily $5000). I also cut up some of the white cotton dress shirts, so I now have a nice collection of staining rags.
 
jerome len said:
My staple is a blue blazer, grey slacks and both a white and light blue shirt. I kept 3 ties, all unusual but conservative. I have black, brown penny loafers, one pair of really dressy shoes and that's about it. Each year I give a little more away but I needed my pants and coats taken in......since I don't have to go out on those high calorie business lunches I've lost weight. And, I do have a suit just in case I need it......haven't yet.
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This thread reminds me that I need to go back into my closet and get rid of some more stuff. The above post about sums it up for what I've actually needed since I retired. I have worn a suit on a few occasions but I could have just as easily done the blue blazer and khaki dress slacks (I prefer them to grey) bit. I'm also finding that, more and more, I can get away with a dress shirt w/o a tie and a nice pair of chinos with the blazer vs. the dress slacks. (L.L. Bean has a line of dress chinos that are very nice.) I still have some decent shoes but I'm also finding that my L.L. Bean hand sewn moccasins ($89 when they're not on sale) do just as well and, on a trip, can swing casual or dressy depending on what else you're wearing.

Right now I'm in my summer uniform: shorts and a t-shirt. In the winter (I live in New England) it's jeans and a flannel shirt.
 
friar1610 said:
This thread reminds me that I need to go back into my closet and get rid of some more stuff.
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Me too. I still have a dozen or so suits but I only need a couple for the occasional wedding or funeral. Most will have to be trashed rather than donated because I had a lot of stuff hanging on my belt at work and that tended to wear holes in the liners.
 
Birdie Num Nums said:
There is also a Value Village nearly that's closer than Goodwill. But I saw this Value Village vs. Goodwill debate.

The Web site of my local senior center says they accept such clothing, and many more items, for their thrift shop. That's where I drop off my stuff instead.
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Boy, did my local senior center greatly appreciate my donation of all those great dress clothes, plus games, record LPs (just a select few from my vast collection), soft-back books, and Charlie Chaplin videotapes--a Saturn wagon-load of stuff! (I even found the $350 price tag in the breast pocket of one suit coat!)
 
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I think, honestly, if I'm flush with money, I will be buying more interesting suits in retirement. The white sport coat, more linens, etc.
 
REWahoo said:
According to your first post, you are 36. Get back to us in 20 years and let us know if you feel the same way.:)
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Yea, I used to dream of new white shoes and belts to go with my leisure suits.
 
FWIW- I'm a bit sartorial. I prefer 3-pieces. Custom/Bespoke/MTM. Custom shirts, etc.

I enjoy dressing up to take my wife out for weekend dinners/lunches. She enjoys me doing that instead of american khaki's and t-shirt.
 
FWIW, I have noticed that being dressed up a bit often gets me better service and a more reasonable attitude when I need 'special' attention from a business.
 
Chuckanut said:
FWIW, I have noticed that being dressed up a bit often gets me better service and a more reasonable attitude when I need 'special' attention from a business.
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That's the exact reason I wear a clean pair of unripped shorts and a clean smelling T-shirt to walmart. And shoes. Guaranteed better service every time.

My attire also doubles as appropriate tactical gear on the occasions I need to infiltrate the locked dressing rooms that are rarely staffed with an attendant. Ain't no shame in crawling underneath the doors if no one's there to assist you, right?
 
All my dress shirts are now of the loud, floral type you regularly see in beach resort areas and my slacks are all khaki.

And I don't really care what I'm wearing when buried or cremated as I will be dead at the time.
 
The thing I've noticed during my first few months of retirement is not how many dress shirts I need, but how many T shirts. I last wore a dress shirt on April 2nd. I've worn T shirts almost every day since, going through 2 or 3 a day on hot days. I need to get my T shirt supply up to at least 10-15.
 
Ronstar said:
The thing I've noticed during my first few months of retirement is not how many dress shirts I need, but how many T shirts. I last wore a dress shirt on April 2nd. I've worn T shirts almost every day since, going through 2 or 3 a day on hot days. I need to get my T shirt supply up to at least 10-15.
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Start entering athletic events (as a volunteer if you don't want to get out on the course). I have more T-shirts than I'll ever need from 5Ks, sprint triathlons, 50K charity bike rides, etc. I do need to buy a few WITHOUT words or logos for those special occasions.
 
athena53 said:
Start entering athletic events (as a volunteer if you don't want to get out on the course). I have more T-shirts than I'll ever need from 5Ks, sprint triathlons, 50K charity bike rides, etc. I do need to buy a few WITHOUT words or logos for those special occasions.
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Donate blood, a T-shirt almost every time.
 
I actually had to buy a suit since I retired, got too fat for and had a business meeting and a wedding :-( . Aloha shirts count as formal wear in Hawaii I have a bunch of those.
 
athena53 said:
Start entering athletic events (as a volunteer if you don't want to get out on the course). I have more T-shirts than I'll ever need from 5Ks, sprint triathlons, 50K charity bike rides, etc. I do need to buy a few WITHOUT words or logos for those special occasions.
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I need to get back into running - almost all of my t-shirts are from 5k's and a sprint tri. Good idea on volunteering - I could volunteer some, run some.
Khan said:
Donate blood, a T-shirt almost every time.
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Great idea - I should be donating blood as well. My MIL donates blood and she gives me the shirts.
 
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