Are you fashion conscious (plus rambling trip story and BJ bragging)

[gcgang]

Just got back from our 32nd annual Vegas trip with some guys from college. We started out with 9 of us, still have 6 coming after all these years.

It's a pretty "high society" group, 2 lawyers running businesses, one top estate planning lawyer, another lawyer, and an ophthalmologist. All are what I've heard referred to as "metrosexual", very conscious of fashion.

Vegas has lots of high end shopping. On an earlier trip, I went to a watch store with them, and while one of the guys was discussing watches with the clerk, I commented to one of the other guys, who would pay $10k+ for a watch? He replied he had several. Huh. Well, a couple years after that, I had a big win at the BJ tables, thought it would be nice to get something to remember the occasion. One of the guys said he had a connection, and went in with me and we got a couple of Rolexes at about 20% off store price.

On this trip, weather in Vegas was 40-60 degrees. As I live in Hawaii now, I barely have long pants or long sleeved shirts. I brought my sweater and addidas jacket, both bought at the thrift shop before a trip to NYC back in March, as well as a couple of Tommy Bahama long sleeved shirts. I was definitely underdressed.

First day on this trip, I had a record winning day at blackjack (I've devoted decades to the study of BJ, so I know how to play w an edge, if only very slight, but sometimes also get very lucky). I asked one of the guys what store to go to if I wanted a good, lightweight jacket. One of the other guys said he knew just the place, and he wanted to take a look at a LBD for his wife there, Loro Piana. I'd never heard of it.

The little black dress my friend looked at was about $3,000. The jackets I looked at were $3-8,000. They were beautiful, but while I've lost 30 lbs, I'd still describe my shape as "pear-like", and the jackets didn't fit well, so I passed. But they were very nice.

I think I've resigned myself to never becoming "stylish".

Do any of you have any high end fashions in your wardrobe?

 

[Souschef]

Not a metrosexual

I live in Southern California, and 9 months of the year I am in t-shirts, shorts and Crocs (the flip-flop kind) when it starts getting cooler, like now, I wear Dockers long pants.
Well, we are going on a cruise over New Years, so I dug out my nice black suit, which still fits me! I will wear it on formal nights, and a blazer with a collared shirt the rest of the nights.
Everyone makes choices as to where to spend their discretionary funds, but FWIW, I would rather spend the money flying instead of buying something I may wear once or twice a year.

 

[Teacher Terry]

No. The most I ever spent on a watch was 85.00.

 

[marko]

If you know what you're doing you can look mahhvelous on short money.
With enough confidence you can even pull off 'shabby chic'.

 

[W2R]

Do any of you have any high end fashions in your wardrobe?

Nope.

Clothes: I'm retired and much prefer what is known as "retiree clothes". Sloppy but oh so comfortable, in other words. At this moment while typing, I am wearing a sweatshirt and sweatpants, both bought at Wal-mart years ago; the sweatshirt is 20 years old and the sweatpants are 7 years old. They don't even match. One is navy, one gray.

Watch: When my Timex broke a couple of months ago, I decided to try going without a watch for the first time since 1956. It felt weird for a few days but I'm used to it now.

OK, OK, there is one thing I cannot resist. I wear (fairly high end) New Balance 990 running shoes. And Thorlo socks. I have very sensitive feet and like them to feel nice.

 

[LOL!]

Sure, I have a few very nice sweaters. I get a few compliments from strangers every year. For example, a woman TSA agent or from a college coed. "Oooh, that's a great looking sweater! Where did you get it?"

And then "I need to buy something for my dad for Christmas and he has the same build as you."

 

[Walt34]

No high-end clothes here either. The only name brand stuff I'm aware of is Levis jeans, they fit and I've tried other brands that didn't. Shirts & jackets come from Land's End or the outlet mall - come to think of it I haven't bought any clothing at all (except some socks) for about five years. When the band on my Timex Datalink watch broke I just never got around to fixing it.

 

[Hermit]

I get most of my clothes at Costco now.

 

[CardsFan]

The concept of spending that kind of money on clothes or a watch are so foreign to me that I can't comprehend it. The most expensive watch I have is a Bulova, valued at $300-400, but that was my 20th anniversary gift from the Megacorp. When I replace it, Timex or equal will do.

As far as clothes, the DW shops at Kohl's. If they don't sell it, I don't have it. With all the discounts, rewards, etc. I keep kidding her that one day they will be paying her when she leaves the store.

That was the long answer. The short answer is: I could not care less about fashion. Comfort, yes, and I will occasionally splurge. But Fashion. No.

 

[Carpediem]

I get most of my clothes at Costco now.

Ditto. Plus, DW and I will hit the local Goodwill store every 1-2 weeks. Wednesdays are 20% off days for 55+ year olds and Sundays are $1.49 day for certain tag colors. My brother bought himself a suit there for $2.98.

 

[Live And Learn]

I've never spent alot of money on clothes and have never owned a designer dress, designer shoes, designer handbag or designer anything. When I was w*orking my wardrobe was 10 identical $25 dresses in 10 different colors with 5 identical jackets in 5 different colors. Now my clothing consists of 5 pair of identical black shorts ($7 each), 3 pair of identical black long pants ($12 each) , 10 identical thin cotton tshirts ($4 each) in 10 different colors, 15 tank tops ($4 each), and 6 identical golf shirts in 6 different colors ($8 each).

I own one watch. It was $5. I haven't worn a watch in 1986, but recently took a trip to Israel and thought I'd need a watch to keep track of time since I was wasn't used to sunrise / sunset patterns there.

My shoes are Okibashi flip flops or my Payless sneakers.

As I saw on Facebook one day "Instead of a $300 handbag I'd rather have a $10 handbag with $290 dollars in it". Yep - that's ME !

 

[redduck]

... At this moment while typing, I am wearing a sweatshirt and sweatpants...They don't even match. One is navy, one gray.

Navy and gray go very well together.

 

[Car-Guy]

Vegas has lots of high end shopping.

I go to Vegas a lot and that's not where I spend any of my money. Maybe I should.

Do any of you have any high end fashions in your wardrobe?

I do often wear a Rolex. It goes well with my blue jeans and ball cap.

 

[W2R]

Navy and gray go very well together.

Well, he definitely looks fashionable! Somehow, my sloppy oversized sweats look pretty awful in comparison. But I am very comfortable and honestly, there is nobody I want to impress. Frank doesn't notice what I wear or care what I wear, which is one of his many good attributes. The wait staff at the restaurants where we eat, probably regard us as the strange looking elderly couple that tips well.

 

[jollystomper]

I like nice clothes but not spending a lot of money on it. I think the most I ever paid for a tailored suit was around $400. My style is more Gentleman Warehouse/Burlington Coat factory/Jos A Banks (if on sale). My favorite leather jacket was "forced" on me at a yard sale about 20 years ago for $10, but it is still going strong.

I buy off the rack, but I have learned that if one has an male "athletic" build, one can get away with a lot (another good reason for me to keep working out ). The biggest problem is having to tailor suits since the waist is always too big for my jack size.Otherwise, I buy separates.

Around the house I' just wear comfort, but on a date night with DW I'm always in a suit or jacket and slacks, sometimes with a tie, it just makes me feel good. And people do still treat you different when you are "dressed up" <grin>.

 

[NW-Bound]

I do not read GQ.

I know not to wear white socks with my black wingtips or Oxfords, when I do wear formal shoes. Does that count?

 

[Meadbh]

I suppose there was a time, about 30 years ago, when I was fashion conscious. I remember buying a very expensive designer dress (once) for a special occasion. It cost the equivalent of ~$600 US and was the most expensive piece of clothing I have ever owned, before or since. I got shoes to match and had a professional makeover. I also had a minor fashion conscious phase about 16 years ago, coinciding with a leadership position, and I bought several coordinating pieces with the aid of a professional shopper. I got a good deal on them.

These days, comfort takes precedence. I have spent considerably less than $100 on clothing in 2016 and that included socks, underpants, a bra and a T shirt. Right now I am wearing a bathing suit that I bought towards the end of the last century. That's my "new" bathing suit. My old one is showing the effects of chlorine poisoning and will be discarded very soon. Perhaps I will splurge on a new bathing suit in 2017!

 

[Ronstar]

Since retirement, I buy most of my clothes at Walmart, Big R (farm store), REI, and Tommy Bahama on the rare occasion I need something fashionable. I almost always wear jeans or shorts, T-shirts sweatshirts or flannel shirts, running shoes or hiking boots. No Rolex watch - only a black Garmin running watch.

If I have to go somewhere where I have to look presentable, I dig into my former work clothes. That happens about 2-3 times a year.

 

[ABQ2015]

I'm not fashion conscious but I like quality clothing and am sort of a snob about it. My favorite designer is Eileen Fisher - her designs are simple classics and often cotton made with organic fibers and natural dyes. Inexpensive clothing usually makes my skin itchy perhaps because of dyes and formaldehyde. But my local department store has good end of the month sales and I can find Eileen Fisher pieces for 60% off or more. And I'm only 5 feet tall so I'm limited to buying from certain stores and catalogs that carry my size. I'm not going to walk into an Old Navy or Kohls and find a pair of pants that fit.

Also I have flat feet and suffered for years from aching feet. Now I buy expensive European walking shoes but rotate between four pairs and my New Balance flip flops.

 

[RunningBum]

Nope.

...

OK, OK, there is one thing I cannot resist. I wear (fairly high end) New Balance 990 running shoes. And Thorlo socks. I have very sensitive feet and like them to feel nice.

Ha! I was going to answer No as well, but I go pretty high end on running gear where necessary. My last pair of shoes are over $150, and I've spent over $200 on a running watch with GPS. I also spent about $900 on Apex ski boots 3-4 years ago because my feet hurt and get frozen in most ski boots. Not these.

For every day wear, Kohl's is about high end of a store I'll go to. If I bought a $3000 jacket I'd probably rip it in the first week.

 

[gauss]

I am not fashionable.

I can appreciate it, a bit, when I see someone who is.

-gauss

 

[O2Bfree]

I'm moving towards the one robe, one bowl lifestyle, so no.

 

[CRLLS]

I never was a fashion snob. I always shop at Walmart, Kohls, etc. I did buy a suit 2 months ago for a family wedding. I think I paid ~ 125, <1/2 half of what the wedding party paid for their suits at Men's Warehouse. And they look virtually identical.

As far as watches go, what are they? I don't wear one unless I am travelling in case the cell phone battery dies. It is 4 yrs old and dying fast. I have a few knockoff watches purchased in Hong Kong and China some years back just for fun. Breitling, Patek Philippe and Rolex. But I can't stand having those big hunks on my wrist, so they sit in the nightstand.

I have to admit, I am now getting to the point of only buying top-grain leather belts. I have one that is >25 yrs old and still looks great. I can't seem to get anything more than ~ 1yr from any other "leather" belts without them delaminating.

 

[UnrealizedPotential]

No fancy clothes for me. I could afford it if I really wanted to. It isn't important to me and clothes only carry a persons self worth so far.

 

[ElizabethT]

I do love clothes, and lots of 'em, so I am constantly purging and refilling my closet with very modest offerings from H&M, Steinmart and other like places. Oh, and shoes! So. Many. Shoes. But even then, none that run more than, say, $70 a pair?

The issue is that clothes go in and out of style, and if I bought 'investment' pieces I'd feel the need to hang on to them even while having, likely, grown tired of them over time.

So, yes, I continue to be quite fashion conscious in ER, just not with designer duds.