April’s GQ has a great little style guide for dressing for less definitely has some good ideas, others are just filler. Below are some really helpful highlights.
- Taste is more important than money.
- That’s not to say you shouldn’t invest in your clothes, but men with real style know when to splurge—and where to save.
- Beware the sample sale. Yes these fashion-showroom free-for-alls are a great place to spy pretty women half undressed. But if you buy some high-fashion leftover at 70 percent off and you never end up wearing it, you’re not actually saving money. You’re wasting it.
- Speaking of sales, learn to navigate the outlet mall.
If you follow the money, it’s clear that more shoppers than ever have become hip to the factory-outlet mall. At the end of 2009, U.S. outlet sales totaled $20 billion. To figure out how to snap up the killer deals, GQ‘s senior fashion editor, Lisa Cohen, and I drove to Woodbury Common in upstate New York and raided Bottega Veneta, Gucci, John Varvatos, and Lacoste. At Calvin Klein, we found walls of serviceable jackets and pants; you could pick any combo for $388. That’s fine if you need a suit on the cheap, but it’s not the same as scoring a deal on the black-label stuff that they show on the runway. We had better luck at Ralph Lauren, where we turned up a selection of marked-down Purple Label. That’s the stuff that goes for sky-high prices back on Madison Avenue. Here’s how to navigate this tricky terrain.—Jason Chen
Focus on accessories
They always fit, and you’re more likely to find the color you want. We saw black Prada card holders for $95, down from $165, and repp ties at Ralph Lauren for $40 (originally $150).
Don’t rule out a splurge
We found a killer Balenciaga trench coat for $789—very reasonable for a trench, and way down from $1,975.
Check the label
Just because it has a fancy designer’s name on it doesn’t make it a good deal. Many high-end labels now have low-cost diffusion lines meant for department stores: Ralph Lauren’s Chaps and a Calvin Klein white label confusingly called Calvin Klein, for instance. You didn’t drive an hour to the outlet to buy that stuff;—you’re after deep discounts on the premium lines.
Shopping online can be a time- suck. Know where the deals are.
Start by signing up for GiltMan.com.GQ creative director Jim Moore—a man who’s scored a Rag & Bone golf jacket for $142 (originally $495) and a Vince down vest for $56 (originally $165)— explains how to master the site.
1. “Each weekday at noon, GiltMan.com rolls out brand-new merchandise from labels like Rag & Bone, Alexander Olch, and Unis. The catch? Everything you put in your shopping cart only stays there for ten minutes. Meaning noon to 12:10 p.m. on GiltMan.com has become the dirtiest, most low-down free-for-all the Internet has seen since Ticketmaster.”
2. “Sign up for the daily e-mails, not the weekly ones. They arrive at 11:57 a.m. and will give clues to what’s becoming available.”
3. “Right at noon, log in and spend five minutes quickly scrolling through the new stock. If there’s anything that stands out—anything you’d even consider buying—add it to your cart before it disappears.”
4. “Now it’s 12:05, and you’ve got a shopping cart full of maybes. Spend the last five minutes deciding which items, if any, you absolutely have to have. Then pull the trigger before time runs out.”
Online or off, know what you’re shopping for in advance.
That way, you only spend money on what you actually need.
Full article here.
April's GQ has a great little style guide for dressing for less definitely has some good ideas, others are just filler. Below are some really helpful highlights.
- Taste is more important than money.
- That's not to say you shouldn't invest in your clothes, but men with real style know when to splurge—and where to save.
- Beware the sample sale. Yes these fashion-showroom free-for-alls are a great place to spy pretty women half undressed. But if you buy some high-fashion leftover at 70 percent off and you never end up wearing it, you're not actually saving money. You're wasting it.
- Speaking of sales, learn to navigate the outlet mall.
If you follow the money, it's clear that more shoppers than ever have become hip to the factory-outlet mall. At the end of 2009, U.S. outlet sales totaled $20 billion. To figure out how to snap up the killer deals, GQ's senior fashion editor, Lisa Cohen, and I drove to Woodbury Common in upstate New York and raided Bottega Veneta, Gucci, John Varvatos, and Lacoste. At Calvin Klein, we found walls of serviceable jackets and pants; you could pick any combo for $388. That's fine if you need a suit on the cheap, but it's not the same as scoring a deal on the black-label stuff that they show on the runway. We had better luck at Ralph Lauren, where we turned up a selection of marked-down Purple Label. That's the stuff that goes for sky-high prices back on Madison Avenue. Here's how to navigate this tricky terrain.—Jason Chen
Focus on accessories
They always fit, and you're more likely to find the color you want. We saw black Prada card holders for $95, down from $165, and repp ties at Ralph Lauren for $40 (originally $150).
Don't rule out a splurge
We found a killer Balenciaga trench coat for $789—very reasonable for a trench, and way down from $1,975.
Check the label
Just because it has a fancy designer's name on it doesn't make it a good deal. Many high-end labels now have low-cost diffusion lines meant for department stores: Ralph Lauren's Chaps and a Calvin Klein white label confusingly called Calvin Klein, for instance. You didn't drive an hour to the outlet to buy that stuff;—you're after deep discounts on the premium lines.
Shopping online can be a time- suck. Know where the deals are.
Start by signing up for GiltMan.com.GQ creative director Jim Moore—a man who's scored a Rag & Bone golf jacket for $142 (originally $495) and a Vince down vest for $56 (originally $165)— explains how to master the site.
1. "Each weekday at noon, GiltMan.com rolls out brand-new merchandise from labels like Rag & Bone, Alexander Olch, and Unis. The catch? Everything you put in your shopping cart only stays there for ten minutes. Meaning noon to 12:10 p.m. on GiltMan.com has become the dirtiest, most low-down free-for-all the Internet has seen since Ticketmaster."
2. "Sign up for the daily e-mails, not the weekly ones. They arrive at 11:57 a.m. and will give clues to what's becoming available."
3. "Right at noon, log in and spend five minutes quickly scrolling through the new stock. If there's anything that stands out—anything you'd even consider buying—add it to your cart before it disappears."
4. "Now it's 12:05, and you've got a shopping cart full of maybes. Spend the last five minutes deciding which items, if any, you absolutely have to have. Then pull the trigger before time runs out."
Online or off, know what you're shopping for in advance.
That way, you only spend money on what you actually need.
Full article here.
