Where is a good place to buy clothing?

Murago

Online...

I'm male, and I'd rather not spend a lot of money.

I have a decent amount of just lay around clothing...but i don't have that much good lookin' shit. I'd like maybe some striped long sleeve business shirts...maybe a sweater...i dunno. I did a google search and didn't really find anything i liked. My g/f buys things from 15 dollar store online, and i'm kinda looking for something similar. I'm a hefty guy, so i'll need stuff that's XL. Also, i'm in FL- i found some really good UK online stores - but i don't have any "pounds" -- and it seems that everyone in the UK has a 34 waist or lower.

Thanks for any advice you might have!

Kyougu

I been recently shopping at Kohl's, they have good prices and decent selection. I know they have an online store, though I don't know how good their prices compare to actual instore.

Mertzy

You'd be very surprised at what you can find at thrift shops.

Black Ice

Um.. I would seriously stay away from thrift shops.

If your girlfriend has any sense in fashion have her go shopping with you. As for striped long sleeve business shirts.. are you talking about button up shirts?? If you want some cheaper ones, a store like American Eagle would have them. They aren't exactly real business shirts, they're just designed to look preppy, and they cost ~$20 a shirt. You could have one of the people that work there help you out.. that's what they're there to do.

It sounds like you don't really know what you're looking for, so if you can't get a friend willing to go shopping with you that has a sense in fashion/style, then go to a store where one of the clerks can help you. And if there's some blading 40 year old clerk wearing something similar to what you have on when you walk in, for the love of god, don't ask him for fashion advice ;-)

FirstComradeStalin

While it rarely has anything that pops out at you, Old Navy is a great place to pick up nice, cheap clothes.

Convael

FirstComradeStalin wrote: »

While it rarely has anything that pops out at you, Old Navy is a great place to pick up nice, cheap clothes.

Seconded. I hadn't shopped there in 8+ years but randomly went to one a few days ago when I was looking for a warm hoodie for winter and found some really nice stuff for cheap. They also have nice looking button-up business casual shirts which is what it sounds like you're looking for.

Trowizilla

Thrift stores! Especially for the shirts. Long-sleeved button-up collared shirts haven't changed a whole lot in, say, the last 50 years, so any thrift store will have a good selection of them, especially in the full-of-old-rich-people parts of Florida. They get new clothes/move/die, all their old stuff goes to the thrift store, much of it hardly used. You can get really, really nice quality clothes for very cheap that way; I have several nice designer shirts (Kenneth Cole!) that I got for $2 each, and I get complimented on them all the time.

Of course, you should wash everything after you get it. Don't buy anything that smells worse than a little musty, and check for stains and weak seams, especially around the pits. It's a tiny bit more work than going to Old Navy, but you can get amazingly nice things for very, very cheap if you put in the effort.

saltiness

Thrift stores fucking rock for clothes. You can get very nice clothes for very little money in addition to getting more unique clothing so you don't look like everyone other douche who bought his totally retro used looking shirt at american eagle or urban outfitters.

Xenocide Geek

does anybody else see the irony in multiple people recommending thrift stores, and then having the reason as "so you don't look like everybody else"?

cough cough.

i just thought it was funny.

as far as online stores go, i buy most of my pants from AE, because they look nice, they're made pretty well, and you can get away with it just being a generic looking pair of pants. it's not like they have a gigantic eagle stitched across the legs.

Urian

Bananna Republic, Kenneth Cole, Calven Klein, and Macy's. Those are all kind of upper middle class price range but they all have great clothing.

Raneados

Xenocide Geek wrote: »

does anybody else see the irony in multiple people recommending thrift stores, and then having the reason as "so you don't look like everybody else"?

cough cough.

i just thought it was funny.

as far as online stores go, i buy most of my pants from AE, because they look nice, they're made pretty well, and you can get away with it just being a generic looking pair of pants. it's not like they have a gigantic eagle stitched across the legs.

that'd make sense if all thrift store clothing looked the same, otherwise it's just an idiotic comparison

I'd vote for either a thrift store or a steve and barry's, cheap clothes, looks good, all the styles you want

Trowizilla

Xenocide Geek wrote: »

does anybody else see the irony in multiple people recommending thrift stores, and then having the reason as "so you don't look like everybody else"?

cough cough.

i just thought it was funny.

Nah, I recommended thrift stores because the OP mentioned wanting to save money, and you can get nice clothes there for cheap. In business wear, you want to look more or less like everyone else. (Plus, the ironic-tshirt hipster scum that frequent thrift stores for the "oh so different" clothes tend to leave the normal stuff alone.)

Murago

mmm, i never thought of thrift stores...i dunno if i'm comfortable wearing other peoples things though -- i guess it really wouldn't make a difference though. Plus i might find "neat" things that department stores jusg wouldn't have.

When i say dress shirts..i mean button up shirts that are nice for going out at night; not for a business meeting. I currently have one shirt made by Geoffry Beene, and its real nice, but its old and faded...I guess i kinda want more similiar things. Also, after doing some more searching online, it seems i have no idea what my measurments are - so i might get some measuring tape later.

I try to stay away from the trendy department stores, but i might head out with my g/f to see what they have to offer.

I appreciate the help, and i really think this should halp me think outside the box!

EggyToast

If he wants to save money, he should shop at Old Navy, Target, Kohls, JC Penney, Boscovs, etc. Buying clothes online is a shitty idea, unless you're looking for, say, a t-shirt or similar "unique but basic" item.

Thrift stores are either a boon or useless, depending on where you live. I found some pretty good stuff at a thrift store in Minneapolis, and the ones in Baltimore are utter crap. Well, unless you're 60 or you're looking for halloween costumes.

Even then, he's looking for NICE clothes, not unique or odd things. Most people who have nice clothes will simply keep them, and only get rid of them when they're out of space, worn out, or out of fashion.

OP, give up on the idea of buying clothes online, and head out to some regular stores. Just spend a weekend looking around, don't feel obligated to buy things, and get an idea of what the prices on things usually are. For instance, the regular price on a pair of pants at GAP is around $35 for men. But they often have clearances and you can get a pair for $12; you just have to actually go to the store, and frequently enough to notice the sales.

Stop looking for layaround stuff and have an eye for nice things. If you have no idea, ask your girlfriend or a relative or a friend or someone. Hell, even a coworker or classmate, depending on your life situation. But the only way to know what's nice, and more importantly what's a good price, is to go to the stores and see what the prices are.

meeker

Protip: Always buy from the clearance rack.

Try out Marshall's, TJ Max, Macy's, Nordstrom's, etc. Go straight for the clearance rack. Buy the good name brand stuff for cheap. I usually wear Hugo, CK, DKNY, Diesel. I never pay more than $35 for an article of clothes...

JPArbiter

Target has great clothing for cheaper then you would think, I would also see if their is a store called Gordmans in your area. Wife spent 85 dollars on four and a half good looking outfits there.

if you need a suit though, you are going to have to go to a talior.

Iceman.USAF

I like Express Men for a lot of my clothes. On occasion they do 3 for $60 (or $50) deals, where if you buy 3 shirts of a certain type you get them for a good percentage less than normal. It's great if you need a bunch of shirts, but bad if you need just one.

Also, try and hit them in-between seasons while they're desperately trying to clear out stock. Works wonders.

blincoln

EggyToast wrote: »

If he wants to save money, he should shop at Old Navy, Target, Kohls, JC Penney, Boscovs, etc.

The thing about buying at least reasonably nice clothes is that they will last longer and often require less care, so it's worth forking out the extra money up front if you can.
For example, when I was younger and didn't have much money, I used to get dress shirts from a cheapish department store. They would last 5-6 months before the cloth at the wrists started to fray. Now I get dress shirts some place a bit more expensive, and they last more like a year, while looking nicer to boot (the material and detailing is better). Also, the nicer dress shirts and pants tend to be made of material that prevents or minimizes wrinkling. Not having to iron clothes is a huge time-saver.

EggyToast

I agree with your assessment of cheap clothes, because I've gone through the same thing, but that means we both have something in common that the OP lacks -- we bought the cheap stuff, developed a style for what we liked, and noticed that the stuff we already owned was shit. It's harder to evaluate nice clothes if you don't know what crappy clothes are, in my opinion. And it's not like crappy clothes serve no purpose -- they still clothe him, help him look nice, etc.

Doc

Thrift stores? He didn't specify that he was a hipster.

Crashtard

JPArbiter wrote: »

if you need a suit though, you are going to have to go to a talior.

Or you can go to Khol's and get the 2 for 90$ suits they sell. I have a pair of them and they are pretty nice. My dad picked one up at walmart for about 40$ that looked pretty good as well.

Quid

You don't have to be. They can often have full dress suits that will at most only need some tailoring. The quality will vary obviously.

saltiness

Doc wrote: »

Thrift stores? He didn't specify that he was a hipster.

Right. Because that's all they have at thrift stores.

kaliyama

I can't think of a better outfit to wear than that of a hipster. What are the alternatives? Shop H&M.

Doc

Crashtard wrote: »

JPArbiter wrote: »

if you need a suit though, you are going to have to go to a talior.

Or you can go to Khol's and get the 2 for 90$ suits they sell. I have a pair of them and they are pretty nice. My dad picked one up at walmart for about 40$ that looked pretty good as well.

Man I disagree strongly. Maybe "pretty nice for a $45 suit," okay, but it will still look like crap compared to saving up a little cash and getting something from a real tailor. If you need it ASAP and only for a couple of job interviews or something, I could see that.

Buying a suit is like buying furniture. You can go to Ikea and get something that looks cheap and will fall apart in a couple of years or you can go to a more upscale place and they will set you up with something that looks great and will last a lifetime. Men are lucky in this department - you can get a suit that looks great and will still be moderately fashionable in 20 years.

JPArbiter

agreeing with Doc here.Trust me on this, I put on a 45$ suit and a 4500$ suit. on the hanger they look the same. with a body in them,m the difference is easily apparent

also the OP said he was a larger gentlemen, and most of the time if you are that way, suits need to be custom.

variant

Outlet stores.
Seriously, I tend to do most of my shopping at a premium outlet center that's like ~40 miles from my house.

I was just there last night and I got 4 Banana Republic T-shirts, a Ralph Lauren polo, and some Volcom jeans for around $90.

Murago

Ok, so i went to Kohl's...its like, a football throw from my work, and i never noticed it. <.<

anyway, they have some really nice things actually, and i enjoyed shopping around at my leisure. I went by myself after work and picked up a few things...

I got some sweet dark denim jeans that I think would look good for either a night on the town or going just going out to run errands. I also picked up two button up long sleeve shirts, which is EXACTLY what i was looking for. One is black, and one is white - they both have the same vertical stripe design - its basically black on black or white on white...but the stripes are a bit glossy, so they only slightly stand out.

Anyway, I went out to a wine bar last night for a b-day party with my new threads - and not only did i feel really comfortable and confident - I was complimented a couple times -- so thumbs up there!

I think i might just ask for some gift cards to Kohl's for xmas, and return to pick up more stuff. I appreciate the halp guys - i'll prolly pick up some more pants and shirts - but now i really want a suit that fits like butter. Quick question on suits, once they are tailored, can they be RE - tailored if i lose or gain weight?

Thanks much!

Kyougu

Dude, your experience was Kohl's was exactly like mine. It's really surprising the nice selection they have, and for pretty decent prices. Since I got turned to them by a friend, I done alot of shopping there.

Rhino

plato's closet is nice.. it's a 'second hand' store; but they only take name brands. You can get really "fashionable" named brand clothes for like 8-20 bucks. They used to be 50/50 male/female clothes... but most places I've been, all the girlie stuff has been taking over and not much guy stuff left. But worth a try if you have one around.