The men's dress style thread..

[wafter]

@wafter try Abingdon and Chipping Norton for Charity shops, the Oxfam superstore at Crowley is also worth a visit

Thanks - I've not tried Abingdon but as it happened was passing through Chippy last night and (fruiltlessly) bothered the blue cross shop just before it closed for the day.. they also pointed out that there was a Sue Ryder across the road and I spotted an Oxfam next door so I'll definitely aim to pop back when I get the opportunity

Ta also for reminding me about the Oxfam superstore - I'd been made aware of it before but kept forgetting to take a look and it's just up the road from where I work... apparently they're open until 19:30 tonight so if I get time I'll gave a squiz later. Could be a worthy regular lunchtime visit as the pickings appear slim in the Temple Cowley shops..

 

[T4tomo]

if anyone has been spammed by Spoke adverts for chinos made to fit your chunky thighs, and then gone "how much" on seeing the price, and also realised most size fit and colour combinations arent even in stock.........

Tywhitts (ctshirts.com) have updated their chinos and the fit is much improved, they come in a chunky thigh version also and are quality made, french bearers etc and less than half price of Spokes offering.

 

[wafter]

Did the Oxfam superstore earlier. A nice big, bright warehouse type place with a reasonable amount of bloke's clothing arranged by colour and type, which was nice. Sadly I didn't find anything that ticked all the boxes (mostly all a bit tired / low-end) so I came away empty-handed.

I thought that maybe it might be a cut above the rest of the Cowley stuff since its location is a bit more conducive for people travelling from other areas, but the gear seems pretty similar. Not to worry though; it's a shortish walk from work so will bother it occasionally during my lunch hours to see if anything crops up.

Motivation and weather permitting I think I'll do another tour of the city's more central charity shops tomorrow

 

[Gunk]

There is a very good one in Little Clarendon Street

 

[T4tomo]

There is a very good one in Little Clarendon Street

I think my first Dinner suit was purchased from the Broad Street branch of Oxfam and a £10 wool overcoat IIRC.

Oxfam superstore?? whatever next, I must pop in when next passing

 

[Profpointy]

I think my first Dinner suit was purchased from the Broad Street branch of Oxfam and a £10 wool overcoat IIRC.

Oxfam superstore?? whatever next, I must pop in when next passing

My first dinner suit was from Oxfam; quite tidy but very ild fashioned cut. First time I wore it I found an invitation / bill of fayre in the pocket. It was for the High Wycombe and district grocers' association annual dinner. Along with various bits of information it listed the official toasts: (1) The Association, (2) The King.
Evidently it hadn't been worn for a good while; I bought it in 1980 or thereabouts

The menu looked a bit plain to be honest given it was from people in the food trade, so it could have been wartime but given it didn't state which King it might have been either war.

 

[wafter]

Cheers guys

There is a very good one in Little Clarendon Street

Thanks - I remember taking a look in there last time but missed it on my most recent visit. Will add it to the list!

Yesterday I did another proper trawl of the city; to begin I scored some grey cotton Meyer formal-ish trousers new with tags for £20 (RRP £130ish) from the BHF shop

Next I hit summertown and got a nice brown linen Massimo Dutti suit jacket for £15. I got all flustered in the Oxfam shop to find a really nice vintage, grey, long and really heavy wool overcoat with fiendishly peaked lapels for £30, but as always it was far too large

I carried on through a few more places in Summertown before going back into town, out to all the charity shops in Headington and back again via the two inevitably pricey vintage shops on St. Clements. Finally I poked both ends of the spectrum by fannying about with various tweed items in Shepherd and Woodword (nice but also unsurprisingly pricey), before sticking my head around the door of TK Maxx for five minutes before I the scally enviroment drove me back out.

I only came away with two items to show for my day but I'm pleased I had the restraint not to buy any of the stuff that wasn't quite right.

I feel like I've really made some progress as the grey trousers have rounded out a nice selection of bits that complement each other and can be mixed / matched for a nice smart casual look (chinos / blue wool / grey cotton trousers, burgundy or blue merino wool jumper or polo neck and blue pinstripe suit jacket / brown covert type coat).

I've found my burgundy dress shirt goes with pretty much everything else but I think I made a mistake in buying my light "suicide at the office" blue shirt. Even though it fits nicely and goes with my blue suit jacket it's less accommodating of my face as it's too cold and stark - so that's £30 probably wasted. I'm also struggling to build anything around my green/brown tweed suit jacket and don't think greens really work for me unless they're pretty muted. That's less of a disaster however as it only cost me £6 so it's not the end of the world if it has to go back to the charity shop - I guess it's inevitable that some mistakes will be made as I learn.

I'm also really pleased that the linen suit jacket completes a nice airy, earthy, low-contrast summer outfit with the chinos and a white linen shirt. I can get away with beige / orange skate / deck shoes with this lot too; although I'm stumpted for a pair of smart / casual and formal shoes so I'd best start researching I guess before I get the chance to actually wear any of this gear..

 

[winjim]

As promised... Purchased from the truly excellent Scorpio in Newcastle's Grainger Market for £30 in a sale. Originally they were the red colour you can see inside, I painted them matt black and added a sort of dripping blood effect around the top, which you can still sort of see. They've been through a lot, from festivals to the tops of mountains, and are utterly invincible. They also fit me like a perfectly, I lent them to someone once and they gave him blisters...

View attachment 631615

On the subject of boots (and shoes), there's a guy down the road from us who makes them so the next pair I get I think will be from him. Not cheap but he makes them individually to the shape of your feet and you can customise literally every last thing about them. Here's a pair he made for my wife last year. She got a plain purple pair a couple of years ago but she decided to pick and mix the colours a bit more this time and go for a more barefoot style sole. Of course since they're custom made he can resole and repair them as much as you need. My wife says they're the comfiest shoes she's ever worn.

ETA: pic of the purple ones for good measure.

 

[Randomnerd]

every last thing

I see what you did there.

 

[winjim]

I see what you did there.

Ha. Not intentionally.

 

[AndyRM]

On the subject of boots (and shoes), there's a guy down the road from us who makes them so the next pair I get I think will be from him. Not cheap but he makes them individually to the shape of your feet and you can customise literally every last thing about them. Here's a pair he made for my wife last year. She got a plain purple pair a couple of years ago but she decided to pick and mix the colours a bit more this time and go for a more barefoot style sole. Of course since they're custom made he can resole and repair them as much as you need. My wife says they're the comfiest shoes she's ever worn.

View attachment 634018


ETA: pic of the purple ones for good measure.

View attachment 634019

Those are very smart indeed!

 

[winjim]

Those are very smart indeed!

I need some of my current footwear to wear out so I can justify buying some. Although I'm rubbish at making decisions so maybe giving me infinite customisation options is not the best idea.

 

[wafter]

So, over the past year I've spent a relatively modest amount on a fair range of used / discount garms.

The most recent, and possibly most ground-breaking revelation is that polonecks are essentially god - practical and aesthetically can work with pretty much anything. I've really found value in allowing me to dress down suit jackets and coats that otherwise would have made me feel a bit (more) self-conscious.

Never again will my wardrobe be devoid of a light grey poloneck

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Doing ok I think

 

[Tenkaykev]

Doing ok I think

View attachment 665691

Very smart, I like that. ( reminds me a bit of the start of University Challenge )