Style Advice For Young Lawyers With No Time & No Money - Lawyer Fashion Clothing Tips
Hi!
I'm Antonio Centeno, the founder of Real Men Real Style, and today, we're going to be talking
about how does a lawyer look sharp with no money and no time.
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Okay, let's jump right to the question.
"Antonio, my biggest style challenge is cost.
I'm a third year law student working two lawyer jobs with a special license.
They'll ask me to work as a lawyer and be a student at the same time.
I'm in the courtroom at least three days a week on various matters ranging from divorce
to felony defense.
I make very little after rent, food, books, and tuition.
I currently have a black suit that's decent-fitting, but how do I assemble a wardrobe that keeps
me looking like a lawyer on a small budget?
The other problem I have is that I'm muscular, 6'4", 225 lbs, so most suits do not fit me
off the rack.
Thank you for any help.
Jason."
All right, Jason, it's one of those catch-22s.
You're in a position where as a young lawyer coming up, you want to do and spend as much
time possible probably doing internships, working with different judges, doing all types
of pro bono work, everything you can to gain experience.
On the other hand, you're not really getting paid for this.
You're looking at this as an investment in your future, but when it comes down to it,
you can't pay the rent.
You can't buy new clothing just by saying, "Hey, I'll pay you in five years, in ten years."
Now, maybe a few years ago before this whole credit crunch, you could've gotten those 0%
APR credit cards and pay those off for ten years.
Okay, it's not going to happen today.
You need to figure it out.
You're young, you have no money, and you have no time, which usually with young people,
I tell them, "Hey, you've got time," especially if you're just a regular college student.
Go out there and trade your time by going through thrift stores.
It sounds like that is an option which you're kind of saying isn't really an option for
you because, well, you just don't have, again, the time for it.
So what I'm going to suggest is a little bit unconventional and I think you're going to
enjoy it.
1.
You're probably going to have to accept that you are going to have to compromise.
You're going to be surrounded by lawyers and judges who perhaps you meet out in town, you
meet at social events, you meet at those monthly get-togethers for education I know you lawyers
have, and you're going to notice they've got great-looking suits and these guys look sharp.
You're going to have to realize you're not at that point and you probably can't afford
those $2000 custom-made suits that those guys are wearing.
On the other hand, as long as you focus on fit, which for somebody with your build is
going to be the big issue, you're going to be good.
You're saying, "Okay, Antonio, how can I focus on fit, again, when I have no time or no money?"
You're going to want to look for a designer brand or somebody who makes clothing that
actually is more for your body type.
Again, I'm a custom clothier, so I don't really spend a whole lot of time in stores, but you
can go out there and look.
2.
Also, you are going to want to spend some time in thrift stores, but not in the way
that I normally suggest.
So normally, I would suggest that people go into thrift stores and they look around.
Now, for you, what I would suggest is you want to have kind of a net of thrift stores.
You want to get to know the people that work there and you want to put out a bounty.
You want to give them your measurements and you want to say, "Hey, this is the type of
suit I'm looking for.
This is my position.
If you can help me find it, I'll pay you 20 bucks."
No one does that and you going in and doing that, you're going to make an impression especially
if you've got a good story.
It sounds like you're young and you're probably pretty attractive and there are usually young
women that work there.
You can make this happen.
What you're doing is you're asking other people to be out looking for you.
If you haven't already, you need to ask your family if you've got sisters, if you've got
brothers.
Really get other people involved and let them know about your plight.
Don't be embarrassed by it.
Be proud that you're the kind of man that you want to take control of the situation
and you're going to go whatever means necessary.
As I've been building up my company, I've had to swallow my pride a lot of times and
it just comes down to if you want to succeed, you need to be willing to do what most people
aren't willing to do.
3.
Focus on fit.
I talked about that earlier by looking maybe for a designer, and the reason you want to
go possibly with a designer brand versus something from the Men's Wearhouse is the Men's Wearhouse,
Jos.
A. Bank's, decent starter companies, but most of their clothing is going to be square.
And for somebody of your height and your build, it's going to be really tough to get this
stuff altered.
4.
Let's say you get stuck with that.
Well, you still want to focus on fit.
Take it to a seamstress or a tailor.
Most seamstresses are women and you're going to notice that these are usually older women.
Offer to barter.
Perhaps you don't have the $50 to $100 that they would normally charge.
Tell them your story and make an offer and say, "Hey, I can't pay the full amount."
You sound like a big, strong guy.
Look around.
Look at what needs to be done.
Perhaps these ladies, they need to get something moved out of the office, big and heavy.
Perhaps they need someone to come in and yeah, you may have to get up at 6:00 in the morning
on a Sunday and work until 10:00 cleaning out, maybe working on the landscaping of their
office building, but you know what?
It's going to be worth it because you're going to save money and you're going to create a
relationship, which is a lot different than they have with a lot of customers.
Again, use your story.
You've got a good one, and people want to help people.
So I've talked about putting out a bounty, focusing on fit, bartering, accept that you're
going to have to compromise.
Now, specifically you're going to probably compromise on fabric.
Fit and style, don't compromise on style.
Well, you don't want anything from like the 1970s or '60s, but you can look at it.
You're going to want to focus on the fit, that's the number one thing, then look at
the style.
I talk about fit and style in other articles, so I'm not going to get into it too deep.
You're going to compromise on fabric.
So if you find something that's 50% wool, 50% polyester, it's going to be okay at this
point.
When you start making a little bit more money, take care of those tailors.
It'll help you out.
Also, look to upgrade the quality of your suits.
All right, sir, I hope that helped you out.
I'll see you guys in the next video.
Bye-bye.
So that's my answer.
I hope you like it.
I'd like to hear from you guys in the comments and I will see you in the next video.
Bye-bye.