10 Cheap Ways to Make Your Wardrobe Look Expensive [0:00:00]
Pop quiz, gents. Which of these shirts looks more expensive?
Shirt number 1, let me show you a few of the details. Or does shirt number 2 looks pricey?
[Music] So, if you guess that shirt number 1 looks
more expensive, you are correct. But, you may be surprised to know that both these shirts
cost the same amount of money. Why does this shirt look more expensive?
Well, there’s actually three reasons. First up, the material. This one is made from a
hundred percent cotton. This is made from a synthetic material. In general, synthetic
material is going to have usually a bit more sheen, which basically means shine.
This one right here when I look at the fabric, I see a little bit of a herringbone weave
in here. It’s just has a little bit of texture. Overall, it has a higher quality feel.
Another detail, this shirt only has about eight stitches per inch. This one, when I’m
looking at the build of the collar, I’m looking right here with a placket, I see where
about 12 to 14 stitches per inch. It’s a small detail, but it makes a big difference.
In addition, let’s look at the buttons used. These are going to be smaller intact, they’re
actually plastic buttons, but they’re just a little bit better looking plastic buttons
than what we see here. These are going to be larger and they just feel cheaper.
Now, let me be clear. This is a great shirt. It’s a performance shirt though and you
don’t want to stack your wardrobe with performance shirts if you want it to look expensive. Instead,
make sure you go with shirts made from natural materials that actually have good built and
are using quality pieces. Next up, pay attention to your outerwear.
Now, notice I’m still wearing that performance shirt, but I thrown over it this sports jacket
made from a hundred percent wool. It adds texture, adds a bit of depth and elegance.
And, gents, it doesn’t have to be a suit jacket or a sports jacket. You can go with
a jean jacket, you can go with a leather jacket, you can go with a suede jacket. But, take
the time to choose outerwear that really enhances your overall look. And make sure it fits you
well if it’s made from a material that you really feel comfortable wearing and is cut
in a way that compliments your body built. All right. So, now, let’s talk accessories
specifically watches. Do you need to go out there and buy an expensive watch to make your
wardrobe look more expensive? The answer, gents, is a resounding no. As a guy that has
watches that some of them cost thousands of dollars, other ones cost a few hundred, I
can tell you you can get an amazing deal for just a few hundred dollars if you look.
Seriously, for approximately a hundred bucks, you can find amazing watches that can level
up your style. Specifically what you should be looking for? For me, I like timeless elegance,
I like simplicity, I like something that’s got a quality built. All these things to be
found if you’re looking for, but it really comes down to your personal needs.
If you’re a guy that spends a lot of time outdoors, you’re going to be at the gym,
maybe this is something that, yeah, is going to work for you. I know for me, this is isn’t
a watch that I wear really at all simply because it’s one that doesn’t suit my needs.
And to be honest, even for a hundred bucks if you know what you’re looking for, you
can find a watch that’s going to make your wardrobe look more expensive.
Now, this next tip is one of my favorites because most guys don’t even know about
it and that is when you’re shopping in Target, you’re shopping at Walmart, look for in-store
brands. For Target, their in-store menswear brand
is called Goodfellow & Co. For Walmart, their in-store brand for men is called George.
Now, an in-store brand as the name indicates, this is a brand that’s owned by the box
store. Oftentimes, they see what is selling what people are buying, they say, you know
what? How about we go back and manufacture it ourselves and be able to sell it at a lower
cost and be able to keep more the profits for ourselves.
Now, this bad news for high-end expensive designer manufacturers, but this is great
news for you. Seriously, a Levi’s jean jacket can easily cost 100 bucks. This one, picked
up at Walmart by George, $20. It’s a pretty good deal, right?
Gents, I don’t know about you, but when I’m shopping online, I always want to get
the best deal. And to make sure I always get the best deal, I use Shoptagr.
Now, gents, I’ve talked about Shoptagr before and I’m proud to bring them to you as a
sponsor because I love what these guys are doing. It’s a free app that you install
on your phone or any of your devices. They all sync up, it doesn’t matter.
And this is how it works. So, basically you’ve over Amazon, you see this Bambino, you’re
like, “I want that Orient watch.” You put it into your cart, no, how about you put
into your wish list over at Shoptagr because you can do with one click and guess what?
You could actually say, “You know what? I want to wait for this thing to go on sale.
I want for the price to drop.” Or let’s say you want to go over to Walmart,
you want to grab this jean jacket, you want to go over to Target and grab a dress shirt.
Point being is you can go to multiple stores, you could put all of these in your Shoptagr
wish list and when it’s back in stock, when it goes on sale, whenever it is back in your
size, Shoptagr will notify you. And let’s not forget about their coupon
scanning feature. So, the other day, I’m at a website picking up a fragrance. No surprise
there, but the surprise was when I clicked on that coupon scanning feature over at Shoptagr,
they found a coupon for 35% off. Now, I thought that was actually pretty good
getting 15% off. No, they save me an additional 20%. That’s what I love about Shoptagr,
this works with over 5,000 different stores out there and they’re always adding new
ones. They’re always updating the app. I know
they come out with a new feature that actually can get cash back. They’re always getting
better and they’re always finding ways to save you money.
[0:04:53] Gents, use the link down in the description
of today’s video to grab Shoptagr for free. Again, if you’re not using this when you’re
shopping online, you are leaving money on the table. This is a no-brainer, guys. Go
grab Shoptagr, absolutely love this tool. Now, this next point I probably could have
started a video with it, but I didn’t want to because if you’ve watched my channel,
you know I’ve said this many, many times and that is nail the fit.
Because you can spend a lot of money, $2,000 on a suit, but if it doesn’t fit you, it
doesn’t even come close to looking good because it’s not built for your body type,
guess what? That’s going to look like a cheap $100, $50 suit. Even though you spent
all that money, it’s got great fabric, overall great built, but if it’s not built for your
body and if it doesn’t fit you, nothing can be done.
I mean, yes, you can get clothing adjusted and I do want you to know the name of your
tailor. You used to be able to take a lot of your pieces especially your shirts, your
jeans, things that can be altered relatively easily, take it to your tailor and have them
adjust it. And if you don’t want to take it to a tailor because you don’t want to
spend the money, well, learn to make basic adjustments yourself.
Darting a shirt which is simply bringing it in the torso, shortening those sleeves, getting
those jeans hemmed properly. All of these are actually very easy fixes that you can
learn to do yourself or maybe have someone in your family, just ask around.
Point being is when something fits you, it’s going to look so much better so much more
elegant, it’s going to make your overall wardrobe look much more expensive. And it’s
a relatively easy thing to do because simply when you buy something, do not buy anything
that does not fit you well or cannot be adjusted to fit you well. That’s the key. No matter
how good a quality the build is, it’s just not going to be something that’s going to
look good on you. The next cheap way to make your wardrobe look
more expensive, learn how to iron, learn how to press, and learn how to steam your clothing.
Now, I’m not saying you need to go out there and buy a steamer, but if you do, congratulations.
That’s going to save you a lot of time, a lot of hassle. You want your clothing as
often to the cleaners and that will save you money.
But, a lot of you guys if you simply upgraded your iron, you look for a steam iron. This
one right here, notice how it’s got like 50 to 70 small holes right here? This is a
good base plate, therefore we’re going to get a lot of steam coming out of this thing
and that’s what you’re looking for. Never put an iron onto a suit, but I can put
this close to a hanging suit and I can have the steam coming out and it will actually
loosen up the wool and basically get rid of wrinkles. I can then use this directly onto
cotton which is when you want to basically iron a shirt.
And when you’re ironing your shirt, if you’re not sure, you know, always read the inside
that basically tells you what it’s made out of. Right here on the iron, you want to
set it to that exact setting. Point being, is this is a relatively easy
way to simply upgrade the look because even if that suit cost a lot of money, that shirt
cost $200, it’s going to look like a cheap wrinkled shirt unless you iron it.
Next up, avoid logos, avoid big graphics right here on the shirt. In general, guys, the logo
the brand, it is you. Because this is what the clothing is for, you’re wearing the
clothing to put your best foot forward. If you want to look more expensive, if you
want to look like, hey, I’ve got an elegant wardrobe, then simply drop those huge logos.
Occasionally a small logo, I get it, but, yeah, those big ones especially those multiple
logos on the trousers on the shorts, just not a look. I mean, if you like it, let me
know down in the comments, but for me, get rid of the logo.
The next cheap way to make your wardrobe look expensive, learn how to shine your shoes.
Guys, it’s relative simple. You buy some shoeshine some wax and use an old t-shirt
and you got to put a little bit of work into polishing that in getting that mirror shine,
yup, so you can see yourself you can see a little bit of reflections of the light. That’s
what you’re shooting for. So many guys go out there and they buy nice
shoes and they never take care of them. Now, I get it if you’re a busy guy, maybe once
a week you’re going to go into a deep shine. I’m not saying you got to go for a mirror
shine every time, but I am saying take care of your footwear because the longer you take
care -- the better you take care of your shoes, the longer they’re going to last you.
Now, this next tip is more of a philosophy on shopping and that is to buy less, but buy
better. Gentlemen, when you’re buying something, you want to be thinking at the long term.
How is this going to fit into your wardrobe? Is this something you’re going to wear?
The most expensive clothing you’ll ever buy is the clothing you never wear.
You want to buy things that you’re going to love, you want to buy things that are interchangeable,
and you want to buy things which are going to last. I think it’s better to own less
items that you wear a lot more often that stand up to the test of time and are things
eventually you have to retire. But those are always going to look better
especially when you take good care of them versus things that you buy and are cheap to
begin with, they never fit you properly. They’re made from inferior materials and they end
up breaking and falling apart much quicker. And, yeah, at the end of the day, you spent
a lot of money that you end up wasting on something that you never really liked.
So now, let’s talk about color. First up, avoid anything that’s bright, anything that’s
neon. Yeah, it may be in season, it may be in trend. You may even use it as a little
bit of an accent piece, but understand that this is probably not going to stand the test
of time. I’m a bigger fan of going for neutrals.
Neutrals are going to be the colors that basically you build off of colors that don’t always
grab attention, but they’re classic. We’re talking black, gray, blues, whites, even browns
and variations. You’re going to find there’s a wide variations of different tans, khakis,
dark browns. [0:10:04]
Now, right with that, let’s talk about monochromatic looks. So, right here you can see I’ve got
relatively a monochromatic look. Light blue, dark blue and there’s actually variations
of blue in this. Even in the pocket square I’ve got blue, a little bit of gray, a little
bit of white. But I love monochromatic looks. A lot of guys, I know they gravitate towards
black. I do think gray is going to work better for most men. And gray over black is another
tip I want to give. I think black is a bit overplayed especially with suits in menswear.
I think it’s fine with black tie and with formal wear. But, I do think if you’re going
to gravitate towards a suit in black, look at a charcoal gray, look at a medium gray,
I think it’s going to be a lot more versatile in your wardrobe and overall in my opinion
is more elegant classic look in menswear. Now, when it comes to color, gents, there’s
a lot more I could go into. I can talk about skin tones, we can talk about shades, we can
talk about tints, how to choose the right color for you. Guys, I cover it in this video
right here, a man’s guide to color. It’s one of my more detailed videos on color. So,
if you’re interested in everything color, you want to go check out this video right
here. [0:11:05] End of audio