Make Cheap Clothing Look Expensive [0:00:00]
Thomas: When it comes to clothing, you often get what you pay for.
But, sometimes you just don’t have the budget to spend $800 on a suit or $400 on a pair
of dress shoes.
But, even if money is tight, it doesn’t mean you have to settle for a wardrobe that
looks bad.
Thomas, with Real Men Real Style here.
And in today’s video, I’m going to share with you the secrets to make your cheap clothing
look expensive.
First up, use black polish on cheap boots.
When it comes to inexpensive brown shoes or boots, they’re going to be made from a cheap
faux leather that just doesn’t have the color variation and patina that you get with
real leather footwear.
But, with the right tools, you can cheat a bit to give that faux leather the illusion
of more depth.
For this, you’ll need a black leather shoe cream.
Remove the laces, then make sure the shoes or boots are free from dust and dirt.
Use a soft applicator brush to work the cream polish into the boots.
Make sure you get it in all the cracks and crevices.
You don’t want to miss any spots.
Let the cream polish soak in for about 20 minutes, take a damp cloth and wipe away the
excess polish.
You’ll be left with footwear that looks much richer and more dynamic.
Next, upgrade the laces.
Going back to your footwear, another quick upgrade is to replace those cheap laces with
something a bit nicer.
The cheap laces will do the job, but they won’t look as good as high quality laces
especially ones that are waxed.
So, shop around and get some replacement laces.
They’re often can be had for around $10 and will help elevate your shoe game.
Nail the details.
A cheap suit isn’t going to look near as nice as a more expensive suit made with a
better cut and higher quality fabric.
But, if you had the right style details, you can make that suit look a lot more expensive.
The first key is adding a pocket square.
It adds a bit of color and contrast to the look.
Having other details like a sharp tie, a nice tie bar, or a lapel pin will all draw attention
away from the cheapness of the suit and will elevate the look.
Next, skip the distressed denim.
There’s no way around it.
Distressed or faded denim is never going to look expensive or high quality.
Raw selvedge denim is the gold standard for jeans, but those can cost anywhere from $150
to $200 or more.
But, you don’t have to spend big money to have jeans that look great.
Now, one of the main characteristics of that raw selvedge denim is the dark indigo wash.
But, you can find cheaper pairs that also have that nice wash.
A great pair of dark wash jeans can be had for around $50, sometimes even less if you
find a good deal.
Next, tailor your clothing.
Cheap clothing is made to fit the largest number of body types possible, which unfortunately
means it will fit none of them particularly well.
A more expensive brand will often cater to a specific body type, so if you find the right
one, it’s going to fit much better.
But, you can easily overcome this by getting your clothing tailored.
Almost anything you wear can be adjusted to fit better from suits to dress shirts to trousers,
sweaters, jeans, even your t-shirts.
It’s worth it to spend a little money with a skilled tailor or if funds are tight, you
can learn to do it yourself.
We actually have a whole playlist of video showing you how to tailor your clothing from
home.
I’m going to link to it in the cards.
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Thomas: Next, upgrade the buttons on your suit.
An inexpensive suit is likely to cheap out on the small details, especially the button,
while the more expensive suit is going to use horn buttons instead of plastic.
The horn buttons are going to be much stronger than the plastic ones and will naturally have
beautiful color variation.
Replacing the buttons on a suit isn’t expensive or difficult to do and is a great way to upgrade
the look.
Next, leverage texture.
Now, the rules for formal clothing are slightly different, but for your casual clothing, you
want to leverage the power of texture.
Take a look at this outfit.
I have a plain long sleeve t-shirt and a pair of chinos.
Neither of them have much texture going on, so it’s a little bit of a flat outfit.
Now, look at this one instead.
We switched out the t-shirt for a henley with a waffle knit pattern and the chinos for a
pair of corduroy trousers.
It’s a simple swap, but the second outfit looks more expensive and interesting than
the first one even though both outfits cost less than $50.
Have you ever wondered what the difference is between cheap and expensive dress shoes?
Check out this video, guys, where I compare three pairs of shoes going from cheap to expensive.
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