Guy Friday: Chic On The Cheap
Absence makes the shopping heart grow colder. If it’s been a long time since you’ve shopped for clothes, you may need a few easy and inexpensive starter stores. If you’re looking to augment your wardrobe with something trendy and current or stylish and sophisticated, here are some mass-retail options. Next week I’ll follow-up with some independently designed menswear lines.
At the risk of suggesting the obvious, H&M is as inexpensive as current gets (150 Post and 150 Powell in San Francisco). Their selection is constantly changing. If you’re admiring a $35 windbreaker, it’s best to buy because it may not be there when you return. In addition to current everyday clothes H&M has a solid collection of dressy stuff. If you’ve been wearing the same style of Dockers or other casual pants for a while, mix it up and try on pants in the new cuts. Seemingly small details like the placement or size of pockets and fullness in the legs can make an entire outfit jump into 2006.
H&M also carries a line of ties and suits in current shapes and colors. If you rarely wear a suit, it makes sense to spend more of your wardrobe allotment on everyday items. These suits won’t last forever but one or two should get you through the latest round of weddings.
Zara is another international retail brand. They are slightly more expensive than H&M but with a more consistent collection of clothes. Their San Francisco store (250 Post St.) has an entire floor of menswear and includes shoes and man-cessories (belts, umbrellas, socks — socks, an entire post for another day!). The sales staff is helpful and well-versed in what looks good. They also sell suits and fantastic overcoats.
Club Monaco (in the San Francisco Center at 865 Market St.) offers sophisticated casual clothes. A current trouser or casual sportcoat is as dressy as it gets, but they have very stylish basics that are a step up from other stores. Club Monaco always has great collared shirts and knits. Ballpark-speaking, you can get a blazer for less than $200. They do free alterations on full-price merchandise, just speak with the fitting room attendant.
I should point out these clothes probably aren’t free trade — but they are affordable. What you lose supporting a local independent designer you get in value. None of these stores sell clothes online but they do have locations in many urban centers. Sometimes the sizing is different from what you may be used to, so don’t worry about a larger size making your butt look big.
One of my ways of dealing with the guilt over textile industry exploitation of the workforce and save money is by buying used clothes. And not just trashy-trendy fashions, but suits, ties, shirts sweaters and slacks. Suits, especially — at the SOHO Salvation Army in New York or San Francisco’s Thrift Town in the Mission, I can find great suits for less than $40. Another $20-30 and I can have it altered and cleaned at my drycleaners. I’ve even found tuxedos, bespoke suits from England, cashmere cardigans and hand-made broadcloath Oxford’s from San Francisco shirtmakers.
Of course, they’re also my first stop for party costumes, too!