Presentation Attire, Part II

Read Part I

Dress shirts: The Basics. 

The shirt is possibly one of the most crucial aspects of your attire to get right. If you aren't wearing a jacket, it's going to also be one of the most visible. For many men, buying a shirt isn't a very big decision making process. Does it have two arms? Does it sort of fit? It has buttons? Great. Put in on. This approach is dangerous because there are a number of details which, when ignored, can completely ruin a good look.

The main aspects of a shirt can be summarized in the following categories. It's important to recognize the importance of each and check to see that the shirt you wear adds up.

A Guide to Presentation Attire, Part I

If you're a college student, there's no doubt you've attended at least one function that required to dress up a bit more than usual. For the avid followers of the preppy lifestyle, you look good enough to do a job interview at any given moment, but for the majority of the graphic tee wearing demographic, this is where things sometimes can go terribly wrong. I'm writing this not only for the prep set (who ideally have started to build a daily wardrobe around these items already), but for the general college student who wants to look good, but really doesn't know where to start. No, Macy's catalogs are not where to start.

If college is about transitioning into an adult, you sometimes need to look the part, and that means knowing a thing or two about style. Style, in this sense, is dramatically different than the term fashion. Fashion is the physical manifestation of the weird visions that studio art majors have in their head, walking down a runway. Style is what your grandfather wore, and still looks just as good in 2013.

Examples of when you may need to step things up a bit:

• Presentations (For a class, research/academic colloquium, conference, etc)
• Award ceremonies/dinners
• Dances / Parties / Banquets /Receptions (If they ask for semi-formal attire)
• Meetings (If you are meeting with anyone important such as a dean, administration, etc)
• Job / Internship fairs
• Job interview (may require a separate article with additional detail)

The general theme here is that you want to be taken seriously. If it's clear you put absolutely no effort into your attire, people will wonder what else you don't bother to put effort into. It's a mental impression that people will make the moment they see you.

Tie...check.
Pocket square...check
Flash drive with my powerpoint....shit.

80's Throwback

Vintage Brooks catalog scans from Spring/Summer ~1980

I found one of these while thrifting- fits like a slim fit 

Spring arrival

Spring is here. Let the critters run wild. As the temperatures start to rise across the Eastern Seaboard, break in the pastels. Madras season is right around the corner.

My take on Spring: Brooks OCBD, Brooks Sweater, Brooks tie.

Just remember to bring something in case of rain...

More photos to come soon- observations from a college campus.

Recent Finds

The following are some finds I've acquired over the past few weeks. There were many times I walked out of a store empty handed, but in the end, it almost felt like there were an equal number of times I ended up scoring a great deal (or two!).  Lesson being, don't give up if you have a few bad days of searching. Change up your game and re-approach. There is always good stuff out there somewhere! 

A new-with-tags J. Crew sweater for only $7.00? I think yes. 

Gearing up for Spring

So, it may still be March, but warmer weather for the Northeast is just around the corner (or so we hope).

This is the time of year to start bulking up on your spring and summer wardrobes, and utilizing the art of thriftiness, you can save a bundle.

I've broken down a few essential categories, and will provide some ideas of what to look for in each, as well as some of my findings where applicable.

Fear and Loathing in NYC

With the Winter break over, I've been back in school and quite busy (hence the lack of updates). Fortunately however, being only 1.5 hours away from NYC by train, I've had the chance to take a couple trips into the city for exploration, and the pursuit of thrifting! 

I will be creating a "Thrift Store Reviews" page give a rundown on the locations I visited in to give you all an idea of what to look for when you are in the area. 

Trip 1: The Flagship

346 Madison Avenue. The Cornerstone of American Style.

Staying nearby Madison avenue, I knew one of my must-see destinations would be the Brooks flagship store. This massive 6 story complex is the epicenter of the Brooks Brothers brand, and was complete with elaborate decoration and displays. 

The first floor was home to the dress shirts and ties (all priced abhorrently of course), but the selection was incredible. The third floor was focused on sport shirts, polos, and more casual wear, including sweaters and outerwear. Also here one can find the "St. Andrews Links Golf Simulator" for those who like taking swings at virtual balls.. 

The entire store emitted a fair bit of arrogance that I'd never experienced at their outlet stores or smaller locations. No sales person seemed to be under the age of 55 and one woman told me she had been working there for 30 continuous years. There were a couple friendly staff among the mix however, and they offered to hold my bags as I shopped (and snapped some photos). 

Prepsplosion. If there is somewhere where you draw the line, this is pretty close.

Mini BB#1 Repp ties in pastel colors, ribbon belts, Polo shirts with the (stupid) 1818 logo, and a rip-off of the "Official Preppy Handbook" originally published in 1980

All the surcingle a man could ever ask for 

Triple the headsails, triple the fun 

 While the majority of the store was well out of my thrift friendly price range... I did make a purchase here. As it was towards the end of the season, many items were 60% off, and I was able to score a $70 Pima cotton sweater for $27.99.

The Allen Edmonds store, fittingly, is across the street. 

Lunch in the city Veselka, the best Ukrainian cuisine around apparently!  Shown here wearing a gingham BD with oxford cloth collar pullover. 

Read the reviews of the thrift stores here:

NYC Thrift Stores

Trip 2

Brooks Brothers Flatiron Shop

I was in NYC yet again, this time for a concert at Carnegie Hall. The next morning I had some time to kill before the train, so in the rain, I took a quick walk over to the flatiron shop on 901 Broadway.

 The Flatiron shop is designed to be the more youthful, "concept" version of Brooks Brothers, geared towards a collegiate (and possibly younger) audience. The store is arranged almost like the library of a old university, with shirts and ties tucked among old volumes on large shelves, to me, creating a chilling reminder of the library scene in The Great Gatsby (although I didn't check to see if the pages were cut!). In addition to the books, the scene was completed by ivy-ish bits of memorabilia, from card catalog drawers  a pair of old rowing oars, and even a Foosball table.

The store has 3 floors, with the bottom two dedicated to men's clothing. Many of the polo shirts featured the more unfortunate "1818" logo on the front, which I feel is an unnecessary addition to the simple golden fleece. The staff here were all younger, and friendlier than those at the Madison ave. location. There wasn't much on sale, except for some pants in odd styles, and some nice wool sweaters that I couldn't justify purchasing myself. Unfortunately my camera batteries died while I was in the store, so you'll have to rely on the images here, or check out the write-up of another Flatiron location on CollegeTrad.

Several brands have given the "preppy college youth" demographic a shot, Rugby Ralph Lauren (now closing), Land's End Canvas, L.L. Bean Signature, J.Crew Ludlow, and now (to the horror of some), J.Press York Street.

While Flatiron isn't a separate line of clothing, they do tend to take the more trendy items and leave behind the more refined. You'll even see some of the dreaded Brooks Brothers "t-shirts' here, but at least they did offer a nice variety of fairly quality items and cool storefront.

Bow ties in ample supply, and a union jack commode

Now, what did I thrift?

Here's the haul over the two trips

• 4x Lacoste polo shirts (Retail ~$70 ea.)
• Vineyard Vines polo ($70)
• NWT J.Crew Ludlow slim fit suit Italian chino pants (Retail ~$135)
• NWT J. Crew broken-in chinos (Retail ~$75)
• J.Crew gingham shirt ($64)
• 2x Brooks Brothers makers dress shirt (Retail ~$88)
• J. Crew D-Ring ribbon belt (~$40)
• 2 Ties from Land's End, Brooks Brothers (~$50 ea)

Total spent: ~$55
Total Retail cost: ~$840

Thrifty Savings:  Nearly $800!