Comments on: Basic wardrobes can end clutter in the male closet

By: Jeff

Jeff — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 23:45:47 +0000

I would add a Navy Blazer, everyone needs a navy blazer. Must have more than one polo shirt (Maybe not the 32 I have). 14 pairs of underwear is excessive.

By: AndyW

AndyW — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 17:08:36 +0000

As a consultant, I travel for months at a time. I have an all black wardrobe. basically everything you have stated except all in black. I do bring white undershirts and a gray sports jacket.

I usually only need to wear the suit once per week. In the winter I add a black wool overcoat.

By: Aegir

Aegir — Tue, 29 May 2007 23:50:26 +0000

I have a lot fewer clothes than this.

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Sun, 27 May 2007 18:04:54 +0000

Like the idea. Still: what about a couple sweatshirts? I think we all have different clothing requirements. And what happens is that over time our requirements change but our wardrobe doesn’t keep up. We may have been required to wear ties but now we aren’t. But we keep the ties, anyway.

By: Colin

Colin — Sun, 27 May 2007 04:28:43 +0000

I have to wear a suit 4 - 5 days a week, and given the differential in wear for pants vs jacket, I’ve often gone down the road of buying suit separates so I can have 2 - 3 pairs of pants to go with one jacket. It’s supplemented by one really good suit for weddings, funerals, and interviews.

You’ll shorten the lifespan of decent men’s shoes if you only have one pair at a time (tried it). Same goes for sneakers if you live in a warm climate (like DC, to pick a non-random example).

Merino wool and (if you’re feeling flush with cash) cashmere sweaters wear like nobody’s business provided you take care of them, especially in the offseason, and they are low-bulk for storage.

By: adora

adora — Fri, 25 May 2007 04:57:45 +0000

I got this book called “The Lucky Shopping Manual: building and improving your wardrobe piece by piece”. In addition to basic wardrobe, the book helps women build a quality wardrobe that would last for seasons, and works for many occasions.
I’d also like to suggest one should stick with the same hue of colour. Some people would go with blacks and greys, some with earth tones, some with pastel. Find out what works best with your skin and hair colour and try to stick with the same hue. Makes it a lot easier to match in style with minimium pieces.
What about shoes? It’s stereotypically a woman’s clutter spot, but many men I know actually own a lot more shoes than women (I only have 5 pairs).

By: matt

matt — Fri, 25 May 2007 01:26:38 +0000

Why not 30 pairs of underwear? And 60 socks? Then you can go for a month without doing laundry.

By: Josh

Josh — Fri, 25 May 2007 01:21:26 +0000

Pajamas? Sleep naked.

By: Craig

Craig — Fri, 25 May 2007 00:58:13 +0000

Ties? I don’t wear them, except for interviews, funerals, and office parties.

Blue jeans? I wear them all the time for work. They are highly rated and extremely comfortable. Cargo pants are too…well, my wife doesn’t like them.

Khakis? Rarely. For dressier events.

Pullover sweaters? I wear them all the time. Our office is highly air conditioned.

By: TallDave

TallDave — Thu, 24 May 2007 21:43:08 +0000

For socks, I have dark/light dress socks (black/beige), and white socks for tennies. For a suit, I only have one. Used for all wedding/funeral/etc occasions. Jeans are overrated and uncomfortable, dont have any. Instead I have my cargo/khaki/cordurouy pants. Pajamas are overated too. Shirts and sweaters with buttons or a zipper are great to adjust to changing temperatures (inside/outside).

By: Andamom

Andamom — Thu, 24 May 2007 20:17:43 +0000

What about socks, ties, belts, jackets, boots and shoes?

By: zorro

zorro — Thu, 24 May 2007 18:34:17 +0000

Yes! that would be perfect, especially for us monkeys who can’t figure out what to put on in the morning, or worse yet, leave the house in cut-off jean shorts and Birkenstocks with white socks.

By: Erin

Erin — Thu, 24 May 2007 18:29:48 +0000

zorro — I have often thought that Garanimals for adults would be a fine idea. A suit coat, shirt, and tie could all have matching blue whales on their labels so you would know that they were made to work together. This could really help color blind people, too (the majority of who are male).

By: zorro

zorro — Thu, 24 May 2007 18:25:28 +0000

I’ve been looking for something like this for some time now, although I would like to see someone break all this down into categories for winter, summer, spring, fall, casual, business casual, exercise, general climate, and lastly but not leastly, what on earth to put together that looks nice via a coded system.

By: Michael

Michael — Thu, 24 May 2007 18:05:49 +0000

Who needs jeans?

By: jsullivan

jsullivan — Thu, 24 May 2007 17:57:04 +0000

Nice list; I’m in basic agreements with what you’ve laid out here, although I’d add a heavy sweatshirt.

One thing you seem to have overlooked is footwear! Given what you’ve outlined here, I’d recommend 1 pair of sneakers and 1 pair of cordovan dress shows (goes well with both suits and khakis), along with 6 pairs of dress socks (even split between black and blue) and 14 pairs of white socks.

By: Erin

Erin — Thu, 24 May 2007 15:23:31 +0000

Jack — Like I said, your social and work needs might dictate a larger wardrobe. This is the basics that men should build from …

By: Jack

Jack — Thu, 24 May 2007 15:15:44 +0000

Only 1 short sleeve polo shirt?
Only 1 pair of khaki shorts?
Only 1 set of athletic pants?
Only 1 sweater?
14 pair of underwear is excessive!