Gentlemen, Look Like a Million Bucks For Less

So you’re into high fashion. Great! Me too! But you’re in college and you would like to have sushi at least once a month. Oh and it would be nice to have cable and shit right? Gotta watch Mad Men.

You are in luck because I’m here to show you how the get incredible menswear you see in GQ…except for about a third of the price or less. I’m out there online shopping for you, checking out all the stuff you can get for cheap, so here’s 5 categories that you can get for a reasonable price that would normally cost A LOT of money.

Those are the five categories we’re working with. It’ll set up like this: The item I want but can’t afford – what I would get or already got instead. Lehgo from the top.

SUNGLASSES

 

 

Nordstrom: TOM FORD AVIATORS $360

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VS.

 

 

 

 POLOS

I’ve been wanting a BanLon Polo for a long time. It’s a polo with tipped collar and arms, and possibly pocket. The perfect BanLon is made by Gant, a company I’ll highlight in an article later. Unfortunately Gant is very expensive. Also, you probably won’t find this polo anywhere, like, ever. I’ve looked, trust me.

GANT BANLON POLO, $125, also very rare

VS.

Banana Republic Mad Men Collection “Framed” Polo, $50

Savings: $75

We’re heading back to BR for this polo I bought TODAY. You’ll notice that you can’t find it online because it’s so popular. Give your local BR a call, and ask them to order it from another store. Around the midwest there are 4 total in my size (medium). Good luck. Also if you think it’s too hard to find, I’ll tell you this: the Gant polo from above doesn’t even exist at the flagship store on 5th Avenue, I was there recently and checked with their manager.

The look you’re going for with a tipped polo is (as GQ said, and I FULLY agree with) “Sinatra on the Golf Course,” it takes a brave guy to pull it off.

 

SUITING

With this category I’m going to compare two full stores. Ermenegildo Zegna vs. Express.

I LOVE heather gray suits. I have one, and it looks great. This is the perfect heather gray suit from Zegna:

ZEGNA HEATHER GRAY SUIT, $3,195

That suit is more expensive than one of my classes.

VS.

Express Glenplaid Suit, $298 for the Jacket,

$98 for the Pants

Savings: $2,799

Congratulations, you just saved the value of a shitty car. Express copies their suit cuts from companies like Zegna, so when you think you want to be that 21 year old in an Armani suit, just go to Express, you’ll look almost the same.

 

TIES

So you’ve decided you want a Burberry tie. You want to swag at the bars, and hey I don’t blame you. Burberry is awesome and I have two of their ties. But that doesn’t mean they’re not ridiculously expensive.

BURBERRY TIE, $145

VS.

Banana Republic Mad Men Collection Plaid Tie, $60

Savings: $85

Heading back to BR for another Mad Men collection tie. They’ve got plenty of colors for ties that are similar to the Burberry tie. So until you can afford to drop a Benjie and a half on a tie, go with BR for a similar one.

 

SHOES

You’ve decided to get a nice, flashy pair of wingtip oxfords to go with that gray suit. Prada’s got great dress shoes right? Well, technically yes, they’re amazing, but if you want to eat again this semester, don’t do it.

PRADA LACE-UP WING TIP, $730

VS.

Ecco “Atlanta” Wing Tip Oxfords, $170

Savings: $560

So $170 is still really expensive for dress shoes, but I’ve had great experience with Ecco. I have two pairs of dress shoes, one’s 2 years old, the other is 1 year old , and they both look like new. Dress shoes are supposed to last 4-6 years, so break that up into an investment. 4 years of Ecco, $42.50/year, 5 years, $34/year, 6 years, 28.33/year, vs. the very similar Pradas – $182.50/year for 4 years. That’s more than the Atlantas are total. Go with Ecco and eat.

All for now folks. If you got any fashion questions, comment below or tweet me @Armani_Jandro, and I’ll do my best to answer them or create a post just for you.

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