Thats cool Bob. My change hasn't been over the past year, but over the past three years. I used to dress like a bum to work because I was able to. I teach middle school history in a building erected in the late 1800's (hence, no a/c until two years ago due to the cost of rewiring for it). I used to wear jeans and a shabby polo shirt untucked, or khaki pants with a short sleeve button down. I'd often wear sneakers, and whenever my AP saw me in the hall, he'd yell, 'Rossicone-zapatos!" in a comic effort to get me to dress just a little better. Then something in my head clicked and I decided I was going to make an effort to dress better, and I began by purchasing 4 or 5 suits from my local Century 21 with a handful of dress shirts and ties. Then I began losing weight. I went from 200 pounds to a svelt 150 and have been looking better and better in my clothing along the way. Of course losing that much weight had drawbacks, i basically had to re purchase my entire wardrobe TWICE as well as drop about 5 grand at a very good tailor to aletr most clothes in the "in between stages". Now that its been about a year that my weight has been basically stationary, I feel comfortable with my dress wardrobe, and continue to buy items i see that I like (I also need to afford them so I troll eBay like a madman). I usually only shop at sales, and since my suit size went from 44 to 38, sample sales help me a great deal. Now I wear SUits, sport jackets, ties and shoes EVERY DAY (well, occationally I'll wear a nice pair of jeans, sometimes with crisp sneakers, and a tie-but keeping the jacket) and I feel great about the way I look and my students respond as well. the girls always laugh when I have a package sent to my classroom..."More shopping huh Mr R?" and even the boys ask me questions about my clothes and I try to answer them and guide them to dress and look better, and that includes eating healthier and exercising. I also feel I get more respect in my class from the kids, because they see I make an effort to take the job seriously (through my dress). I would also like to think thats because they see I genuinely care about them, but I can't help think the wardrobe has something to do with it.
This is me on my honeymoon at HHI two summers ago:
https://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2788234700103029505csnhDl
This is me a few weeks ago:
https://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2714757470103029505zeDvAj
Sorry if the first picture offends, but that was one of the shots that convinced me I needed to treat my body better. Here's one from Maine thats a bit more appropriate:
https://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2881345910103029505nFZVCr
again from our summer honeymoon trips two years ago.

 

I prefer to look at lifetime evolutions since the change is more dramatic. My 40 year path from starting out to retirement. Some would probably say there has been a regression. :icon_smile_big:

https://img301.imageshack.us/my.php?image=seniorpicnp1.jpg

https://img409.imageshack.us/my.php?image=navyrm7.gif

https://img519.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kenxa2.jpg

https://img143.imageshack.us/my.php?image=scan0011vm4.gif

https://img165.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1203071714my5.jpg

Cruiser

 

I prefer to look at lifetime evolutions since the change is more dramatic. My 40 year path from starting out to retirement. Some would probably say there has been a regression. :icon_smile_big:

https://img301.imageshack.us/my.php?image=seniorpicnp1.jpg

https://img409.imageshack.us/my.php?image=navyrm7.gif

https://img519.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kenxa2.jpg

https://img143.imageshack.us/my.php?image=scan0011vm4.gif

https://img165.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1203071714my5.jpg

Cruiser

The only picture that was in here that didn't look like my dad at his satorial evolution was the navy one...every other picture could have been taken from my family album...creepy...:icon_smile_big:

 

What are some changes you have made over the last year?

I had to make quite a change as I retired from the military. I went from wearing a uniform for over 25 years (which required no thought about clothing each day) to wearing a suit each work day. I had to learn about men's fashion (a lot from this site), purchase an entire new wardrobe, and when I get up in the morning I have to decide what to wear.

 

For me it's been increased knowledge of what's good to purchase and what isn't. Four days a week I am in uniform and on my days off I used to just put on jeans.
Now on my days off I make a conscious effort to rotate through my clothes and dress up more just to go down to the shops.

I've gone from owning 4 ties to 10 and the number keeps increasing. I've bookmarked so many clothing outlet places and online ordering sites that I've had to create sub menus.

Become an obsessive e-bay hunter. Acquired pocket squares for the first time in my life. The list goes on.

Mychael

 

I think the change has been harder on my wife than me. At first she harranged me for being so "dressed up" while she wore blue jeans and a college sweatshirt. Now when I put on Bills and an OCBD on saturdays to go grocery shopping, she tries to dress to keep up, it's been a good change. An additional benefit is that people treat me better, but that could have something to do with the 18" of hair I cut off last month. :icon_smile:

 

Thats cool Bob. My change hasn't been over the past year, but over the past three years. I used to dress like a bum to work because I was able to. I teach middle school history in a building erected in the late 1800's (hence, no a/c until two years ago due to the cost of rewiring for it). I used to wear jeans and a shabby polo shirt untucked, or khaki pants with a short sleeve button down. I'd often wear sneakers, and whenever my AP saw me in the hall, he'd yell, 'Rossicone-zapatos!" in a comic effort to get me to dress just a little better. Then something in my head clicked and I decided I was going to make an effort to dress better, and I began by purchasing 4 or 5 suits from my local Century 21 with a handful of dress shirts and ties. Then I began losing weight. I went from 200 pounds to a svelt 150 and have been looking better and better in my clothing along the way. Of course losing that much weight had drawbacks, i basically had to re purchase my entire wardrobe TWICE as well as drop about 5 grand at a very good tailor to aletr most clothes in the "in between stages". Now that its been about a year that my weight has been basically stationary, I feel comfortable with my dress wardrobe, and continue to buy items i see that I like (I also need to afford them so I troll eBay like a madman). I usually only shop at sales, and since my suit size went from 44 to 38, sample sales help me a great deal. Now I wear SUits, sport jackets, ties and shoes EVERY DAY (well, occationally I'll wear a nice pair of jeans, sometimes with crisp sneakers, and a tie-but keeping the jacket) and I feel great about the way I look and my students respond as well. the girls always laugh when I have a package sent to my classroom..."More shopping huh Mr R?" and even the boys ask me questions about my clothes and I try to answer them and guide them to dress and look better, and that includes eating healthier and exercising. I also feel I get more respect in my class from the kids, because they see I make an effort to take the job seriously (through my dress). I would also like to think thats because they see I genuinely care about them, but I can't help think the wardrobe has something to do with it.
This is me on my honeymoon at HHI two summers ago:
https://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2788234700103029505csnhDl
This is me a few weeks ago:
https://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2714757470103029505zeDvAj
Sorry if the first picture offends, but that was one of the shots that convinced me I needed to treat my body better. Here's one from Maine thats a bit more appropriate:
https://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2881345910103029505nFZVCr
again from our summer honeymoon trips two years ago.

That is quite a transformation both physically and sartorially! Keep up the good work.

 

As is suggested in the OP, involvement in these fora has affected the way many of us carry out our sartorial considerations...some more, some less but, it has affected each of us. In my case, the influence of ask AAAC has provided a name for my preferred style of dress and has added a bit of color and flash to my wardrobe. Ever since I began earning money and buying many of my own clothes, at some point in junior high school, I've primarily worn chinos or flat front gaberdine trousers, OCBDs or collared knit polos, exclusively black or navy socks, and wingtips, boatshoes or penny loafers. Careers in the military and law enforcement reinforced my natural inclinations to dress pretty much the same way, every day!

At this point, I continue to prefer sack suits/sportcoats, chinos (23 pair of chinos presently hang in my closet), OCBDs, collared knit polos, black/navy socks, wingtips, pennys and boatshoes but, my wardrobe today also includes Nantucket Reds, seersucker trousers with embroidered Black Labs, rust colored cords with embroidered Scotty Terriers, a pink (yes I typed pink!) OCBD, a knit polo with spouting whales and sailboats and while my tastes in footgear have remained essentially the same, I now wear them with OTC (brightly colored) argyle socks, on occassion! To my mind, that's progress!!

 

1) I have gotten more conservative: more dark suits, solids, and classic patterns/items. I was already like this, but am now more so.

2) I am less likely to mix a lot of patters, and more likely to wear four solids, or maybe one very muted pattern.

3) I have grown more fond of belted trousers, which I used to hate.

4) I wear silk ties less and less, preferring wool and linen.

5) I am embracing the trad little more: soft tab and button down collars, barrel cuffs, and bulkier shell #8 shoes.

6) Overall, I think I am dressing less London than I have in a long time, and more Milan.

 

manton,

Are you wearing the said button down collar shirts with your DB suits?

 

manton,

Are you wearing the said button down collar shirts with your DB suits?

No. A bridge too far.

 

In recent times, I have

1. Preferred striped to checked shirts.
2. Developed a preference for Turnbull & Asser ties.
3. Moved from plain cap-toes to brogues, semi-brogues and loafers.
4. Abandoned casualwear such as Harringtons and leather bomber jackets.
5. Worn cords rather than moleskins.
6. Bought trousers with side adjusters rather than belt loops (chinos excepted).
7. Only bought over-the-calf cotton and wool socks.
8. Moved from lambswool to merino wool jumpers.

 

I have also undergone a sartorial revolution thanks due to this website and ebay. I could not have done it without either one. this website taught me what to look for and ebay allowed me to afford a whole wardrobe of brioni, zenga,belvest,HF bestpoke and Isaia for less than it would have cost to buy a single nice suit. My wife certainly took notice. She always thought I dressed well. But that was when I was dressing smartly from the gap or banana. But since I got married, I felt that it was time to dressed like a man, so I started doing research and took it to a whole new level. Unfortunately, I am running out of room in my closet for all my new goodies. I guess this is one of those good problems. The interesting thing about fine clothes is that even people who dont know about fine clothes know that what someone is wearing is nice. they may not know that it is brioni or RLPL, but the aesthetic of a well tailored suit is a work of art that is perceptible even to the untrained eye. the proportions, the drape may not be things they pick up on they know it when they see it. the problem is that most people have never seen a finely tailored suit. They spent their lives at the mall or a khols buying though-away fashion, but give them a whiff clothing make to wear for life and they know its good, even if they dont know why.

 

I have stopped dressing up like I was stuck in my early 20s.
I have stopped wearing printed t-shirts when going out.
I have started wearing shirts, tucked in my trousers.


BTW, Charlie Sheen wasn't on Bull Durham... I think it was Major League.

 

1) I have gotten more conservative: more dark suits, solids, and classic patterns/items. I was already like this, but am now more so.

2) I am less likely to mix a lot of patters, and more likely to wear four solids, or maybe one very muted pattern.

3) I have grown more fond of belted trousers, which I used to hate.

4) I wear silk ties less and less, preferring wool and linen.

5) I am embracing the trad little more: soft tab and button down collars, barrel cuffs, and bulkier shell #8 shoes.

6) Overall, I think I am dressing less London than I have in a long time, and more Milan.

Did you read this before you pushed "Post reply"? Are you aware there is an edit function? Plains, Manton my idol? Where is the art in that?

For my part, I have found a number of suppliers I am happy with and now wear well fitting, natural fibre clothing pretty much exclusively. And it has not cost any more than the ordinary stuff in the ordinary shops.

A few years ago I decided it was time to 'grow up' or 'act my age' or some such thing, and stopped wearing t-shirts, jeans and shorts except on holidays. I wear a suit to work, a jacket to dinners and leather shoes to all and I feel good doing so. I am treated with respect on the whole, and my wife has come to accept many of my eccentricities, or at least stopped rolling her eyes so often. I now enjoy choosing clothes, find a small joy in putting together the day's outfit, and have a confidence in what I wear that is due, in the most part, to all of you, including Manton.

 

Basically, I dress up about 3 to 4 days a week in a business casual environment (generally sport coats and ties) and wear pocket squares.

I did not do these things before.

 

I came across this site after deciding to myself that it was well past time I started dressing "like a grownup". I am slowing changing my wardrobe, but my tastes have changed dramatically. I still wear a lot of my old clothes, but as a new father I can't afford a lot of things and my weight makes it difficult to find a lot of bargains.

Still, I'm managed to pick up:

my first pair of Allen Edmonds (just placed an order for a 2nd pair last night)
my first navy blazer
3 BB shirts
2 BB ties

A side benefit of my increased satorial education is I've become determined to lose weight, in order to fit more normal clothes and have an easier time bargain hunting. :teacha: Which might seem like a trivial reason compared to the long term health benefits, but I've always known about those and I've only recently become interested in clothes. I'm down 12 pounds so far, which--like my wardrobe--is off to a good start though I have a long way to go.

 

No huge breakthroughs this last year. Thanks to Alex, however, I have loosened up on sock choices - gotten a bit more daring with argyles and complimentary colors.

 

The biggest change for me since joining AAAC has been in the shoe department. I used to buy 2-3 pairs of whatever was on sale and looked nice (i.e., conservative), and took care of them (rotate and polish) until they inevitably fell apart. I never would have even considered spending more than $200 on a pair of shoes, and thought Allen Edmonds was out of my league.

I'm now far more aware of quality (i.e., shoes can last more than 5 years if they a good, and cared for) and style, consider AEs good value for money, and I'm upgrading to C&J, with EG as a long-term goal for certain styles. Now, I'd never consider buying Bostonians or their ilk, and I would advise both my sons against doing so. In fact, I've already decided that I'll buy each of them a pair of AEs when they graduate from high school, as a "starting out" shoe.

I've also completely turned over my shirts - almost all of them are from English companies now - and I'm bringing in collared shirts into casual wear. I also no longer wear jeans at home all the time - more cords, chinos, etc.

Geoff

 

1. Seasonless wool
2. Acceptance of 2-button darted jacket and double reverse pleated pants as "default" setting for my suits and sport coats because in truth they look better on me.
3. Unifying color theme centered on navy and shades of blue instead of trying to build around several color themes.
4. Acceptance, and this might get me banned from the Trad forum that on some guys (myself particularly) khaki is not very flattering. When you're 6' tall and have a 28.5" inseam wearing trousers that accentuate the shortness of your legs doesn't help.
5. Grudging acceptance of technology and admission it's not all bad. Non-iron and stain resistant shirts and trousers seem blasphemous but they work.

 

I started in bellbottoms (didn't have a choice, as Mom was buying and I didn't know better anyway). Surviving the 70s, I stormed into the 80s, where I was not one of the Pretty in Pink crowd. I instead choose to be a subtle representative of that decade: some bright color, but not too much; jeans (dark and light blue, plus black...sorry, no purple); T-shirts; and sneakers. Please note that I did not wear brightly colored suspenders, fingerless gloves, or those stupid-ass hats that seemed so popular in John Hughes movies.

And then the 90s came, and half of the people I was in college with decided that looking like Kurt Cobain was a good idea. I did not, and while my choices in music became heavier and more eclectic, I became a more conservative dresser: nicer jeans (yes, there is such a thing), still some T-shirts, polos for the first time, athletic shoes less often, etc.

In 1996 I bought Style and the Man, and since then I've actually become less conservative in regards to colors and patterns. I also started wearing wool (pants, a few sweaters), and as I began working in the clothing retail industry at that time, started amassing better quality clothing, including shoes.

I now enjoy the most varied wardrobe of my entire life. I wear jeans, chinos of all colors, cords, moleskins, and wool pants. I have suits and sport coats that I don't wear that often, but hey, I still have them, and they're nice ones. I wear mostly polo shirts to work, with some long sleeve ones and fine-gage sweaters thrown into the mix for fun. I wear mostly leather-soled shoes in various shades of brown and tan, though of course I have black, burgundy, and a pair of white bucks, too. Patterns and textures are more important to me now than ever before.

But perhaps the most striking thing -- to me, at least -- is my love of slightly quirky things, ones that are dressy but intentionally have an element of casual. Take the shoes I'm wearing right now, for example. They're black J&M Aristrocraft wingtip bals from the 1950s (NIB, complete with $17.50 price tag!). They sound awfully dressy, right? Well, they are, except for the heavily grained water buffalo hide. Things like these don't draw undue attention to themselves, and yet they're a twist; those who know what they're doing often take notice and are pleasantly surprised by things like this. And that's what I like: now that I really know what I'm doing, I feel I can screw with the rules without screwing things up.

https://img519.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kenxa2.jpg

Cruiser

Cruiser, you rocked that hair!

 

A side benefit of my increased satorial education is I've become determined to lose weight, in order to fit more normal clothes and have an easier time bargain hunting. :teacha: Which might seem like a trivial reason compared to the long term health benefits, but I've always known about those and I've only recently become interested in clothes. I'm down 12 pounds so far, which--like my wardrobe--is off to a good start though I have a long way to go.

Good for you, its the best feeling! See above pics...btw, avoid shopping until you have finished losing and are satisfied with your weight...I made the mistake of buying in between and wound up getting only 2 months out of certain (some expensive) items. And if you must shop in between (need to wear something right?) go for inexpensive and basic looks. Good luck!

 

I've had a number of changes due to my education here:

1) gone from disposable Rockport black shoes to a rotation of three brown shoes:
AE Berkeley
AE Park Avenue
Alden shell monk straps (okay, #8, not brown)

2) from jeans to wools pants, some chinos and corduroy (and linen blends when in season)

3) t-shirts banished

4) polyester banished

5) it takes me 20 minutes longer to iron a shirt, but it's worth it

6) 3 sportcoats to about 12 (including a blazer)

7) I feel constrained, not liberated by 'business casual'

 

2) I am less likely to mix a lot of patters, and more likely to wear four solids, or maybe one very muted pattern.

Same here. I used to enjoy the intellectual exercise of matching many patterns. But then I realized it was just that -- an exercise. Even when it worked well, it still seemed a bit fussy, a bit studied for my tastes. I've since stripped things back down. I still enjoy the busy outfit, now and then, but have fully embraced the zen wisdom of the grenadine solid.

It's a long road to simplicity.

 

Especially in the cases of Manton and Doc, I just can't imagine radically different "before" pictures. You guys seem to know who you are and what you want to wear.