I want to talk a little bit about the importance of (or a lack thereof) brand-name clothing. I've seen posts in my Alpha M. Facebook Group focused on brand and price where these members are getting a bit off-point, assuming name brand clothes with a high price tag are the #1 indicator of good style.
I am a bit of a REVERSE clothes snob. There's nothing better than looking much better than someone whose outfit costs many times more than your own. I wear clothes that look good on me, so when I see all those guys wearing so-called ‘cool’ brand named clothes (aka Supreme), I have to chuckle to myself because I look good, and they look like a potato.
I am NOT a brand or a label snob -- I don't care who made it, if it's popular, or if it's cool. It really makes no difference to me. Most of the time, I look for great options that are not brand name motivated because they're will be more affordable. And a lot of times, these high-end designer brands charge an incredible amount of money just for their label or their logo. This member nailed it
on the head:
Yes. Earning respect. Dressing smart. Spot on, brother. The reality is that nine times out of ten, most people have no idea what brand you're wearing. Obviously, they know the brand when you post it in a Facebook group along with the price, but most people in public will only notice if your clothes look good and fit well. That is important – not what designer store you bought it from or what
brand name it is.
Now I want to tell you a little story about one of my friends, Alan, the doctor. Years ago I was working with him as an image consultant at his place. We started purging his wardrobe, which he had collected about 100 neckties over the years. As I was sorting them, he grabbed one to keep and enthusiastically declared that it was a high-end designer Ferragamo tie that he paid hundreds for at the
time. I asked if that’s why he wanted to keep it because it was actually an ugly blue tie with sailboats. And, yes, he wanted to keep it simply because of the brand name and price. The moral of the story is that money doesn’t buy style, and good style doesn’t require a lot of money.
People often justify buying expensive name-brand items by stating that ‘you get what you pay for.' To some extent, this is true for handcrafted items or items made from expensive materials or fabrics; however, a lot of these trendy name brand items are made in a factory, from a machine, and not of the same high quality as the handcrafted.
For me, I love my $10 Target scarf, $6 Target tee, and my old leather jacket. Now, I will spend more money on my shoes and watches, which brings up a good point about what we value as individuals. What we each value is different. You have to determine what you value, but it doesn't need to be brand-name. I'll spend $225 on a great pair of boots because I can’t find a cheaper option that
lives up to my standard. Plus, quality boots will last seemingly forever. I feel that the quality and longevity of that purchase are there, giving me a good return on investment.
Now, to dive a bit deeper, the whole concept of style ROI (return on investment) is another critical point. Expensive doesn’t necessarily mean a bad value or waste of money, but on the flip side, just because something is cheap doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good deal. To determine the style ROI, take the cost of an item in dollars divided by the number of wears you get out of that item which
will yield the cost per wear. I’ll give you three examples:
You spend $100 on an item and then wear it only 4xs. Your cost per wear is $25.
Next, you spend $500 on an item and then wear it 50 times. Your cost per wear is $10.
Last, you spend $8,000 on a luxury item and then wear it daily for years (5,000 wears). Your cost per wear is $1.60.
So, the best style ROI is the last example. Would you have guessed that? Consider your cost per wear next time you're shopping for new items. And to drive in this point, check out this post in the Alpha M. Facebook Group:
So to wrap this up, it’s not about the brand but how the clothing fits, the fabric & feel, and how the clothing makes you appear. Bragging about your clothes' brand name and/or price doesn't make you more stylish - it will actually do quite the opposite.
Alpha M. POST of the
WEEK
Cheers From Dublin Ireland
Gentleman
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