WDIWT...3/31/13

Easter Sunday and heading to church in a bit today, surprisingly my parent's want to go. Since other family is going I figured I'd go as well. Put together something simple what the basics that I packed. More on how to pack for a week in a carry-on soon. Pretty much everything I've worn throughout the week with the exception of the gray ribbed turtleneck and the shoes I'm wearing today is stuff that I packed and brought from home. I've meant to do a post on that for a bit, will soon though.

Details:

Sweater: Levis Off-White Shawl Neck Cardigan via Levis Outlet-$15

Shirt: Stafford White/Brown Gingham via JCP-$11.25

Trousers: Navy Gap "Tailored Fit" via Gap Factory-$15

Shoes: Tom McAn Black Tassel Loafers via Sears-$20

Sweater hides a poorly fitting shirt; which needs to be tailored.

Shirt needs to be taken in on the sides for sure

I Wore the Same Thing...

As the first picture from yesterday's post today. No need to repost it just look below, advantage of wearing something only for an hour or two then getting invited to go out to a Dodger game...which they won 9-8!

Two Different Outfits for Today...3/30/13

The first outfit I changed into after I came back from the gym and showered, as I was heading to the bank with my parents. The blazer is a new pick up from JCP from their Stafford Prep line. While there my good friend sent me a text if I wanted to go to the Dodger game which I said yes too, so I got home and changed into something a bit more casual. Don't be surprised if I recycle the first outfit posted tomorrow since I didn't wear it more than 2 hours.

To the bank:
Details:
Blazer: Stafford Prep Navy Cotton Blazer via JCP-$27.50
Shirt: Gap White/Light Blue/ Pink Check shirt via Gap Factory Store-$15
Pocket Square: Convington "S" initial cotton hanky via Sears Outlet-$5
Jeans: Gap Selvedge "Slim Fit" via Gap Factory-$12.50
Shoes: Toms Black/Gray Tweed via Nordstrom-$32

To Dodger Game:

Details:

Shirt: Gap "The Beatles" t-shirt-$18

Jeans: Old Navy "Slim Fit" via Old Navy-$2.50

Shoes: Air Jordan Black/Chrome Retro VIII via eBay-$?? (bought 4+ years ago)

WDIWT...3/28/13

For the hater on NT...keep laughing...

Details:
Sweater: Ralph Lauren Gray Ribbed Turtleneck via?-? (found it in the closet back home in LA, got it years ago)
Jeans: Old Navy "Slim" Fit via Old Navy-$.250
Shoes: Toms Gray/Black Tweed via Nordstroms-$32

WDIWT...3/27/13

Today:
*Yea I know I need to get a tripod eventually.

Details:
Shirt: Alfani White/Black Micro-Check via Macy's-$12.50
Jeans: Gap 1969 Selvedge Slim Fit via Gap Factory Store-$12.50
Shoes: Tom's Black/Gray Tweed via Nordstroms-$32
Total: $57

WDIWT...3/26/13

Today for a reunion with a mentor and friend:

Details:
Sweater: Levis Off-White Shawl Cardigan via Levis Factory Store-$15
Shirt: Stafford White/Brown Gingham Shirt via JCP-$11.25
Jeans: Old Navy "Slim Fit" via Old Navy-$2.50
Shoes: Toms Brown Woolen via eBay-$35
Total: $63.75

WDIWT...3/25/13

Again keeping it simple and comfortable, best part of everything is that everything I'm wearing here was under $40...shoes included. The sweater is actually a recent H&M purchase; about 2 weeks ago for $3.50.

Details:
Sweater: H&M Light Navy Blue Crewneck Sweater via H&M-$3.50
Shirt: H&M Gray Henley via H&M-$5
Jeans: Old Navy "Slim Fit" via Old Navy-$2.50
Shoes: LandsEnd Brown Suede Penny Loafers via LandsEnd-$27
Total: $37

WDIW...Yesterday 3/24/13

Yesterday my beautiful wife and I went snow tubing up in Hunter Mountain. It was a hell of a lot of fun! Kept it simple and warm.

Details:
Coat: Old Navy Double Breasted Peacoat-$$?
Sweater: Guess Olive Green via Guess Factory Store-$10
Shirt: Arrow White/Green Stripe-Gift
Jeans: American Rag via Macy's-$7
Shoes: Cole Haan Air Rhone Quilted Boot-$55

Thank You...and Donate!

I just want to thank everyone for helping me reach 10,000 plus posts! Never thought I'd even get close to that number.

Second, with spring around the corner and many of us doing some spring cleaning, if you have any extra clothing laying around that you know you just won't wear, instead of making a few bucks on it by selling it on eBay, donate it! My wife and I decided to do some spring cleaning today and between the two of us we cleared about 3 bags full of clothes which then made their way to the local Salvation Army.

If you have any suits that you don't wear lying around checkout Dress for Success. They are an organization that provides donated suit to those less fortunate for job interviews.

WDIWT...3/22/13

Spring Break is finally around the corner! Today was the last day of classes before break and teachers and students alike were more than thrilled that it was here. Kept it somewhat simple again pairing up an two eBay finds and a JC Penney's deal with an Old Navy deal. This entire outfit from head to toe was under $50.

Details:
Blazer: No Name Camel Hair Blazer via eBay-$12
Pocket Square: Black Corduroy made from the bottom of hemmed H&M cord trousers
Shirt: Stafford White/Brown Gingham via JCP-$11
Jeans: Old Navy "Slim Fit" via Old Navy-$2.50
Shoes: LandsEnd Stone Suede Boots via eBay-$25
Total: $49.50

They Say It's Spring But It Feels Like Winter

Spring officially started yesterday and well coming in at a warm 34 degrees in New York City is not my or anyone's definition of Spring. This coupled with the fact that is our professional day for our spirit day at work aka students must come dressed professionally, I decided to wear my 3 piece Indochino tweed suit. One if meets the spirit day criteria of professional day, however, everyday I dress professionally in my opinion. Most importantly I wore the 3-piece because frankly it's warm. The tweed already makes it a warmer than usual outfit, the fact that it's a 3-piece makes it even warmer by the waistcoat adding that additional layer of warmth. I kept the rest simple, with different hues of blue.

Details:

Suit: Indochino Brown Tweed Bootlegger-$379 part of a voucher deal

Waistcoat: Indochino Brown Tweed Bootlegger-$80

Shirt: Stafford Broadcloth via JCP-$5

Tie: J. Crew Navy Paisly (gold/burgundy) via J. Crew Factory Store-$9.80

Shoes: Aston Grey Brown Suede Wingtips via eBay-$35

Pocket Square: Navy/White Edging via GetSquared on Etsy-$5

WDIWT...3/20/13

Today is twin day and one of my students months ago when I wore my white/baby blue Indochino Gingham shirt right away asked me to be her twin when the spirit day came for it. I cropped her out for obvious reasons but you can kinda make out her outfit, which is pretty much the same thing as mine.

Details:
Shirt: Baby Blue/White Indochino Gingham Shirt via Indochino-part of a suit deal
Sweater: Gray Gap Cardigan via Gap Factory Store-$15
Jeans: Gap "Slim Fit" in Dark Wash via Gap-$45
Shoes: Cole Haan Air Stanton Wingtip Boots 9" via Cole Haan-$150

For whatever reason by Photobucket won't let me post it so here's the link:
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s289/sarteaga0408/Album%202/24453e46-e28f-4866-ad2b-cb8211c52b4f_zpsb8a50075.jpg

WDIWT...3/18/13

The weather in NY has been crazy, so staying warm was a priority. Wore tweed, shawl sweater and some nice warm suede shoes. It was also "Green Day" at work hence the green sweater and stripes in the shirt.

Details:
Coat: Old Navy Peacoat-$???
Sweater: Forest Green Guess Shawl Sweater via Guess Factory Store-$10
Shirt: Arrow Green Striped Shirt-Gift
Trousers: Gap Tweed "Slim Fit" Trousers-$11
Shoes: Aston Grey Brown Suede Wingtip via eBay-$30

WDIW...Yesterday...3/16/13

Went for a quick run to the mall and wore the following:

Details:
Sweaters: Old Navy Light Blue V-Neck via Old Navy-$12
Coat: Old Navy Double Breasted Pea Coat-$? It's been awhile
Shirt: Blue Stafford OCBD-Hand Me Down
Jeans: Old Navy "Slim Fit" Jeans via Old Navy-$2.50
Shoes: LandsEnd Brown Suede Penny Loafers via LandsEnd.com-$22

*Bought some red corduroy's at JCP for $3

WDIWT...3/15/13 (Dressing Better isn't all suits and ties)

Today is a rating day for us aka grading day, so no students, with the weather being windy and in the low 40s, I kept it simple. Jeans, a Henley, my alma-maters hoody and a pair of Kobe's. As the title says dressing better is not about wearing a suit and tie everyday, one of the biggest misconceptions about dressing better is that I believe. Yes, I can argue that wearing brown dress shoes would have made what I'm wearing a lot more "dressy" or that a button down instead of a henley would also be a little more "dressier." At the end of the day what I'm wearing is no different than what I wear on a casual Friday to work. The importance is all about how things fit.

My sweater is from my Oxy days and I will always hold a special place in my heart for Occidental and it's one of the few items from my old "wardrobe" that I refuse to get rid of.

Details:
Sweater: Occidental College Hoody via Oxy Bookstore-$??
Shirt: Gray Henley by H&M-$7
Jeans: Old Navy "Slim" Fit-$2.50
Shoes: Nike Air Zoom Kobe VI "China"-$130

WDIWT...3/14/13

Went the casual route today as it is our "Friday" today due to not having students here tomorrow; just grading for us teachers tomorrow. Kept it simple, with a mix of blues, gray and brown. 

Details:

Sweater: Polo Gray V-Neck Sweater-Gift

Shirt: Indochino White/Light blue Gingham with French Cuffs via Indochino-part of a promotion with suit

Jeans: Old Navy "Slim" Fit via Old Navy-$2.50

Shoes: Florsheim Captoe with Medallion via eBay-$25

Watch: Kenneth Cole via Nordstrom Rack-$45

WDIWT...2/12/13

Decided to break up my Indochino 3-piece suit and wear just the trousers and the waistcoat. Still not in the wearing a tie mood but still doesn't mean you can't look put-together. I wore a simple white dress shirt also from Indochino with it. The pictures aren't the best, I apologize for that.

Details:
Waistcoat: Indochino Brown Tweed Bootlegger part of a suit
Trousers: Indochino Brown Tweed Bootlegger part of a suit
Shirt: Indochino White Dress Shirt with French Cuffs via Indochino-part of 3 for $229 deal
Shoes: Brown Florsheim Captoe with Medallion via eBay-$25

WDIWT...2/11/13

Decided to stick with shades of brown today and likely will be a theme for the week or at least for a couple of days. Wore a couple of recent pick-ups as well. Here you see that different shades of brown when put together can work. The shirt is the gingham shirt featured here and the trousers featured here. The shawl cardigan sweater is also a recent pick up, you can see it here and here. The shoes are a recent pick up from eBay and I really love the two-tone brown leather on these cap toes with the medallion by Florsheim.

Details:
Sweater: Levis Off-White Shawl Cardigan Sweater via Levis Outlet-$14.50
Shirt: Stafford White/Brown Gingham via JCP-$11
Trousers: Merona Herringbone via Target-$8.80
Socks: J.Crew Gray/Orange Stripe via J. Crew Factory-$3 (not pictured)
Shoes: Florsheim Brown Cap-Toe with Medallion via eBay-$21 (terrible picture)

WDIWT...3/10/13

Wore this today to the mall, H&M and Gap, yes I went today again and wore this to go to dinner with my wife and sister-in-law. On a side note, I recommend that you never go to the P.F. Changs in Westchester County, NY.

Details:
Blazer: Gap Unstructured Blazer in Olive via Gap Factory-$35
Shirt: BCBG Light Blue (forgot where I got it, it's been years)
Jeans: Old Navy "Slim" Fit via Old Navy-$2.50
Shoes: LandsEnd Brown Suede Loafers via LandsEnd.com-$23

WDIW...Yesterday

Two posts today, this is the first of the two. Wore two different outfits yesterday, kept the first one simple and for the second I changed it up a bit and threw on a blazer. The first one was when I did a quick run to the mall, then headed to the gym after. The second outfit is what I changed into after showering and coming back from the gym.

First:
Details:
Sweater: Banana Republic Half-Zip Sweater-Gift
Shirt: White/Light Blue/Navy Check Disney Shirt-Gift
Jeans: Old Navy "Slim" Fit via Old Navy-$2.50
Shoes: Nike AM1 Safaris via Nike Outlet-$50

Second:

Details:

Blazer: No Name Camel Blazer via eBay-$15

Shirt: Stafford White/Pink/Red Checkered via JCP-$5

Jeans: Old Navy "Slim" Fit via Old Navy-$2.50

H&M Sales & A Good Cause

Went to H&M today primarily to donate some clothing that both my wife and I have meant to donate for awhile now. H&M is running a promotion; for lack of better words, where if you donate a bag of clothes (any brand) they will give you a 15% off one item (they gave me 2 for whatever reason). Yea 15% off one item is spectacular but at the end of the day it is for a great cause and you are getting something in return, compared to dropping it off at a donation center.

After donating the clothing, I went and browsed and to say the least they have A LOT of sales racks for both men and women. As a guy I know that most of the time the men's sales racks are limited to probably one, if two at most, their were about 5-6 racks of sales stuff today at mine. Everything from trousers, to shirts, to sweaters. Prices ranged from $5-20. I found two today; flannel trousers and tweed trousers, all for under $13 with tax.

Stafford Gingham Shirts, $11 each

JCPenney has some great deals on shirts that should be staples in your wardrobe. Gingham shirts look as great and appropriate during the fall and winter as they look in the spring and summer. Finding them for cheap can be difficult, JCP's new men's line has an amazing price point and of pretty good quality. The shirts are a broadcloth and a 60/40 Cotton/Poly mix, and come in white/navy and white/brown, I got it for $11 as they were running a 25% off Stafford deal last week but even at regular price, $15, they are a great deal.

Lack of Posts

Sorry for the lack of posts, been under the weather for the last few days.

WDIWT...3/5/13

Wore this today, snapped a couple of quick pictures at work. Still feeling under the weather, intended to wear a gray Double Breasted blazer but instead went for the sweater as I just was too warm this morning...fever I'm sure. The trousers could probably be a little longer, opinions? I wore my Cole Haan Air Colton Wingtip boots so the trousers may not look as short as they are, boots are about 8 inches in height. First time I wear them too and I go a pretty awesome compliment from my co-worker, check it out below:

Details:
Sweater: Gray Polo Sweater-Gift
Shirt: Alfani White/Black Mini-Check via Macy's-$12
Trousers: H&M Black Cords-$10
Shoes: Cole Haan Air Colton 8" High Black Wingtip Boots

And nothing better than:

Remember These Cords?

Remember the cords I posted here well here is a better picture of the color along with a black pair I was given by my brother as they didn't fit him.

Go to Hell Pants!

Go to Hell Pants are trousers that are so out there either due to their design (designs stitched on) or due to their color. Usually the odder the color or the brighter the color the more out there the trousers are. On a whim my wife and I went into Express and I saw these red trousers and figured what the hell let me try them on. Frankly on the rack they didn't seem like they would like right on me, tried them on and liked how they look. With the 50% off their clearance, I picked them up for $15. They are from Express's Photographer Fit line.

Gap Sale, made it out like a bandit!

My wife and I hit up the Gap store at our local mall yesterday to just peruse. We found quite a few things, I was probably the more surprised of the two since I rarely, if ever find anything at my Gap store that either I like or two are in my size (36). To my surprise I found three trousers for an amazing price, and with the 30% promotion they were running, they were even cheaper. Some times it simply doesn't hurt to just go and take a look, frankly I almost didn't as I was going to go back to the car instead to grab a bag we had forgotten. I am going to provide the price before the 30% and after below, just as an FYI.

Details:

Black Cotton Blend Trousers $7.97/$5.58
Charcoal Wool Blend Trousers $11.97/$8.40
Beige Tweed Blend Trousers $11.97/$8.40

Total without 30% off: $31.91+Tax
Total with 30% off: $22.38+Tax

(Ignore the red trousers as they are not from Gap)

WDIWT...well Yesterday at this point 3/2/13

Wore this today to run some errands and just chill at home. Kept it super simple, jeans, OCBD shirt a Navy 1/2 zip sweater and some Tom's.

Details:
Sweater: Banana Republic Half-Zip via Gift
Shirt: Disney White/Baby Blue/Navy Blue Checkered Shirt via Gift
Jeans: Old Navy "Slim" Fit via Old Navy-$2.50
Shoes: Tom's Gray Tweed via Nordstrom-$35 (not pictured)

WDIWT...3/1/13

To start the month of March, myself and my fellow NikeTalk Dressing Better thread brothers, decided to wear a pair of Nike sneakers to as a way to say thank you to the rest of the NikeTalk community for supporting Elkin (ksteezy) in winning February's Giveaway on TSBMen.com. I decided to go with shades of gray and keep it casual, not sloppy. Quick note: I'm wearing my pea coat as I had just walked into work.

Details:
Sweater: Gap Cardigan via Gap Factory Store-$15
Shirt: Alfani White/Black Micro-Check via Macy's-$12
Jeans: Gap "Slim" Fit via Gap-$45
Shoes: Nike AM1 Safari via Nike Factory Store-$50
Coat: Old Navy Pea Coat via Old Navy-$40 (had it for years)