A younger NikeTalker, still undergrad asked a great question about how to shop on a budget. His program requires him to dress in business attire 2-3 times a week and as a lot of us know, in college, money is scarce. A fellow NT'er Wisith gave some great suggestions in regards to what to get, like a navy or gray suit, a couple of shirts, etc. but I wanted to give a few more details to him and to everyone else, so here they are:
1. A navy suit, personally as a first suit, considering your budget I'd do a navy suit. The reason for that, in my opinion, although gray is great, the navy jacket will be more versatile with separate trousers. The navy suit can be worn as separates, and the navy blazer will be incredibly versatile to wear with everything from dark denim to other trousers like gray and a khaki colored pant. H&M and Uniqlo-you can get a suit for about $150. (Left: $600)
2. Trousers: In addition to the navy that will come with the suit, I'd get a gray (honestly light gray or heather gray would be fine) and khaki colored trousers. Both of these would go great with a navy blazer and are incredibly versatile in regards to what shirts you can wear. Get solid, not striped, flat front, no pleats. I recommend either cotton or wool, or some type of blend of the two. H&M, Uniqlo, Target, JCP, Marshalls, Ross, TJ Maxx, you can likely find these two. I believe you can get these two four about $30-40 each, no more and don't be surprised if you find them for less. Lets assume, $80 for both at the highest. (Left: $520)
3. Shirts: Go with a semi-spread collar and stick to the basics. White, light blue and lavender, would be my 3. If you want to add another 2, go with a striped white with blue shirt and a white and blue check shirt. Honestly you'd be good with 3 shirts since you only need to dress in business attire 2-3 days, I'd max out at 5, for budget reasons. Dappered.com did a great post on 10 essential shirts to have, here's the [URL=http://dappered.com/2012/11/the-dress-shirt-top-10-hierarchy/]link[/URL]. Personally I'd stick to option 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10. Granted lavender wasn't one of their options. Target and JCP have great deals on shirts and the Target brand ones are actually liked by a lot of people and come in a spread collar, and usually sell for about $23. You can get the white, light blue and lavender at target for $23 a piece. Total: $69. Add two more, and lets say those are at most $30, Total: $129. (Left with 3 shirts: $451; Left with 5 shirts: $382)
4. Shoes: Based on the budget constraints I'd honestly go to JC Penney and buy the
Stafford Ashton Brown wingtip and if you want a black pair as well, get the
Stafford Ashford Black Longwings. The great thing about the navy, gray and khaki colored trousers is that they go great with both colored shoes but IF you only can do one pair, do the brown Ashton's. Brown will honestly look so much better with gray, khaki or navy. One pair $60, two pairs $120. (Left: $320-$390 with 1 pair, $262-$331 with 2 pairs)
5. Ties and bow ties: Ross and Marshalls have been great places for me personally in regards to ties. The great thing about the shirt options and trouser options, is one they can be mixed with each other and will go with mostly any tie or bowtie. Ties at Marshalls runbetween $10-$13. Get 5-7 ties, in colors that you like, navy, gray solid and or striped are good starters. Probably $50-70 for all of them. (Left: $200-$340 depending on amount of shirts and shoes bought)
6. Sweaters: Honestly get some v-necks, 2 or 3 and a cardigan. V-necks, light brown, navy and another neutral color. Cardigan, gray. Old Navy has v-necks for $13 right now, cardigan probably no more than $30 from Old Navy or Gap Outlet. (Left: $140-$280 depending on amount of shirts and shoes bought)
7. Accessories: Socks (by Merona), tie bar, pocket square. Small things but they can make take your outfits to the next level with these small touches. Target has some really nice socks, from plain navy and gray to socks with designs and color. Socks is where you can go a little "crazy" and are a nice way to add some "pop" to your outfit. Socks at target $2.50 a pair, get yourself about 5. Pocket square, a simple white cotton one in your breast pocket of your navy blazer will look great. Target carries some white ones, if you have a Walmart, they sell a pack of 6 for $3; obviously more than you need but for $3 why not. Tie bar, simple plain steel colored tie bar. 2"-2.5" in width, depending on the tie width your buying. eBay, where I got mine, has them for about $3-4, Nordstrom has some as well, from thetiebar.com for $15 with free shipping. In all about $30 at most for these things. It'll leave you with some money in your pocket still.
Sorry for the long post but I know as someone who likes being a bargain shopper and someone who has been on a budget in the past and still shop like I am on one here and there I thought that it would be helpful to break it down a little.
