Six Tips to Revamp Your Wardrobe

People often come to me wanting to tweak or completely overhaul their look. Here are a few tips that can help make the process a little easier:

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Figure out your aesthetic 

When anyone begins their style level-up, they must first assess who they are. As I have previously gone through this process myself, I thought about who I was at that time, the life I was currently living and the man I (ideally) wanted to be in the future. This helped me assess the wardrobe that would best align to my needs and the needs of my life(style). Whenever someone comes to me for advice I always say to “start within.” I know it sounds simple, but once you have a clear grasp on who you are and what you are about your style aesthetic will show itself.‍

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Conduct a lifestyle assessment (or come to me) 

Once you have clarity on your aesthetic, I always recommend conducting what I call a “lifestyle” assessment. What does your job require of your wardrobe, what types of events do you attend currently, what types of events do you want to attend, what is your friend group like, etc. Basically, what type of clothes do you NEED (not just want) in order for your life to function effectively. For example, at one point pre-pandemic I was attending an average of one black tie event a month (usually seeing at least one person I knew at several of the events), therefor I needed to beef up the formal wear offerings in my wardrobe so I would not be seen in the same tux all of the time.

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Assess and Purge (or come to me)

OK, you know what your lifestyle (and style generally) will require so now it's time to go back into your closet and see what you have that aligns, and get rid of what you have that does not (or doesn’t fit, or is cheap, or is falling apart, etc.). Yep, that’s it for this step.

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Prioritize and Budget (or come to me)

Now this step is very important. Once you know what you have and what you need, make a list, prioritize the items and budget accordingly. If you don’t have a good pair of black and/or brown dress shoes, plan to put a good amount of money there and other must-have pieces over something like a designer t-shirt which is more of a nice-to-have.

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Research Brands (or come to me)

After establishing your budget, you then should research brands where you can get the most stylish and best quality pieces that fit into your budget. It also helps to know the best brands that fall in each budget category (the categories I generally refer to are: fast fashion, mid-luxury and luxury – more content to come on this soon). However, if you have $500 to spend on a suit, you should plan to purchase from brands like Suitsupply and Bonobos versus Zara and Topman (on the lower end) or Tom Ford and Brioni (on the higher end).

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Strategize BEFORE spending (or come to me)

Lastly, have a shopping strategy! It is easy to get caught up in the hype and lost amongst all of the amazing pieces that are available to buy in the market, but make sure to stay focused and stay away from choosing items that don’t make much sense for your circumstances. For example, when I was ready to buy my first (decent) quality suit, instead of purchasing a great navy blue or charcoal gray all season suit which I actually needed, I bought a beautiful, but very niche brown plaid suit made out of heavy wool – not really the best choice for my needs at that time.

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