Dress shirts: how to buy the corporate guy's wardrobe essential on the cheap!
Somehow, women always seem to need more items, than do men, in their closet, if they want to appear well-dressed. Even women who use the mix-and-match strategy are encumbered with the need for jewelry, scarves, hand bags and of course, a bevy of shoes. Men in the corporate environment, on the other hand, tend to rely on a few suits and a whole bunch of dress shirts. Men don't scrutinize other men's shoes and belts to see if the guy is wearing something new. A good collection of dress shirts is all a guy needs to have a different look every day. Mind you, it's usually women who take notice of the variety of office-appropriate shirts a man has! However, men enjoy having a well-varied selection of shirts from which to choose. Whether you're a guy who does his own shopping, or the woman who keeps the men's wardrobe supply going, we've got some tips on making the most of the clothing budget.
I guess it's a case of planned obsolescence. Although, to the fashion blind, a dress shirt may be a generic item, styles of collars, cut and detailing, such as the button-down shirt, change with the season, forcing you to replenish that shirt wardrobe if you are fashion conscious or if your superiors or clients are!
The major deviation in styles of dress shirts are evident in the collar. Short collars give way to long collars, and the button-down makes a recurring appearance. All you need do to find out what's hot in today's men dress shirts is a stroll down the men's shirt aisle. If short collars are now in style, that's pretty much all you'll find in the available collections. However, when shopping at the mall, you'll also find some budget-busting prices! So, how do you get the most bang for your buck?
The factory outlet stores should be your first stop. There, you'll find the latest styles and fabrics at about half the price of the upscale department stores. You may ask What's wrong with these dress shirts? Very little is the short answer. You'd need a magnifying glass to identify the 'flaws' that send these batches of shirts to the outlet stores. Maybe a line of stitching isn't perfectly straight in one insignificant area of the shirt. Perhaps the dye lot wasn't exactly right, so the precise color is a bit lighter or darker than the factory specifications. Believe me, you'd have to be a fashion designer of the most persnickety persuasion to notice 'what's wrong'.
Who wouldn't go for twice the number of corporate-wear shirts for the same amount of money? Not me. With all the savings, those value-priced shirts will last twice as long. A well-cared for collection can be retired and revived as the fashion mavens dictate. Short collars, long collars, it doesn't matter. Save those dress shirts for another season. They come back.