On arriving in what people tell me are the sunlight uplands of retirement, my clothing needs have definitely changed. Formal suits and ties, already on shaky ground due to the advance of business casual, are now out in the cold. Loved but no longer needed, the top line off the peg J Press suits that I acquired over the years in their annual heavily discounted sales, now languish in the wardrobe with little chance of being worn in anger again, such a shame. I’ve begun the weary business of selling  off my suit stable. A chum who is still has need of them recently bought 3  vintage ones from me. Only for the parcel company Evri to lose them in transit, necessitating me to refund him and make a claim from them.

I aim to retain 2 or 3 suits, summer and winter weight for occasions that that I still see as requiring one. The remainder of my holdings will be casual, but my current focus is gradually disposing of stuff that never gets worn. There is little point in having Shetlands in 8 colours if you only ever wear 3 of them. So it’s about slimming down the stock of everything and the occasional upgrade here and there.

I still have a place for sports jackets, cords and chinos, there’s still opportunities to make the effort to look good. A few days ago l attended a reunion of old work colleagues and I deployed a JS cord suit with a Chambray shirt and knitted tie., a casual but smart look. There was one other guy present, out of 150 or so, who wore a sports jacket, collar and tie - not Ivy but he had evidently put some thought into dressing, so we complimented each other! The rest ranged from smart casual, the sort of dress I imagine you might see in a golf club (if I ever take up golf I’ll confirm this), through to T shirt and jeans. Rugby shirts are popular in the West Country where we were and there were a few of them on display, proclaiming allegiance to Exeter Chiefs and the like, a cut above football shirts I guess. Looking around the room I was glad I had bothered to wheel out the Ivy clobber. I had a few of the usual remarks like ‘Ah, you’re looking very dapper’. …Bloody Dapper … that phrase always feels slightly mocking to my my mind. But hey ho, I wear what I like to these things as I’m well beyond worrying about fitting in with any particular crowd.

But on a day to day basis, when at home I have a sort of uniform for gardening, motorcycle and MG maintenance, which consists of British Army/Trouser/Mens/Lightweight/Olive Green, navy blue workwear polo shirt and, dependent on temperature, vintage Champion college sweatshirt and 60/40 parka. I have a reserve of each of these garments that should last for years.

Overall I’m kind of sorted, enough stuff to see me through until I no longer care what I look like. I don’t care for online shopping much, unless it’s good quality used clobber on ebay which requires a bit of thought and hunting down, or buying new stuff from independent traders like JS or All Blues.  As the smarter stuff gets less wear it lasts longer. Oh well, it will all end up as landfill one day haha!

Last edited by FlatSixC (2023-11-18 03:30:30)

Cordings chinos seem to have changed slightly, sized maybe a half inch smaller so the fit no longer matches me. Of all the places you would hope might stay consistent...

The comments I also get on polished shoes are numerous.

Stax- I know mate. I've just come back from the pub and I was just continuing with the vernacular that I was using earlier. I sit in the corner of the pub with a few blokes and girls (in their 50/60s). The barmaids (can I still say that) call us 'the naughty corner' because of our colourful language . We used to be called 'coffin dodgers' corner so it's an improvement. HaHa

I feel the same, only buy things that are absolutely necessary, and only top quality. I do seasonal wardrobes of limited numbers of items that are easy to mix and match for each season. Everything gets well worn with no unworn clothes. No excessive wardrobe. I am strict to only buy what l need. I really like being in control and not being addicted to buying clothes; nothing worse than always on the chase and never being satisfied with what you have. When you love what you have, and you are satisfied, and you feel no need to keep on buying....THAT's when you've really done it right.

The only thing l have been buying lots of recently is sox (always buy heaps of socks) and hats (cowboy hats, fedoras, homburgs, panamas), but the hat buying is coming to an end because l have all that l need now.

They send me a catalogue though I have never had any dealings with them. Not the cheapest.

I don't buy jeans apart from the Wranglers cowboy cut MWZ13  mentioned on here a lifetime ago. Cheap and cheerful. Good for knocking around in.

For cords and moleskin I buy from Peter Christian but they are trahseez not jeans. Not really Ivy either.

Thanks for your comments guys, I've got the JT moleskins down to £75'ish, ( 140 - 40% - £10), also some light olive cords on sale at £39, free delivery , free returns, they're in the basket, just deciding whether to pull the trigger,

PC moleskins got me comfortably through a freezing trip to Iceland in March 22 with lots of ice and continuous snow.

Thanks for the input guys, I placed the order yesterday, I’ll report back when they arrive next week, nothing to lose with free delivery and free returns,

I think I ordered one jumper from them in a sale, a decade ago - which was perfectly okay. But it wasn't a Shetland and I don't remember any sourcing.

I'm with Alvey, it's a philosophy I'm buying into (pun semi-intended) more and more - that I'm better off spending more on items that will stand the test of time, both in the sense of their manufacturing quality and their style. I do make minor concessions - I am not for example about to start spending the ridiculous amounts of money required to purchase Meyer B Schwanen t-shirts for example but I'm not adverse either to the concept of spending a thousand quid on a decent pair of shoes.
The reality is, prices are only going one way and that is'nt ever going to change and the price gap between quality clothing and the dross on the high street is probably the narrowest it's ever been at present.

Personally, I will continue to eschew the cheap in favor of the better - and unlike some of you, I'm not near retirement and have a list of wants as long as you care to think of.