Thanks, Bresch, for the nice words, but I'm really not worthy   Discretion forbids me to want to discuss the cost of clothes in their totality, although it's up there along with you and others who enjoy clothes.  And, while I'm sometimes conflicted by the amounts spent on "material things," the reality is I'm congenitally addicted to nice clothes, and life is short, so I somehow justify this source of enjoyment.  My grandfather once advised me you only live once and the graveyards are filled with misers who left their life savings either to the government or to others.  Plus, in comparison to others' far more expensive sources of enjoyment, such as a yacht or a private jet costing tens of millions of dollars,  my enjoyment of clothes is a relatively modest little thing.

And from the, erm, lower end of the scale, about $3K in the last couple of years. More fun than necessity.
Still, I believe, about 10 times the average male expenditure on clothes.

David,

You've done much better than I have, in terms of "shrinkage" (purchases which came out so badly they get discarded or unused). I resist doing the numbers, as my wife might catch on. My position is that this compulsion is less self destructive than the usual vices, so I agree with Marc.

I have so far avoided bespoke shoes, and leverage a lot by using Chan. In fact, Laboratorio Chan is my workshop. I've lost some weight and took out a 20 year old bespoke Chipp suit in grey herringbone, Carlo Barbera (Blancs), it's fabulous, a very good investment in hindsight. I have found that by having a large inventory things rarely wear out, so I have slowed down my buying.

Bresch, thanks for the undeserved compliment! To answer your question, I can't say how much 'it' costs because I'm not done building 'it' yet . I will say that I've definitely learned a lot along the way, and therefore spent considerable money (to me) on things that I wouldn't have if I could do it all over again. But, I'm not sure these costs are avoidable. For example, I might say that I would have skipped MTM and gone straight to bespoke, but if I never tried MTM, I would always wonder if it would have been sufficient for me.

Without divulging how much I have spent or intend to spend (although I'm sure you could make a decent guess), I'll say that I'm clearly willing to spend a lot more than most of my friends who are similarly financially situated. Of course, I'm not silly enough to bankrupt myself. I make sure to have healthy savings and a comfortable lifestyle. I was even able to get my fiancee a decent engagement ring. My friends wonder how I'm able to do this, and I think it comes down to the fact that I spend much less on other luxuries. They all drive nicer cars than me, eat out at restaurants a lot more, and go drinking every weekend. In contrast, my fiancee and I are happy to live much more quiet lives. Moreover, I consider my clothes a sort of investment in myself--given my physical stature, it's incredibly difficult to even look 'okay' in ready-to-wear clothes, and I'd like my superiors at work to feel comfortable sending me out to see clients.

I probably also have much more modest expectations in terms of quantity, as compared to the standard bespoke-buying forum member. For example, eighteen suits is more than I can fathom ever needing. I'll be happy with half a dozen sportcoats, another half dozen suits, a dinner jacket, and a nice coat. Oh, and a half dozen nice shoes.*

*I reserve the right to amend these numbers depending on my income trajectory.

Last edited by mafoofan (2008-04-21 22:51:52)

Last edited by The_Shooman (2008-04-22 00:33:00)

Last edited by The_Shooman (2008-04-22 01:34:07)