PREMIUM ECONOMY. Styling & words by Alex Simpson photography by Edward Urrutia. yahoo7.com.au/menshealth

Transcription

1 PREMIUM ECONOMY It s easier than ever to dress well for less. Between the invasion of global fast-fashion brands and the boom in online retail, you can upgrade your wardrobe for a bargain price. Here s how to save money without skimping on style 3 Styling & words by Alex Simpson photography by Edward Urrutia 132 yahoo7.com.au/menshealth

2 $500 or under smart casual How Do You Measure Up? Snapping up an online bargain? Get the right size by recording your vital statistics STYLE CHEST Wrap the tape measure under your armpits, around the fullest part of your chest and shoulderblades, says fashion buyer Stephen Ayres. Don t puff your chest out, but do breathe in first. NECK Measure around the base of your neck, about an inch below your Adam s apple, says Ayres. Slip two fingers inside the tape to ensure comfort. SLEEVE Hold your arm out sideways at a 45 angle, says stylist Tom Stubbs. Ask someone to measure from your shoulder joint to the wrist bone. Background painted with Dulux paint Zara jacket, $89.95 Gap sweater, $59.95 Gap pants, $79.95 Converse sneakers, $120 Zara sunglasses, $39.95 H&M gloves, $59.95 Total spend: $ W A I ST Measure around where your belt usually sits: about two inches below your belly-button, says Stacey Smith, menswear buyer for matchesfashion.com. Put two fingers beneath the tape and your body for a comfortable fit. Get the look: use the netpage app to buy featured items straight from the page. APRIL

3 TURN ON, LOG IN, CHECK OUT Online sales are your best opportunity to swipe a serious deal. Here s how: $500 or under ou t and abou t Subject: From: Do Your Homework Damien Paul, buying manager for matchesfashion.com Maximise your chances of success by browsing the site before the sale begins and bookmarking the pages with the items you want. This way you won t waste time relocating them and potentially lose out to another buyer in the virtual tug-of-war for size. If your size does sell out, it s more prudent to buy a size up and have it tailored to fit than to gamble on a size smaller. Subject: From: Add to your want list Jodie Harrison, editor at mrporter.com A lot of sites have an add to wishlist or add to cart functionality that makes sales shopping easy. You can browse at leisure before the sale starts when you re not under time pressure then virtually put it all to one side. You ll have signed up for the newsletter alerts, so when the sale begins you can go straight to the checkout while everyone else is still madly scrabbling around. The Academy Brand parka, $ The Academy Brand cargo pants, $99 gap t-shirt, $29.95 Zara scarf, $25.95 Asos shirt (around waist), $53.33 AlDo shoes, $79.95 TOTal spend: $ $ Subject: Buy the basics From: Simon Chilvers, menswear director at matchesfashion.com Your best sales approach is simple: look for classic items, made in quality fabrics and cut in the simplest shapes. Basically, the things that form the backbone of your wardrobe. If you ll wear them regularly, they are genuine bargains. Shoes and coats are worth looking at first: these are items you will get the most wear out of and can afford to spend a little more on. Background painted with Dulux paint 134 yahoo7.com.au/menshealth

4 STYLE $500 or under CASUAL F RIDAY YOUR EBAY 101 Snag a bargain FROM your armchair If I am after something on ebay, I tend to be looking for something in particular. I stick with searching for a specific brand rather than a generic item, and I always look for things a few seasons old that way you ll get something genuinely vintage, rather than the ubiquitous current-season knock-offs that plague ebay. To score the best style find, avoid sellers that sell single items in mass and always check their buyer feedback scores. - Liam McKessar, Australian menswear blogger at Front Row Suit SURPRISE DEALS Think outside the box with three destinations that have never been on your shopping radar Overseas buying service If you ve 1 ever been frustrated by buying online, only to discover the website doesn t deliver here or charges inflated prices on its Australian site, websites such as ReShip.com will, for as little as $5, give you a legitimate US address to send your purchases to. They ll hold your goods for free for 60 days before sending to you, so you can continue shopping and then save on bulk delivery when it comes to postage time. Zara jacket, $129 H&M Shirt, $29.95 Uniqlo knit cardigan, $59.90 H&M tie, $27.95 Gap Jeans, $79.95 Zara shoes, $139 Topman sunglasses, $24 Total spend: $ Military shops Camouflage prints 2 and rugged combat jackets have always been a stalwart in menswear. But why pay a premium when you can get these items direct from their original source? Your local army disposals or navy store or website is full of military pieces at close to cost price. Uniform shops From shirts and 3 ties, to Hi-Vis workwear, your local uniform shop or website is a treasure trove of clothing at a fraction of the cost of regular retail wear. Looking for a preppy tie? Just turn to any private school s uniform stockist. APRIL

5 STYLE Face value Time is money, so save both with a watch FOR under $500 1 Calvin Klein TIME, $455 2 Luminox RECON POINTMAN, $475 3 Hugo Boss ARCHITECTURE, $399 4 SwaTCH Leblon, $215 5 Seiko KINETIC, $495 EYE FOR A BARGAIN Three style experts share their top budget buys BRAND-NEW SECOND-HAND Robert J CaRRoll, milliner at Strand HatteRS, HAS spent his working life SCouring the globe for unique hats. Here are his tips FOR SUCCESSful vintage shopping... Be sure to shop when overseas. The 1 vintage clothing shops and markets in New York, Paris and London have more variety and tend to be cheaper than the ones in Australia. Go for items that tend to be more 2 expensive when bought new. You ll save a lot more by buying a vintage jacket over a vintage T-shirt. Opt for older items. The quality 3 of fabrics and craftsmanship was generally way better years ago than it is today. My best-priced staple wardrobe pieces would have to be my selection of crew-neck white cotton T-shirts. You can t go wrong or have too many they are a must-have for any wardrobe. I m not selective with the brands, as there is a range of great ones out there like General Pants Basics, Industrie and GAP. When choosing, my criteria is as follows: firstly, the price must be $25 per T-shirt or less. Secondly, the cotton and detail must be of high quality. Brent Wilson, designer at Brent Wilson My best menswear bargain would be a subtle brown cardholder by Acne. Not the cheapest out there (approximately $110), but the everyday cost per wear is better than any other item I own. It embodies classic, understated Swedish design and quality, and also develops that enviable patina almost the moment you walk out of the store. Drew Hoare, brand manager at M.J. Bale The Gentleman s Brand Co Daily Regime pack ($79.95) gives good value for money. It includes a face wash, body wash and moisturiser, and it s all organic and made from Australian extracts, so you save while supporting a local brand. Dion Kovac, buyer at Meanwhile store 136 yahoo7.com.au/menshealth

6