What are your “buy it for life” clothing brands?

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Gshep91

Gshep91

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What are some of your favorite brands that you don’t mind paying a bit of a premium for? Obviously nothing clothing classy forever but, something you’ve found to be durable.

Reason I’m asking is because this is my first job where I’m required to wear “business casual” every day. I’ve always either been the front line guy in a uniform or the other end in a full suit.

I’m looking for mostly recommendations for -

Boots (Chelsea’s / chukka) - have a couple from target that have been decent but looking for the next step up.

Pants - not jeans but preferably not suit pants either.

Jackets/sweaters - nothing with hoods, on the lighter side since it’s never THAT cold in Southern California.

The non knife bst post about the Patagonia jacket is what got me thinking about this, I’d have snatched it up quick if it was hood less
 
Gshep91 said:
What are some of your favorite brands that you don’t mind paying a bit of a premium for? Obviously nothing clothing classy forever but, something you’ve found to be durable.

Reason I’m asking is because this is my first job where I’m required to wear “business casual” every day. I’ve always either been the front line guy in a uniform or the other end in a full suit.

I’m looking for mostly recommendations for -

Boots (Chelsea’s / chukka) - have a couple from target that have been decent but looking for the next step up.

Pants - not jeans but preferably not suit pants either.

Jackets/sweaters - nothing with hoods, on the lighter side since it’s never THAT cold in Southern California.

The non knife bst post about the Patagonia jacket is what got me thinking about this, I’d have snatched it up quick if it was hood less
Click to expand...

Old Navy is my go-to for stuff like this. I have about 10 pairs of khakis and cargo pants in a bunch of different colors. I use the cargos for when I'm mostly in the kitchen and the khakis when I'm mostly in the office. I can order them online in my size. They look as nice as stuff that costs twice as much (and even less if you get them on sale) and hold up a long time.
 
I've had great luck with JCrew and JCrew Factory (outlet stuff) pants/chinos, shirts and sweaters. Even had some stuff for close to 15 years. Their cotton/cashmere blend sweaters are fantastic. Lightweight and soft enough with the little bit of cashmere, but most importantly, they are machine washable. Unlike cashmere.
Bonobos and Woodies make great pants.
Target's Goodfellow line and Amazons Goodthreads line are really good for the money.
Thursday boot co. are really good boots/shoes, for low-ish cost.
Allen Edmonds makes absolutely fantastic footwear. Both brands are recraftable and not just throw away products.
Spier & Mackay make great shirts
Lands End. I believe they still do lifetime guarantee, unlike LL Bean, which is still nice, but lost the lifetime guarantee a few years back.

Check out Dappered for deals, steals, tips and other cool things related to menswear

Years before knives I lived the business casual life and was very deep down the menswear rabbit hole. Never went down the route of making my own clothes though. Same can't be said about knives
 
Filson. I have a pro deal which makes it far more palatable but their Alaskan Guide flannels are the best I've ever tried, the waxed canvas jacket and the mackinaw wool cruisers are both worth the hype. That mackinaw wool cruiser is comfortable from 50°F to 15°, it just breathes and regulates your temp. I bring mine all over the country on my travels. The Mile Marker is a great Barbour-adjacent coat, nice for southern winters where it's often like 38° and rainy. Completely blocks then wind and acts like a shell so your midlayers can do their job. Plus it looks good and acts like armor going through the bush. I do a bunch of PFAS research so I can't wear standard outdoor/tech gear since everything has a DWR coating and that can cross-contaminate my samples. Gotta dress like a pioneer half the time.

They aren't showing the Mile Marker on Filson website right now, it'll be back when it's back in stock but I have this one and it's a handsome jacket that can dress up or down. With a nice wool sweater underneath you'll be fine in anything Cali winter has.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1253353227...vwE16EPgT9-cqG2EKJqSBvXMAO11H9i4aArfUEALw_wcB
Don't buy regular stuff like long sleeve or t-shirts from them, you'll be overpaying, but the things they do well like wool and waxed canvas, they do exceptionally well.

Darn Tough for socks. They are simply the best and worth the price.

for boots, I like Tecovas for western styling. Nice handmade leather and can be resoled. Same goes for Becket Simonon (loafers), Clark's and Meermin for Chelsea boots. The waxed kudu leather Chelsea's from Meermin are very cool and look nice, comfortable to walk in. Redwing is another good one for all round.

I like Orvis and LL Bean for business casual office khakis.

Edit: Lol I completely misread the explicitly business casual part. Sorry. Gonna edit this for more that leaning, dropped here in the meantime so you know I'm at least rectifying my illiteracy.
 
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SwampDonkey said:
Filson. I have a pro deal which makes it far more palatable but their Alaskan Guide flannels are the best I've ever tried, the waxed canvas jacket and the mackinaw wool cruisers are both worth the hype. That mackinaw wool cruiser is comfortable from 50°F to 15°, it just breathes and regulates your temp. I bring mine all over the country on my travels. The Mile Marker is a great Barbour-adjacent coat, nice for southern winters where it's often like 38° and rainy. Completely blocks then wind and acts like a shell so your midlayers can do their job. Plus it looks good and acts like armor going through the bush. I do a bunch of PFAS research so I can't wear standard outdoor/tech gear since everything has a DWR coating and that can cross-contaminate my samples. Gotta dress like a pioneer half the time.

They aren't showing the Mile Marker on Filson website right now, it'll be back when it's back in stock but I have this one and it's a handsome jacket that can dress up or down. With a nice wool sweater underneath you'll be fine in anything Cali winter has.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1253353227...vwE16EPgT9-cqG2EKJqSBvXMAO11H9i4aArfUEALw_wcB
Don't buy regular stuff like long sleeve or t-shirts from them, you'll be overpaying, but the things they do well like wool and waxed canvas, they do exceptionally well.

Darn Tough for socks. They are simply the best and worth the price.

for boots, I like Tecovas for western styling. Nice handmade leather and can be resoled. Same goes for Becket Simonon (loafers), Clark's and Meermin for Chelsea boots. The waxed kudu leather Chelsea's from Meermin are very cool and look nice, comfortable to walk in. Redwing is another good one for all round.

I like Orvis and LL Bean for business casual office khakis.

Edit: Lol I completely misread the explicitly business casual part. Sorry. Gonna edit this for more that leaning, dropped here in the meantime so you know I'm at least rectifying my illiteracy.
Click to expand...
I got a pair of redwings as a gift YEARS ago and returned them thinking I’d never wear them and they weren’t my style.

Now I wear boots almost daily and completely regret it. They’re definitely at the upper limit of my budget but I’ve heard nothing but good things
 
brimmergj said:
I've had great luck with JCrew and JCrew Factory (outlet stuff) pants/chinos, shirts and sweaters. Even had some stuff for close to 15 years. Their cotton/cashmere blend sweaters are fantastic. Lightweight and soft enough with the little bit of cashmere, but most importantly, they are machine washable. Unlike cashmere.
Bonobos and Woodies make great pants.
Target's Goodfellow line and Amazons Goodthreads line are really good for the money.
Thursday boot co. are really good boots/shoes, for low-ish cost.
Allen Edmonds makes absolutely fantastic footwear. Both brands are recraftable and not just throw away products.
Spier & Mackay make great shirts
Lands End. I believe they still do lifetime guarantee, unlike LL Bean, which is still nice, but lost the lifetime guarantee a few years back.

Check out Dappered for deals, steals, tips and other cool things related to menswear

Years before knives I lived the business casual life and was very deep down the menswear rabbit hole. Never went down the route of making my own clothes though. Same can't be said about knives
Click to expand...
I've always had a business casual office job, though these days I'm remote and don't buy much clothing anymore. I'll second JCrew, especially if you can wait to buy things on sale towards the end of the season. You can get 60-70% extra off sale prices and pick up nice button downs, pants, jackets, sweaters, etc. for really great prices and they last years and years. I almost never shopped outside their sale section.

Same for Allen Edmonds. Great quality footwear, huge range of sizes and widths, prices are high compared to typical department store brands but the step up in quality is worth it in my opinion. They also sell factory seconds which can be priced very well when they run sales and the flaws are usually not very noticeable.
 
I try to hit Banana Republic during their sale events, but I really like their Chinos. They have a number of fits for different body types, but they are super wearable and comfortable, Easily able to dress up with a jacket and nicer shoes.

Timberland Oxfords are my low tops. Incredibly comfortable.

Timberland Steel toes for my factory floor

Thursday Captains for my high boots.
 
Land's End Chino are good looking pants, last long time. Works well with button down oxford or polo. Catch a sale for great value and there's always a sale.

Rockport website for shoes of all types - I wear Xwide or 4E, 6E - and they have them.
 
J Crew is about as easy a recommendation for one-and-done business casual chinos/button downs/sweaters as you can get, but I wouldn't call it BIFL material anymore. More like "buy it on deep discount and hope they last more than 1-2 years" these days unfortunately. Their older stuff was consistently well made and some pieces are still are (their Wallace and Barnes line is generally solid if the style works for you) but as a brand they're much less consistent than a decade ago.

Club Monaco used to similarly be really nice at sale prices but has gotten more expensive and less durable.

I've gotten a few pieces from Taylor Stitch recently and they feel like a good step up in terms of material and construction, but haven't had them long enough to really judge.

Patagonia jackets/Better Sweater and such are great, long lasting, and versatile. I don't think their shirting or chino type pants are very flattering but YMMV. If there's an outlet near you, past season stuff can be an amazing deal during seasonal sales.

Rancourt makes a damn nice boot. Meermin is a good option for reasonably priced dress shoes, but they're not particularly comfortable.
 
Gshep91 said:
Boots (Chelsea’s / chukka) - have a couple from target that have been decent but looking for the next step up.
Click to expand...
I’ve been eyeing Paraboot for a little while. Also consider Danner, White’s, and others listed here.

Gshep91 said:
Pants - not jeans but preferably not suit pants either.
Click to expand...
I really like Outlier Strongdarts.

Gshep91 said:
Jackets/sweaters - nothing with hoods, on the lighter side since it’s never THAT cold in Southern California.
Click to expand...
Check out Wolf vs Goat’s sweaters (and t-shirts). Really, really nice materials. Good value on sale or if you join their rewards program for 50% off list price.

For jackets/outerwear, I’m slightly embarrassed to be a Veilance fanboy. Arcteryx’s jacket patterning is exceptional. Overpriced new (especially since it’s now made in China), so keep a lookout on eBay/Grailed for stuff made in Canada that’s in good condition.
 
Bonobos: pants are high quality and you can get multiple fits. I’ve got several pair that are going on year 7 and are worn about once a week (300+ wears).

Brooks Brothers: my preference for button downs and dress shirts. On the pricey side but decent sales occasionally. Lands End shirts are good, not buy it for life though.

Shoes: I’ve been too cheap to go with Allen Edmonds. I’ve got a few pair of Johnston and Murphy that are approaching year 10 and nearing a second resole. Redwings are great, solid boots that trend more casual/work wear than business casual.

I used to really like J.Crew. Quality has dropped in the past 5-7 years. Don’t expect to get 5-6 years of regular wear out of a lot of pieces.
 
Boots: Red wing, Zamberlan and Timberland Heritage

Socks: Another huge thumbs up for Darn Tough merino wool rich socks. Lifetime warranty (which I have used a few times) so they really are a buy-it-for-life proposition

Shirts & Tops: 45rpm (Japanese brand), Stussy (US made) & Stussy Deluxe, Stone Island and its sister brand CP Company (Italian made)

Jeans: Diesel eyecons, Fabric Brand selvedge (Japanese made but founded by an American), Kuro selvedge (exquisite Japanese denim)

Jackets: Belstaff, Arcteryx (the Canadian made stuff), Haglofs

95% of the time I buy used (Ebay, Ebay Classifieds and Grailed) and that makes all this hyper expensive clothing and footwear affordable. Just have to be SOOO careful to ensure they are genuine. So many of these High-end brands are faked, especially Stone Island, Arcteryx, Haglofs and Belstaff. I only use a credit card so I have a recourse to complain if counterfeit. The biggest failure was a $750 Belstaff Hook sheepskin jacket. I eventually got my money back but the seller was a total a$$$ about it.
 
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timebard said:
J Crew is about as easy a recommendation for one-and-done business casual chinos/button downs/sweaters as you can get, but I wouldn't call it BIFL material anymore. More like "buy it on deep discount and hope they last more than 1-2 years" these days unfortunately. Their older stuff was consistently well made and some pieces are still are (their Wallace and Barnes line is generally solid if the style works for you) but as a brand they're much less consistent than a decade ago.

Club Monaco used to similarly be really nice at sale prices but has gotten more expensive and less durable.

I've gotten a few pieces from Taylor Stitch recently and they feel like a good step up in terms of material and construction, but haven't had them long enough to really judge.

Patagonia jackets/Better Sweater and such are great, long lasting, and versatile. I don't think their shirting or chino type pants are very flattering but YMMV. If there's an outlet near you, past season stuff can be an amazing deal during seasonal sales.

Rancourt makes a damn nice boot. Meermin is a good option for reasonably priced dress shoes, but they're not particularly comfortable.
Click to expand...
Second the recommendation for Rancourt boots and shoes. Very well made and comfortable (tend to run a little big, like most hand lasted shoes and boots). Also a big fan of Patagonia and Arcyterx for pullovers and jackets.
 
Mikeadunne said:
I found Frye’s boots to be more comfortable than red wings in my limited experience. Thursday looks nice too but no firsthand experience.
Click to expand...
I had the opposite experience. A lot depends on the last used and I found Frye were too narrow for my feet.
 
Dappered.com

This is the way.

Heddels.com is also interesting to throw in the mix. Pricey, but most of it is intended to last a very, very long time. When I was a skinny road cyclist, I bought some Gustin jeans that I learned about on Heddels. Worth looking into depending on your style preferences / budget.

The only real clothing brand loyalties I have are Patagucci and Darn Tough :).
 
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For outdoor, along with Patagonia, Marmot is a good one. I once had a pretty nice marmot tent. After about 15 years the underside of the fly was going sticky. I called them about it and sent it back to them to look at. They couldn’t fix it so they gave me a store credit for the full original purchase price of $600. I wasn’t using the tent much anymore so got myself a sweet coat.
 
I’m going there!

I was commuting on a bicycle for years,6-10 miles a day. Rode in street clothes. One day I decided to splurge on merino wool underwear, whatever they call those tight boxers. Best garment purchase I ever made. They’re comfortable, light, don’t ever smell, love them.

My brand of choice is minus 33. The kato of knickers

https://www.minus33.com/collections...cts/acadian-mens-lightweight-wool-boxer-brief
 
I was planning to budget ~$1000 to update my wardrobe but damn, I might need to bump that a little or spread this out over a while 😂

Dappered.com seems like an awesome start so I appreciate that suggestion a lot. It’s nice to have sales easily available.

I absolutely hate buying clothes on line but I also never have time to go shopping so we’ll see how this goes
 
Gshep91 said:
I was planning to budget ~$1000 to update my wardrobe but damn, I might need to bump that a little or spread this out over a while 😂

Dappered.com seems like an awesome start so I appreciate that suggestion a lot. It’s nice to have sales easily available.

I absolutely hate buying clothes on line but I also never have time to go shopping so we’ll see how this goes
Click to expand...
lol $1000 doesn’t get you much these days
 
Dickies wear like iron, may be too casual. Second for bonobos chinos, look great, wear great, no complaints. Jcrew stretch chinos bought two years ago and have been serving me very well. For a dark horse, Swrve pants are for bikers, and the best I've found. 10 years strong and still look good.

https://swrve.us/collections/trousers
Banana Republic has thin merino sweaters that aren't too warm, but take the bite off an AC office. They're usually on sale or easily found at good will for some reason. You can get away with wearing them weeks without washing due to the wool. Smartwool and Ibex also make comfy classy stuff that you can wash leas often and helps temp regulate. Sierra Trading Post is your friend for deals. Free shipping over $98.

Thumbs down for Arcteryx, Kenneth Cole, and Darn Tough - I actually don’t find they last very long. I found the REI brand socks wear way longer (for wool). For synthetic socks, my ultramarathon cousin turned me onto Swiftwick. Don’t stink easy and last forever.
 
If you're buying clothing and shoes for life you're either buying ridiculous amounts of it or sadly departing us in relatively short order.
The best stuff made from the best materials may last longer but nothing lasts forever.
Even if it hypothetically did, odds are it simply won't fit anymore at some point.
 
Jovidah said:
If you're buying clothing and shoes for life you're either buying ridiculous amounts of it or sadly departing us in relatively short order.
The best stuff made from the best materials may last longer but nothing lasts forever.
Even if it hypothetically did, odds are it simply won't fit anymore at some point.
Click to expand...
lol mentioned that in the original post but yes, you’re right
 
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