What are YOUR favorite brands of daily-wear clothes and why?
For the most part, I have never considered myself a brand snob or to really have much preferrence when it comes to the clothing I wear day to day. My main prefference is usually price/affordabilty and general comfort. To be fair, my body shape is not one that screams "look at me" (in a good way) so I never felt the need to be the bastian of high fashion. working in a professional setting I do tend to TRY to look the part, this has typically meant wearing a button-up shirt (with or without tie), slacks of some sort and dress shoes. Since 2020ish I have focused less and less on the "professional" wear and more on a comfortable semi-professional casual wardrobe.
As I have been loosing weight and changing shape I find that I need to buy different clothes and as I do this I am finding there ARE differences between brands. I am sure these differences have always existed but I am curious what my fellow Cadre folk have to say about the brands I find myself trying out.
Sketchers- It took me awhile but I have fallen in love with Sketchers. It took a visit the store to see and try on different styles but now I am a real fan. I love the slip-in style and how well they wear. My favorite so far have been from their Walk-in line, they have been great for daily wear and active stuff. My least favorite has been the "hiking" shoe. The brand has some dress/casual styles I will give a try soon. A BIG postive for the brand is they offer a wide/extra wide option that really fits me well.
Ariat boots- My goto boot and daily "Dress" shoe are Ariat brand Roper style boots. Again, grab the EE wide and life is pretty good. These boots last a long time and if cared for properly can be shined up to be decent dress shoes.
Pronto Umo- My go to dress shirt over the last 10-15 years has been Pronto-Umo. Main reason is they look and fit well and I can easily choose one off the rack based on size and know it will fit. I am sure there are other brands that look as good but why change it if its working. PRoblem is my whole dress shirt wardrobe has become too big for my current wieght and shape. I still need the larger neck size but this means the rest of the shirt is too big...so a new brand might be in order.
Kirkland- I have found Kirkland dress shirts are a good value and often fit/look well. As a brand Kirland clothing is usually a good quality/value but I have never found the sizing to be SO consistent that I could just grab something of the pile by size and know it will fit.
Wrangler- I have been a "Wrangler guy" for a long time. My daily wear dress pants are Wrangler slacks, those things last for EVER and look good for a long time. I also like their western (snap) shirts. My jeans pants are also wrangler AND my shorts are wrangler. My main issue with Wranger recently is that they introduced pants and shorts with a strange eleastic stretchy feel and I HATE those. Now I have to be very careful what I order to be sure I am not getting those strechy abominations.
Levi- I was a Levi kid, lived in 501 button fly jeans so i makes sense that my first dress pants would be "Levi Action Slacks". I don't know why I switched from Levie to Wrangler so many years ago but it happened. I have recently picked up some Levi pants and shorts and am pretty happy with them. I have noticed one BIG difference between my Wrangler pants and the new Levi pants... the location of the fron belt loops!. Wrangler loops are spaced firther from the button than Levi, sounds trvial BUT if you wear a larger buckle on your belt then the Levis don't work. Who would have thought I would have to worry about belt loop location when grabbing a belt from the closet.
Some new brands I have tried:
True Fit- this internet based brand is one of many that claim to provide t-shirts that are supper comfortable and tailored to fit a well muscled man while allowing their big belly plenty of extra material. I have to admit they are comfortable and fit well. Although they seem to think everyone wants extra length shirts, the result is a shirt that is too long (or at least LOOKS too long on me). This brand offeres t-shirts AND polo's and even has pnast etc so there is some potential here. I like the casual polo's but find the collar too floppy to be dressy enough to call it semi-pro. They have a new more professional polo but I haven't tried it yet. I don't like the pricing but its not bad.
3 fit theory- another internet based brand that claims to provide a more tailored fit for YOUR body type. They use a questionair to preapre the first shipment and you try on a few different options and choose what fits the way you like. The shirts are comfortable and fit well enough but aren't magical. Like the true-fit brand, they have a very limitted selection of colors (All solid, no pattern) so there isn't a reason to buy a whole lot. The prices aren't terrible but there are a few prcing gimicks to be aware of.
As I look to refresh my wardrobe I am interested in what brands others enjoy.
For the most part, I have never considered myself a brand snob or to really have much preferrence when it comes to the clothing I wear day to day. My main prefference is usually price/affordabilty and general comfort. To be fair, my body shape is not one that screams "look at me" (in a good way) so I never felt the need to be the bastian of high fashion. working in a professional setting I do tend to TRY to look the part, this has typically meant wearing a button-up shirt (with or without tie), slacks of some sort and dress shoes. Since 2020ish I have focused less and less on the "professional" wear and more on a comfortable semi-professional casual wardrobe.
As I have been loosing weight and changing shape I find that I need to buy different clothes and as I do this I am finding there ARE differences between brands. I am sure these differences have always existed but I am curious what my fellow Cadre folk have to say about the brands I find myself trying out.
Sketchers- It took me awhile but I have fallen in love with Sketchers. It took a visit the store to see and try on different styles but now I am a real fan. I love the slip-in style and how well they wear. My favorite so far have been from their Walk-in line, they have been great for daily wear and active stuff. My least favorite has been the "hiking" shoe. The brand has some dress/casual styles I will give a try soon. A BIG postive for the brand is they offer a wide/extra wide option that really fits me well.
Ariat boots- My goto boot and daily "Dress" shoe are Ariat brand Roper style boots. Again, grab the EE wide and life is pretty good. These boots last a long time and if cared for properly can be shined up to be decent dress shoes.
Pronto Umo- My go to dress shirt over the last 10-15 years has been Pronto-Umo. Main reason is they look and fit well and I can easily choose one off the rack based on size and know it will fit. I am sure there are other brands that look as good but why change it if its working. PRoblem is my whole dress shirt wardrobe has become too big for my current wieght and shape. I still need the larger neck size but this means the rest of the shirt is too big...so a new brand might be in order.
Kirkland- I have found Kirkland dress shirts are a good value and often fit/look well. As a brand Kirland clothing is usually a good quality/value but I have never found the sizing to be SO consistent that I could just grab something of the pile by size and know it will fit.
Wrangler- I have been a "Wrangler guy" for a long time. My daily wear dress pants are Wrangler slacks, those things last for EVER and look good for a long time. I also like their western (snap) shirts. My jeans pants are also wrangler AND my shorts are wrangler. My main issue with Wranger recently is that they introduced pants and shorts with a strange eleastic stretchy feel and I HATE those. Now I have to be very careful what I order to be sure I am not getting those strechy abominations.
Levi- I was a Levi kid, lived in 501 button fly jeans so i makes sense that my first dress pants would be "Levi Action Slacks". I don't know why I switched from Levie to Wrangler so many years ago but it happened. I have recently picked up some Levi pants and shorts and am pretty happy with them. I have noticed one BIG difference between my Wrangler pants and the new Levi pants... the location of the fron belt loops!. Wrangler loops are spaced firther from the button than Levi, sounds trvial BUT if you wear a larger buckle on your belt then the Levis don't work. Who would have thought I would have to worry about belt loop location when grabbing a belt from the closet.
Some new brands I have tried:
True Fit- this internet based brand is one of many that claim to provide t-shirts that are supper comfortable and tailored to fit a well muscled man while allowing their big belly plenty of extra material. I have to admit they are comfortable and fit well. Although they seem to think everyone wants extra length shirts, the result is a shirt that is too long (or at least LOOKS too long on me). This brand offeres t-shirts AND polo's and even has pnast etc so there is some potential here. I like the casual polo's but find the collar too floppy to be dressy enough to call it semi-pro. They have a new more professional polo but I haven't tried it yet. I don't like the pricing but its not bad.
3 fit theory- another internet based brand that claims to provide a more tailored fit for YOUR body type. They use a questionair to preapre the first shipment and you try on a few different options and choose what fits the way you like. The shirts are comfortable and fit well enough but aren't magical. Like the true-fit brand, they have a very limitted selection of colors (All solid, no pattern) so there isn't a reason to buy a whole lot. The prices aren't terrible but there are a few prcing gimicks to be aware of.
As I look to refresh my wardrobe I am interested in what brands others enjoy.
