Unshackling the Chains That Make You a Slave to Fashion

I've been away from the work world for about nine months now, and during summer in Toronto, the weather is warm on most days, and some days, downright hot and muggy. So, I've been living quite comfortably in my current wardrobe of choice - a pair of shorts and a loose T-shirt. On cooler days, I may wear the occasional pair of jeans and a sweater.

This is a very different wardrobe from my work attire which normally consists of a suit and tie, or at minimum, a long-sleeved dress shirt and pair of slacks. On very important meetings and events, shirts with double cuffs and cuff links were necessities. Since being off work, I noticed that my expenses related to dressing for work have almost disappeared. My dry cleaning bills are few and far between, I don't need to do as many loads of laundry, and my shopping for work clothes has, understandably, stopped. This got me to thinking that how costly it can be to dress for success, but how it can be minimized. Admittedly, women have it harder than men - their fashions change far more frequently, they are under greater scrutiny from their colleagues (and mostly, other women), they are exposed to more advertising on TV, magazines and billboards. Add to that, shopping - for many women - serves as a leisurely past time, if not a sport. Men, on the other hand, can get away with having a few suits, a few crisp dress shirts, a selection of ties and a nice looking pair of shoes.

Nevertheless, women tend to also make their own situation worse by following fashion a bit too much. Being a slave to fashion is both costly, impractical and ultimately futile. Firstly, many of the hip and trendy fashions (especially women's) may only last a season, therefore the items they purchase has a very limited shelf life, and becomes destined to the Goodwill bag relatively quickly. Secondly, many people purchase clothes but never wear them (hands up to any woman who has never bought an item that wound up unused in her closet with the tag still on it?). Thirdly, very few people are trendsetters, and by the time the fashion trend hits the streets and is marketed to the masses, it has already started to lose its cachet, soon to be replaced by a new style.

So, you might ask, what's the solution? If you want to maximize your fashion dollars, start listening to fashion experts who will tell you that the best way to assemble a wardrobe is to start with the classic pieces that will never go out of fashion. For both sexes, it may be a plain dark blazer or suit (you can never go wrong with black or navy blue), a classic white shirt or blouse (forget the frills, pleats or puffs), pair of black pants or slacks, plain coat, dark pair of jeans, and a nice pair of leather shoes. For women, add a classic cocktail dress (the little black dress never goes out of fashion) and a plain skirt.

I have a weakness for nice suits, but instead of buying 20 suits in a variety of different colours and patterns, I own 5 great quality, all wool suits in navy, black, grey, charcoal and light beige (mainly for summer) that will hold me in good stead at any occasion. I buy only single breasted suits, as it makes my appearance slimmer and is not as formal or as old-fashioned as the double-breasted variety. If you're tight for cash, my advice is to buy one or two more expensive suits rather than three or four cheaper suits. Why? Because they are more likely to be better constructed, provide a better fit and last longer than a cheap suit. So, if you buy a classic, single breasted, three-button navy blue or black suit, it will never go out of fashion, and becomes the foundation of your wardrobe. Want to be a bit more casual? Pair the jacket with a casual shirt and pants. Want to remain fashionable - buy a skinny tie that is currently in vogue. The key is to invest in a few good pieces, and supplementing them where necessary rather than wasting money by slavishly trying to follow trends.

For women, it may be a bit more difficult, and my advice is to invest in the staple items mentioned above, and complement it with fashionable scarves and other accessories. If you were really feeling the peer pressure, buy a cheaper brand of that fashion style, so that you don't throw money away on something that you'll have to wait 20 years for it to come back into fashion. Example, there are hundreds of thousands of women that spent hundreds of dollars buying 'Uggs' branded boots, that are now gathering dust in a closet somewhere in their homes. Every year, men and women have a ritual of cleaning out their closets, looking embarrassingly at clothes that are no longer in style, and placing them in a garbage bag that will be dropped off at their local Goodwill or Salvation Army thrift store.

So, save money by unshackling the chains that make you a slave to fashion. And by the way, I do clean up nicely when I go out.