Red suede shoes and a blue velvet jacket

 

Since my 20's, I would rarely spend money on clothes, for the most part, I simply did not have the money, then when I did, I had a mortgage and a family of 3 to support. However, now single, I am certainly not rolling in the money, but my priorities have altered. I now have a desire to dress well, believing in the adage that "It is better to dress up than down".
    Of course the blogosphere is full of male bloggers saying that all men should own at the very least a well tailored navy blue suit and then they continue to talk about work wear in the form of business attire. I do NOT wear a suit at work, my work wear is blue overalls, work boots and a hard hart. So I cannot really relate to those demanding I purchase a Navy suit.
    So how did my journey into an interest in style begin? Well, with my red suede shoes. Now bright red shoes are not the usual choice of most middle aged men and they certainly draw a lot of comments.

Purchasing these red suede shoes was the beginning of my journey

Truth be told it took be 3 weeks of not being able to forget them, before I relented and purchased, what was then the most expensive pair of shoes I had ever bought. Every time I wear them, I feel a smile form on my face and I feel good about myself, so I guess you could say that they were indeed a fantastic investment.
    To begin with I had figured that this was where my spending on clothes was to end. After all, my new shoes could be worn equally well in a casual or semi formal setting. What more could a guy need? It soon became apparent to me that my usual attire of blue denim jeans ,t-shirt and hoodie, not only looked tired and lazy but were not really all that age appropriate for someone closing in on 50.
    So after time spent looking online at blogs and social media and I soon realized that I wanted a Sports Coat/Blazer that could also work in a variety of settings, something that paired well with dark denim jeans and smart dress pants.
    After much research online, I headed off to the city totally confused about what I wanted to buy with my limited budget. I certainly found and tried on, a large number of fantastic jackets but the numbers on the price tags were causing heart palpitations.

      Then, on walking past the Hugo Boss, Ted Baker and Country Road attire, I spied a rack of heavily discounted menswear. Of course, I am not a man of slender proportions, I have broad shoulders and midriff which is disproportionately large for my height, this in turn meant that much of the discounted jackets wouldn't fit.
    There was however one that did, Navy blue in colour and made from velvet, not something that I was looking for. I let that jacket stay on that rack on and off all day, before eventually returning and laying claim to the 70% discount. I will admit that as I rode home on the train, I was experiencing some buyers remorse and doubted my choice of material. I mean its VELVET, what was I thinking?
    Of course, like my beloved red suede shoes, I now love my jacket. I don't wear it that often now as my wardrobe options have expanded somewhat, but it stills does pair well with jeans and my red shoes or with dress pants and polished brogues.
    These two items of clothing, altered the way I saw myself. Not only did I feel better, but I felt the desire to dress better on a daily basis. With the obvious exception of my overalls and work boots at work. I began to do more research and get a feel of what I liked, what I felt I needed to replace and most importantly for me, how I could do so without breaking the bank.
    Sure, I've made some less than ideal purchases and am much wiser for it, the end result however is I now possess a great wardrobe of clothing, suited for all occasions and have an understanding of my own personal style and taste in accessories. By the way, I still haven't bought a Navy Suit. I also have an abundance of advice gleaned from my own experience on do and don'ts and ways to save money on purchases.