College student budget fashion

So I've decided that I should change up my wardrobe and turn it into a more smart/classy looking rather than just the usual sloppy jeans, runners, and a t-shirt. Problem is that I'm just a college student without a job. Should I buy a few quality clothes, or just go for many cheaper alternatives? I'm thinking of just buying items of clothing piece by piece and then slowly working to a more complete wardrobe.

Another issue would be footwear, since I've many owned just runners and crappy dress shoes that I wore to school (private school). I think I have about 4 shoes that I wear, chucks, dress shoes, toms, and asics runners.

Normally my outfits would just be some random pair of jeans, and a graphic tee or a polo. So what suggestions would Styleforum have for me to change up my wardrobe? Thanks!

save up for a few nice things vs a ton of ****** things.
that or h&m

Few quality clothes. Also people might **** all over you for making this thread. Justifiably.

Buy quality stuff on sale.

Or H&M.

go to buy/sell forum. win.

learn what the good brands are first and then depending on how much time you can dedicate to it and what city you live in, check out second hand stores. takes patience.

You named your problem in the OP
You have no job, you should get one.
I'm just a regular college student too but I buy all my stuff with money I make during my full time summer job and part time rest of the year job

also always go with the smaller amount of quality clothing vs a bunch of poorly made stuff
quality over quantity and really you save money over time buying a few things you really like that are made well instead of needing to replace often

I, too, am a poor college student. Buy quality off B&S. It's worth it.

I'm in a good mood, so I'll help you (and then probably just repost this the next time someone comes knockin'). In the future, use the search function and the stickied threads. Do this instead of replying to any of these posts.


i'm going to assume that the real goal here is to look good for the ladies, so...

College wear for fun and profit:

Your **** is going to get messy. Beer is going to get spilled all over everything you own. More than likely, you will sleep in the mud/bushes while wearing most of this stuff. Girls will rub themselves on your pants, which is great, but unhygienic.

First, get rid of your graphic tees. If you want to wear t shirts, and who doesn't, just get some blanks from hanes/american apparel that fit well in the shoulders.

Next, buy a pair of jeans. Everyone here will tell you to buy raws, and they are right. Don't ask what kind. You're getting away with this much, so you can do some forum research next. I will tell you that if you wait, jeans are cheap. Buy jeans that fit you.

Buy a pair of boots that are not desert boots. desert boots are boring and girls don't give a **** that they're based on imperialist ******-wear. Buy something with a slight heel. Do some research/read up on what you like.

Do not wear adidas all-stars with gelly stripes. Do not wear cargo shorts. Do not wear cargo shorts with your adidas all-stars. Chucks are whatever, but be warned that they will not get you any female attention. do not ******* EVER wear your running shoes unless you're working out, I don't care what you think you know.

Buy slim button downs on the cheap. take j crew button downs to the tailor, whatever. not everything has to be skin tight, but if you want to look like you take care of yourself, a good start is to buy clothes that fit you.

don't save up and buy **** that you'll regret buying. take advantage of fast fashion. Look at WAYWT. Most people are not spending a lot of money on anything. Emulate them.

finally, clothes are not going to make you look better/more classy/ more cultured. If you are a slob, cookie-cutter clothing is not going to fix anything. If you are interested in looking like a mature human, or even an immature but stylish one, don't go throwing your money around. Especially not during college. spend that **** on drugs and alcohol and parties. and some boots.

mostly, go do some ******* research

Thanks for all the replies.

Well I'm not entirely out of income, it's just that right now I don't have a job. I go to school full time, doing about 8 courses per term which doesn't really leave me time for a job. But I'm in the coop program so I will hopefully be working full time for 8 months next summer, which will give me a decent amount of cash.

Searching through the forums, it seems that APC jeans are quite popular, so I'm assuming that they are a good pair of jeans that I should look for? I live in Vancouver so sometimes it's tougher to find quality stuff that fits and doesn't cost an arm and a leg. As for everyday wearing casual shoes, would boat shoes or just loafers be preferred?

don't wear loafers, I don't know why people want to look middle-aged before they are. They don't make you look grown-up in the slightest. boat shoes are about as inoffensive and uninteresting as chucks. What's wrong with sneakers? Check the non-baller sneaker thread, and read through the apc and "sub-200$ denim" threads. Will someone post the uncontrol macro?

before asking more questions, at least go look at some ******* pictures, and when you inevitably have MORE questions, ask them in the proper places, please.

Not even taking quality into consideration, if you wear clothes that actually fit you, ie shirts that don't balloon out and pants that don't drag on the floor, you will be way ahead of the pack.

When I was an undergrad, the majority wore plain t shirts, hoodies, sweaters and paired with basketball shorts and usually high cut socks and Nikes/Jordans. And maybe a matching New Era fitted hat.

I'm actually in the same boat in that I've been slowly transitioning from my jeans + button down shirt to more of a look that I feel fits who I am. I'm not going to explain my style or aesthetic cuz I know it won't fit yours, but I will give you some insight based upon some mistakes I've made before with fashion.

First of all ditch graphic t-shirts...they are hideous. It didn't take me that long to notice that my express graphic tees were just tacky junk so I tossed them on ebay and made what I could from them.

Also, don't go for color as a way to be different. I started buying some colorful polos, and immediately stopped when I noticed it wasn't me plus I probably looked terrible.

Try to deviate from wearing polo shirts and jeans. Everyone that attempts to look "fashionable" or well-dressed goes for this at college, and it makes you just look like another lemming.

THRIFT STORES! I got some RRL jeans from there

In my opinion you should invest what you can (but don't be cheap) in some really nice boots for now. In your situation you can get away with wearing really nice boots.

Pair those boots with clothing that fits you well (isn't loose/baggy), and you'll look really good. In your situation I wouldn't try and buy top quality stuff, but I'd go to places like american apparel, H&M, etc for basic clothing that fits.

In the end if you are somehow able to invest in a couple of good pair of jeans coupled with decent boots and basic shirts you'll be fine in a college setting. Don't try too hard and start playing dress up just for college like me and buy designer **** lol



Definitely spend time reading **** here I learned a lot, which allowed me to branch out to more stuff.

Wish I was in undergrad and <22 again. I'd just wear exactly what I do now, albeit a pared down version.

-black leather jacket, preferably calfskin or something that will break in over time and last forever
-peacoat in a mild design with an elegant form
-white v-neck tees
-raw jeans (that you will wear out, replace with a fresh pair after a year, and then rotate new and old, or old and older), black overdye jeans
-expensive white low top sneakers, pair of hightops if you have the money, a pair of beater shoes for bars, a pair of leather boots, you could spend $1000 on these 4 pairs alone, easily
-a cardigan, a v neck knit
-one proper dress clothing ensemble, take that to mean a good suit that fits, a dress shirt that you don't disrespect by trying to pair it with jeans every Friday, a good tie, a good pair of dress shoes

All of the above might cost you about $3-4K, but you could wear it day-in, day-out. I do, still.

Originally Posted by Synthese

Click to expand...

I'm in a good mood, so I'll help you (and then probably just repost this the next time someone comes knockin'). In the future, use the search function and the stickied threads. Do this instead of replying to any of these posts.


i'm going to assume that the real goal here is to look good for the ladies, so...

College wear for fun and profit:

Your **** is going to get messy. Beer is going to get spilled all over everything you own. More than likely, you will sleep in the mud/bushes while wearing most of this stuff. Girls will rub themselves on your pants, which is great, but unhygienic.

First, get rid of your graphic tees. If you want to wear t shirts, and who doesn't, just get some blanks from hanes/american apparel that fit well in the shoulders.

Next, buy a pair of jeans. Everyone here will tell you to buy raws, and they are right. Don't ask what kind. You're getting away with this much, so you can do some forum research next. I will tell you that if you wait, jeans are cheap. Buy jeans that fit you.

Buy a pair of boots that are not desert boots. desert boots are boring and girls don't give a **** that they're based on imperialist ******-wear. Buy something with a slight heel. Do some research/read up on what you like.

Do not wear adidas all-stars with gelly stripes. Do not wear cargo shorts. Do not wear cargo shorts with your adidas all-stars. Chucks are whatever, but be warned that they will not get you any female attention. do not ******* EVER wear your running shoes unless you're working out, I don't care what you think you know.

Buy slim button downs on the cheap. take j crew button downs to the tailor, whatever. not everything has to be skin tight, but if you want to look like you take care of yourself, a good start is to buy clothes that fit you.

don't save up and buy **** that you'll regret buying. take advantage of fast fashion. Look at WAYWT. Most people are not spending a lot of money on anything. Emulate them.

finally, clothes are not going to make you look better/more classy/ more cultured. If you are a slob, cookie-cutter clothing is not going to fix anything. If you are interested in looking like a mature human, or even an immature but stylish one, don't go throwing your money around. Especially not during college. spend that **** on drugs and alcohol and parties. and some boots.

mostly, go do some ******* research

This.

And get a relationship with a tailor who does alterations.