Building a classic menswear collection is an ongoing journey–and today, I’ll walk you through my wardrobe, show you the purchases I’ve made to build it, and discuss some gaps I’d like to fill!
Today, I’ll give you some insight into where my wardrobe stands currently (as of the filming of this video in the fall of 2020), and what I like and dislike about it. By the way, stay tuned for Part II, where I’ll dive more specifically into my collection of accessories, coming soon!
Preston’s Closet Tour (Transcript Lightly Edited)
This is most of the full scope of the closet. Obviously, I take up roughly half of the real estate here; the other half belongs to my wife. Space-saving hangers certainly do come in handy for me here in our humble apartment. A special thanks to my friend, Tim, for gifting them to me!
Minnesota Twins Jersey
The first item I suppose I could mention, because I do keep it in my closet, is a Minnesota Twins jersey. Of course, I am a baseball fan and not absolutely everything in my wardrobe is classic menswear-inspired!
Jackets
Moving on to jackets – we’ll start first with odd jackets – we’ve got this piece, which is louder and bolder in almost kind of a madras-like pattern or at least a plaid overall. But I do like the color scheme and like to have something a bit bolder as an option in my wardrobe.
Next up is one you’ve seen many times. This is a camel hair sport coat – a vintage model. In fact, it’s got the football style buttons as you can see here. I am a big fan of this one and wear it quite often; as is also the case with my double-breasted navy blazer. This is a vintage model that I found secondhand, as well. And this is another one of my favorites.
Obviously, it’s got contrasting buttons, which makes it a blazer. If you’d like to learn more about blazers, you can find our video on the differences between those sport coats and suit jackets here.
Next up, another sport coat you’ve seen quite often. This one in a kind of a charcoal color with a herringbone pattern. I’ve had this one for quite some time, but I do quite like it.
Here is another vintage second-hand model. This one in kind of a more bold blue color. You can see it’s only selectively lined here. So I will wear it commonly in the summer, and I do appreciate the slight knobbiness of the weave in certain areas here. And it’s just a bold and distinctive color so, again, I enjoy wearing this one in less formal settings.
And another herringbone jacket; this one in linen. I’ve only had this one for a few years, but it’s become one of my fast favorites and, of course, you’ve seen it in several posts and videos.
Full Suits
I also have full suits in the closet. So I will start with this one. This is a two-piece in not quite a navy blue, perhaps more of a medium or even a royal blue.
Next up here is the black suit obviously one you don’t see very often. Again, black – not a terribly versatile color. We’ve got a guide on whether or not you should wear a black suit, and how often you can, which is something you might enjoy.
I’ve also got a brown patterned suit. It’s another two-piece, of course, and it is a vintage model. But, I do appreciate the dark, kind of charcoal brown color, and, obviously, subtle pinstriping. I also find it quite nice.
Next is a newer acquisition from Suit Supply, as you might be able to see on the hanger there or on the inside of the jacket here with this nice bold lining. And you can learn whether or not we think Suit Supply suits are actually worth it or not in our Suitsupply Review post.
Finally here, for suits, we’ve got a charcoal model with kind of a subtle pattern and texture in the weave. This one is the sole three-piece suit in my collection with a waistcoat here, as well.
Wardrobe Gaps
As far as gaps In this part of my wardrobe are concerned, I think I would like to add some more full suits to my collection – single and double-breasted styles, two-piece and three-piece, probably some incorporating more patterns. Most of my suits are solids, so, I would like to add some of those, perhaps a medium gray suit that fits well would be one that I would like to acquire.
As far as the odd jackets are concerned, I feel that you can never really have too many of those.
Shirts
I have a white ground with a microgrid pattern in a light blue and green, a simple blue and white striped model, a Prince of Wales check in blue and yellow over white. Also, I have a plain blue, a blue gingham pattern on a white background. I’ve had many of these in my wardrobe for several years. Some of them, almost 10 years at this point.
Warmer hues shirts are organized here. I have one in a plain pink pastel, of course; another micro-check pattern in red and blue on a white background. I have one in a purple color that I believe Tira calls lilac.
This one again, here, in a glen check in a more traditional kind of cooler purple color. I also have one in pink and blue, again, on a white background. And you will note, as well, that most of my shirts again happen to be French cuff models. I quite like French cuffs and cufflinks, but more on cufflinks when we talk about accessories.
Next up here, a microgrid in green kind of lime green on a white background. Here. another twill weave shirt – this one in a yellow pastel. I have another one with a micro-check in blue and yellow on a white ground; another check pattern. This one I like because it’s got several colors in it. There is orange, there’s purple, there’s green, and there’s blue. And here we’ve got my plain green shirt.
Next up here, another check in a darker blue and kind of a magenta color. This one, another of my oldest dress shirts. I believe it is from Calvin Klein, and it’s another micro-check, of course. You can see I’m quite fond of those because they are versatile; they have character without being too flashy, for the most part.
This one, of course, is in light blue and black on a white ground. Here, we’ve got a finer stripe in gray and white, and this one is in ecru or off-white.
I’ve just got a collection of white shirts. I’ve got a few spread collar models here. Although, I really don’t have too many spread collar shirts in my wardrobe.
Short-Sleeved Shirts
As we continue moving through the racks here, we’ve got short sleeve button-ups for more casual ensembles in warm weather. Summer is a more casual season. In a lot of circumstances, overall, I find that these short sleeve button-ups are good for those kinds of casual ensembles.
And here, we’ve got my selection of short-sleeve button-ups from Charles Tyrwhitt. These also have button-down collars, which again reinforce that they are, indeed, casual shirts.
Polo Shirts
Still in the realm of short sleeves, but we’re moving on now to polo shirts. This one, one of my favorites. I’ve had it for many years and I like it quite a bit. In a navy blue color with a textured kind of weave that gives a sort of striped feel.
This empty hanger here is for the shirt that I’m currently wearing. You’ve seen this one in videos elsewhere in the channel; in kind of a grayish-blue color with variegated white stripes. This one, is in fact, from Polo in a navy color, as well, and kind of a thicker coarser weave.
Here’s one more turret model. This one is a flannel in kind of a dark magenta, sort of a jewel-toned color with accents in gray and blue. And you can find our video on how to wear flannels here and here. Of course, these are not shirts at all but my odd waistcoats, which I wear on occasion with my jackets. This one is in navy blue with a subtle lighter blue overcheck.
I have one in a micro-check of sort of brown and blue tones that are very subtle. And this one – in plain black. Although, again, I don’t wear it terribly often because it isn’t too versatile. So, that rounds out the shirts in my wardrobe.
Trousers
We’ll start here with my white pair of trousers. These are from Brooks Brothers, as you can see by the hanger here. I don’t believe I’ve actually worn these in any videos for the channel, as yet. Although, you have seen them, given that I did wear them as part of the sort of club formal look that I wore for my wedding ceremony. You’ll find that almost all of my trousers are plain. I find that it helps to ground outfits in a very simple way, especially when my shirts are incorporating more patterns.
So, we’ve got, for example, a khaki color here, charcoal gray, a medium to a slightly lighter brown. Here’s a black pair, one of a few. This pair, slightly more unique, in sort of a gunmetal blue-gray, perhaps you might call it. This pair is one of the few patterned pairs in my wardrobe, although the pattern is very, very subtle. Here’s another black pair. This is actually the oldest, uh, pair of trousers that I still have in my wardrobe.
Here, we’ve got a navy blue, another black pair, a bolder medium blue, another brown pair. These have a bit of a warmer tone than the other brown pair.
And here we’ve got another sort of khaki color, although this is a bit more in the stone range, and this empty hanger here is for the pair that I’m currently wearing in kind of a taupe shade somewhere between gray and brown. So, they can work in either family and they’re versatile in that regard.
As far as gaps in my wardrobe, I feel that I do have a fairly solid collection of trousers here. Although, I’m always on the lookout for more pairs. I might incorporate some more patterns, as well, in the future. And as far as shirts are concerned, again, I feel that I’ve built up a fairly solid wardrobe here. Though, I’m also always on the lookout for new shirts, as well.
In particular, you’ll notice that, although I do have many colors here, I don’t have any shirts in an orange shade. So, that’s one that I’ll be on the lookout for, and I would like to get more casual options and more polos in the future, as well.
Sleepwear
My bedside seemed like a perfect place to give you a brief look at the few sleepwear options that I do have that fall into the realm of classic menswear. We’ve got here a matching set of pajama shirt and pajama pants. Also part of that set, actually, was this robe; as a matter of fact, too, in kind of a navy blue color fairly simple there.
This is an old pair of slippers, kind of a moccasin style that I’ve had for many, many years and kept around. I’d like to get a more formal style at some point, but just for the sole functional purpose of keeping my feet warm, they do their job and they’re not terribly bold or flashy in how they look. And here, of course, is my vintage dressing gown in kind of a burgundy red color featuring some fairly bold accents.
You’ve seen this, I believe, briefly in our vintage buying video, as well as in the interior design classics video.
Shorts and Undershirts
Believe it or not, I do have a small collection of shorts, although you probably won’t see them in a video anytime soon. I’m not a frequent wearer of shorts by any means; not even in warm weather. Although, I do have a few pairs and here, of course, undershirts in white but also in gray to more closely match my skin tone; to be worn under dress shirts that are particularly thin. Having shirts in a different color than plain white can sometimes be a smart choice.
Casual Trousers
In this drawer, we’ve got more casual trouser options like denim jeans, of course, as well as things like corduroys for when casual pants are the order of the day.
Sweaters
I also have a collection of sweaters, most of which you have seen on the channel in some form. Things like plain blue, blue, and brown in a pattern. Here, this more rustic brown model.
This one – brand new to my collection. Haven’t even removed the tags yet again from Hawes & Curtis. Stay tuned to see if we produce a video on them. Here, my wine colored cardigan from Charles Tyrwhitt, one of my favorites. This one – in a berry purple color.
These particularly soft sweaters, I could fold but they’re decently well-spaced in this drawer, so I never really have too many issues. A bit of a spritz with vodka can usually take wrinkles out.
This one in plain black. Here, a sweater vest in light gray and this one, a quarter zip in an oatmeal color that you’ve seen a time or two on the channel.
Under Things, Athletic Wear & Swimwear
And down here in the bottom drawer, mostly what I’ve got down here is extras of underthings, pajama socks.
Here is where I mentioned you can find a bit of athletic wear, as well as some swim trunks of various different types. But that about covers the dresser. All right.
Large Hall Closet
So, now we’ve moved from the bedroom to the large hall closet, which contains the remainder of my wardrobe. So, up here on the top shelf, unglamorous but you can see I’ve got a couple of boxes. This is where I keep all my shoe polish, shoe brushes, shoe care, shoelaces, shoe bags. All of that, perhaps, a subject for a future video. We definitely plan to do more with shoe care in the future.
But, moving on here to what we’ve got in the closet. This is a piece I wear quite often. Standard navy blue Harrington jacket from Polo Ralph Lauren, one of the staples in my wardrobe. And we’ve got a couple of garment bags here, of course, from various places. This one from Suit Supply, I believe. That one more heavy-duty, of course.
Moving on, these three pieces, again, are brand new acquisitions at the time we’re originally recording this video. These from Hawes & Curtis. Here’s my overcoat area. This one in navy blue. This one in plain black. And you can see a pair of Fort Belvedere gray gloves in that pocket. I’ve kept them in there. We, of course, have a relatively wide selection of glove styles, as well. So, be sure to check out the Fort Belvedere shop for that.
This one, a vintage military overcoat. You can tell, of course, from the buttons, as well, there. I may get the buttons replaced if I choose to wear the coat just for its color. I certainly wouldn’t want to be accused of stolen valor or anything of that nature.
Here is my collection of scarves. I won’t go over these terribly in-depth, but you can see this one in kind of grays and browns, another gray model, some burgundy red, blue. This green one, knitted for me by a friend.
This one in a check pattern, again, in browns and grays. Here, in what might be called a macro herringbone pattern, perhaps. Uh, here’s a more standard herringbone in gray, and, I believe, that about covers the scarves, at this moment. I would, of course, like to get some Fort Belvedere scarves into my wardrobe, as well. Here, a shorter overcoat-style.
This one in a charcoal gray color, and this one, perhaps, my favorite a vintage camel hair coat that I picked up from a small local shop. But I quite like that one, and we’ve got various other pairs of Fort Belvedere and other gloves here in the pocket, and these burgundy ones are touch screen compatible gloves. So, quite handy there. Let’s do a bit of reconfiguring here, and then I can show you some of the other elements, like Black Tie and a few pieces I don’t wear terribly often.
Formal Wear
Next up here, we’ve got formal wear, and then also pieces in my collection that, for one reason or another, I don’t wear terribly often. So here, of course, a standard pleated front tuxedo shirt, which you have seen a number of times on the channel before. A pair of Black Tie trousers with the single gallon or braid along the side here in black.
Two ivory dinner jackets, both featuring shawl collars. This one – single-breasted and this one – double-breasted, a more recent acquisition. A vintage model originally from Sam’s Tailor in Hong Kong. You can also see the sleeve style here.
Another pair of Black Tie trousers with a grosgrain braid, but these are actually unhemmed. I have not worn them, but I keep them on standby here.
We have a variety of different White Tie and Black Tie jackets, as well. This one – a vintage shawl-collared tailcoat, which was given to me by a friend of mine. In fact, it was maestro Andrew Casey with whom I’ve collaborated on a few concerts and different things. You can learn more about him in my concert video.
Here is one of my vintage Black Tie tuxedo jackets – double-breasted here. Although, you can see that it is in need of a bit of steaming and ironing, and I, perhaps, will even have to do some restoration work on these lapels. That one in midnight blue, as is this vintage tailcoat. You can see the vintage, almost kind of grosgrain-inspired buttons here. Next up is another tuxedo jacket. This one, again, in black with a peak lapel and single-breasted in style.
Other Pieces
Here then are pieces that I still have in my wardrobe, but that I don’t wear terribly often. This again is a medium to light gray suit and that was included in my things I regret buying video because it is a very cheap quality, but I don’t wear it because it doesn’t fit me very well nor does this houndstooth sport coat, which you have seen before but again is fairly large on me, so I don’t regularly wear it. I would like to get a sport coat in a houndstooth pattern that fits me better than this one does.
This jacket you’ve seen a few times before. Again, kind of boxy on me. I will wear it from time to time. I do like the pattern, but again, I would like to get something similar that fits me better. This jacket fits me fine. It’s a vintage model, obviously, in green. A single-breasted blazer with contrasting buttons. Fits me well, but is so bold that I just don’t wear it very often. I will on occasion. This jacket, also a bit boxy on me, in shades of blue and brown but could be tailored a little bit to fit me well. I think it’s at least roughly within my wheelhouse.
This is a waistcoat, uh, that does not have any sort of size adjuster on the back so is a little large on me. And finally, here, you have also seen this jacket in a bird’s eye weave in a few various other videos; also a little boxy on me, and the sleeves are a bit short, as well. But, I think with some tailoring, I could get this jacket to fit eventually.
Shoes
I have excavated my shoe rack from the closet. We can actually start with the pair I’m wearing here. These are tobacco brown suede loafers from Scarosso, a favorite pair of mine.
So starting in on my shoes, we’ll just work from the top down. We’ve got here a pair of cap-toed, black derby shoes. I’ve had these for almost close to 10 years now, I think, and they’re definitely starting to show their age a little bit.
We have here a pair of single monk straps in black. These were covered as part of our shoe series. Here we’ve got a pair of Allen Edmonds loafers in black. These do also have rubber soles, but given that they are Allen Edmonds shoes they can be resoled when the time comes for that to happen.
And here on the end, we have a pair of dark brown, sort of chocolate brown, uh, suede loafers. I quite enjoy those, as well. Here is another pair of Allen Edmonds. These in sort of a woven leather design in a medium brown; good as a summer shoe. You’ve seen these shoes a few times on the channel, especially in my early days when I first started with the Gentleman’s Gazette and hadn’t really built up much of a shoe collection yet.
Obviously, as you can see, rubber-soled shoes and quite thick rubber-soled shoes at that. This here, a pair from Moral Code. You see I’ve got shoe trees in them right now. Also covered in our shoe series, they are derby’s with broguing, but no medallion on the toe, which is interesting; makes them slightly unique in that regard, I suppose. Another pair of Allen Edmonds. These are Park Avenues, I believe, in a brown color.
If I work in a zigzag pattern here, these shoes from Undandy, are in kind of a chocolate brown suede with contrasting laces. The laces are actually from Fort Belvedere, and you can find many different colors of laces in our shop. Here, we’ve got a pair of wholecuts from Ace Marks. I like these shoes quite a bit. In addition to how they look, I very much appreciate that hand-painted patina. They are excellently comfortable shoes. I absolutely love wearing them, and they never give me any trouble.
Here is another Allen Edmonds, of course, this a traditional penny loafer-style in kind of a dark oxblood color. Of course, to almost all of my shoes, I have had rubber half soles or soul savers put on. I’ve got poor balance due to a physical disability, so I will often augment my shoes with various things.
These rubber half soles, I’ll often put in insoles to control sweat and moisture as I do also have a condition called hyperhidrosis. And, occasionally, these tongue pads, as well, to get shoes to fit better. So all of those different devices can help me with my footwear, to get things to fit me better.
Here, we’ve got a pair of gray suede derbies. This from the brand Heinrich Dinkelacker and they feature Johann Rendenbach soles. Here, a pair of Sperry Top-Sider – perhaps the classic boat shoe. And you can learn more about boat shoes in other videos we have produced.
This, certainly, is a bolder shoe from a, basically, a fashion outlet called Strange Island. We again reviewed them as part of our shoe series. And here, a pair of brown and white spectator shoes. Again, wingtips. These are cheaper shoes. I found them on relatively short notice because I wanted to wear a spectator style for my wedding, and given that it was just as we were getting into the thick of the Covid-19 pandemic, my options for purchasing were a bit limited.
In addition to all of those, I will also highlight here a pair of rubber overshoes. These come in very handy in wet weather and also in the winter months. Here, we’ve also got a pair of dark leather, again, kind of an oxblood color of some dress boots made by a company called Parkhurst. I don’t wear these terribly often as I’m not much of a boot guy, generally.
And then, of course, that brings us to my final pair – my vintage pair of Allen Edmonds opera pumps. You can see that I should perhaps re-dye the bows at some point on these, but these have served me well when wearing various Black Tie ensembles over the years. I’ve also now had rubber half soles put on these.
In addition to the shoes that I showed on the shoe rack here, there are a few other pairs in my collection as well. There are a pair of burgundy oxfords from Beckett Simonon and a pair of tan derby shoes with a bit of broguing from Allen Edmonds that I didn’t show today because they’re currently undergoing a bit of restoration and repair.
Another two pairs that you didn’t see were a pair of green suede loafers from Loake and a pair of moccasin-style loafers from Velasca, both of which aren’t in my regular rotation because they are a bit too big on me, even with modification.
Rounding out this group of shoes that you didn’t see would be a pair of wingtip oxfords from Taft, which I’ve decided to use as an experimental pair to see how I can do different types of shoe polishing techniques, and a brand new pair at this time of black oxfords from Carmina.
And, as far as shoes are concerned, you can see that I have several styles already and perhaps my biggest issue is that I’m currently running out of space. But, certainly, I would always welcome other shoe styles in my wardrobe. So, stay tuned for more shoe content.
What’s Inside YOUR Wardrobe?
Additional Wardrobe Gaps
I would also perhaps like to get a few other overcoats in the future, and as I said, more odd jacket styles, which we also covered earlier. But with that said, that basically covers my whole wardrobe as it stands currently. So, let’s head back to the studio and I’ll give you a few closing words there.
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed this look at the current state of my wardrobe and a peek at my apartment. As I alluded to with the pieces from Hawes and Curtis, my wardrobe does continue to change and evolve over time which, in essence, is one of the broader themes of this video.
So, whether you’re just starting out on your sartorial journey or you’ve got a well-stocked collection that you know like the back of your hand, chances are that there’s always room for at least one new piece or for a new combination of pieces that you hadn’t considered before.
And if it’s been a while since you’ve done a thorough evaluation of your own wardrobe like I did today’s, we’d suggest that you do so. You may find garments that you’d like to toss, repair, or donate or you might just come up with some new ideas for how to put your wardrobe elements together.
How refreshing to hear someone who knows that when you start a phrase with “as far as,” you need to put “is/are concerned” at the end of it (5:10). I don’t think that many people are going to watch this entire video, though (I certainly didn’t).
Preston is proof that almost everything looks good on tall and thin. Bravo Preston!
Good to know the composition of Mr. Schlueter’s wardrobe (apologies if I butchered the spelling). Just to sate my own curiosity, what is the manufacturer of your poor fitting gray suit? Also, on an unrelated note, for the “i”s in the headings, I noticed they had dots over them when the rest of the letters appeared to be capital (I believe this is also present in the black tie guide). I do not know if it is intended to be this way or not so I just thought I’d point it out.
Wishing you a very happy and healthy new year,
Luqmaan
After the pictures of the shoes there should be pictures of what kind of socks he wears that go best with the shoes and clothes.
I think there’s a GG article by Sven Raphael Schneider about how to match socks with pants.
There is! Thank you :)
Hi Fred! You might find this guide interesting: How To Combine Socks, Shoes & Pants
Great presentation. I can totally identify with your choices. Now if we can just get past covid so we can go to a restaurant.
Hi Guys.. I’m quite surprised to note that many items of clothing worn on the show need ironing/pressing.
Maybe you wouldn’t actually wear them in that condition, or would you? perhaps they’re just worn for the video, but certainly a crease down the front of trousers would help..
As a Brit, I don’t always see things from your perspective, but hey Preston, great presentation.
Hi,
Is the reason to buy leather soles just for the (usually) superior quality they bring, or are leather soles better in other ways? Many people put rubber sole protectors/’topys’ on their leather soles, which I think would slightly defeat some of the advantages of leather soles (that some people like the sound more). What do you think?