10 Affordable Ways to Upgrade Your Wardrobe

Image via Complex Original

Been hitting the gym and now your old buttondowns and chinos don't fit anymore? Take 'em to the tailor. If you're buying quality pants, any tailor should be able to take them in or let them out. Fits and styles change constantly, and it will be easier on your wallet if you don't replace everything in your closet every season. Not to mention, clothes that fit you well now won't fit well on you +/- 20 pounds. After all, Thanksgiving is just a few months away.

Your Goodyear-welted loafers seen better days? Tired of the chunky vibram soles on your Red Wings? Take them to a cobbler and have them stick something fresh on there. As long as your shoes are able to get re-soled, you can put whatever you want on the bottom. Whether it's an all-season crepe sole or an out-of-the-box ripple sole, you can instantly transform a worn-out pair of desert boots from boring to bold. And it'll cost you a fraction of the original price. That's why it's a worthy investment to get well-made shoes. You can even track down a pair of old Goodyear-welted shoes from eBay or vintage shops on the cheap and put your own Mark McNairy-style twist on them.

Ripped your shirt? Lost a button? Recall your high school home economics class and fix it yourself. Don't stop wearing something just because you wore it too hard, mend it and rock it. Stuff like that gives clothing character, and even if you're not the best with a needle and thread, patch jobs add a certain degree of personalization to clothing, and might even make you want to rock it more. 

What, you didn't think you could rock a plaid shirt underneath your Supreme M-65 jacket from back in the day? Have a little bit more fun with putting stuff together. Now, we're not saying spend an hour in the mirror getting ready, but take two classic pieces with different influences — like a leather motorcycle jacket and slim, dark grey sweats, and rock them with fresh kicks like Jordans, or camo pants and a short-sleeve oxford like Men's Buyer Chris Green of Need Supply Co., pictured above. Congratulations, you've just created something different. Now figure out what you're comfortable rocking in public and who knows, you might even start a trend.

Brands like Engineered Garments and Rag & Bone pride themselves on their button selection, using contrast colored buttons and genuine vintage buttons to set apart their jackets and shirts. You can do the same, without having to cop a whole new piece. Fabric stores will usually sell buttons, and any capable tailor can sew them into place for a few bucks. Of course, you can also do it yourself for items like shirts too, which will save you more cash.

You've looked at your closet, and you see a lot of boring stuff. That's not a bad thing, it just means you can wear these things over and over. For a change, mix up your style with some statement pieces. Try stuff like a piece of vintage jewelry, an all-over print shirt, or a floral hat. It's good to have a closet full of versatile basics so that bolder items will stand out more, but don't go overboard with them. There's nothing wrong with playing it safe with your color palette on the regular.

Thrift, vintage, and consignment shops can be full of affordable gems. A solid bet? Military surplus gear and vintage jewelry. Whether looking for authentic camo pants and fatigue jackets, you're sure to come up on something dope. Don't count out finding classic stuff from labels like Polo, Versace, and ill athletic gear from the '90s. Take a cue from rapper Theophilus London and consider copping some one-of-a-kind vintage pieces at prices a lot less than it would cost you to buy something brand new. You're giving life to an old garment, and get to rock a piece that's unique to you, and no one else will have.

Back in the day, you'll hear stories of how groups of friends couldn't afford to come up on multiple pairs of Jordans, or numerous pieces of designer gear — so they shared them. There was nothing wrong with that, especially in a world of flea markets, vintage sellers, and eBay. But isn't it easier for friends to just trade dope gear to each other like it was school lunches or Pokémon cards? Just because you've become tired of a certain item doesn't mean you don't know others that wouldn't rock it, and in the same vein, maybe they've got an item or two that you had your eye on way back when, and they'd be more than willing to make a fair exchange.

Much like our brains, we probably only use a small percentage of our closets. Chances are if you sort through all the clothing you own, you're bound to rediscover a piece you haven't rocked in a while. Whether it's a well-worn pair of selvedge jeans or a sick tee you bought way back, putting these items back into your regular rotation could be the jolt of freshness your style needs. Either that, or if you decide you're not really feeling them anymore, donate 'em. 

Tie-dye is back, and you don't have any tie-dyed gear… but you do have a big-ass bowl and some white shirts. Instead of buying into all of the newest trends, see what you can do yourself. Like Frank Ocean's dip-dyed Sidian, Ersatz & Vanes shirt he was rocking on Jimmy Fallon? You can easily replicate that. Take a cue from Pharrell and customize a pair of Timberlands by drawing on them with a marker. Upgrade an old denim jacket or varsity with some dope patches. The possibilities are endless.