The Devil Wears Patagonia

Author: Jordan Nassar

I never said that looking good was easy. If you're lazy, it will be visibly evident, both in terms of your body and your clothing - exercise and careful shopping are necessary. If that's too much to ask, stop reading now. As I've stated before, apparently not everyone cares about looking and feeling good. I'm not forcing anyone to do anything - I'm just here to help those who are interested. If you're not interested, stop reading, stop complaining, I don't care.

Additionally, I never said that looking good was expensive, nor that it requires designer clothing - a common misconception, and one that I aim to disprove right here, right now.

Your North Face shell and fleece go for $399, a waste of money, especially since nobody looks good in one. My favorite outerwear is a leather Members Only jacket that I got from a thrift store right here in Middlebury for $10. With a hooded sweatshirt,(American Apparel, $36), maybe a long sleeve thermal shirt (American Apparel, $24) and even a sweater (thrift, no more than $20) and I match your warmth, with style and for $309 less. For those colder days, army surplus coats always do the trick, and can by found for less than $40. Thrift stores are chock-full of pea coats, trench coats etc., and the best thing about those stores is (unless you go to a "vintage store" in New York, which means huge markups), they don't realize how nice some of their clothing is. Try any Salvation Army, but be warned - it takes time to sift through all the garbage in there, one mustn't be lazy.

For tops, I rarely buy other than thrift. I refuse to spend $75 on a boring Lacoste polo shirt when I have a large collection of unique vintage ones, all thrift, that were between $5 and $15 a piece. Likewise for sweaters, cardigans, long sleeve shirts Ö you name it. This might be a bit harder for girls, but it's only your effort that must be raised - I know many a lady with a closet full of amazing finds, each article between $5 and $30. Again, it takes time, but it pays off - literally - with the additional bonus of owning unique clothes that aren't made by the thousands anymore.

Thrift stores are also a good source of accessories - gloves, bags, hats, belts - and all for a couple of bucks. I don't buy any of the above new - mostly because I don't like most of that which I can afford from stores - and I save lots of money.

We Manhattanites make one exception to the thrift-store-wardrobe rule - jeans. We've always splurged on jeans, spending upwards of $100 per pair - but we only own two or three pairs, max. A few elements of a wardrobe should be a bit more of an investment, specifically jeans and shoes, as you own many fewer pairs of both than you own t-shirts, and wear them much more frequently. Jackets also might allow a bit more money, but you only need three or four (one black, one brown and a wild card or two).

I want to be clear that designer clothes are not the only way to be fashionable. In fact, it's rare to find other than the extremely wealthy or those who work in fashion wearing designer clothes - but that doesn't mean the rest of us can't look just as good, if not better. I have two pieces of designer clothing, both of which I found at a Salvation Army for under $6 each, and which I bought because I liked them, not because they're designer. Other than that, my closet remains stylish, yet designer-free. So there.

Thus, I'm sorry to tell you, you've lost the "money" excuse. How about you just stop making excuses altogether, and put some effort into how you look? Being lazy is unacceptable, even if many people do it. In the end, you'll feel better about yourself, and have more money, if you take my advice and stop going to overpriced, under-cute stores such as the Gap, Polo, Lacoste, Northface and so on. It's just a fact.