Considering how many different ways I squander my money, it’s usually not a bad idea for me to upgrade my wardrobe. Compared to booze, gambling, and other areas which generate nothing material, this at least puts my money to work. Now my philosophy is that I’m prepared to spend a decent amount of money for something that is nice and will last a long time. Buying cheap never was my mentality because it looks inferior and clothes tend to stay with you for a long time once you stop growing. Plus the cheaper the faster it wears down.

Things I needed included a new pair of dress shoes, some dress shirts, a jacket and normal winter wear. My first stop was at Macy’s in the Plymouth Meeting mall. This Macy’s attempted to cater to both the casual and upscale consumer. Some brands I noticed were Club Room, Alfani, Nautica, Hilfiger, Polo, Calvin Klein, Van Heusen, Kenneth Cole and various others. Their selection was fairly weak for a clothing store. Nevertheless I’m not really that picky where I shop and Macy’s was a fine start. I bought a 4 pack of Champion boxers for 24 dollars. Sounds ridiculous but these are cotton and for some reason I just have a hard time finding pure cotton boxers so I willing to pay 6 dollars per pair for years of use. Seriously think about it and then say that’s expensive. I then looked at some shoes and went with a Bostonian brown dress shoe for $59.00 that were retailed at $85.00. Next, I purchased a Calvin Klein coat for outside and a zip up, non hooded, sweat shirt. The non hooded, zip up sweatshirt is actually not as common as you think. They had no dress shirts I would wear in public. I was rung up and the total was $254 with an addition 20% off for having a Macy’s card for a total of 200 bucks.

After I left Macy’s I decided to look at the dress shirts in Jos. A Bank. I walked in and asked the clerk what’s a good deal on dress shirts? He said the Traveler’s series usually retail for $82 but we are selling them 50% off. Sounds good. I purchased two and asked about their shoes and he said they retail for $130. That’s a bit steep considering I don’t intend to wear them everyday. I kept looking around and saw a nice coat retailing for $285. I asked if there was any discount on the coat, he checked, he said it was selling for $103 dollars. I told him I wanted to go to my car and compare it with the Macy’s Calvin Klein coat. After looking in the mirror it was clear the Jos. A Bank was the better coat for a mere $30 dollars more. I purchased the two dress shirts and coat and returned the other one to Macy’s with no problem. How did I do?