The iron, no Fitch and your own wardrobe

Apologies for the Narnia-lite title, but I think it sums up where this business of looking good for less really starts.

It might sound a little bizarre to suggest that the best place to begin is in your own wardrobe, but I think it makes a lot of sense. Firstly, running an iron over a large number of items already hanging in their would undoubtedly breathe some sartorial life back into them in an instant.

Also, and more importantly, my view is that the key to looking stylish is nailing your own personal style, and the only way you can do that is by taking a good look at your current crop of clothes. Are you primarily a jeans and T-shirt guy? Or do you like to scrub up a little better with some smart trousers and a pair of brogues? Perhaps you’ve become evangelical about the Americana look and can’t see yourself in anything else.

Photo: Kalyana Sundaram

I think the thing to establish is what your signature look is (by which I don’t mean that you like wearing a white shirt and navy jeans every day of the week, but that you appreciate the finer points of a shirt and jeans combo), a style which will naturally have an element of you imprinted on it and that you feel comfortable in.

So where does the Fitch come in? Well, I don’t reckon I’m the only one who thinks there’s very little chance of pulling off any ‘personal’ outfit on the streets of London with “A&F 1892” emblazoned anywhere on your person. Individuality is one thing that the Abercrombie boys can’t sell you.