How the Internet Dresses Me

You may or may not know this, but I am a big fan of disruption. Disruption: a product or company that enters an established industry with the intention of turning it on its head.  I love that stuff. And there’s a lot of money to be made if you do it right.

One of my least favorite pastimes is clothes shopping. Aye de mi. It’s just painful. As an upcoming junior in college, I landed my first major internship at a large company downtown. The dress code is business casual and I owned 0 (zero) polo shirts and just one button down that I had worn a total of one time. Needless to say, I had to build my wardrobe but didn’t know where to begin. And for someone of my size, that’s a daunting task. I’m a fairly thin guy at about 5’11” and clothes just don’t fit me right, especially dressy/business clothes made for beer bellies and parenthood.

Dress Shirts: Hall & Madden

I used to wear dress shirts that didn’t fit at all. They would be baggy or low quality and just not fit well. Not to mention I thought I looked like a Tommy Hilfiger model in them. I was wrong. I didn’t know how to shop for dress shirts but all that changed when I read this article on TechCrunch. The title caught my eye but the simplicity of the idea caught my debit card.

I’ve been wearing Hall & Madden shirts for the past 7 months and love every single one. The service sends a pack of 3 high quality dress shirts every order period but you don’t know what styles or patterns are in the box. For someone like me, this is perfect. I can argue with myself for weeks whether or not something looks good. But if a stylist takes the time to send a pre-approved handsome shirt, I’ll wear it the next day. Hall & Madden comes out to $50 a shirt with free shipping. Hard to find that kind of deal in Banana Republic or Express. (They changed their order frequency since that article was written. They now deliver every 3, 4 or 6 months.) I wear the Slim Cut.

There are three great aspects of Hall & Madden:

1. Fit: Their shirts fit me like a glove. Like a glove made for my upper body. The sleeves are a bit long but that is forgiven since waist and chest sit perfectly on me.
2. Variety: If you told me a year ago that I would be wearing a pink button down to work, I’d laugh in your face. But, that’s exactly what I’m doing.
3. Compliments: I’ve gotten compliments on my shirts a number of times and I’m quick to share with them the secret of Hall & Madden. Something my Target shirts never did.

Belts: Mission Belt Company

I’ve had the same black and brown belts for about two years now and my black one is about to fall apart. You know when you fold a belt so much it eventually creases and starts to pull apart? Yeah, that’s what’s happened to me. But for my birthday, I asked my brother for a Mission Belt. This one to be exact. I saw it an on episode of SharkTank and figured why not. It is actually a really high quality leather belt. And since it’s more of a zip-tie than a regular belt, it should last longer than my broken one did. I plan on getting a brown one in the next few weeks. I like having options.

Shaving: Harry’s

Being 1/4 Asian, I don’t have a huge need to shave all that much. I probably cut my whiskers once a week, maybe twice if I’m feeling manly. But my lack of lumberjack genes can’t stop my love of disruption. That’s why I just bought a Harry’s set for myself and my step-dad for Father’s Day. These guys saw a problem with how razors and razor blades are sold and decided to fix it themselves. You can get a handle and 3 blades for either $15 or $25. Blades are $2 a piece after that initial purchase. If you use this link to purchase a set from them, I can get 4 blades for free. That could last my fu manchu a good 4 months! https://www.harrys.com/?ref=5545f1314c

Here is what my step-dad had to say about his new shaving kit when I asked “How was the new razor?”:

AWESOME. Man it was so smooth. Just a really nice blade. Cream is different than foam but works really well. The blade was just very different feeling than any I have tried before. Felt like it was gliding more than cutting. Cool stuff. Thanks!

TIMN (This Is My Next):

Quarterly.co: I’m always looking at the contributors of this site. I was gifted a package for my birthday this year and really enjoyed the contents. I think curated items are just fun and I am happy to support fun through personal funds. (Just like with Hall & Madden.)

Sock of the Month Club: This subscription may have to wait until I have some more expendable income. I’m just tired of my dress socks. I’ve had the majority of them since high school. They’re just “bleh”. And I want “yeah!”.

Proper Suit: I look at this as an investment into my career as an IT consultant. I purchased two suits from Jos. A Bank and really like one of them but kind of hate the other. The first one is slim and fits me well. The other is not a slim cut but the sales rep recommended I get one of each. The whole process just kind of angered me. I’d love to have a suit that’s made from scratch for me and once they have my measurements, then you can just place an order for a new one online. Plus, these are the same guys behind Hall & Madden and I trust in the quality they’ve provided me before.

Am I being ridiculous? Should I just go to the store and suck it up? Have you bought any of these products? Have any recommendations for me? Let me know in the comments below.