What's a Boy to Do?

when it comes to personal style, i'm hoping to one day come close to the casual cool of steve mcqueen.

unfortunately, it's damn near impossible for a fella with a modest clothing budget, stockier frame and an extreme distaste for many of the styles popular for an under-40 man to pull that off these days.

here's why...




1. cost

unless i want to look like a total shlub, most times i gotta drop a lot of green to look at least somewhat decent. i'm trying to revamp the old wardrobe but due to what i can only assume is price gouging, it looks like it will be taking a bit longer than i really wanted. seriously, why does a decent-looking, solid colored, button-down shirt have to cost $60+?

i've tried going to some of the discount-y, overstock places like tjmaxx, marshalls and stein mart and have been severely disappointed. it is extremely rare that i find anything worth a damn at a reasonable price in any of those stores. which leads me to my next point...

2. i'm picky

* i'm neither tall nor rail thin. this means you will probably not see me in an outfit like this:

the cardigan/jacket paired with a t-shirt is already a staple of my casual wardrobe. however, even if i wanted to wear skinny jeans, i couldn't do it because of my body shape. the shoes on the left are ridiculous (bad).

* i think button-down shirts/jeans with 'art' and 'manufactured distressing' make a guy look like a douchebag:

* men's dress shoes have gone from timeless to vomitous. everything is overstitched, curly/pointy toed, overpriced for having a rubber sole or clunky as all get-out.

3. options are limited

so, where can i go in the indianapolis/cincinnati/columbus triangle to find reasonably priced, fashionable, simple and timeless clothing?

* i've tried going online to places like overstock.com and belk.com. what there is - in terms of menswear that fits my parameters - is limited. also - while discounted - things are more often than not, still out of my price range.

* i've gone to discounted/overstock shops like tjmaxx, marshalls, stein mart, dsw and k&g. the amount of clothing available can be pretty good but for what i'm looking to achieve, it is severely lacking. surprisingly, prices aren't as reasonable as the advertising would lead you to believe.

along the same lines, outlet stores are hit or miss and often times not as discounted as we have been led to believe.

* i've even tried thrift stores and vintage/consignment shops. thrift stores/goodwill are always hit or miss and good luck finding something in your size. vintage/consignment shops have very little available for men, if anything at all.

* the places that have clothes that seem to fit me best - banana republic, express, gap and old navy - all have their downside.

br, express & gap are all ridiculously expensive.

old navy, while reasonably priced, carries primarily casual-wear.

so, outside of going to a tailor or jetting off to a fashion-centric city like nyc, i'm pretty well stumped...what's a boy to do?