Author Topic: Men's Mustachian Wardrobe  (Read 12484 times)

wealthviahealth

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Men's Mustachian Wardrobe
« on: March 09, 2015, 08:27:46 AM »
Have any of you guys on here had any experience with Mizzen+ Main clothing?

I recently learned about the company via the Tim Ferriss podcast and was sold on the idea of having
dress shirts/ pants that will absolutely not wrinkle and that are made from moisture wicking material
that does not absorb odor/ sweat stains. Ironing,dry cleaning, and worrying about the appearance of my clothing is probably my least favorite thing about working in a professional environment. 

Tim and others have said that they only take 1-2 of these shirts on longer trips and that they can easily be worn for a week straight without needed to be washed. When you do wash them, you simply hang them up to dry which only takes 15 mins.

I just ordered my first two dress shirts and can give a full review after a few wears.
Check them out here:  http://mizzenandmain.com/?aic=SDCPNN7

JLee

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Re: Men's Mustachian Wardrobe
« Reply #1 on: March 09, 2015, 08:34:22 AM »
$125, damn.

Cromacster

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Re: Men's Mustachian Wardrobe
« Reply #2 on: March 09, 2015, 08:39:03 AM »
$125, damn.

This was my first reaction as well.  Not exactly mustachian.

wealthviahealth

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Re: Men's Mustachian Wardrobe
« Reply #3 on: March 09, 2015, 08:46:42 AM »
$125, damn.

This was my first reaction as well.  Not exactly mustachian.

I had the same reaction at first as well. Then I got to thinking about my current dry cleaning costs as well as sheer time spent on laundry/ironing for the week. If I built my professional wardrobe around 3 of these shirts, this would not only help eliminate decision fatigue each day when deciding what to wear, but it would also greatly simplify my packing for trips which could also get me down to just one carry one bag. For a $375 investment up front, I think I would pretty quickly get my money back with the amount of travel and dry cleaning I have been doing. They also have a great guarantee on the quality/longevity of their shirts so I imagine these will last much longer than many of my current shirts in the $50 range. 

JLee

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Re: Men's Mustachian Wardrobe
« Reply #4 on: March 09, 2015, 08:47:43 AM »
$125, damn.

This was my first reaction as well.  Not exactly mustachian.

If they last a very, very long time, I could justify it - but buying $15 shirts every few years has been okay so far.

RexualChocolate

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Re: Men's Mustachian Wardrobe
« Reply #5 on: March 09, 2015, 09:44:43 AM »
I doubt each of these shirts is worth 4x Combatant Gentlemen shirts.

https://www.combatgent.com/shirts

Wear the above every day, for important days get 3-4 custom fitted shirts (around the $125 price point usually) and a nice suit.

Makes way more sense than buying the next 'latest and greatest' fabric. If its any good, it'll be commoditized soon. Doubt it beats formaldehyde soaked cotton which can be had for a fraction of the cost.

darkcait

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Re: Men's Mustachian Wardrobe
« Reply #6 on: March 09, 2015, 10:25:54 AM »
My husband wears the non-iron shirts from Banana Republic. He has one for each day of the work week, we wash them and hang them dry. After 2 years they still look new and there is no dry cleaning or ironing. They are usually 30% off on the Banana Republic website, but sometimes you can get them for around $30 each at the outlet store. They also come in tall sizes online, which he needs.

FLBiker

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Re: Men's Mustachian Wardrobe
« Reply #7 on: March 09, 2015, 10:33:29 AM »
I don't dress super formally at work, but I do wear button down shirts and slacks everyday.  I never iron -- I buy stuff that doesn't wrinkle and hang them up damp.  And I don't know that I've yet disposed of a new shirt (some thrift store ones) from being too worn out.  One thing that might help is that I don't wash them every time I wear them.  I wear undershirts, and I only wear work shirts at work (I bike in and change).  Thus, I find I can wear my shirts multiple times before I need to rotate them home for a wash.  I probably buy a couple of shirts every year or two, and replace my pants (3 or 4 pair) as needed.  I've found that the formal wear store at our lowest tier mall (K&G Super Store) is a great place for work clothes.  Pants and shirts are in the $30-$40 range.

I like the look of the combatant gentleman, and the price seems pretty good.  Only problem is I don't see "long" versions (I only looked at a couple).  I've got long arms.  (I'll check out Banana Republic).

Interesting topic.

Fuzz

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Re: Men's Mustachian Wardrobe
« Reply #8 on: March 09, 2015, 05:35:24 PM »
The no-wrinkle brooks brother's shirts are around $67 on sale. If you need to courtroom/boardroom clothes for work, those are plenty durable and amazingly wrinkle free out of the drier.

wealthviahealth

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Re: Men's Mustachian Wardrobe
« Reply #9 on: March 10, 2015, 10:21:18 AM »
Spent a bit more time on the company's site and one of the other things I like about mizzen+main
is that the clothing is 100% american made and they make a strong effort to employ as many vets as possible.

The shirts  do still come with a price tag but along with the quality/ function they will serve for me, I also feel better knowing that these are not sweatshop made.

RexualChocolate

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Re: Men's Mustachian Wardrobe
« Reply #10 on: March 10, 2015, 11:48:09 AM »
Spent a bit more time on the company's site and one of the other things I like about mizzen+main
is that the clothing is 100% american made and they make a strong effort to employ as many vets as possible.

The shirts  do still come with a price tag but along with the quality/ function they will serve for me, I also feel better knowing that these are not sweatshop made.
You're making a luxury purchase, which is fine if it maximizes your utility, but not a "Men's Mustachian Wardrobe" which was your stated goal.

If you want to give to charities, then do so. Don't buy into marketing, which is what you've fallen for here.

Bob W

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Re: Men's Mustachian Wardrobe
« Reply #11 on: March 10, 2015, 01:10:48 PM »
http://topbranddesigner.tarad.com/product-en-412301-Brooks+Brothers.html   Here are some non iron BB shirts cheap.

I am into buy Made in America so if the shirt you mention rock your boat please buy them.   Wish there was more emphasis on this site regarding buy USA first.

There would be no trade deficit and no unemployment if we all simply said stop the madness and buy made in USA always.   


JLee

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Re: Men's Mustachian Wardrobe
« Reply #12 on: March 10, 2015, 02:11:35 PM »
http://topbranddesigner.tarad.com/product-en-412301-Brooks+Brothers.html   Here are some non iron BB shirts cheap.

I am into buy Made in America so if the shirt you mention rock your boat please buy them.   Wish there was more emphasis on this site regarding buy USA first.

There would be no trade deficit and no unemployment if we all simply said stop the madness and buy made in USA always.
Sure there would be. Some people simply don't want to work. :P

RexualChocolate

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Re: Men's Mustachian Wardrobe
« Reply #13 on: March 10, 2015, 02:12:37 PM »
There would be no trade deficit and no unemployment if we all simply said stop the madness and buy made in USA always.

This just isn't true. I think mercantilism was pretty much completely debunked in the 1600's by Adam Smith.

agent13x

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Re: Men's Mustachian Wardrobe
« Reply #14 on: March 10, 2015, 02:13:07 PM »

If you want to give to charities, then do so. Don't buy into marketing, which is what you've fallen for here.

+1

I say the same for paying taxes for charitable purposes too, but that offends some people. (Taxes aren't charity.)

RexualChocolate

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Re: Men's Mustachian Wardrobe
« Reply #15 on: March 10, 2015, 03:02:57 PM »

If you want to give to charities, then do so. Don't buy into marketing, which is what you've fallen for here.

+1

I say the same for paying taxes for charitable purposes too, but that offends some people. (Taxes aren't charity.)

You're right. Charity is given freely, taxes are taken with a gun. Unless you mean overpaying your taxes as charity!

However, I would definitely buy the argument of considering your charitable contributions already made when your effective tax rate starts eclipsing 30% or so.

GetItRight

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Re: Men's Mustachian Wardrobe
« Reply #16 on: March 10, 2015, 03:25:01 PM »
I am into buy Made in America so if the shirt you mention rock your boat please buy them.   Wish there was more emphasis on this site regarding buy USA first.

There would be no trade deficit and no unemployment if we all simply said stop the madness and buy made in USA always.

Unfortunately the US government pushes production out of the country with some of the highest taxes in the world and ludicrously complex labor laws, unions don't seem to help matters either these days. Reducing available jobs by artificially raising the cost of labor harms people, but tends to get them on the welfare dole. Start repealing laws and companies would either bring some production back into the country or at least stop outsourcing so much of it, increasing available jobs and potentially increasing quality too. For what it's worth I tend to buy American when I can find an American product. Occasionally the cost is too high for me to value any small increase in quality and other times it's just too much work to track down an American made product and then too long a wait to get it when a functional (albeit lower quality/fit/finish/longevity) China product is on the shelf. Much of the higher price is paid to the government, not to the company or employee.

As for shirts, that site the OP mentioned is ridiculously expensive. I can't speak to the quality but honestly my $10-$40 shirts usually last many years of every week or every other week use before getting worn out. I may have a much more flexible definition of worn out though, generally so thin the shirt tore open or the holes in shoes are getting too large. Anyway, some of the cheaper shirts are clearance rack specials and may not be the most popular style, but are presentable and functional. I avoid the type that wrinkles easily and needs to be ironed, too much work to do that all the time.

MoneyRx

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Re: Men's Mustachian Wardrobe
« Reply #17 on: March 10, 2015, 03:40:06 PM »
Started out my professional life doing the $10 shirt thing from kohls, jc penny, etc. (have about 5 of these), but I have been phasing them out lately and going for a little costlier ~$30 type shirt from men's wearhouse, express, Jos A Bank. There is a huge quality and look difference between those tiers and some of my $10 shirts are wearing around the collar , sleeves, and elbows (after about 4 years of use). At this point, I don't see any reason to go higher quality than that $30 tier, they work well with/without tie and with/without a suit, and they look really good. These shirts can be machine washed/dried and don't require ironing if you take them out and hang them up.

I also don't wash them very often, I have enough shirts to last me 3 weeks or so, 4 days/week and I wear multiple times before a wash.
« Last Edit: March 10, 2015, 03:44:39 PM by MoneyRx »

wealthviahealth

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Re: Men's Mustachian Wardrobe
« Reply #18 on: March 11, 2015, 02:06:05 PM »
It sounds like many on here have done well with conventional mens work clothing.

My biggest hang up is having shirts wrinkle when I hang them up in my cramped gym locker ( I workout over lunch)
as well as sweat issues in the hot months.
I love the idea of biking to work or going for walks over lunch break but come June-September I simply cant do this with my current wardrobe.

I have long been toying with the idea of a work "uniform" to minimize daily decision and stress  and will be experimenting with three of these shirts to see if how it suits me. They are expensive but I am hoping the peace that not doing as much laundry/ ironing or even thinking about my daily work ware will be well worth in the long run.

Have any of you successfully adopted a uniform? I wouldn't even mind a very simple and "boring" look like Steve Jobs, but it would of course have to be much more professional for my line of work.

MoneyRx

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Re: Men's Mustachian Wardrobe
« Reply #19 on: March 12, 2015, 09:34:01 AM »
I fold my shirt and pants gently and lay at the bottom of the gym locker on top of my shoes while I work out and haven't had any issues with wrinkling. I think this would work better than hanging in a tiny space.

jeromedawg

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Re: Men's Mustachian Wardrobe
« Reply #20 on: March 12, 2015, 03:04:38 PM »
Been fortunate enough to work entirely for companies don't care much for forcing employees to dress up strictly in business attire or even business casual. So I have gone to work wearing pretty casual polos, casual long-sleeve button ups, and even t-shirts at times with either jeans, khakis, or very occasionally, shorts. My wife loves shopping at Old Navy, Gap, and Banana Republic mostly. So that's primarily where I get most of the items listed above. It's been a while since we've gone on a clothing shopping spree out of 'necessity'. I used to wear business/business casual attire for church but it's been well over a year or two since I stopped after attending a different church. I have a whole section of business attire clothing that I never wear anymore. I should probably consider donating most of it at this point in time.

I hope to never work for a company that requires me to dress up in business attire *knocks on wood* - of course, it doesn't hurt to look nice once in a while haha! In fact, one of the old mgrs at my current place told his employee that he basically should "dress the part" if he wants to get into a mgmt position, so he took that mgr up on his advice and now that guy is in a lead position. He still dresses-up probably more than everyone else in the office but I guess he feels empowered in doing that :)

coachese

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Re: Men's Mustachian Wardrobe
« Reply #21 on: March 12, 2015, 03:25:06 PM »
My biggest hang up is having shirts wrinkle when I hang them up in my cramped gym locker ( I workout over lunch)
as well as sweat issues in the hot months.

Can you throw a clothes hanger in your bag and hang your shirt outside the locker?

thef0x

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Re: Men's Mustachian Wardrobe
« Reply #22 on: March 12, 2015, 06:27:44 PM »
I could wear the same outfit everyday for a year because I own/run a business so without any constraints on what I need to or should wear..

I choose to wear Levi jeans that are cheap on Amazon ($40) and fit well and I always get the same size and just change up the look / replace colors.

I have two handfuls of shirts for various temperatures and styles.  Plenty to choose from but choices are limited / do not require any effort.  I don't mind wearing the same shirt three or four days in a row and am clean and smell great (thanks Paleo).  Jeans I wash maybe once a month. 

I wear Under Armor sports briefs exclusively and they are magical, well worth the investment!  I also do the same for socks (and have 1 pair of wool socks).  I threw away all the cotton and have saved TONS of money on laundry!  Super easy.

Work out --> head home --> shower w/ socks and undies in the tub --> rinse em --> throw them in a tub of hot water with a bit of soap --> soak em all night --> rinse them the next day --> hang dry

I barely use more water than I would normally and I have fresh clean washed underwear and socks.  When traveling just rinse them out under the sink, seriously, it will get 80-90% clean with just water. 

Have 1 rain jacket, an awesome leather bomber jacket I got for free, a cheap light weight down jacket as a super warm minimal layer, and some sweatshirts.

That's it!

In total it probably cost me a fair amount and given my lifestyle, I'm super happy with the choices I've made (I'm 27 and single and having a great time being well dressed).  At the same time, I've used hacks like you suggest to gain percentage points WHILE fulfilling my goals (now and in FIRE). 

Eric

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Re: Men's Mustachian Wardrobe
« Reply #23 on: March 12, 2015, 07:02:35 PM »
I'm surprised you guys have so much trouble with this.  I must be a laundry and shirt folding genius or something, because I never iron my shirts, I fold them and put them in a backpack twice a day for my ride to/from work, and I wear them multiple times between washings.  I never have problems with wrinkles.  And I buy the cheap stuff like this:

Started out my professional life doing the $10$15 shirt thing from kohls, jc penny, etc.

But I specifically don't buy the "no wrinkle" kind, only the regular type.  I buy the mostly cotton kind (80/20ish, but it varies).  They actually wrinkle less in my experience.  I feel like the no wrinkle part of the no wrinkle shirt wears out very fast and actually ends up being way more wrinkly in short order.  Plus they're mostly synthetic fabric so they don't breath and I sweat more, so the shirts need to be washed more often which leads to their wearing out quicker.  You get the picture. 

The mostly cotton are way better.  I hang them up out of the dryer while damp and they dry without wrinkles.  I think that's important.  Don't let them get all the way dry.

Vertical Mode

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Re: Men's Mustachian Wardrobe
« Reply #24 on: March 12, 2015, 08:15:39 PM »
As a slim guy, I have difficulty most of the time finding anything inexpensive off the rack that will fit me properly. Most standard dress shirts in the correct nominal size end up fitting like a tent with all the extra fabric at the bottom. Perhaps not for everyone, but I've had good success buying shirts from the consignment store and/or Macy's with the correct critical dimensions and tailoring them myself to taper the fit down to my liking. That way, I can get shirts with good general construction and dodge the fit issue. The more complex the pattern, the more difficult it is to alter without it looking a little off, so plain white ones work best with this approach. I suppose one could attempt something similar for the bottom half, but I think at this point that's beyond my skill level.

Haven't really had issues with fabric wearing out, mostly just routine maintenance replacing buttons here and there. Ironing is rare, but occasionally necessary if I need something wrinkle-free in a pinch.

coffee

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Re: Men's Mustachian Wardrobe
« Reply #25 on: March 14, 2015, 08:46:58 AM »

Tim and others have said that they only take 1-2 of these shirts on longer trips and that they can easily be worn for a week straight without needed to be washed. When you do wash them, you simply hang them up to dry which only takes 15 mins.

I just ordered my first two dress shirts and can give a full review after a few wears.
Check them out here:  http://mizzenandmain.com/?aic=SDCPNN7

I have three of these and they are the only shirts I wear now. Best part is, they are so comfortable I don't even feel like I am wearing
dress clothes.

wealthviahealth

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Re: Men's Mustachian Wardrobe
« Reply #26 on: March 15, 2015, 03:22:07 PM »
I could wear the same outfit everyday for a year because I own/run a business so without any constraints on what I need to or should wear..

That must be nice, I look forward to one day doing the same.


Tim and others have said that they only take 1-2 of these shirts on longer trips and that they can easily be worn for a week straight without needed to be washed. When you do wash them, you simply hang them up to dry which only takes 15 mins.

I just ordered my first two dress shirts and can give a full review after a few wears.
Check them out here:  http://mizzenandmain.com/?aic=SDCPNN7

I have three of these and they are the only shirts I wear now. Best part is, they are so comfortable I don't even feel like I am wearing
dress clothes.

Mine just came today. Definitely the most comfortable shirt I have ever worn. Feel like a shirt I would wear to sleep in.
We will see how the non-wash test goes though.
 

ROY2007

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Re: Men's Mustachian Wardrobe
« Reply #27 on: August 12, 2015, 12:40:10 PM »
Any update on the Mizzen and Main shirts? Interested in hearing your experiences.

Andrew928

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Re: Men's Mustachian Wardrobe
« Reply #28 on: August 12, 2015, 05:57:37 PM »
I'm a bail bondsman here in southern California and I am required to wear a suit and tie and I do all my shopping at Men's Wearhouse, people seem to have mixed feelings on it but my location is absolutely amazing especially with the customer serves, they treat me with respect and remember me. And best of all their tailor is top notch, also I got a pair of J. Murphys and they are still holding up quite well even though I am constantly running to and from the jail and court house, you should definitely get another pair.


Also, first post in MMM woot woot!