I’m nearly 40 and I am a work from home software engineer. Looks don’t matter to me much. Most of my cloths I bought when I was 23 to 25 and the rest are random star wars, disney and marvel shirts family keep buying me.

Where do I shop for jeans? Good looking fitted shirts and stuff that mak me look 40ish instead of 14?

41 comments

  3. If I don’t have a specific brand in mind, or what I want doesn’t have a store in the city I’m in, I go to Nordstrom’s.

  4. Carhartt sells great mens clothing. A nice pocket t shirt and a pair of jeans/khakis. I’m 21 and wear it, my dads 60 and wears it, my pap is 83 and wears it. It’s a great choice for all different ages.

  5. If you want to go to one place with every kind of item, where they are decent quality and fit together as a good cohesive aesthetic, Massimo Dutti.

    Nordstrom is fine, but is a lot of noise to wade through. You probably don’t care which of 2 dozen plain white shirt options to grab, you just want one good one.

  6. When you invest in decent quality clothing and shoes, those items should look and feel good for many years. You don’t need to blow your budget, always start withe the sale rack in Nordstrom or Ralph Lauren.

  7. Hey man I am basically you but a little older, same career… and then I hit 40 and the Chuck Taylors and graphic tees just made me look like I was trying to look young, when in reality, I was just being lazy.

    I don’t really have any fashionable older family or friends to look to, so I searched YouTube and there are a great number of channels dedicated to looking good in your 40s. Here is a short summary of my findings:

    1. General rule is stay away from graphics or logos. Keep colours and styles basic.
    2. No more: hoodies, cargo pants, open toe shoes of any kind.
    3. Get a nice mechanical watch. This seems silly but trust me you will like it.

    Oh, and bonus point is to find a really nice perfume or fragrance and wear it regularly. Once you hit 40 there is no excuse for smelling like a 3 day coding marathon.

    EDIT: Bonus point 2: TJ Maxx and Ross Dress for Less are amazing places you can get name brand dress shirts that retail for over $100 for like 70% off. I know we can probably afford to pay full retail for these shirts, but why? Personally, would get my shirts at Ross and shoes at a specialty store.

  8. Get a couple of mid priced button ups, a couple of mid price pairs of slacks, a nice neutral colored jacket(black, grey, brown), and a neutral colored pair of shoes(black, white, brown). Try to match as many of the shirts to the pants as you can without having them clash with whatever jacket you buy. Then just wear a button up with slacks everyday, roll up the sleeves when it’s hot, wear the jacket when it’s cold. You can tuck it or not, whichever you prefer(I prefer tucked).

    If you know your sizes(which I assume you do, your a grown man) you can buy all this online. If not just go to an outlet mall and ask one of the workers to help you.

    Edit: the reason I choose this outfit is because you’ll rarely(if ever) be out of place. Nobody will bat an eye at you going to the store or something, you can go into your job like that, even most high end restaurants.

    The only place you’ll be out of place is extremely obvious; like at the gym or a wedding.

  9. Silver Jeans offers the most size choices (waist+inseam combinations) I’ve seen. Before my partner met me apparently he had never had a pair of jeans that actually fit (32″ waist and 36″ inseam and all his jeans were too short) so I found Silver Jeans for him and he’s been wearing that brand ever since.

  12. My wife says that it looks like a toddler picked my cloths out that I wear. I’m 37 years old. She’s probably right but I also think a toddler picked how she thinks each and everyday.

  13. Polo Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Lacoste, Hugo Boss. You can find a lot of this shit at Macy’s or Nordstroms.

  15. Lululemon. Lots of their dress pants, and polo shirts are super comfy and look fantastic! It’s pricy but well worth it

  16. I can’t say where to shop since I’m pretty certain you’re American, but in terms of style the easiest thing is no graphic tshirts and, for me, nothing with a logo. Jeans, chinos, some nice shirts. Just make sure things fit and steer clear of all the marvel, star wars stuff. I know adults like that but it looks kind of childish on a grown adult.

  17. I’d recommend Nordstrom bc their sales folks can help you out with finding/suggesting clothes for you, as well as getting the sizes right. They have lots of high quality jeans and shirts, so you can buy a couple then mix and match from there. They will last you a long time! Good luck bro

  18. UNIQLO mainly but other places too, I’m not into fast fashion and throw things out the year after I wear until it’s dead then replace

  22. Find a personal clother, or check out some custom made stuff from Mens Warehouse. Surprisingly affordable, will give you some fashion ideas and will fit you perfectly.

  23. Small brands and individual designers usually. When we do shop in person, it’ll be some American Eagle, something like JCP with a Levi’s section for jeans, Polo or Carhartt for button downs.

    The key is to swap out your hand shirts, superhero shirts, and graphic tees for tees with patterns or a simple design. Simply swapping from a star wars shirt to one that’s just striped with a breast pocket adds ten years to me.

  25. Online. Drake’s, Spier and McKay, No Man Walks Alone, Informale, Anglo-Italian, Christian Kimber, Private White VC, Sid Mashburn, Brooks Brothers, J Crew

  26. Imma give you a list. Euro based, but will put US brands where I know of them

    * T-shirts: Go logoless, design-free in colours that suit you. Sunspel or Asket in EU. Buck Mason or J Crews in US are meant to be great
    * Casual shirts: LL Bean for flannel, Lucky Brand for linen/summer
    * Formal shirts: Eton or Charles Tyrwhitt
    * Chinos: Scotch & Soda (also shorts)
    * Jeans: Nudie
    * Boots: Grenson here in EU. I’ve heard great things about Nick’s boots, but they cost. Though a smart black pair should match anything and they should last 5+ years

    Nordstrom in general has a good selection

  27. Get away from graphic tees, tees with words, and start looking at plain colors that compliment your skin and shirts with all over patterns. You can go high end brand names if that’s your preference but I find plenty of stuff at Target and old Navy. REI and Columbia, though mostly known for outdoorsy stuff also have a lot of options. Fitted shirts that are not long but don’t show skin when you lift your arms.

    Skinny jeans are not for everyone regardless of what others think. Pants should stay up without a belt, but wear a belt unless your wearing joggers.

    Accessories matter. Belt buckles, sunglasses, jewelry if you like it. Be clean and well groomed. Have more than one pair of shoes.

  28. Get some classic cut jeans (I like Japanese denim) and get a custom tailored suit. Get some nice dress shoes. See how much you enjoy them or save them for special occasions

  29. Brooks Brothers for like 80% of my clothing but I’ve been opening up to other brands lately. There’s a brand called Faherty I’ve grown to enjoy immensely, especially for summer clothes. Vineyard Vines always has the best T-Shirts imo

  31. I really like Taylor vintage jeans and pants. I like the new tech pants that have stretch and are lightweight. Some are tactile style but Taylor vintage has some 5 pocket style that are amazing and seem age appropriate. Also slim fit always looks great no matter your size. Target has excellent t-shirts but they have to be the slim athletic fit to fit right and not look baggy.

  32. Before you go buying stuff you need to figure out how you want to look like and what message your clothes will send.

    A 40yo man wearing shorts and a Mickey Mouse t-shirt sends a very different message from a 40yo man wearing chinos and a button down shirt.

  34. I’m in my early 40s. When I was suddenly newly single in my early 30s, I realized I was similar to you. So I hired a personal fashion consultant. She spent an hour with me to understand what I was going for, what were my sizes, and my budget. She took that info and planned a shopping trip.

    She taught me how to assemble outfits, that I actually need to try on clothes, what to look for in fit, and where I can find future inspiration. It was great and really changed my fashion game.

    For less than $1,500 (including the consulting time) I had a new wardrobe that include casual and work attire (2010), and learned how to properly shop.

  35. JCrew, Nordstroms, Banana Republic, Gap. Stick to the basics (solid colors, prints) and nothing too whacky. Gives a better look then generic department stores but won’t break the bank like Lululemon will.

    Also look at Nordstrom Rack, Banana Factory, JCrew Factory, or Gap Factory (all warehouse shops) for the same styles at a cheaper price.

    Biggest thing for me is when the stores above have a XX% off sale items – usually at the end of season – but you can regularly find great clothes for cheap (like jeans sub $20)

  38. There’s a pretty good male fashion Reddit – personally I like mugsy jeans for casual stuff and state and liberty for more professional/office stuff, but it depends on your budget – also make friends with a tailor, go get measured by them, and have them alter stuff to where you like it

  39. 30 year old living in Canada here (We have a fair few US and other international brands here), these stores are my go-tos:

    Calvin Klein, I like their suits and business casual stuff. Also bought some shorts and athleisure wear from them. Haven’t bought jeans yet, but tried them and like the fit. Will probably revisit them in fall for jeans.

    Uniqlo is good for basics like plain short and long sleeve shirts. Most of the stuff there is unbranded.

    I do hit up Guess/GBG sometimes as well, mainly if I want something patterned. I have some really nice fitted button up short sleeves/Hawaiian style shirts I got from there.

    I have some stuff from Banana Republic as well. Haven’t really shopped there an awful, but for a lot of grown men I’ve known shop there for work clothes.

    I also check Marshalls/Winners/Nordstrom Rack/Saks Off 5th sometimes. You can get some top brands there for a steal.

  41. Ban some things from your collection – no typical polo shirts, no khaki pants, no cargo shorts with pockets. If you want to wear a collar, there are plenty of better looking shirts out there that don’t make you look like a dad. You’ll just have to google for them.

    If you want nicer pants to go out or go to events in, they’re out there too.

    Basically, avoid things that make you look like the dad with the polo, cargo shorts, and goofy sneakers.

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