How Many Of Each Clothing Category You Actually Need

“Needs” are very difficult to distinguish from “wants”.

This is especially true when it comes to an area of your life for which you have some sort of affinity.

For me (and possibly you), that area is clothes. I really like clothes so I sometimes find it hard to figure out if my desire for something is an actual need or just merely a strong want.

That got me thinking about each category of clothing and how many of each item within those categories a man truly NEEDS.

Now, this is something that could vary wildly depending on the individual. A lawyer who is in court multiple times a week needs more suits than a plumber who rarely requires that level of formality. But while it’s true that different men may need a different number of suits, it is also true that EVERY man needs at least one suit.

See what I mean?

That’s what I’m aiming to do with this article. I want to communicate the minimum of what EVERY man needs. It doesn’t matter if you are a lawyer or a plumber.

Since I already mentioned suits, I will start with those…

Suits – 1

As I already stated, every single man needs, at the very least, one suit.

The internet is divided on whether your first suit should be either navy or charcoal and the general consensus is that it doesn’t matter. That’s largely true. However, I prefer a navy suit to charcoal.

Both a navy suit and a charcoal suit will be appropriate in any situation that calls for a suit, like a wedding, funeral, or interview. My preference for a navy suit, though, is because a charcoal suit can look a bit severe in the warmer months. On a 90 degree day, a navy suit looks more at home.

Granted, this is splitting of the finest of hairs and if your only suit is charcoal, don’t worry, you are totally set. Don’t read this article and think that you need to go get a navy suit. Your charcoal suit is completely fine.

As far as style, keep it simple. Go with a single-breasted jacket and make sure the lapels aren’t too wide or too narrow. Middle-of-the-road proportions will ensure you will be able to wear the suit years from now without it looking dated.

Sport Coat – 2

For simplicity’s sake, I am lumping sport coats and blazers together in this category.

I say two sport coats instead of one because I only listed one suit in the suit section. In all honesty, you could probably also just get away with one sport coat/blazer.

The two I pick is the classic navy blazer (with or without metal buttons) and a thicker tweed. The reason for having two jackets is that you need to have “nice casual” covered whether it’s summer or winter.

Like I said, you could probably get away with just one: the navy blazer. I just don’t want you to freeze in January and wish you had a heavier jacket. However, you could layer a thin sweater underneath the navy blazer and call it a day.

To be safe, let’s just go with two.

Shirts – 6

Here are the six shirts you absolutely need.

• White, spread collar shirt – This is your “formal” shirt. This is the one you’ll use when you’re wearing your suit. This is the interview/funeral/wedding shirt.
• Blue Oxford cloth button-down shirt – This is the shirt you will probably be wearing most of the time. It will go under your sport coats and sweaters and even worn casually with chinos and jeans.

• Flannel shirt – This is your cool weather casual shirt. Choose any color pattern in the realm of green, red, black, blue.
• Polo shirt – This is your warm weather casual shirt. Sure, a t-shirt works fine in the summer, but you won’t have a sunburned neck with a polo shirt.

• Two t-shirts – I presume you do laundry with some regularity, which is why I only put two t-shirts on this list. Keep them in generic colors like white, grey, or black and you’ll be able to layer them under your flannel or sweaters.

Pants – 3

I’ll start off with the obvious: you need a pair of jeans. Make sure they’re mid to dark wash and not too tight or loose. This will ensure they are versatile enough to look dressed-up (somewhat) when you want them to, but won’t look like you’re wearing “nice jeans” when you want them to pull some casual duty.

Beyond that, get some classic, old-fashioned, khaki chinos. Where them literally anywhere you would wear your jeans but also pair them with your sport coat/blazer and sweaters. These are your “business casual” pants and the pair you’ll probably get the most mileage out of Monday through Friday.

The third pair will be mid-grey, wool trousers in a medium weight. You’ll also be able to wear these with your blazer, but these are a step up in formality. These will be good if you need to dress to impress but a suit might be a little too much or if you’re in a situation where you need to look formal multiple days in a row, like a business trip, and can’t wear your suit over and over again.

A pair of mid-grey, wool trousers coupled with a classic navy blazer is almost on par with a full suit and will cut the mustard at all but the most buttoned-up events or establishments.

Ties – 3

Every man needs more than one tie, simply because he can’t look like he is wearing the same thing over and over again.

You can wear the same suit day in and day out, but if you switch up the ties, people will think you’re wearing something completely different. It’s one of the benefits of being a dude.

For your three ties, go with options that are classic and relatively sober. Your first selection should be a navy grenadine (“Grenadine” is a specific style of woven tie. It’s extremely attractive and elegant.) This would be your “fancy” tie. A dark navy goes with anything and the weave of the grenadine style adds some visual interest.

Coming in a close second is a deep burgundy silk tie. Like the grenadine, this tie goes with everything. I like to pair burgundy with sport coats since I feel the warm reddish tone goes well with rougher textures like tweed.

Your navy grenadine tie and your burgundy tie will occupy the first and second slots in your tie rotation. They are your Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine. Your Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling.

Translation: You’re going to be fine no matter which one you go with.

Your third selection should stand out a little more. This is the tie you’ll wear when it’s a festive occasion. This is the tie you’ll wear in the summer. This is the tie you’ll wear under a sweater or with your blazer and khakis while sipping a cocktail on the deck. This is your “sporty” tie.

Make it a red and navy stripe or some sort of staid stripe pattern. Don’t worry that some of the stripes have actual meaning (like you went to a particular school or served in a certain branch of the military). Hardly anyone makes those associations anymore so you don’t have to worry about it.

Opting for a red/blue stripe ensures your tie will coordinate with everything else in your wardrobe (other than, say, a stripe in green or yellow, for instance).

Shoes – 5

It is said that you should spend good money on your shoes and your mattress because if you’re not in one, you’re in the other. That is true.

It’s also true that you should have five different kinds of shoes.

• Black dress shoes. These are the shoes you wear with your navy suit.
• Brown dress shoes. These are the shoes you wear with your sport coats and your khakis.
• Sneakers. Every man needs shoes he can work out in.
• Boots. The weather will turn sour. You need casual footwear for the colder months.
• Boat shoes. These are your casual shoes for the warmer months. You may not want to wear heavy boots when it’s 90 degrees. Make sure you have a smart, casual shoe for summer.

As for shoe trees… if you have multiple pairs of high-end shoes, then, yes, you should put shoe trees in all of those pairs.

For us regular guys, buy one pair of shoe trees and keep them in the shoes you care about the most. I have one pair of trees and I keep them in my brown dress shoes since I want those the last the longest. They do help keep the shoes looking good (less creasing), so they are worth it. But don’t feel like you need to buy shoe trees for every single pair of footwear you own.

Sweaters – 2

If you live in a climate that gets cold, you’ll need at least two sweaters.

One is your “nice” sweater. Go with a cashmere v-neck in navy. This is the sweater you’ll be able to wear in formal settings.

The other sweater should be your casual, knockaround sweater. This is the sweater you wear playing football in the yard or teaching your sons how to light a fire in the firepit.

Go with something substantial. Something that can hold up to some use and abuse. Go with an Aran-style, cable knit sweater. Make sure it’s wool. These things are handsome and tough as nails.

Watches – 1

A man only needs one watch.

A watch is not like a handbag. You don’t need to wear a different watch depending on what the rest of your outfit looks like. This means you can get away with only having one watch provided that watch can pass as marginally “dressy” if need be.

If you have a watch with a leather strap, you’re already ahead of the pack. Make sure that watch has some respectable water resistance (greater than 3 bar, or 30 meters) and you are officially a “one watch guy”.

Many watches these days can pass as both formal and casual. A dive watch, for instance, is a good bet for a one-watch collection. Originally a very casual watch, they are so ubiquitous that no one would bat an eye if you wore one with a suit, provided it wasn’t super chunky or some silly color.

If your watch doesn’t have decent water resistance, then you’ll need a casual watch for weekends, the beach, washing the dog, etc.

If that’s the case, go with a field watch or the aforementioned steel dive watch. I like features such as a rotating bezel and date function, but those are just personal preferences. As long as the watch can tell the time, that’s all a man needs.

Pocket Square – 1

White linen. That’s the only pocket square you’ll ever need. Wear it with any jacket.

Some people will tell you that you shouldn’t pair linen with rougher textures like tweed, but that is such a level of granularity that even I can’t abide by. It’s the epitome of over-thinking things.

No rational person thinks that a white linen pocket square looks bad in any circumstance.

It’s not only your safest option, but 99% of the time, it’s the best looking.

Belts – 3

You’ll need three belts.

Belt number one is your casual belt. This is the belt you wear with jeans. It can be either black or blue, depending on what color your boots are. But, honestly, matching your belt and shoe leather is only really a serious consideration when you are dressing in “business casual” and above. If you’re in boots, jeans, and a flannel shirt at the park with the kids, no one is going to judge you for having mismatched leathers.

Your second and third belts should be a black leather dress belt (for your suit and when you’re wearing your black shoes) and a brown leather dress belt (for your khakis and all other business casual ensembles that require your brown shoes).

You could also equip your suit trousers and grey trousers with suspender buttons and forego the black belt altogether.

Coats – 2

You are going to need two coats in the winter. One casual and one formal. One you’ll wear 90% of the time, and the other you’ll wear when you need to look smart.

For your casual coat, make it a robust wool coat with large pockets and a big collar. This is the coat you’ll be wearing while playing in the snow with the kids or splitting wood for the upcoming storm.

For your more formal coat, again, go with wool, but make it a knee-length (or longer) double-breasted, navy or charcoal overcoat. The length and the fact that it’s double-breasted will provide more warmth than a shorter, single-breasted coat. It also looks cooler.

Jackets – 2

Following the same pattern as the coat category, you will need two jackets for more temperate weather, one casual and one formal.

For your casual jacket, go with a Harrington in either navy or khaki. I like the navy version since it pairs well with khaki pants. You could easily go with a leather bomber, or a waxed cotton Barbour in this scenario as well. The choices for handsome, casual jackets are endless so just opt for something classic and you’ll be fine.

For the more dressed-up situations, I like a belted trench coat. Makes me feel like Humphrey Bogart.

Hats – 4

I know this is where I am going to lose some of you, and that’s ok. I am a hat guy so I realize that I probably “need” more hats than the average bear.

But hear me out on this.

Your first hat should be your ultra casual “I’m going on a run” hat. That should be a regular old baseball cap. Every man should have a baseball cap to work out outside in.

Next, you’ll need a wool cap for casual cold weather situations. Enter the tweed flat cap or newsboy.

Third, you will need a proper brimmed hat for smart occasions, especially in inclement weather. That means you’ll have to suck it up and buy a fedora. Don’t worry, though, you won’t be the “fedora guy” since you’ll be pairing yours with a suit and overcoat, like you’re supposed to.

Lastly, and stay with me on this, you’ll need a wide brimmed, summer hat. A baseball cap isn’t good enough when the sun is really beating down (your poor neck!) and you won’t want to wear your fedora when it’s hot.

This calls for an inexpensive Panama hat.

I know that some Panamas go for thousands of dollars, but I’m not talking about those. I’m talking about the ones for a buck-fifty where you won’t mind if it blows off your head and tumbles into the surf.

So, there you go. That’s your list of the absolute essentials and the precise number of items within each clothing category that every man actually needs.

Don’t let yourself be bamboozled by other menswear articles that try to tell you that you need a minimum of ten suits, or twenty shirts, or five sport coats.

Those articles are written by men who haven’t yet figured out how to stop buying unnecessary junk.

I hope this article has been helpful, but let me know if there is a category I missed!