In the last blog post, I gave you 5 items to add to your closet that stand the test of time. Today, I'm giving you the last 5. I truly believe with just a few good investments, your style can jump ahead light years (as long as the items fit you well and are of high quality, of course).

If you're a client of mine, you're likely aware that I think of my job as somewhat of an investment advisor (among other things). I tell guys what quality items to buy based on what works best for them. Much like a financial advisor would give you quality investments to look at based on your financial situation.

So, let's talk about some of those good investments. If I had to start over and could only own a handful of clothing items, here are the last five (out of ten) investments that I would make to elevate my style.

NAVY SPORTCOAT

We're not after a stodgy blazer here. If our goal is versatility, we want something that can be worn both inside and outside of the office. To do this, the jacket has to appear a bit more "casual" than your typical navy suit jacket. You want to avoid jackets with worsted wool - those jackets that have a somewhat shiny finish. Instead, you want to opt for a bit of texture here. We're also going with patch pockets sewn to the outside of the jacket rather than a dressier jetted pocket. Finally, we're going to go with a less padded, more natural-looking shoulder rather than a jacket with heavy shoulder padding. All of these will ensure the jacket can be worn more casually. Use it with the jeans or wool trousers I showed you in the last round. Throw this over the quarter zip sweater or white tee I showed you in the previous email, or you can put it on over the shirt below. You should be aiming to spend anywhere around $500-3000, depending on the jacket and how much of a nerd about fabric you are.

WHITE OXFORD SHIRT
The Oxford isn't quite as dressy as what you might consider a typical white dress shirt to be. Oxford cloth is a slightly thicker, coarser fabric that is less formal.

The button-down collar also makes it a touch more casual. In the summer, I'll wear an Oxford untucked with the sleeves rolled up, paired with shorts. In the winter, I'll wear it under a jacket or sweater like I showed you in the previous round.

The white color being neutral ensures it will pair with all of your items.

You should be aiming to spend anywhere from $75-250 for a shirt like this.

KHAKI COTTON SHORTS
Speaking of wearing an Oxford with shorts, here's a versatile pair. Khaki is a brown color, meaning it's a neutral (it doesn't appear on the color wheel), so it can pair easily.

There are many different types of fabrics we can do here, but the best place to start is cotton.

Pay attention to length. These should hit you at least an inch above the knee - for most men, this is about a 7in. inseam. If you're daring enough, go shorter.

Pair them with the leather sneakers and the white tee from the previous round, or dress it up a bit with the shirt above.

You should look to spend anywhere from $50-150 for a pair of cotton shorts.

DARK NAVY JEANS
There are a lot of ways to do denim. Our goal is something that will look great both with a tee and the sportcoat above.

Most guys get this wrong. They'll pair a rugged, beat-up pair of jeans with something dressier like the sportcoat. When putting together an outfit, you need to make sure the items make sense together. If your top is going to the boardroom, but your bottom is headed to do some gardening, those items won't look right together.

Aim for lighter-weight denim, and if you care about it, make sure the jeans have some stretch material, usually, 2-4% elastane does the trick. They should be a darker blue color with minimal fading or distressing.

Pair with basically anything - the tee, sweater, or jacket we did in the first round. Or the shirt and sportcoat above.

Aim to spend around $100-350 for a pair of quality denim.

BROWN SUEDE CHUKKA BOOT
This is your second pair of shoes after the white leather we did in the previous round. The only thing you can't wear this with are the shorts, which makes sense from a weather/functionality perspective.

When any item is made from suede, it makes it feel more relaxed and casual. Don't let anyone scare you about caring for suede - cows are fairly weather-resilient.

Pair with our white tee, jeans, and leather jacket from the previous round for a date night, or the wool trousers and sportcoat for a business casual look.

Leather is expensive. Shoe construction is expensive. Don't cheap out on either. You should be looking to spend somewhere between $200 on up to $1000 or so. A large range, I know. The price point mainly depends on the leather quality and overall construction quality.

Hopefully, you can start to see that with the right items, you can really pair almost anything together. It's about strategically choosing items that you can wear a lot over time that will hold up and sometimes even get better with age.

Like I always tell clients, once you have the right systems in place, style becomes easy.

Hope this helps.

x Patrick