Put This On

The benefit of the Ramen Noodle Budget plan is that it enables you to buy things cheaply. But you should be warned the mentality of budget shopping can often lead to overbuying and compulsive shopping. 

While you might be drawn toward final sales and coupon codes like a moth to the flame, just remember that sales are designed to have a psychological effect on your mind to get you to buy more than you normally would. If you have weak self-discipline, then you could easily end up spending money that would be better saved for something nicer or more essential to you instead. 

Just like how many people compulsively shop at fast-fashion houses because they have the cheapest prices (eg H&M, Zara, Topman), many bargain hunters can wind up compulsively shopping for things on eBay or sales racks because they think the prices are “inconsequential” or the bargain is “too good to pass up”. If you find yourself rationalizing your purchases as such, you’re probably straying into dangerous territory. 

Same goes for shopping at thrift stores, where you might find a great item, but it’s just a bit too big or needs a lot of tailoring work. Put it down, walk away. I’ve done this before and ended up just re-donating the item back a few months later. 

In these cases, it would be best to refer back to your “to buy” list. Make sure what you’re buying is something you’ve wanted for a long time and is part of a bigger project of building a coherent wardrobe. Keep that list tightly edited and don’t stray. 

Saying “Buy Less, Buy Better” has almost become a point of parody in the menswear blogger community, but it still remains a great philosophy and something you should work hard at. Our consumer culture is one of instant gratification, but if you fall into that trap, then you often end up with either expensive or less-than-satisfactory results. 

The Ramen Noodle Budget can help two types of people: 

1. Those who aren’t necessarily interested in men’s clothing or style, but want to look great. They want to build a wardrobe they can afford, nail the fit, and never have to think about clothes again. 
2. Those who are starting to become interested in men’s clothing and style, and see themselves as lifelong consumers. However, they may be starting off in ironic graphic t-shirts and cargo shorts, so they need to transition quickly into something more wearable. After that, they can begin thinking about bigger purchases they can plan over the period of years. 

What the Ramen Noodle Budget should not be is a strategy that puts you in the habit of endlessly buying things because they’re cheap. If you do so, you’ll wind up with an needlessly large wardrobe of clothes you got as a “deal,” but you’ll have spent the same amount of money as you could have if you saved your funds and put them toward higher quality purchases — purchases that you might have dismissed as being out your budget. 

Remember the advantage of these kinds of clothes is they often last a lifetime (or at least many, many years), so treat this as a lifetime project. 

(This post is the final part in a series of five. Read all other Ramen Noodle Budget posts here. Previously: Online Retail Deals.)

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Just want to say “thanks” for reading the Ramen Noodle Budget series and another “thank you” to Jesse for inviting me to publish this at Put This On and Derek for his editing. That’s it for now, however, you can follow me over at The Silentist. — Kiyoshi

My general rule is to never buy anything at full retail price if I can help it. Most things make it to sale, but to be take advantage of this, you’ll need to invest a little effort up front. 

E-mail newsletters: Sign up for retailers’ newsletters so that you’re notified when there are new sales or coupon codes. You can filter through these on Gmail by creating a filter for each retailer’s email address and have Gmail tag them with a label (ie: “Clothes”). This way you can just click the “Clothes” label and see all the messages you received from retailers. 

Daily deals & flash sales: There are a bunch of sites buying overstock and samples, and selling them to consumers for discounted prices. Here are a few you can start with:

• Gilt Man: This is one of the more popular ones, so things sell out quickly. 
• Rue La La: Mostly women’s stuff, but they do have menswear items almost daily now. In the past they’ve had Rugby and Brooks Brothers.  
• JackThreads: This is from Thrillist. They have a real mixture of styles. 
• PLNDR: If you’re into streetwear, then this is going to be of interest to you. They also carry good casual footwear brands such as Sebago. 
• Belle & Clive: A newcomer that’s just started out, focusing mostly on high-end brands such as Brunello Cucinelli. 
• MyHabit: Amazon’s fashion flash-sale site. Relatively new, not a whole lot of amazing inventory just yet.

A word of caution: Sometimes, you may see a package deal from a local tailor on one of these sites (or sites such as Groupon and its clones). A suitmaker, for example, might offer a suit, two shirts, and a tie as a package for 50% off. I would recommend you not use these unless you’ve had previous experience with the company (or at least very reliable information about them). These custom garments aren’t returnable after you’ve purchased them, so you want to be sure you know what you’re getting. You also don’t want to rush into large purchases like that.

Facebook & Twitter: Follow retailers and brands on Facebook and Twitter and you’ll get notices about their sales and exclusive coupon codes (often ones that they don’t send out via e-mail). 

Sales intelligence: This is probably the hardest to obtain, as the information doesn’t come from any one source. The best information often pops up on StyleForum, usually on this thread. 

Over time, you’ll also get a sense of when things go on sale. Brooks Brothers and Ralph Lauren have their biggest sales around the same time every season, and Lands’ End has a 30-40% off any one item at least once a month. Sales often follow holidays, as well, such as Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. 

The key here is to have a bit of patience and know when to shop. If you think a sale might start soon, figure out which items you want to buy so that you don’t waste time during the actual sale. In the days coming up to the sale, you can also ask a sales associate to put something on hold for you until a sale starts; they’re often glad to. This way, you won’t risk having your size and preferred style sell out.

(This post is part four in a series of five. Read other Ramen Noodle Budget posts here. Our next post will be on Wednesday, on the topic of common pitfalls and mistakes. Previously: Where to Shop.)

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