The Process I (Try to) Use That Helped Me Build My Wardrobe

Added: 2026-05-24

[00:00:00]Over the last couple of years, my goal with YouTube has been to share my journey with you. I've never been the type of content creator who talks about 10 reasons why you deserve this clothes or five reasons why your style is this.

[00:00:11]I've always tried to approach it from a very personal standpoint from talking about my weight loss journey and having to buy new clothes through that or even just the fact that I had to quit a job and I went from wearing suits five days a week. It's always been something that is about my personal growth and I think it's done relatively well, but something that I haven't really talked about is my buying process or lack thereof for that matter. Welcome to my channel. My name is James and if you're new here, welcome and if you're not, please make sure you like and subscribe. It really helps a lot, but we're going to go over my buying process. Let's get into the video.

[00:00:45]Starting off with a mood board and I don't even really want to say it's a mood board. It's essentially me making a list and me doing screenshots of garments that I think are really cool.

[00:00:54]This is something that I use as a cross reference. One of the things that I really focus on is making sure that I don't buy a piece the first time I see it. This has been a thing that's been helping me quite a bit because I can reference one the clothing that I already have and two stuff on the list.

[00:01:09]But what ends up happening is I can look at that list and I can look at like my mood board and I do post this on my Patreon of like weekly screenshots [music] of just give you an idea of where I'm at, but I can reference that and that is a really great way for me because I don't end up like doubling up on things that I really like. It's allowing me to kind of break down what are the things that I really want versus the things that I need versus what is impulse.

[00:01:31]Not everything needs to be a buy it for life. Or if you do buy something for life and it doesn't work out anymore, like it's okay to get rid of it. My body has changed so much in the last several years. I've went from 200 pounds, I've lost 30 pounds and then I've gained quite a bit of muscle. So my waist is really small, but my shoulders and my arms are getting bigger. So my body has fluctuated so much and I have bought in buy it for life pieces that I absolutely love, but my body changed. It's okay to get rid of those. Or, [music] you know what? Just knowing that you're going to eventually move out of this. Or, like, hey, this is something that I'm going to buy. I'm not sure how it's going to fit on me. I don't know if I'm going to like this kind of style. It's okay to buy it.

[00:02:12]Buy a good quality one, enjoy it, and if it doesn't work out for you, like, that's okay. It's okay to move on from clothing. It's okay to be, you know, [music] I thought this was going to be something that I really liked, but it's not. And that's okay. I'm not saying go out and consume a huge amount of clothing and stuff like that. What I'm saying is buying something and knowing that, hey, you know what? I'm going to experiment, and maybe it doesn't work for me.

[00:02:35]Doesn't have to be the one piece that I'm going to wear for the next 100 years. It's okay to be like, I'm going to try this, see how it works out, and if it doesn't work out, then that's okay. I spent so many years of my life just like focusing on like this one shirt that I'm going to wear. I have to wear it. It's in my wardrobe. It's an Oxford. It's [music] buy it for life.

[00:02:52]And I got rid of it, and I felt a weight just move off my chest.

[00:02:55]Quality for money. But I think quality for money is something that is used as a crutch. And I think as clothing people, we are way [music] too analytical about our clothing. I think we get so caught up on these like subreddits or these YouTube videos that are cutting up clothes about, oh, the stitch density is this, or the quality of this, or the way that it's put together is this. We stop forgetting about like how the clothing is fitting on your body, how the material is made. If I can buy a piece of clothing that fits me perfectly, and the [music] quality for money is a little bit off, then I'm okay with that.

[00:03:26]My buddy Toby, and shout out Toby, I'll leave his like Instagram right here.

[00:03:29]Definitely shoot him a follow. Super stylish guy.

[00:03:31]His favorite pairs of pants are these [music] like vintage or many seasons old Gap organic cotton jeans. And Toby has got an amazing collection of jeans and clothing and just overall personal style. But if he got caught up in this like quality for money aspect, he wouldn't be wearing those jeans. Like, he would not be wearing his favorite jeans that fit him perfectly that he loves to look on.

[00:03:55]Dressing for my body or knowing my measurements. This is something that has saved me so much money over the last several years. I understand that there're clothing that is super trendy and it looks great on them, but knowing that it's not going to fit my body, I just don't even need to do it anymore.

[00:04:09]If I can look at the measurements and I'm like, "Nope, not for me." [music] That is something that has helped me drastically. A great example are 501's.

[00:04:16]I have tried on every [music] type of 501 you can think of from the 40's cuts all the way up to the 2000's cuts to vintage 70's pair, vintage 80's pair, vintage 90's pair. None of them fit me the way that I [music] want them to fit.

[00:04:29]And that's okay. So, now that I know that every time I go on a website and I look at a pair of jeans or I look at something and it's cut in a vintage 501 cut, it is not going to be something that fits me. I just know that that is not going to work for me. I love the content creator, her name is Percia. I'm sure you guys already know who she is, but she talks about dressing for her body all the time and I find that really inspirational on how that she approaches it and what clothing that she uses and stuff like that. It's really a great watch. I do recommend checking her out if you can, but just knowing what is going to work and what's not going to work is something that I think is really important because one, it saves you a lot of time, two, it saves you money, and then three, you can dress for your body and you can adapt things to fit the way that you want.

[00:05:10]Staying consistent within my wardrobe.

[00:05:13]And I'm not sitting there saying that you can't buy different cuts and different things like that, but I try to stay consistent within a color palette and try to stay consistent within like the things that are exciting to me. So, a great example is like color. I love color and I think color is a lot of fun, but I find myself wearing less color than any other piece. So, I tend to find myself really enjoying blacks, browns, grays, the occasional green, things like that. And [music] that has been a really great way for me to build a wardrobe that has one really great cohesion. I feel like I can grab any piece from anything and put it together and it's going to look really good. But also, I know that the colors that I'm going to wear I'm going to enjoy next year, 2 years from now, 3 years from now. I have bought in bright blue shirts, and I've bought in yellow jackets, and I've bought in this and that. And those are all cool, and they're definitely things that I like to like sprinkle into my wardrobe. But there was a point in time where I was like having so much fun with color that I would grab this shirt and I'd grab this pant, and I would look like a clown. Like, I don't want to have that.

[00:06:11]I want to have a stuff that I can have ease of use when it comes to wearing my wardrobe, enjoy the things that I have, knowing that they're going to be multi-season, they're going to be good for the summer, good for the winter, good for years ahead. So, staying consistent within a color and relatively within your wardrobe as far as like materials and stuff like that is something that has been really helpful for me.

[00:06:31]Needs versus wants. And if you're watching this, you already know none of this stuff is actually needs, it's all wants. But there is a difference between like I want this and I don't have something like this, or I want this and I have three in my closet already. And that's tends to be where I'm at is like, "Oh, these brown pants are really beautiful. Bro, you got Orslow Fox Fiber pants in [music] the closet. Oh, I really want these brown chinos. Bro, you already have Big John chinos in your apartment in the closet that are great."

[00:07:01]I don't need any of that stuff. So, when I go to look at clothing and I see it and I'm like, "I don't really need [music] this. I want it, but I don't need it. I've got better versions at the house, or [music] I've got equally good options that I love at the house, and I don't need to spend X amount of dollars on this."

[00:07:16]Finding something that you want versus you actually needing your wardrobe, and again, none of this stuff is actually what you need. But if you buy this, will it get in the way of something that you actually really want on your list? So, understanding that wants and needs, that is something that I struggle with, and I do get better, and I am resolving on, but that is something that I have been using that has helped me quite a bit.

[00:07:36]Not always the best idea, not it doesn't always help, but it's been something that's been helping me relatively good.

[00:07:41]But that is my buying process.

[00:07:43]>> [music] >> I hope this helps. Let me know what you guys do for your buying process. We'll talk soon. Bye.