With every company in the world now online and more and more people buying their favourite clothing labels from the comfort of their sofa. I’m definitely one of them, I’ve been buying clothes online myself for around eight years. I first started on eBay, buying g-shock watches and superdry products back in 2006. I remember wearing the first Superdry polo-shirts, they were around £60 at the time but I grabbed all mine for around £25.
Shopping online is amazing, especially if you’re not one of those who shop in the high end retailers. Walking around in Louis Vuitton or D&G is always a pleasure, however Next, H&M & Topman can be extremely annoying. I’d much rather be sitting down on my sofa flicking through my favourite stores than walking around stores crammed with people.
I’m flying out to Morocco in a few days and I needed a camera. After some googling to try and find out which one was most suitable for me, I decided on this nifty little camera called Canon IXUS 160 Digital Camera. Initially I was going to buy it off Amazon for £135, which I figured was a decent price for a good camera. Thankfully I did some googling and found the same camera for £67 from John Lewis. Saved £72 by being patient and having a look first.
Depends how bothered you are about saving money but you never know how cheap you’ll be able to pick up that suit or patent shoes. Obviously if you’re buying a Mark’s & Spencer suit from their site then there’s no point googling it. It may take a few minutes to find the same product you’re interested in, but if you can save £5 you may as well. The only time I pay more for an item is if I’ve had a bad experience with a company, even if they’re cheaper I’d rather have my stuff delivered in one piece.
Marrakech, Morocco September 2015 – Booked! Once I booked my plane ticket there is only one thing left to do, go shopping! Packing the right clothes on holiday is about as important as remembering to book the holiday itself. What you pack will depend completely on where you’re going and what you intend on doing while you’re there. A lot of thought goes into planning a holiday and the same amount should go into planning what you’re taking along the journey.
Travel Guide For Men
Here are some questions you should be asking yourself or google;
– Hot or Cold?
– Rain or Shine?
– Swimming?
– Partying/Raving?
– Fine dining?
– Getting Muddy/Dirty?
If you’re plan is to relax by the pool and check out the markets then shorts and vests will do. However if you’re going to leave the hotel at 10am and get back for midnight, you’ll be out in the cold after sunset so might be worth bringing a jumper and/or trousers.
Going out to eat in nice restaurants? Bring along a dress shirt and some smart trousers. Want to stuff your face with kebabs and burgers on the market stalls – leave the dress shirt in your wardrobe and pack a polo or printed t-shirt in it’s place.
Raving? If you’re one of those that will be going out at night and getting messy, then you probably won’t be able to wear the same outfit again on that holiday so you better make sure you pack a few outfits. Similarly if you plan on going on a camel or quad biking through the desert, you definitely won’t be wearing that outfit again.
What I’m Taking On Holiday
Although this is supposed to be a travel guide for men, I’m going to instead take you through what I’m taking to Morocco. As it’s a hot country and to be honest quite sandy/dusty one, I’m only taking a few things. I have no intention to go to any fancy restaurants or to any events that require a shirt and tie. I don’t plan on going to the beach or going out partying. My plan is to go around the markets, haggle with some Moroccan’s, ride a camel, do some quad biking and eat loads of fresh Moroccan food. With this in mind I plan my outfit around all these things and if you’re going on holiday soon you should be thinking carefully about what you intend on doing.
Jumper/Jacket
No need for a jacket as hopefully the weather will be amazing and if it isn’t then I’ll prob buy a waterproof jacket or something while I’m there. I won’t be packing a jumper, I don’t want to waste suitcase space but I will be wearing one on the way to morocco, you just never know with UK weather.
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T shirts
The obvious and easy choice for me here is white t-shirts, I’m going to take two crisp white t-shirts from ASOS. I want people to know I’m around and no better way than blasting the sun’s ray off my t-shirt and into their eyes. There’s a natural love for a fresh white T that exists in all our hearts.
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As I’m going quad biking and will be getting acquainted with a camel I can’t always wear a white T so my next option are the wonderful printed logo t-shirts. I managed to grab two bad boy t-shirts from Primark for £3 each. I’ll also be taking my favorite UCLA T-shirt with the huge logo on the front. You always need a branded logo t-shirt wherever you go.
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primark t-shirt for £3
Trousers
Who needs trousers in morocco? Well strangely enough I do. I’m bringing along my Zara trousers and my grey H&M tracksuits. I’m a big track suit fan and I love lounging around in tracksuits and my H&M tracksuits are the just thin enough for me not to burn in my hotel room.
Shorts
Probably the most important part of my luggage is selecting which shorts to take. I’m going to be walking around in the hot markets and I’m not looking to get pick pocketed so 3/4 length shorts with solid pockets (zips and buttons.) Needless to say, I plan on doing a lot of swimming so I need some good shorts. I learnt from my previous experience with swimming to bring quick dry men’s 3/4 length swimming leggings. They’re amazing, you wear them under your shorts and 5 minutes after getting out the pool they’re dry. I’ll also be bringing along 2 cotton shorts to wear just to be comfy and keep my legs cool.
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3/4 length shorts from eBay for £6
primark shorts for £5
Accessories
Accessories make the outfit so you better have some good ones. Well as a standard I’m bringing my smartwatch with me. However I also need a cheap waterproof watch for the days I know I’m going to be around water.
Hat’s are incredibly useful on holidays, especially when that baking african sun is on your head sucking the life out of you. What better opportunity to pull out a snap back. Funnily enough, I don’t own one so I went a bought a cheap one I wouldn’t mind losing in the desert or leaving by the pool.
Fanny packs, yeah I said it. No I don’t own one. Yes I will be buying one. As much as I don’t want to and I think back to how ugly my dad looked wearing one when I was a kid, they serve a purpose, a very important purpose. As much as I want to go morocco, I don’t want to stay there and likewise I don’t want my phone staying there. I’m going to be grabbing myself a cheap, thin & waterproof one from eBay to hold my passport, hotel key card and cash.
Wash bag! Don’t know what that is? It’s a small bag you keep all your wet products in. I.e your toothbrush, you’re hair gel, toothpaste, sunscreen and anything else you might need on your journey to keep you feeling at home.
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Pack Nothing
It’s important to make sure you pack a whole bunch of nothingness into your suitcase to make sure that you have space to actually bring some stuff back with you. Great thing about packing nothing, it’s free.
We would all love to wear nothing but designer clothes and have the slickest suits with the highest quality leather shoes. Some people actually have the opportunity to dress like that constantly, and boy do they look great. Others (including me) have no chance. Now I wouldn’t say I’m on a budget because I don’t consider myself to be tight with money anymore but I don’t exactly walk into Hugo Boss on a regular basis.
I remember when I initially started out my sales career I didn’t even own a suit, my first stop was Primark, then as I got payed I started filling my wardrobe with Primark suits, shirts, ties and shoes. Being an 18 year old kid I felt like a millionaire, I still remember taking over 100 selfies in one night.
Trends
Avoid trends, as you know – they come and go. We all fall for trends but right now you need to concentrate on the things that will last in your wardrobe. Also be wary of buying summer suits, like sky blue suits that are really thin, in UK you will be absolutely freezing.
Shoes, Bags & Coats
People notice these three first. They can be quite expensive to get good quality ones but these three things people know whether they are good quality. Look at it as an investment – your trench coat and your bag will last you two or three years. It’s well worth the money. Paying more for a good coat, a quality bag and sophisticated shoes will elevate your outfit and help you avoid a scruffy look.
Know Your Brands
Do some research on different companies and go into many different stores, try things on, touch as many things as possible. The only times I will buy something online without having tried it on is if; a) someone who’s opinion I trust, recommends the brand or product or b) I know the brand and I know what kind of quality they produce. Having a list of companies you know you can rely on will stop you from spending money on something that looks good on you but is known to fall apart easily.
Sales
I’ve told a few people this tactic I use, hit every single sale possible. You will definitely be surprised what you can find in sale items. I know it’s a bit long and I too usually just brush past them but when you find those gems, its so worth it. When it hits any of the sales period you basically need to be the first one checking the sale, the best way to do that is online. Most of the best sale items are sold out before the stores even open, people can buy the items online and then by the time you get in store you size is sold out and they only have the really ugly shirts or ridiculously big sizes left. Best way to know about sales is make a list of all your favourite brands and sign up to their emailing lists. They’ll email you at midnight letting you know there’s a sale tomorrow.
Avoid The Cheap
I know many bloggers and other “fashion people” talk about buying from high street retailers and say that you shouldn’t do it because they are too cheap and they use bad materials, etc etc etc. Which to be fair there is some truth to it all. Some retailers do use incredibly cheap material, however most are actually quite decent. I would say have a look around, avoid anywhere that sells suits for under £50, i.e Primark. If you look at the suit and you can see bits of fluff on it or loose threading then you know that suit will look good for one or two weeks and after that it will crumble. Don’t buy £15 shoes, they will last you two months and look crap after two weeks. Buy £40-60 shoes that will look good for six months. Try to get real leather shoes, I bought some great real leather brogues from ASOS for £40 last week.
Simple & Neutral Colours
Neutral colours like; black, grey, white and navy are the absolute best for looking great, especially on a budget. Chances are if you’re on a budget you don’t have a huge selection of good ties to wear and different belts, keeping your wardrobe simple with basic colours will enable you to wear the same suit with different ties since your suit matches many different ties. If you buy a green or burgundy suit you are limiting yourself to what shirts and ties you can wear with them. I’d stick to black and navy suits, white shirts and black shoes until you start earning more money and have more cash to play around with.
Accessories
Use smart accessories – Keep your main wardrobe as basic as possible, but make your outfit stand out with interesting jewellery, slim ties, hats, bow ties, cufflinks and scarves.
Essentials
There are some items of clothing that you need to make sure are at a high standard. Falling short in these areas can really damage your outfit and people will definitely notice them. Make sure you have a few white shirts that fit you well but aren’t too expensive; I recommend TM Lewin & Next. You also need some quality trousers (Next, M&S or Moss) and a decent pair of chinos/jeans that are simple; I stick with Levi’s & Zara. Lastly you need some good shoes and a smart but warm jacket, I’d go OFFICE or Schuh for shoes and Next or Zara for jackets/coats.
The companies mentioned above are only the ones I’d recommend because I know the things I’ve bought from there have lasted me a long time, have looked great every time I wore them and didn’t get ruined after a couple washes/dry cleaning. They are also relatively cheap with everything costing less than £100.
