The lowest priced high imitation Van Cleef & Arpelsbracelet Don't miss from zroessgs viesoess's blog
On the cheap
Who cares about labels?: Kenny Lopez Guerra, his dad, Ken, and friend Nick MacIlveen show off affordable casual shirts and slacks from Burlington Coat Factory in San Francisco. Kenny's woven, plaid shirt costs $12.98. Ken's button down, striped shirt costs $19.98, and MacIlveen's slim fit polo shirt costs $24.98. Chronicle photo by John Storey less
Who cares about labels?: Kenny Lopez Guerra, his dad, Ken, and friend Nick MacIlveen show off affordable casual shirts and slacks from Burlington Coat Factory in San Francisco. Kenny's woven, plaid shirt costs . more
Those two frugal fashion mavens from the Peninsula, who in a January Chronicle story showed cost conscious women how to dress stylishly without maxing out the
This time, and have used their boundless ingenuity and knack for knockoffs cultivated from years of reading high fashion magazines and then hunting for bargains at so called low brow retail shops on men's fashion.
Fashion professionals, they are not. Just call the women conscientious consumers who yearn to share their shopping avocation with kindred spirits to whom a quality bargain is more important than the label status.
Their plan was to comb through the pages of magazines such as Forbes FYI and GQ, tear out glossy ads featuring male models with impossible to get six pack abs and strategically scruffy facial hair. Then, they would set out on a quest to find reasonable facsimiles of the designer duds at what has become a clothing Mecca for the two women .
What Lopez Guerra and Santizo needed were men willing to try on clothes for,
Amazingly, they found three volunteers, spanning three generations: Lopez Guerra's brother Ken,van cleef and arpels alhambra knock off bracelet, 44; his son, Kenny, 12; and her neighbor , 25. These guys dress nicely, but readily admit they don't give fashion much thought beyond whether that brown pair of shoes matches those gray slacks. They seemed the perfect specimens for a makeover by the frugal fashionistas.
But, first, a word about the women's methodology. The goal is not to find exact knockoffs of offerings from the top men's designers; it's to uncover bargains that can make the men pass as Mr. GQ to people with a less discriminating eye than, say, which is pretty much everyone. Using that judgment, the women succeeded.
Check out Lopez Guerra's older brother, Ken, stylin' in a blue pin striped suit that would easily blend into the scene in the Financial District.
"I, as just another person, cannot determine from here what brand of suit Ken is wearing," said MacIlveen, standing maybe 10 strides away from . "It looks great. Let's be honest. If you had two guys right next to each other, one wearing a $250 suit and the other a $1,500 suit, most guys couldn't tell (the difference). I'd feel better wearing the $250 suit, knowing I paid only one third the price.
"I know some people are brand conscious, but as long as the suits look good,
function well and don't fall apart, I wouldn't care who made it."
Ken's suit seemed to fit that criteria.
And it didn't take long for Santizo and Lopez Guerra to find it off the rack at Burlington. They came armed with a GQ ad touting a $1,640 Jil Sander suit and a $1,950 Prada suit. Its knockoff turned out to be a $259.98 suit from Italy. Turning to shoes, the women pointed to another GQ ad featuring a pair of John Lobbs for $995. At Shoe Pavilion,van cleef alhambra knock off bracelet, adjacent to Burlington, the women said they found several affordable replacement pairs but opted for a pair of Impulse shoes from Italy, regular price $79, on sale for $59.95.
"Take the shoe off, Ken," Lopez Guerra said. "This is nice, not cheap. Smell the leather."
Ken: "You want me to smell my shoes?"
Ken's shirt and tie were from Fabio Inghirami ($16 and $10, respectively), quite a markdown from the shirts the women pointed to in the glossy ads such as a $340 , a $295 Etro and $195 Dunhill. Belts were even a bigger bargain. Lopez Guerra held up an ad for a Claiborne belt ($34) and a Tommy Hilfiger belt ($40). She and Santizo found similar belts from the same makers at Burlington for $7.98 and $14.98, respectively.
"And that Claiborne we found is a nicer belt," Lopez Guerra added. "The one in the ad is more casual."
Ken liked the way he looked in the suit.
"I wouldn't spend a thousand dollars on a suit," he said. ". . . Basically, it's just the name and where you buy it that's different. Who cares if you buy it at Nordstrom or (Burlington)? I know some men say, 'I got to have a Rolex watch.' But it's just a name. And it's just a watch."
The women outfitted MacIlveen in a maize summer suit by Fabio Inghirami for $389, a nice savings from the $1,095 offering in . MacIlveen's shoes, from , cost $30, compared to the $1,000 John Lobbs.
MacIlveen, who says he spends about $1,200 a year on clothes, gave the thumbs up to his outfit, though he admitted, "I still find $389 a little on the high side for me."
MacIlveen said he believes all men in their 20s could benefit from fashion coaching.
"Guys like me don't think about it much,van cleef rose gold fake bracelet," he said. "We need practical, common sense advice. I don't have the fashion sense,van cleef replica bracelet, the innate ability. Someone like Susan has to go out and say, 'You know, that's going to look great and it'll be a great value.' Susan and I have actually gone out shopping for real a couple of times looking for outfits for either a job interview or, like, going to Vegas."
At his middle school, Kenny said the "in" store is Abercrombie Fitch, but he doesn't shop there.
"You spend a hundred dollars and can only get two or three shirts," he said.
"I'll buy my shirts at Mervyn's or sports stores and my jeans at Costco. I do care what I wear sometimes. But if I'm just going to the park or something, I don't care what I wear."
The women outfitted Kenny in a suit by Retro for $34.99 and a $10 shirt by Bruno for Boys. "We didn't get any ads for kids comparisons," Lopez Guerra said. "But that's got to be a pretty good buy for a boys suit."
Who cares about labels?: Kenny Lopez Guerra, his dad, Ken, and friend Nick MacIlveen show off affordable casual shirts and slacks from Burlington Coat Factory in San Francisco. Kenny's woven, plaid shirt costs $12.98. Ken's button down, striped shirt costs $19.98, and MacIlveen's slim fit polo shirt costs $24.98. Chronicle photo by John Storey less
Who cares about labels?: Kenny Lopez Guerra, his dad, Ken, and friend Nick MacIlveen show off affordable casual shirts and slacks from Burlington Coat Factory in San Francisco. Kenny's woven, plaid shirt costs . more
Those two frugal fashion mavens from the Peninsula, who in a January Chronicle story showed cost conscious women how to dress stylishly without maxing out the
This time, and have used their boundless ingenuity and knack for knockoffs cultivated from years of reading high fashion magazines and then hunting for bargains at so called low brow retail shops on men's fashion.
Fashion professionals, they are not. Just call the women conscientious consumers who yearn to share their shopping avocation with kindred spirits to whom a quality bargain is more important than the label status.
Their plan was to comb through the pages of magazines such as Forbes FYI and GQ, tear out glossy ads featuring male models with impossible to get six pack abs and strategically scruffy facial hair. Then, they would set out on a quest to find reasonable facsimiles of the designer duds at what has become a clothing Mecca for the two women .
What Lopez Guerra and Santizo needed were men willing to try on clothes for,
Amazingly, they found three volunteers, spanning three generations: Lopez Guerra's brother Ken,van cleef and arpels alhambra knock off bracelet, 44; his son, Kenny, 12; and her neighbor , 25. These guys dress nicely, but readily admit they don't give fashion much thought beyond whether that brown pair of shoes matches those gray slacks. They seemed the perfect specimens for a makeover by the frugal fashionistas.
But, first, a word about the women's methodology. The goal is not to find exact knockoffs of offerings from the top men's designers; it's to uncover bargains that can make the men pass as Mr. GQ to people with a less discriminating eye than, say, which is pretty much everyone. Using that judgment, the women succeeded.
Check out Lopez Guerra's older brother, Ken, stylin' in a blue pin striped suit that would easily blend into the scene in the Financial District.
"I, as just another person, cannot determine from here what brand of suit Ken is wearing," said MacIlveen, standing maybe 10 strides away from . "It looks great. Let's be honest. If you had two guys right next to each other, one wearing a $250 suit and the other a $1,500 suit, most guys couldn't tell (the difference). I'd feel better wearing the $250 suit, knowing I paid only one third the price.
"I know some people are brand conscious, but as long as the suits look good,
function well and don't fall apart, I wouldn't care who made it."
Ken's suit seemed to fit that criteria.
And it didn't take long for Santizo and Lopez Guerra to find it off the rack at Burlington. They came armed with a GQ ad touting a $1,640 Jil Sander suit and a $1,950 Prada suit. Its knockoff turned out to be a $259.98 suit from Italy. Turning to shoes, the women pointed to another GQ ad featuring a pair of John Lobbs for $995. At Shoe Pavilion,van cleef alhambra knock off bracelet, adjacent to Burlington, the women said they found several affordable replacement pairs but opted for a pair of Impulse shoes from Italy, regular price $79, on sale for $59.95.
"Take the shoe off, Ken," Lopez Guerra said. "This is nice, not cheap. Smell the leather."
Ken: "You want me to smell my shoes?"
Ken's shirt and tie were from Fabio Inghirami ($16 and $10, respectively), quite a markdown from the shirts the women pointed to in the glossy ads such as a $340 , a $295 Etro and $195 Dunhill. Belts were even a bigger bargain. Lopez Guerra held up an ad for a Claiborne belt ($34) and a Tommy Hilfiger belt ($40). She and Santizo found similar belts from the same makers at Burlington for $7.98 and $14.98, respectively.
"And that Claiborne we found is a nicer belt," Lopez Guerra added. "The one in the ad is more casual."
Ken liked the way he looked in the suit.
"I wouldn't spend a thousand dollars on a suit," he said. ". . . Basically, it's just the name and where you buy it that's different. Who cares if you buy it at Nordstrom or (Burlington)? I know some men say, 'I got to have a Rolex watch.' But it's just a name. And it's just a watch."
The women outfitted MacIlveen in a maize summer suit by Fabio Inghirami for $389, a nice savings from the $1,095 offering in . MacIlveen's shoes, from , cost $30, compared to the $1,000 John Lobbs.
MacIlveen, who says he spends about $1,200 a year on clothes, gave the thumbs up to his outfit, though he admitted, "I still find $389 a little on the high side for me."
MacIlveen said he believes all men in their 20s could benefit from fashion coaching.
"Guys like me don't think about it much,van cleef rose gold fake bracelet," he said. "We need practical, common sense advice. I don't have the fashion sense,van cleef replica bracelet, the innate ability. Someone like Susan has to go out and say, 'You know, that's going to look great and it'll be a great value.' Susan and I have actually gone out shopping for real a couple of times looking for outfits for either a job interview or, like, going to Vegas."
At his middle school, Kenny said the "in" store is Abercrombie Fitch, but he doesn't shop there.
"You spend a hundred dollars and can only get two or three shirts," he said.
"I'll buy my shirts at Mervyn's or sports stores and my jeans at Costco. I do care what I wear sometimes. But if I'm just going to the park or something, I don't care what I wear."
The women outfitted Kenny in a suit by Retro for $34.99 and a $10 shirt by Bruno for Boys. "We didn't get any ads for kids comparisons," Lopez Guerra said. "But that's got to be a pretty good buy for a boys suit."
The Wall