Make Every Purchase Count with the Rugged Retail Rules 

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10 Rules to Help You Bushwack Your Way Through the Rugged Retail Jungle

When the stakes are low, we can play with our chips haphazardly. When there’s real money on the table, though, every hand and every bet becomes meaningful. The rewards are greater, but so are the risks.

In the wider world of menswear retail, the stakes are low. When clothes are made inexpensively, we can throw an armful of them in the cart without a second thought. In the world of rugged retail, the stakes are much higher. Purchases are more meaningful, and mistakes can be costly.

To help you make sure (as much as possible) that you don’t suffer from buyer’s remorse, we’ve assembled a list of 10 Rugged Retail Rules that will ensure that you only move your chips into the pot when you’ve got a winning hand.

With each rule, we’re recommending one of our favourite rugged retail shops, including:

• Redcast Heritage (Spain)
• Franklin & Poe (USA)
• Cultizm* (Germany)
• Lost & Found (Canada)
• Rivet & Hide (England)
• Blue in Green (USA)
• Division Road (USA)
• Self Edge (USA)
• Clutch Café (England)
• Burg & Schild (Germany)

This is by no means an exhaustive list of great rugged retailers, but these shops are a great place to start if you’re looking for somewhere to make that next meaningful purchase. 

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Rugged Retail Rule #1

Collect Less, Wear More

Our favourite retailers espouse a kind of buy-less-wear-more philosophy that sets them miles apart from the fast-fashion department stores. The larger price tags reflect not just how carefully the clothes were made but also how they’re meant to be worn—frequently and passionately.

As we fall down the rabbit hole of denim love, our head starts turning this way and that. Our passion ignited, we buy more and, as our collection grows, we wear less. We’re spending far more on our clothing, and we’re not getting any more value out of them. 

If you have a pile of selvedge pieces that you’ve paid top dollar for but haven’t worn enough to fade them, give those made-to-fade jeans, jackets, and shirts your full attention. Resist the urge to buy a new piece every time you see something that catches your eye. 

Collect less and wear more and you’ll end up with a collection, not of new pieces, but of well-worn ones.

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Rugged Retail Rule #2

In-Person Beats Online

You can’t beat the convenience of online shopping, but there is no replacement for the experience of in-person shopping. For many of us, the trip to a great rugged retailer passes through our closest airport, but if you live in or near a capital city, you might be able to walk to one (or perhaps two or three). 

Trying things on removes so much of the guesswork that comes with shopping online, and you’ll likely be exposed to brands or pieces you hadn’t considered before walking in the door.

If you can only shop online, know your numbers to the decimal point. Write your ideal garment measurements down and reference them every time you’re considering something new. Don’t buy anything unless you’re quite sure that it’ll be a perfect fit.

It’s almost always worthwhile to go out of our way to visit a shop in person. If you don’t have a rugged goods stockist nearby, find an excuse to travel to one. The cities have more to offer than great retail, but the shopping experience alone will likely be worth the journey.

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Rugged Retail Rule #3

Fit First, Brand Last

It’s common for newcomers to gravitate to particularly popular brands, assuming that, due to their popularity or price tag, these brands represent the best that the scene has to offer. With clothing, though, how the pieces fit you is more important than the prestige of the label. 

Brand exploration isn’t about ticking boxes in your collection. Brands cut their pieces slightly differently based on the consumers in their market. You might find your perfect fit with a Japanese brand, but it’s just as likely that you’ll find that perfect fit with North American and European brands. You won’t know until you try (ideally in person).

By all means, if you are certain that a particular brand is perfect for you, remain loyal, but don’t jump to that conclusion until you’ve sampled from the wide world of selvedge brands. 

When shopping in person, browse widely and slowly. Try everything on for fit. Pick the piece that fits the best, not the one with the label you like. 

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Rugged Retail Rule #4

Only Spend What You Can Afford

I once met a lawyer with more than 100 pairs of selvedge jeans (almost all from the same brand). Most of them were gathering dust in Rubbermaid tubs in a storage locker, with their tags still on, and he was still adding to his collection.

He had deep pockets, so his shopping habit represented a drop in his overflowing bucket, but a mile-high stack of pieces that will never get worn goes against the bedrock principles that drive us to buy (and brands to make) these pieces. It’s good practice to spend less than you can afford or, at most, as much as you can afford. 

Fans of top-shelf brands can justify the larger spend. They’re not just paying for the label. They’re paying for the fit, fabric, and details that only that brand can provide. But there’s value at every rung of the price ladder. 

If you can’t stomach the prices for top-shelf items, there’s no need to max the cards or make serious lifestyle sacrifices to get into the best pieces. The raw denim experience and the style are within reach even for those on a tight budget. You might not get the bragging rights, but that’ll change when you’ve fully faded that piece.

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Rugged Retail Rule #5

Bide Your Time

There are exceptions, but most of the brands in this space have dependable core collections. Unless it’s being advertised as a limited or special release, there’s no urgency to go home with it the first time you lay hands on it. 

If you can’t buy a piece without straining your finances to the breaking point, put it back on the rack. The best pieces are worth waiting for and, often, saving for. If a particular piece is calling your name, it’s likely that purchasing a less-expensive, comparable piece won’t fully answer that call.

Especially if you’re likely to buy the more expensive piece eventually, don’t settle for something you don’t really want. Keep your wallet in your pocket and leave the store empty-handed. Squirrel some money away, and return when the purchase won’t break the bank. 

The same goes for pieces that are out of stock. Rather than getting something that you don’t really want, put your name on the waiting list. When the retailer restocks, you’ll be glad you waited. 

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Rugged Retail Rule #6

Don’t Go Sales Blind

Sales have a way of changing our criteria—sometimes dramatically. A deep discount makes us look twice at a piece that, if it were full price, we would pass over. What looks like an unmissable bargain will be a complete waste of money if you don’t wring every last drop of value out of the piece by wearing it. 

The deepest discounts are usually reserved for those pieces that have lingered on the shelves for months or even years. Shoppers have either passed them by or, after trying them on, put them back on the rack. Try to see discounted pieces through this lens.

Apply the same criteria to pieces on sale that you would to ones that you’d be willing to pay full price for. 

If that piece you’ve been eyeing for ages is suddenly on sale, snag it, but don’t fill your cart with sale items that you might wear. Chances are you’ll wear it a few times before relegating it to the back of the closet with all those other unworn bargains. 

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Rugged Retail Rule #7

Selection or Sales (Pick One)

Around the holidays and in the middle of the dog days of summer, retailers entice customers with some deep discounts. There are great bargains to be found if you can wait for them, but there’s a catch.

These sales come at the tail end of the fashion season. Retailers are clearing out their unsold stock and preparing for shipments. The bargains are appealing, but you’re getting your pick of the pieces that months of shoppers have passed over.

If you want your pick of the litter, the best time to shop will be at the beginning of each fashion season (August/September or Feb/March). This is when the stockists will be overflowing with the most desirable pieces and seasonal releases in a wide range of sizes. 

Bargain hunters will have to make do with the end-of-the-season leftovers. You might get lucky and find that grail piece on your list at the opportune moment, but it’s a gamble. Especially if you wear a popular size (M, L, and XL), it’s likely somebody will snag it before discount season rolls around.

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Rugged Retail Rule #8

Bring a Wingman

Whenever possible, cruise into that retail shop with at least one person in tow. If you’re in a long-term relationship, your partner probably has a very good notion of what looks great on you and what doesn’t. If they turn up their nose at something, they’re probably steering you away from something that’s not doing you any favours.

Shop alone and you’re at the mercy of the sales associates. You might have a personal relationship with them, but, if you’re new to the store, they don’t know you, and you don’t know them. It’s not always easy to tell when they are recommending something because it’s a great fit for you and your personal style or because they want to make the sale.

If your partner isn’t keen on standing around while you try everything on and chat with the sales associates, they’re more likely to make a snap decision just to get you out the door. It’s good practice to do your browsing and fitting alone. Have them meet you after this to review and approve your purchases (assuming you want or need their approval). 

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Rugged Retail Rule #9

Make a List

Just like we might do at the supermarket, a good list can help focus our shopping, whether online or in person. You don’t necessarily have to stick to the list you’ve made, but the simple act of writing it down might help you visualize the collection you’re trying to build. 

In our book, The Rebel’s Wardrobe, you’ll find 42 chapters, each of them covering an iconic piece. We expanded this list with a further eight pieces that couldn’t fit in the book. Familiarize yourself with these 50 pieces and make a list of the ones that you feel you need in your life.

You might already have a particular brand in mind for each piece, but I’ve found intense joy in the hunt for a piece that ticks a box on my list. I try not to get too focused on a particular brand and focus instead on finding the piece that is the best fit for both my body and my budget. 

Exercise a little patience and restraint so that, when you do strike an item off your list, you can be well and truly done with that category. Pieces that are merely placeholders will end up relegated to the back of your collection when you finally get that one you’ve always wanted.

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Rugged Retail Rule #10

Know What You’re Getting Into

When I was a newcomer in this world, I had a handful of deeply unsatisfying retail experiences. I flew by the seat of my pants, assuming that I knew enough to make wise purchases. It turned out that I didn’t know half as much as I thought I did.

If I had understood the difference between unsanforized, sanforized, and one-washed jeans, I would have made better and more-educated decisions. Retailers should talk to all their customers about this, but not all of them do. 

They’re trying to walk that fine line between informing and lecturing their customers. They want to keep the shopping experience equal parts fun and informative. This means you can’t count on the retailers to educate you on all the finer points. You’ll need to educate yourself so you know which questions to ask.

Most important is understanding both how to wash selvedge denim properly and what to expect when you wash your pairs for the first time. Shrinking and streaky denim are common complaints. If the topic is a new one for you, start with our detailed washing guide. 

Retailers should talk to their customers about this, but, at the end of the day, it is the consumer’s responsibility to know what they’re getting into.

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More Rugged Rules

You’ve navigated your way through the retail jungle. Now what? If you’re looking for more advice for how to wear the style, check out our Rugged Rules and our Selvedge Style FAQ.

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The post Make Every Purchase Count with the Rugged Retail Rules  appeared first on Denimhunters.

DENIM and PATCHES sourced this post originally published on this site