Disclaimer: This article contains way more cinnamon toast crunch theories than you probably realise you need. But we all need something to believe in, right? Ah, the 30/30/30/10 formula.
Honestly, it wasn’t something I set out to create. It was actually discovered kind of accidentally. Back in 2016 I was aiding my friend Chris in his transition from job to job.
Old job had a super lax dress code where shorts and sandals were normal – but his new gig was much more corporate. Every time Chris would open his closet door I could literally see him shrink back in horror. “I need everything,” he whimpered, torn. “But I don’t have all the money to buy it at once.” Picking up a beer from his mini fridge I grabbed a seat on his bedroom floor and started organising what he already had into piles. “Okay,” I began confidently, tossing a Hot Pocket branded tee into the “weekend wear” pile, “let’s work out what you need vs. what you think you need.” By the time dawn broke over heaps of assorted clothing and empty beer bottles we had inadvertently stumbled upon a formula I’ve since shared with hundreds – if not thousands – of men.
Here’s the thing.
When working with a set budget to build or update your wardrobe (And let’s be honest – who doesn’t need to work with a budget these days? No sugar-daddy fellas reading this. None of you tech millionaires either.) you are going to get the absolute most styling mileage out of that dollar by spending approximately: 30% on shoes 30% on outerwear and jackets 30% on your core pieces – shirts and trousers/trousers 10% on accessories/details Enter: 30/30/30/10.
I know it feels weird to hear 30% spent on shoes, believe me I know. When I first suggested Chris spend close to a third of his wardrobe budget on boots and dress shoes he thought I was nuts. “Are you crazy?! Shoes!?
Who spends that much on shoes? !” The well-dressed do, that’s who. Fact: when someone takes a look at your overall appearance, the first thing their eyes gravitate to is your shoes and your jacket. Top and bottom.
If you’re rocking some amazing Italian-made worsted wool trousers but your shoes look like they belonged to your book-club mum from 2003, that’s what everyone will notice. Ask me how I know. I’ve ruined multiple family member weddings by spotting my relatives’ horrible shoes from across the room.
Never assume your feet will be fine. They won’t. Shoot, that last sentence should be the new clothing budget mantra.
And it makes even more sense when you take cost-per-wear into account. Well-made shoes that are cared for properly can last you anywhere from half a decade to a decade of active wear. That $300 pair of shoes becomes a couple cents a day for YEARS of use.
But that $30 “deal” you’ve been coveting? Will wear out visibly in less than a year, begging you to buy more of them all over again. For reference, I bought a pair of Allen Edmonds from Nordstrom about ten years ago and they’re still my go-to casual shoe.
They’re easily worn over 500 times and going strong. Yes, I’ve had them resoled twice. But the cost-per-wear is insane when you factor that in.
The second 30% goes toward coats, jackets, blazers. Again, highly visible pieces. C’mum guys, you know you judge other peoples’ outfits by their shoes and coat 99% of the time.
Winter or no, your coat is all people see when you’re walking across the street. Coat + shoes = the first and last thing people see. When you cover that up with suits and casual clothes it’s what frames everything else you’re wearing.
That navy blazer I scored for Chris at the Nordstrom Rack last decade? Still popping him off in outfit photos he sends me 5 years later. That fake-leatherized hoodie you bought from Uniqlo in 2017?
Yeah, we both know you wore it once then tossed it. 🤦♂️ Listen – you can totally gear-shop thrift for pieces of your wardrobe. But almost everything I’ve learned about styling men’s clothes over the past decade has taught me that jacketing is where you really need to bite the bullet and spend money. You don’t need 15 jackets.
You need two or three REALLY good ones. That navy blazer, sure. A lightweight chore coat or field jacket.
A leather jacket if that works for your style and climate. Pieces that you can mix and match with basically everything else in your wardrobe. The shirts and trousers make up the foundation of your wardrobe.
Tops and bottoms. But it’s also where most dudes want to sink all their money. I get it.
For so long we’ve been told shirts and trousers are “clothes” and shoes/coats aren’t. Bullshit. Once you get a handle on those first two categories you can actually spend a little less here.
Not cheaply – but wisely. This rule of thumb has historically been where I see dudes get the best value for their dollar by playing the law of diminishing returns. The difference between a $50 shirt and a $150 shirt is negligible.
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Yes, there are differences in cloth weaves, stitch types, button quality. But for MOST guys spending more than $100 or so on a basic shirt is just wasteful. You’re better off owning 6-7 solid shirts than 2-3 quality ones.
Trousers are the same way. Find a brand and fit that works for your body in the $75-125 range and stick to it rather than dropping $300+ on a pair of jeans. We settled on five OCBDs from Spier & Mackay that were about $55 each, two pairs of nice-fitting chinos, and one pair of solid dark jeans that weren’t pricey but weren’t dumpster dive Basic Economy from Target cheap either.
Nothing too crazy or flashy, but all items that would look at least 10x better with the shoes and jacket we had already invested in. Welcome to the fun part. “This is like 10% of my budget!” This is what I want you to say. “But how will I ever look cool?” This is where you’re wrong. Personality pieces are where you can experiment and have fun with your wardrobe.
Fun ties. Crazy socks. Bright knit shirts.
It’s often these types of items that people notice and compliment when spending time around you – giving others the illusion that you spent WAY more than 10% of your wardrobe budget. Sure Chris got a couple knit ties and pocket squares, but he also snagged himself a luxury jumper from J.Crew in a deep rust colour that won’t scream Wall Street Conservative like your typical blue or grey would. Quick tangent – why aren’t more men wearing awesome jumpers right now?
Good jumpers. This is something I’ve been preaching since long before I started this blog but it truly is 100% feeling left out. Go buy a good jumper that makes you feel amazing.
Point is, this final category allows you to have some fun with your wardrobe without breaking the bank. That $20 pocket square makes a plain navy blazer and white shirt combination look like you spent way more effort and care than you actually did. That $75 knit or camp collar shirt instantly elevates plain old chinos and trainers into intentional outfit-building.
A note on scalability. This formula works just as well if you’re spending $1000 on clothes as it does $10,000. The year Chris got his signing bonus from his new company I helped him build upon what we had originally started with.
Sure he bought some nicer shoes – but they still only accounted for around 30% of his clothing budget. Proportions remained the same as his budget doubled. Think of this formula as whatever you want it to be.
A starting point. Framework. Suggestions for spending your money in a way that pleases both your wardrobe AND your bank account.
Truthfully? It’s not backed by any scientific research that I know of. There haven’t been any double-blind studies where half the menswear participants spent 30% on shoes and half spent 15%.
It’s just something that I’ve seen time and time again work REALLY well. Looking and feeling like you know what you’re doing in clothes for the lowest price point possible. …and yes, I realise how nerdy that sounds. Imma nerd it up anyway.
Life will occasionally throw you scenarios that don’t fit into this neat little formula. Live in Miami? Maybe shift your outerwear budget to somewhere else.
Work from home in t-shirts and sweats? Drop shoes down to 25% and spend more on actual clothes. It’s simply a guideline.
Not gospel. The important thing to takeaway here is that you get more styled-eyed whiskey bang for your buck by spreading your dollars correctly, rather than evenly. Most men adhere to something closer to 15/15/60/10 just because “clothes” are traditionally where they think they should spend their money.
But jackets and shoes are where you’ll notice the most impactful changes to your wardrobe. Throw enough money at shoes and jackets and you’d be surprised how even an inexpensive shirt and trousers looks good. Start with that stuff fitted to your body correctly and suddenly EVERYTHING looks good.
I ran into Chris the other day at a birthday party for one of our other friends.
He’s since since that company for an even better gig with a much fatter paycheck to match. We ended up kicking back a few brews together reminiscing about the old days and he grinned as he recalled that first shopping trip. “Man I still use that formula you made up,” he laughed. “ Bought a new pair of boots last week actually.
Crazy expensive but I figured out the percentage and realised I was right on budget.” He had adapted and evolved the formula to work for him. Internalized it so that he was never even thinking about it. THAT is what you want to happen with your wardrobe.
You simply adapt it to fit your life. And budget. Trust me, you’ll buy less clothes over time when you focus on these pillars.
When your building blocks are good, you won’t feel the need to constantly replace worn out shoes or faded jacket elbows. No urge to switch up your entire wardrobe with every changing season because the staples you’ve invested in still look fresh. That, my friends, is the secret formula.
