There is a moment in every man’s life when the dawning reality of adulthood hits him. You’re living by yourself (or with a significant other). You work; you pay bills; you might even have kids. You’re a grown up. You know it’s just the natural passage of time, but it’s still a bit of a shock that it’s happened.
With adulthood comes a raft of new responsibilities. You find yourself making choices to stay in at night, actually caring about the nutritional value of the foods you eat. If you’re a Dad, you find yourself on the verge of saying things your parents said to you.
Rather than railing against the onset of adulthood and tragically trying to cling to youth, embrace it. You’re at the next stage in life and that means you need to change with it. It’s too easy to stay trapped in the early 20s or student mindset, where saving money for weekend beer is all that matters.
One of the major things that changes as you age is that you see the point in investing in things. Fashion doesn’t have to be fast and on-trend; you can look for more timeless, lasting elements. If you’re still buying the cheapest items you can find for any given purchase, it’s time to grow up and stop. Below are the top three things men scrimp on when they really shouldn’t. So leap into the new stage of life and invest where you should.
- Wallets
First and foremost, if your wallet has velcro on it, you’re too young for this article. Or, you really do think that’s acceptable. If you have a velcro wallet, take it out for me right now. Aw, it’s nice. Now empty it of cards, money and anything else. Good. Now – throw it into the bin.
Wallets for the more sophisticated man should be leather. They should be sleek and simple, though an occasional modern pattern is fine. And no velcro. Ever.
- Shoes
It might seem like a stereotypically female area to worry about, but stop buying cheap shoes.
There are a few reasons for this. Cheap shoes tend to be made of more synthetic materials, so not only will they feel bad on but they will wear incredibly quickly. These are items you wear every day. Go for leather or suede for business shoes in a simple style; for working out a pair of Air Jordan 11 or similar brand style will last you forever.
- Watches
Remember those old, cheap Casio watches that it seems every Dad in the world owned in the 90s? There’s a reminder above if needed. Do you own one of these? Yeah, that’s going to need to go in the bin with the velcro wallet. Time’s moved on.
You don’t have to spend a fortune on a watch for it to be stylish and fitting for your age group. It just needs to be made of quality materials, so steer clear of anything too plastic. Fit is also important; if it’s a strain to fit the band, then you need to go up a size.
Check out Chronoexpert for some great timepieces!
These are just the tip of a very large iceberg, but it’s a good place to begin!