I would say about 90% of my clothes come from thrift stores, and then 9% were given as gifts or found in other places. I haven't bought clothes from a retail store since I was basically forced to by some "nice" shirts when I started my job (the remaining 1%). And since it's been like this for so long, paying any more than $5-7 for a shirt or more than $10 for pants seems ridiculous.
I'm not a trend-following type of person but I do care about how I dress as much as anyone. Unfortunately, people can't see someone's personality as clearly as they can their clothes. What someone decides to display on their bodies when they are well aware that people will be seeing them
can tell you something about them. I'm not advocating judging a book only by its cover, but unlike books, people don't have a preface or a synopsis on the back page to read to get to know them. And no, Facebook/MySpace don't count. Being judged -at least a little bit- by appearance is inevitable because nearly all animals have been doing it to survive since animals started having eyes. Although how people dress doesn't necessarily affect our survival these days, it can still give you a glimpse into their minds.
Personally, I like simple, repetitive patterns on my shirts like stripes, plaid, etc. For pants, I prefer baggy-ish cargo pants with lots of pockets. I like pockets
For shoes, I don't know the types but as long as it fits comfortably and looks nice I'm fine. As for my color scheme, it's mostly earthy colors like green, brown, gray and black, but with a dash of desaturated color somewhere in there. I prefer not to wear logos because I think they look bad and since I'm not getting paid to advertise for a company I don't really support anyway, I might as well not. Boxer-briefs because: 1) They are the best of both worlds, and 2) They're super sexy. As for accessories, I don't get very extravagant. I have a hemp necklace, a hemp bracelet I made, another bracelet my mom made me and a couple random rings.
I love seeing different ways people dress, which is why I love living where I do, in Portland, Oregon. Anyone who's been here can get what I'm saying. You wouldn't really think twice seeing someone walking down the sidewalk in a suit of armor, which has happened at least once that I know of. What I love most about style though, is the diversity of it, and how much and how quickly it changes. People can get pretty damn creative.
