huh? so it sounds gay but americans are pigs and ... whuh? huh? what're you trying to say?
ooo, express men is great too... nice sport coats there too.
i don't know what america you live in but americans aren't rolling in it... consumer confidence is not relatively high and this holiday season is down from previous years. hugo boss is upper class in my mind. i'm not upper middle (maybe barely) but it doesn't sound like upper middle to me. maybe if you spent your money on nothing but clothes.
and those kids had to sell a LOT of crystal meth to get that playstation 3.
kev07, it's all relative. you can dress well from TARGET. they actually have some really nice stuff that i pick up all the time too.
old navy is great too if you can find stuff that doesn't say "old navy" all over it (there's lots) and it's owned by the company that owns both banana republic and gap. a lot of their clothes are interchangeable, just with different brand cache.
if you don't get hung up on brand names, it's never been more possible to dress well affordably. but admittedly, you won't appeal to women who are looking for versace, gucci, armani, savile row, hugo boss, etc.
as for leather lace ups, man, does it every depend on where you are in life in regards to this. a pair of church's oxfords are around $600.... italian loafers can get into the thousands. but they say that if you're going to splurge anywhere, it should be on the shoes because if you take care of them, a well made pair of shoes can last you a very long (if not a life) time. anything from europe is nicer but too expensive.
my most expensive pair is johnston murphy which is the best i can afford and pretty good... $180. they have a great lineup actually, i recommend them for a $100 - $250 range.
but shoes are a somewhat pricey pursuit and is irrelevant in most american situations. it is definitely a mark of style but a mark of style that seems to be going out of style to a certain degree. americans simply don't care that much about it anymore. there is very little sense of decorum these days, even in places where you would expect it like weddings and such. so if you pay even a moderate amount of attention to what you are wearing, brand names may not mean much. unless you float in rareified circles, $80 laceups (mostly for a suit) and pumas/addidas will get you where you need to go. i think even johnston murphy's are overkill but i kinda ended up digging shoes.
oh, and general fashion stuff - check out GQ, esquire, cargo used to be great before they got canceled and men's health. they feature style from all across the budget spectrum (though less reasonable in gq, more reasonable in men's health). if you get that look - and it's a pretty specific kind of look - you're good to go. it is generic in its way but this is the look.
also, generally, men's health is a good monthly bible in my opinion. it's played a really important part in my ongoing evolution.
delta