All Over Albany

Best Cleaners spring refresh: Michael Walsh

As Kaitlin and Carey said: "It's so funny that he wasn't even going hunting."

Rebecca snipped; Kaitlin, Carey and Rob shopped; and Michael -- well, Michael tried on a lot of clothes and was a very good sport.

And today we have the results of the first Best Cleaners/AOA wardrobe refresh.

That's Michael pre-refresh above. As he said with his entry:

A dirty Yankees cap, woodland camo, a hooded sweatshirt, ripped Carhartt pants and (purchased used) Bellvue combat boots. And no, I wasn't going hunting or working outside on this particular day. Considering my daily wardrobe, my friend figured it would be funny to post a picture of me holding his Macy's bag containing a brand new suit. Oh, the irony. A refresh would be good so at least I look semi-acceptable if I ever go out on the weekend.

We think it's safe to say he ended up better a lot better than "semi-acceptable."

The hair

We started the day at V Salon in Albany with a haircut by Rebecca Taft:

Rebecca's take
Michael's last haircut was only a couple of weeks before, but Rebecca cleaned up his sideburns. "They were a little bushy -- I didn't make them shorter, the long sideburns are a look a lot of young guys like right now -- I just cleaned them up so he didn't look like a Civil War lieutenant. And I left a little bit on top so he could play with it. I just gave him a fresher look."

Shopping

Remember, Michael's goal was modest: "to look semi-acceptable if I ever go out on the weekend." After talking with him a bit, we decided on a casual "first date" look. Corks and Caftans Rob came along to help Kaitlin and Carey with their mission. They chose to shop Crossgates because of the wide selection of stores in one space.

Carey's take
Michael came in with a huge smile, and it definitely set the tone for the day! There are some people---men more so than women---who don't buy clothes unless they need them. In Michael's case, he'd fallen in a rut and wanted a few things that would be easy to mix in across the board, lending a little polish while still being relaxed and casual. We hit Banana for some tailored separates like pants and a shirt, totally scored at J.Crew with some great shirts and a field jacket (which he can wear over t-shirts, too), and some GAP jeans that were a color that could be easily dressed up or down. My favorite addition was his new kicks---not trendy, but slicker than running shoes. He looked outstanding! Special thanks to Rob for providing a valuable male opinion!

Kaitlin's take
Michael came to us in kind of a not so awesome t-shirt and his boots he'd worn hiking in the desert. But he was up for anything and just finding him clothing that fit a little better was kind of the key. He looked great in everything we picked -- once we found out what fit him it was easy. Before he was a little wearing whatever he happened to have -- there was not a lot of thought. Afterward he was polished and fun. We found some great deals for him. For guys those deals can be a little harder to find because a lot of the men's sections are smaller, so you kind of have to keep your eyes open for good sales.

And here's Michael, post-refresh:

The look:

+ The shirt is from JCrew and (score!) it was $13.99 as part of a final sale.
+ The first shirt was such a great deal we were able to get him a second look. The second shirt came to $50.57.
+ The cadet jacket, also on sale at JCrew, came in at $55.99
+ The pants are chinos from Banana Republic. As part of its 40 percent off sale last Saturday, we got them for $41.70
+ The big splurge was on the shoes: sneakers from Journeys for 64.99.

The total (after tax) for 2 shirts, 1 jacket, 1 pair of pants and one pair of sneakers: $241.17.

(The jacket and alternate shirt)

The takeaway

Michael says one of the reasons he avoids shopping is the expense. "I probably never would have gone into to JCrew, just figuring it was really expensive. Now I see that if you look, you can find some good deals."

Thanks!

Many thanks to everyone who helped us with the refresh. Rebecca Taft at V Salon. Carey Wodehouse and Rob Burden from Corks and Caftans. And Kaitlin Resler from All This Happiness.

Later: Best Cleaners spring refresh: Emily Vorce

Best Cleaners has 10 locations around the Capital Region -- and offers free delivery.