Don't spend all your money at once. What I mean is to buy a few items at a time. Try one or two pieces of an outfit over time to see how the fit and style work for you. You don't want to drive to an outlet and blow all your money at J-crew/Banana Republic/Bonobos/whatever else.
Remember most important thing is fit. Make sure the clothes fit your body porportions well.
If I were I would start with the following for basic foundation and then build on it with more interesting and higher quality pieces.
-- Pair of olive or navy blue chinos. Can be had from J-crew/Banana republic/Bonobos. This is pretty standard place to start. Avoid tan or khaki colored chinos as those are overplayed by American men and are too safe. Navy blue chinos can be worn during the day or even at night and will always look smart. Also allows for a variety of tops.
-- V-neck t-shirts (2-3) of a different color but the same style/fit/brand. Make sure to pay a little extra for high quality fabric. Make sure there is no branding. I would go with at least one black and maybe light blue or salmon or even all white. Depends on your skin tone. You can throw a leather jacket/varsity jacket/denim jacket/blazer over a v-neck and quickly become smart casual. Best investment IMO. For guys with a slight belly the black v-neck also makes you look slimmer.
-- Oxford button downs. Many different styles. Get a light blue for the safest. If you can find them on sale the Brooks Brothers ones are nice. But lately I've been moving away from collared shirts for a more casual and artsy/younger look of long sleeve tees with interesting design. The buttown down chino look is kind of a "nice but boring" stable white guy look.
-- 1 Pair of high quality jeans. Go for a slim or straight fit. I would recommend Nudies or Naked and Famous for a good brand within your 200 limit. Buy these online or sometimes you see them at Nordstrom/Barneys etc... Going with raw denim with a nice fit will give you an awesome piece of jeans that are unique to you over time. Plus it feels good and gives you confidence to be wearing something like this that's yours over long time. But gotta take care of it. Personally I own two pairs of Momotaros and a tweed fill Naked and Famous in the winter. Probably cost about 700 dollars for all three but I've owned them for over 6 years and I always get compliments on them.
-- For shoes go with Clark's desert boots for beginners. Don't skimp out on cost. Sperrys are good for summer and with the chinos.
-- For trainers the holy grail is Common Projects all white sneakers, but that will run you 400 dollars. Similar but much cheaper is Adidas Stan Smiths for around 50 dollars. There are other brands out there. Nike Killshot 2 with gum sole is also popular because it looks very clean and can be worn casually or even in a more dressy way. Avoid basketball shoes. Always go for slim/clean silhouette.
-- Avoid overbranding. Talking to female and male friends who are quiet classy and fashionable, wearing heavily branded stuff is the mark of an ignorant. Wearing high quality nicely fitted clothes with one or two pieces that have slight edge to them is the hallmark of a well put together man. Of course all this is my opinion. If your confidence level is high then you can experiment with bolder patterns and colors but I don't think that's what you are asking for here.
-- Need I say again: FIT FIT FIT is the most important.
Remember most important thing is fit. Make sure the clothes fit your body porportions well.
If I were I would start with the following for basic foundation and then build on it with more interesting and higher quality pieces.
-- Pair of olive or navy blue chinos. Can be had from J-crew/Banana republic/Bonobos. This is pretty standard place to start. Avoid tan or khaki colored chinos as those are overplayed by American men and are too safe. Navy blue chinos can be worn during the day or even at night and will always look smart. Also allows for a variety of tops.
-- V-neck t-shirts (2-3) of a different color but the same style/fit/brand. Make sure to pay a little extra for high quality fabric. Make sure there is no branding. I would go with at least one black and maybe light blue or salmon or even all white. Depends on your skin tone. You can throw a leather jacket/varsity jacket/denim jacket/blazer over a v-neck and quickly become smart casual. Best investment IMO. For guys with a slight belly the black v-neck also makes you look slimmer.
-- Oxford button downs. Many different styles. Get a light blue for the safest. If you can find them on sale the Brooks Brothers ones are nice. But lately I've been moving away from collared shirts for a more casual and artsy/younger look of long sleeve tees with interesting design. The buttown down chino look is kind of a "nice but boring" stable white guy look.
-- 1 Pair of high quality jeans. Go for a slim or straight fit. I would recommend Nudies or Naked and Famous for a good brand within your 200 limit. Buy these online or sometimes you see them at Nordstrom/Barneys etc... Going with raw denim with a nice fit will give you an awesome piece of jeans that are unique to you over time. Plus it feels good and gives you confidence to be wearing something like this that's yours over long time. But gotta take care of it. Personally I own two pairs of Momotaros and a tweed fill Naked and Famous in the winter. Probably cost about 700 dollars for all three but I've owned them for over 6 years and I always get compliments on them.
-- For shoes go with Clark's desert boots for beginners. Don't skimp out on cost. Sperrys are good for summer and with the chinos.
-- For trainers the holy grail is Common Projects all white sneakers, but that will run you 400 dollars. Similar but much cheaper is Adidas Stan Smiths for around 50 dollars. There are other brands out there. Nike Killshot 2 with gum sole is also popular because it looks very clean and can be worn casually or even in a more dressy way. Avoid basketball shoes. Always go for slim/clean silhouette.
-- Avoid overbranding. Talking to female and male friends who are quiet classy and fashionable, wearing heavily branded stuff is the mark of an ignorant. Wearing high quality nicely fitted clothes with one or two pieces that have slight edge to them is the hallmark of a well put together man. Of course all this is my opinion. If your confidence level is high then you can experiment with bolder patterns and colors but I don't think that's what you are asking for here.
-- Need I say again: FIT FIT FIT is the most important.