Clothing items that every man should have duplicates of

You are getting dressed for work, when your belt buckle breaks. For the unprepared, this would be a disaster. To avoid having a day of pulling your pants up, you should have a spare just for emergencies like this one. These items are the essentials that you wear every day and that experience significant wear and tear. You need to have spares to avoid situations in which you need to make do until you get the chance to go shopping.

Socks

You should, of course, have many pairs of socks. I am a fan of socks with the days of the week printed on them- that way you know you have at least seven pairs in rotation, and they are quirky as well. However, many men own far too few pairs of socks, and will continue wearing holey, discolored socks for years.

A belt

Have one decent belt that you do not regularly use. It does not have to be a particularly nice belt- in fact, it is probably a good thing if there is something you do not like about it, so then you will not wear it in situations less than an emergency. Owning only one belt is a recipe for disaster, as there will come a day when it breaks and you will be caught short.

Jeans

You may have one favorite pair of jeans that you put on nearly every day. That is all well and good until one day your jeans develop a split, which will of course be in a very inconvenient location. You can get jeans fixed (and it may be worth it if they are an especially pricey pair), but what are you going to do on the day it happens? When you find a pair of jeans that you absolutely love, you should always buy an extra pair, to keep in your wardrobe for when that day comes.

Wallet

A good leather wallet will last you many years. One day, though, it will give way. I recommend keeping a spare wallet at home, just so you have something to use in the meantime while you are getting a new wallet. A cheap and basic wallet will do the trick- you do not need anything fancy as your back-up wallet. Anything, even an ugly ten dollar wallet that someone bought you for a kris kringle once, is better than being that guy who holds his cards together with a rubber band and has coins spilling out of his pockets.

Formal shirt

Quality shirts rarely tear, but they can stain. You do not want to get dressed for an important event, only to realise that your single white shirt has your breakfast all over it. Or worse, you may realise that the shirt is getting on in years, and has developed yellowed stains at the underarms. Having a spare shirt in your wardrobe will give you piece of mind, and I guarantee one day you will need it.