A blog about dressing like a grownup.

Wigwam’s Colorful Ragg Socks

I love ragg socks this time of year. The term ragg refers to an old process whereby waste fibers – usually wool, although sometimes also cotton – were recycled and made into new yarns. Those yarns were then turned into sweaters, mittens, and socks, typically in designs suited for camping, hiking, and other outdoor pursuits. 

Today, ragg mostly refers to a look – a kind of marled, sometimes slubby cotton or wool knit with a bit of heft and weight to it (designed to imitate the originals). As socks, they go great with boots, moccasins, and almost any other kind of footwear you might be wearing in the fall and winter months. 

Most of my ragg socks are from Anonymous Ism, a niche Japanese producer that does a lot of private label work for other brands (Anonymous Ism is their house label). Recently, however, I picked up a pair of Wigwam’s Cypress socks and love them. They’re sized to fit, made in Wisconsin, and produced by an old heritage company that’s been around for over a hundred years. Most of all, I love how they come in a billion colors (I favor orange) and have this wonderful, slubby quality. There are thick bits here and there throughout the white yarns, giving the socks a nice flecked appearance (kind of like Donegal tweed). 

They’re not perfect. I wish they were an inch longer and, although they’re sized, their “adult medium” is just a touch short on my 9D feet (maybe I should try a size large). That said, they run about eleven or thirteen bucks on Amazon, which is half of what I pay for fancy Japanese socks (and a sixth of what some companies charge). For quality, provenance, and a bit of fun accessorizing, it’d be hard to beat a pair Wigwam’s colorful socks in your camp boots this fall. 

Michael Hill’s Ten Style Commandments

Michael Hill is one of the nicest guys I know, and he also happens to be one of the best dressed. He’s the Creative Director at Drake’s (an advertiser on this site, but also one of our favorite accessory brands). Recently, he wrote something for Christian Barker’s Men’s Top Ten blog, where notable style figures submit their ten style “commandments.” Like all good lists there, his points are more friendly suggestions than hardline rules. An excerpt:

While I find navy to be the most useful tie, jacket and suit color, navy trousers are not as easy as one might think, and best avoided altogether in worsteds and flannels. Conversely the same goes for grey jackets — beyond something like a Harris Tweed herringbone they’re tricky to combine. When it comes to the trousers I personally feel grey worsteds and flannels are best in darker hues.

A tight, well edited wardrobe can go a long way. For me that’s a navy hopsack and navy chalk-stripe suit; a couple of good navy blazers (in different weights), two or three tweeds; flannel and worsted trousers (again different weights). For the ties, a few Ancient Madders, a few repps, a navy and forest-green Grenadine, and a navy knit; blue and white striped poplin shirts, white and blue and white Oxford button-downs; over-the-calf solid navy and solid purple socks; and chukka boots. Once you’ve established a fit that works for you then it’s just a question of selecting these in great authentic cloth from the weavers, knitters and printers that have always specialized in each quality.

Avoid extremes and look for balance. And better to just do enough than to go over the top and force something. By the same token, aim to dress respectfully for the occasion or environment.

Don’t be afraid to try things in order to find things that work for you, that you feel comfortable and relaxed in. It’s a question of finding you’re own way within ‘the rules’, or as Mansel Fletcher refers to them ‘(no rules)… only things that haven’t been done well’. And this can take time, a lot of time. Many of the best dressed men I can think of are in their fifties or over.

You can read the rest here.

#PTOman Highlights

Our Instagram followers are some stylish people, so once a week, we like to bring you some highlights from our feed. We have some great monochrome looks this week, using simple colors to great effect. Andreas goes for a light, sandy look while Nic goes dark, Dennis opts for all-blue-everything workwear, and JC adds a little floral fun to his navy look.

Want to see yourself in all your monochromatic splendor? Follow us on Instagram and tag your pictures with #PTOman. Bonus points for full body-outfit shots as opposed to just shoes or collars.

eBay Roundup

Heavy on the footwear finds today thanks to the work of Dan and Pete. If you’d like to dig up more menswear gems on eBay, try using our customized search links. We’ve made them so you can quickly hone-in on high-end suits, good suits, high-quality shirts and fine footwear.

Suits, sport coats, and blazers

• Liverano & Liverano double breasted suit, 40
  
• Tan checked sport coat, 40
  
• Blue puppytooth sport coat, 44

Outerwear

• Eidos overcoat, various sizes
  
• Black 45rpm peacoat, XS
  
• Blue Mark McNairy jacket, 36
  
• Iron Heart trucker jacket, 36
  
• Reigning Champ track jacket, S
  
• Buffalo check jacket, S
  
• Nanamica parka, S
  
• Navy Eidos topcoat, 38 and 40
  
• Private White VC fishtail parka, M
  
• Visvim parka, M
  
• Wallace & Barnes field jacket, M
  
• Norse Projects x Elka raincoat, M
  
• Sandro MA-1 bomber, M
  
• Nonnative Gore-Tex coat, L
  
• Gray topcoat, 42
  
• Wallace & Barnes bomber, L
  
• Checked fleece jacket, XL
  
• Corduroy ranch coat, 44

Sweaters and knits

• Brown Nonnative sweater, XS
  
• Striped RRL shawl collar sweater, M
  
• Gray Sulka sweater, 42
  
• Gray shawl collar sweater, L

Shirts and pants

• Raf Simons t-shirt, S
  
• Yellow checked flannel shirt, S
  
• Black workshirt, S
  
• Short sleeved shirt shirt, 38
  
• Nigel Cabourn checked shirt, 38
  
• Aloha shirt, M
  
• Red plaid flannel shirt, L
  
• Brown wool trousers, 32
  
• RRL jeans, 33
  
• Engineered Garments fatigues, 34

Shoes

• Meermin shoes, various sizes
  
• Tom Ford suede size zip boots, 7
  
• Crockett & Jones M43 boots, 7.5
  
• Eastland suede guide boots, 8
  
• Crockett & Jones suede penny loafers, 8
  
• Gucci horsebit loafers, 8
  
• Crockett & Jones suede shortwings, 8.5
  
• Tricker’s quarter brogue boots, 8.5
  
• Chippewa work boots, 8.5
  
• Rancourt & Co penny loafers, 8.5
  
• Alden split toe bluchers, 9
  
• Alden penny loafers, 9
  
• Red Wing cap toe boots, 9EE
  
• Allen Edmonds shell cordovan tassel loafers, 9.5C
  
• Ralph Lauren Purple Label shearling lined boots, 9.5 (pictured above)
  
• Brooks Brothers semi brogues, 9.5
  
• JM Weston suede penny loafers, 9.5
  
• Grenson navy suede chukkas, 9.5
  
• Alden black shell cordovan monkstrap chukkas, 10C
  
• Tricker’s plain toe boots, 10
  
• Eastland moc toe boots, 10
  
• John Lobb penny loafers, 10
  
• Reigning Champ x Asics running shoes, 10
  
• Mark McNairy blue suede tassel loafers, 10
  
• Brooks Brothers suede desert boots, 10.5
  
• Crockett & Jones semi brogues, 10.5
  
• Adidas white Primeknits, 10.5
  
• Viberg hikers, 11 (pictured above)
  
• Margiela side zip boots, 11
  
• Edward Green black tassel loafers, 11.5
  
• Adidas ADO Pure Boosts, 11.5 (1, 2)
  
• Russell Moccasin black two-eyelet derbys, 11.5
  
• Russell Moccasin engineer boots, 11.5E
  
• Alden cap toe boots, 12
  
• Vass Norwegers, 12 (pictured above)
  
• Grenson cap toe boots, 12.5
  
• John Lobb horsebit loafers, 13E

Ties

• Pindot brown tie
  
• Striped Sulka knit tie
  
• Burgundy grenadine
  
• Red striped tie
  
• Black knit tie

Bags, briefcases, and wallets

• Visvim backpack
  
• Orange Porter bag
  
• Canvas tote

Misc.

• Dents gloves, various sizes (1, 2)
  
• Swaine Adeney Brigg umbrella
  
• Borsalino and Lock hats, various sizes
  
• Black scarf
  
• Drake’s pocket square
  
• Brown Purdey scarf
  
• Stetson hat, 7 ¼
  
• Navy Margiela scarf
  
• Floral scarf

If you want access to an extra roundup every week, exclusive to members, join Put This On’s Inside Track for just five bucks a month.

It’s On Sale: J. Press Shaggy Dogs

I love brushed Shetland sweaters – and Shetlands in general. The brushed versions are softer than the originals, and have a fluffy texture that makes them pair well with hard tweeds and waxed cotton Barbours. Traditionally, they’ve been a prep staple, although you can wear them with almost anything. One of my favorite shops, Neighbour, used to have a house line of brushed Shetlands they’d model with trim topcoats and designer bomber jackets. 

J. Press invented the style, which gives theirs some nice provenance. And this week, they’re having a sale on them – going from a whooping $245 to a slightly less whooping $196. There’s a full run of sizes at the moment, as well some new colors (less preppy; more muted). 

The company actually has two lines of brushed Shetlands nowadays. There’s the mainline, which are little fuller in the body and have low-ish armholes, Then there’s the trimmer and slightly more youthful looking Blue Line, which has higher armholes and a raglan sleeve design (as opposed the mainline’s set-in sleeves). I like the fit of the Blue Line better, but the material isn’t as thick as the mainline, or as brushed. The second might pair better with non-trad items, however. 

Our Beloved Sponsors

It’s thanks to our sponsors that we’re able to bring you content every day, so twice a month, we like to thank them for their support (and say a little about what’s going on with them). 

Our first sponsor, Ledbury, has been releasing a new shirt every day this month. These are limited runs, with the offers going out exclusively to their email subscribers. The designs have included stripes and solids you can wear to the office, as well as casual designs for weekends and holiday trips. To get notified of their upcoming releases (there are just eleven more), you can sign up for their email list at their site. 

Next, The Hanger Project has some new scarves from Begg, one of Scotland’s premier makers. The lambswool and angora mixes have the soft hand of cashmere, but none of the price. If you’re up for a splurge, however, they also have pure cashmere options, which have been hand bushed with natural teasels in order to give them a slightly rippled finish. 

Although Chipp is most known for their affordable neckties, they also have a program for custom-made suspenders. Each pair is available in twenty-one different solid colors and four stripes. Customers then have the choice of choosing between two colors for the leather kips and two colors for the metal adjusters. The suspenders are hand cut in Chipp’s NYC atelier.

Gustin has some new Harrington jackets on deck. These are made in the USA using US-woven duck canvas (a hefty 12oz fabric they’ve left raw in order to give them a more saturated color). They’ve also been cut to fit a little trimmer for style. Projects are about to close soon, however, and once they do, they stop taking orders and go straight into production. 

Finally, our thanks to Proper Cloth and Drake’s. Proper Cloth just got back from shooting their lookbook in Iceland (you can see the behind-the-scenes video they shot here). Drake’s, meanwhile, is about to release their jeans (their first ever foray into denim). The jeans are made with a slightly higher rise and a little more room in the leg, but still gently taper to the cuff. 

If you want to advertise on Put This On, just email us at contact@putthison.com.