Put This On

A Laptop Case Roundup

I’ve been looking for a good laptop case for the last few months. My two briefcases, a Filson 257 and Lotuff English brief, don’t have any cushioning on the bottom, so I need something to protect my computer when I set my bag down. Unfortunately, most cases are made from neoprene or ballistic nylon, and I prefer more natural materials.

Luckily, there are still plenty of good options. On the expensive end, there’s Vaja and Want Les Essentiels. Both companies make exceptionally good products and their cases strike me as a bit smarter designed than most. Unfortunately, they’re also very pricey, and you might end up with something that won’t work with your next laptop purchase. Still, if money were no object for me, I would probably start here.

For slightly more affordable options, I really like Calabrese, Carga, and Ally Capellino. Calabrese is an Italian manufacturer of high-end bags with refined and sophisticated designs. Their laptop sleeve comes in a very beautiful tan leather, as well as dark and light canvas materials. Likewise, Carga has a very nice, simple option made from a single piece of vegetable tanned leather, and Ally Capellino’s is made from (what seems to be) a tumble-washed canvas. If you’re a student, you can take a 12% discount at Ally Capellino, which makes theirs a bit more affordable still. 

There are also some really nice contemporary designs by Scandinavian companies such as Mismo, c.dellstrand, P.A.P. Accessories, and wood wood. For something that has more of a traditional sensibility, consider Saddleback Leathers and Restoration Hardware. Saddleback Leathers is known for making very high-quality leather goods, but I suspect Restoration Hardware is using cheaper materials (though, to be fair, I haven’t had a chance to handle it). I also like WM J Mills and La Portegna. Their sleeves have handles, which may be convenient if you plan to carry them on their own.

For non-leather materials, consider Hard Graft and Pack & Smooch. They have some felted wool models that don’t look too shabby. Additionally, there are coated canvas sleeves from Incase and McManus, as well as a denim sleeve that came out of an Incase and APC collaboration. Perhaps most affordable of all is Wrappers, where you can buy a basic, no frills linen sleeve for about $30.

Finally, should none of these excited you, try searching Etsy. You have to get through a bit of chaff, but if you put in the work, you can find some decent looking designs. Check out Harlex and Byrd & Belle, for example. 

As for me, I’m hoping that Calabrese will make something for 13” laptops soon. I’m pretty set on that tan leather model. 

For a few years, I used an old nylon zipper bag for my toiletries. When I say old, I mean that truthfully - this number was from the late 60s, and had crazy psychedelic designs on it. When that bit the dust, I grabbed a simple zip bag from Muji, but I wanted something more than plastic.

After a lot of fruitless searching for something suitable at a reasonable price, I ended up grabbing a Jack Spade waxwear dopp kit from Gilt. It was a bit more expensive than I’d like, and I’d have preferred it didn’t have a big Jack Spade logo patch on it, but it’s very good looking and has served me well. (By the way: if you’re looking for simple, mid-priced, solid-quality accessories, you can do worse than Jack Spade on Gilt. Good selection, usually, and nice products.)

If Archival Clothing had been offering this Archival Dopp Kit back then, I probably would have bought one for myself. The team there always works hard to remove unnecessary BS from their designs and to get every detail right. The result is a beautiful form and exceptional function. Sixty bucks isn’t a pittance, but frankly it’s cheap for something made exactly right. That’s how Archival do it.

(And they just put out a cool-ass duffel bag, too.)

Oh, what’s this in the mail? A small packet from England came. And inside?

Two Holland and Holland pocket squares, neatly wrapped in tissue paper and then sealed with a little metallic sticker. I’ve been hunting for these for a year and a half, first after seeing Jesse write about them, and then after losing the auction he posted about eight months later. Luckily for me, the same seller finally posted another pair of them last month, and I won the auction. Now I finally, finally have the pocket square that this guy wore in a video.

I’m actually wearing one of the squares now, and when I put it on this morning, I sang this song. Not at all joking. 

Now that’s a lapel pin.

(via Swimsuit Department)

A roundup of camera accessories at Archival Clothing.

It’s On eBay

New & Lingwood Wallet

If you put in a little effort, you can get something wonderful for the price of something passable.

Buy It Now for £24.99 ($40)

Christine Cariati has been close friends with my mother my entire life. When they first met, Christine taught my mother to weave, and I grew up with the sound of a loom in the room next to my bedroom. In the 80s, Christine and a friend ran a hand-woven goods company called Cariati & Wainwright that sold clothes and accessories in extremely high-end boutiques. Eventually, Christine quit weaving to pursue a career as a fine artist - several of her works hang in my home.

Recently, Christine has gone back to weaving, and she was kind enough to send me two scarves she wove from deadstock silk she had in a warehouse. They’re spectacularly beautiful, as you can see even in my lousy photograph above.

Hopefully, we’ll offer a very limited selection of the scarves for sale sometime in the next few months. Each will be hand-woven on a mechanical loom by Christine herself, and we expect a price around $150. I’m really proud we’ll get to share these pieces, which are true heirlooms.

It’s On Sale

Striped Grenadine Tie

I’ve written here before about the beautiful accessories from Drake’s of London. This is one of the few situations where I actually think spending good money on a necktie might be worth your while. The Drake’s winter sale has a number of beautiful, basic ties on sale that you can wear every week for many years.

About $85 from about $135 at Drake’s of London

Via Dim Tool Dim Bulb