April 29, 2013

Three Mid-Season Sales

A few mid-season sales worth mentioning:

The first is at Ralph Lauren, who’s having a “private sale” event with discounts of up to 40% off. If you shop before May 2nd, when the sale goes public, you can also get an extra 15% off at checkout. I particularly like the dark brown loafers you see above, which come in at about $300 after discounts. 

The second is at TM Lewin, who is having a “five shirts for $160” promotion (thus putting shirts at $32 a piece). I recommend their slim fit. It’s neither skinny nor full, and it’s tough to find a better shirt at that price point. This is a great option if you’re on a budget, especially if you need to build a work-appropriate wardrobe quickly. 

Finally, Brooks Brothers is having their Friends and Family sale from May 8th until May 11th. You can expect discounts of about 25%, with some exclusions (shell cordovan shoes and Edward Greens are usually not included in these sales). This might be a good time to pick up some of their oxford cloth button down shirts, if you’ve found that they fit you well. 

Posted in It's On Sale Brooks Brothers Ralph Lauren TM Lewin
January 24, 2013
Getting a Good Mac It rained all day in the Bay Area yesterday, which reminded me that spring showers are just around the corner. Soon, many of us will be reaching for the necessary outerwear to keep ourselves dry - waxed cotton Barbours, mountain parkas (which Heavy Tweed Jacket had a great article on, by the way), and heavy wool dress coats. Some of my favorites, however, include things specially designed for the rain. That is, a classic men’s trench or single breasted mac. These are arguably less versatile than the aforementioned options, as you can wear those even when it’s not raining, but I find there’s something very masculine and sophisticated about a classic men’s raincoat. As Sydney J. Harris once said in the Chicago Daily News, “Almost every man looks more so in a belted trench coat.” In the last year, I’ve been on the search for a simple, single-breasted mac, which differs from a trench in that it doesn’t have the militaristic details of D-rings, epaulettes, and storm flaps. The one I landed on is by Mackintosh, who’s famous for making macs in a specialized bonded fabric. The cloth is heavy and not terribly breathable, which perhaps makes it less ideal for summer flash storms. On the upside, however, I think the stiffer material makes for a nice silhouette, and the overall construction is very high. They have three models: the traditional Duncan, the slim fit Dunoon, and the slim fit, but slightly longer cut, Dunkeld (which is what I have). I strongly favor longer raincoats, as I think they’re more elegant and masculine than the trendier cropped variety. Their slim fits are fairly slim, however, and it’s necessary to size up if you plan to wear a sport coat or chunky sweater underneath.  A bit more affordable are those from Aquascutum, who I also think makes wonderful raincoats. Of those, they have four macs: two traditionally cut versions (the full-length Filey and mid-length Broadgate) and two slim fits (the Slim Broadgate and raglan sleeved Sheerwater). All are exceptionally nice, especially if you could find one with a liner. That gives the fabric a bit more heft, which in my opinion, translates to a better looking drape.   Another company I came across was Sanyo, a Japanese brand making headway into the United States. They have near a dozen models, but most are made from a polyester or polyester blend. This gives them a certain sheen that I think is less appealing than a traditional cotton or wool gabardine (a type of fabric that’s very tightly woven). They do have some very handsome wool raincoats though, and many are sold in places that hold deep sales (e.g. Nordstroms). Finally, I like TM Lewin’s. Theirs is a bit shorter than some of the other options mentioned, but the construction is decent for the price (at least on sale). The fabric is also a weatherproof cotton, so it doesn’t have any sheen. Of course, as it goes with most men’s coats, macs tend to be highly expensive new, so you’ll want to wait until they go on deep discount. Perhaps best of all, however, is the second-hand market. Many of the better companies – such as Burberry, Aquascutum, and Mackintosh – make near indestructible garments, and these will often long outlive their owners. At some point, such coats will make their way into thrift stores, community centers, and eBay, where folks can pick them up for pennies on the dollar. Just search around to find something that’ll fit you.  (Pictured above: George Peppard and Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s)

Getting a Good Mac

It rained all day in the Bay Area yesterday, which reminded me that spring showers are just around the corner. Soon, many of us will be reaching for the necessary outerwear to keep ourselves dry - waxed cotton Barbours, mountain parkas (which Heavy Tweed Jacket had a great article on, by the way), and heavy wool dress coats. Some of my favorites, however, include things specially designed for the rain. That is, a classic men’s trench or single breasted mac. These are arguably less versatile than the aforementioned options, as you can wear those even when it’s not raining, but I find there’s something very masculine and sophisticated about a classic men’s raincoat. As Sydney J. Harris once said in the Chicago Daily News, “Almost every man looks more so in a belted trench coat.”

In the last year, I’ve been on the search for a simple, single-breasted mac, which differs from a trench in that it doesn’t have the militaristic details of D-rings, epaulettes, and storm flaps. The one I landed on is by Mackintosh, who’s famous for making macs in a specialized bonded fabric. The cloth is heavy and not terribly breathable, which perhaps makes it less ideal for summer flash storms. On the upside, however, I think the stiffer material makes for a nice silhouette, and the overall construction is very high. They have three models: the traditional Duncan, the slim fit Dunoon, and the slim fit, but slightly longer cut, Dunkeld (which is what I have). I strongly favor longer raincoats, as I think they’re more elegant and masculine than the trendier cropped variety. Their slim fits are fairly slim, however, and it’s necessary to size up if you plan to wear a sport coat or chunky sweater underneath. 

A bit more affordable are those from Aquascutum, who I also think makes wonderful raincoats. Of those, they have four macs: two traditionally cut versions (the full-length Filey and mid-length Broadgate) and two slim fits (the Slim Broadgate and raglan sleeved Sheerwater). All are exceptionally nice, especially if you could find one with a liner. That gives the fabric a bit more heft, which in my opinion, translates to a better looking drape.  

Another company I came across was Sanyo, a Japanese brand making headway into the United States. They have near a dozen models, but most are made from a polyester or polyester blend. This gives them a certain sheen that I think is less appealing than a traditional cotton or wool gabardine (a type of fabric that’s very tightly woven). They do have some very handsome wool raincoats though, and many are sold in places that hold deep sales (e.g. Nordstroms). Finally, I like TM Lewin’s. Theirs is a bit shorter than some of the other options mentioned, but the construction is decent for the price (at least on sale). The fabric is also a weatherproof cotton, so it doesn’t have any sheen.

Of course, as it goes with most men’s coats, macs tend to be highly expensive new, so you’ll want to wait until they go on deep discount. Perhaps best of all, however, is the second-hand market. Many of the better companies – such as Burberry, Aquascutum, and Mackintosh – make near indestructible garments, and these will often long outlive their owners. At some point, such coats will make their way into thrift stores, community centers, and eBay, where folks can pick them up for pennies on the dollar. Just search around to find something that’ll fit you. 

(Pictured above: George Peppard and Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s)

Posted in Rain Macs Burberry Mackintosh Aquascutum Sanyo Nordstroms TM Lewin London Fog
January 22, 2013

It’s On Sale: T.M. Lewin and Charles Tyrwhitt Dress Shirts

If you need to stock up on dress shirts, then you’ll want to check out T.M. Lewin’s clearance sale right now where they’re offering 4 shirts for $144, which comes to $36 per shirt. Please note though that it only applies to certain styles (it’ll say so under the shirt’s thumbnail on the site). You should also note there are three types of sizing on the shirts, too — including a slim fit.

And at Charles Tyrwhitt, shirts are as low as $30 on sale right now with an even larger selection up to $35. They also have three different fits to pick from. Plus, you get an extra $10 off when you spend $75 or more. 

-Kiyoshi

Posted in It's On Sale TM Lewin Dress Shirt Charles Tyrwhitt
November 22, 2012

It’s On Sale: TM Lewin Shirts

British shirtmaker TM Lewin is having a sale: 5 shirts for $160. That puts them at about $32 per shirt, which isn’t too shabby. 

From my experience, their “slim fits” fit reasonably well - slim enough to be flatting, but not so tight that they’d be inappropriate for a business environment. Of their slim fit selection, they have some basic white and light blue twill cottons, as well as some striped options, such as these in navy and blue. I’d just stay away from the non-iron varieties. I haven’t handled TM Lewin’s non-irons, but all the ones I’ve seen stateside have a strange sheen to them.  

Addendum: Apparently US customers can order directly from TM Lewin’s US site. I’ve updated the links. Also, they’re offering an additional 15% off with the coupon code BLKFRI. The coupon ends Monday.

Posted in It's On Sale TM Lewin
July 2, 2012
Cool-Wearing Shirt Fabrics for Summer Warmer temperatures call for open weave shirtings - those lightweight, airy fabrics that allow your skin to breathe and body heat escape. My favorite summer shirting is linen. It’s so gauzy and open that it allows you to feel every gentle breeze passing through, but it’s also quite prone to wrinkling. Personally, I find a lot of charm in that, but it’s not to everyone’s taste. Additionally, depending on the quality of the linen, you may find that new linen can feel a bit rough. You can trust, however, that it will soften considerably over time. In addition to pure linen, there are all of its variations. Linen-cotton blends, for example, will give you some of the benefits of linen but look less messy. I also recently came across a pure cotton that’s woven to feel and look just like linen. You can find any of these - pure linen, linen-cotton blends, and pure cotton woven to feel like linen - from a variety of makers. Brooks Brothers, J. Crew, and Howard Yount are good starts. Brooks’ shirts are better in their slim to extra-slim fit cuts, depending on your size. For more affordable options, you can check Uniqlo (which you can shop at through Suddenlee) and TM Lewin. For higher-end models, browse the stock at Ledbury, Mr. Porter, and Barney’s. The latter two are holding sales right now, which means you can get particularly nice ones at a more affordable price.  I’m also a fan of pure-cotton oxford cloth (the stuff used to make OCBDs), but not everyone thinks they’re well suited for summer. For example, Michael Anton, author of The Suit, has written that he thinks they’re too warm for high temperatures. On the other hand, Alex Kabbaz, arguably the best custom shirtmaker in America, has recommended them. Personally, I find that my OCDBs wear cooler than many of my other dress shirts, but you should try wearing some for yourself and seeing how you fare.    For those who have shirts custom-made, I also recommend cotton-batiste, cotton voile, and chambray. The first two are rather popular in Southern Italy, where the weather can get quite warm, but they have the problem of often being too translucent. Fortunately, A Suitable Wardrobe has some cotton voile shirting that’s very wearable, as well as a very nice, fine chambray. I would heartily recommend either of those if you can afford them. If you’d like to find other sources, check with your shirtmaker. He or she should have some from a variety of makers such as Thomas Mason. And last, but not least, there’s madras, which we’ve already talked about here. Of course, being that the world of shirting is wide and varied, it’s best for you to always check for yourself whether a particular fabric is good for hot weather. One trick you can employ is holding the cloth up to the light. If the fabric is lightweight and you see a lot of light passing through, it’s more than likely perfect for summer.  (Pictured above: Bolts of fine chambray shirting at A Suitable Wardrobe. Photo taken from StyleForum.)

Cool-Wearing Shirt Fabrics for Summer

Warmer temperatures call for open weave shirtings - those lightweight, airy fabrics that allow your skin to breathe and body heat escape. My favorite summer shirting is linen. It’s so gauzy and open that it allows you to feel every gentle breeze passing through, but it’s also quite prone to wrinkling. Personally, I find a lot of charm in that, but it’s not to everyone’s taste. Additionally, depending on the quality of the linen, you may find that new linen can feel a bit rough. You can trust, however, that it will soften considerably over time.

In addition to pure linen, there are all of its variations. Linen-cotton blends, for example, will give you some of the benefits of linen but look less messy. I also recently came across a pure cotton that’s woven to feel and look just like linen. You can find any of these - pure linen, linen-cotton blends, and pure cotton woven to feel like linen - from a variety of makers. Brooks Brothers, J. Crew, and Howard Yount are good starts. Brooks’ shirts are better in their slim to extra-slim fit cuts, depending on your size. For more affordable options, you can check Uniqlo (which you can shop at through Suddenlee) and TM Lewin. For higher-end models, browse the stock at Ledbury, Mr. Porter, and Barney’s. The latter two are holding sales right now, which means you can get particularly nice ones at a more affordable price. 

I’m also a fan of pure-cotton oxford cloth (the stuff used to make OCBDs), but not everyone thinks they’re well suited for summer. For example, Michael Anton, author of The Suit, has written that he thinks they’re too warm for high temperatures. On the other hand, Alex Kabbaz, arguably the best custom shirtmaker in America, has recommended them. Personally, I find that my OCDBs wear cooler than many of my other dress shirts, but you should try wearing some for yourself and seeing how you fare.   

For those who have shirts custom-made, I also recommend cotton-batiste, cotton voile, and chambray. The first two are rather popular in Southern Italy, where the weather can get quite warm, but they have the problem of often being too translucent. Fortunately, A Suitable Wardrobe has some cotton voile shirting that’s very wearable, as well as a very nice, fine chambray. I would heartily recommend either of those if you can afford them. If you’d like to find other sources, check with your shirtmaker. He or she should have some from a variety of makers such as Thomas Mason.

And last, but not least, there’s madras, which we’ve already talked about here.

Of course, being that the world of shirting is wide and varied, it’s best for you to always check for yourself whether a particular fabric is good for hot weather. One trick you can employ is holding the cloth up to the light. If the fabric is lightweight and you see a lot of light passing through, it’s more than likely perfect for summer. 

(Pictured above: Bolts of fine chambray shirting at A Suitable Wardrobe. Photo taken from StyleForum.)

Posted in Shirts Summer Brooks Brothers J. Crew Howard Yount Uniqlo TM Lewin Ledbury Mr. Porter Barney's Michael Anton Alex Kabbaz A Suitable Wardrobe StyleForum Madras Linen Cotton Batiste Cotton Voile Chambray
July 1, 2012

It’s On Sale: TM Lewin Shirts

TM Lewin is having a storewide sale and dress shirts can be had for as little as $30. I recommend their slim fit. It’s neither skinny nor full, and it’s built decently well. This is a good option for folks on a tight budget, but need to get a work-appropriate wardrobe that will make them look both stylish and professional. 

Posted in Shirts TM Lewin It's On Sale Steals & Deals
June 7, 2012
Q and Answer: How Can I Get an Office-Appropriate Wardrobe for $500? americastoppushing writes: I just got a job at a major publishing house in NYC and the whole staff here is very well dressed. I need to jump from grad school clothes to stylish office clothes quickly. I have about $500 to spare right now and I need to make some significant changes to my wardrobe, including shoes, a laptop bag, and at least a few shirts and pairs of pants. Where can I get the most for my money? I’d like to get things that are fairly versatile. First, congratulations on the new job and for graduating grad school. I’m actually finishing up a grad program myself, so I can appreciate what a grind it can be. As for your wardrobe, I’m afraid $500 won’t going to get you very much, especially if you need it soon. But let’s see if we can’t give it a try. For shoes, I recommend a pair of brown derbys (also known as bluchers). Derbys have “open lacing,” which means the shoelace eyelet tabs are sewn on top of the part of the shoe that covers your toes and instep. This differs from the more elegant and formal oxford, which has the eyelet tabs sewn underneath. Oxfords are considered more formal because they make you feet look more “dressed.” However, since you can’t afford suits and sport coats at this time, you should embrace the inherent casualness of what you’re wearing by getting derbys. These can be worn with anything from cotton chinos to wool trousers. Getting them in brown will mean that you can wear them with trouser color (except black, which you shouldn’t be wearing anyway). I recommend a plain toe design for your first pair, but if that’s too boring for you, you can also get them with a perforated or non-perforated toecap. Any of these will be acceptable in an office environment. You can get a pair at Meermin for about $150.   For dress shirts, you really ought to have at least ten, so that you can get through two work weeks before having to do laundry. However, ten will almost wipe out the rest of your budget and leave you pants-less, so I recommend getting five for now. As soon as you can, pick up another five. Your first five should include three solids and two stripes in a mix of white and light blues. These colors flatter the complexion of any man, and they’ll set a good foundation for when you’re ready to wear suits, sport coats, and ties. You can read Jesse’s post about this subject here. I agree with what he said, and would just add that in your situation, it would avoid having people think “here comes that guy in the bright pink shirt again.” You are going to be wearing each of these often, so best to make them look fairly non-descript. Design wise, choose the following if you can: semi-spread collars (they look good on every guy); French placket with no pocket (as a proper dress shirt should be); and barrel cuffs (not French cuffs, as you won’t be wearing these with a suit for now). You can browse TM Lewin’s clearance section to see what they have. Their “slim fits” fit decently well on the average sized guy. At $32 a pop, this should set you back $160. For pants, I’m going to fudge here and assume you at least have a pair of khaki chinos you can use for casual Friday. To add to this, I recommend two pairs of wool trousers, one solid mid-grey and another slightly darker. If you must choose a pair of non-grey pants (and only if you absolutely must), I recommend brown. Pick whatever weave you’d like (from flannel to sharkskin), but just make sure the fabric doesn’t look too shiny. You don’t want to look like you forgot your suit jacket at home. Sign up for Land’s End’s newsletter and wait for a coupon code to come up. You can then score a pair of their Tailored Fit wool trousers for about $60. Finally, we have the laptop bag. Muji has a canvas and leather shoulder option as well as a “3-Way” bag (an unfortunate name) for $80 and $90, respectively. These aren’t the most professional looking of bags, and there are certainly better options out there, but this slides us in at about $515, just fifteen dollars more than the budget you allocated. Of course, a basic business wardrobe should have at least double what I’ve listed above – two pairs of shoes so that you can rotate between them (wearing the same pair everyday will quickly ruin the leather), ten dress shirts, and four trousers. Depending on your office environment, you may also want to get a few suits or sport coats at some point. These will make you much more professional looking, but they’ll be considerably more expensive. Remember that you can lower your outlay by acquiring things over time instead of buying everything at once. Try thrifting, using eBay, and waiting for sales. Jesse’s guide to thrifting can help you with the first, our eBay roundups the second, and my sales announcements here and at the Inside Track the third. Give yourself a year or two to acquire a decent, basic wardrobe, and perhaps another five to six years to perfect it. It takes a while to acquire what you need and learn how to dress well, but the process itself can be very fun and rewarding. 

Q and Answer: How Can I Get an Office-Appropriate Wardrobe for $500?

americastoppushing writes: I just got a job at a major publishing house in NYC and the whole staff here is very well dressed. I need to jump from grad school clothes to stylish office clothes quickly. I have about $500 to spare right now and I need to make some significant changes to my wardrobe, including shoes, a laptop bag, and at least a few shirts and pairs of pants. Where can I get the most for my money? I’d like to get things that are fairly versatile.

First, congratulations on the new job and for graduating grad school. I’m actually finishing up a grad program myself, so I can appreciate what a grind it can be.

As for your wardrobe, I’m afraid $500 won’t going to get you very much, especially if you need it soon. But let’s see if we can’t give it a try.

For shoes, I recommend a pair of brown derbys (also known as bluchers). Derbys have “open lacing,” which means the shoelace eyelet tabs are sewn on top of the part of the shoe that covers your toes and instep. This differs from the more elegant and formal oxford, which has the eyelet tabs sewn underneath. Oxfords are considered more formal because they make you feet look more “dressed.” However, since you can’t afford suits and sport coats at this time, you should embrace the inherent casualness of what you’re wearing by getting derbys. These can be worn with anything from cotton chinos to wool trousers.

Getting them in brown will mean that you can wear them with trouser color (except black, which you shouldn’t be wearing anyway). I recommend a plain toe design for your first pair, but if that’s too boring for you, you can also get them with a perforated or non-perforated toecap. Any of these will be acceptable in an office environment. You can get a pair at Meermin for about $150.  

For dress shirts, you really ought to have at least ten, so that you can get through two work weeks before having to do laundry. However, ten will almost wipe out the rest of your budget and leave you pants-less, so I recommend getting five for now. As soon as you can, pick up another five.

Your first five should include three solids and two stripes in a mix of white and light blues. These colors flatter the complexion of any man, and they’ll set a good foundation for when you’re ready to wear suits, sport coats, and ties. You can read Jesse’s post about this subject here. I agree with what he said, and would just add that in your situation, it would avoid having people think “here comes that guy in the bright pink shirt again.” You are going to be wearing each of these often, so best to make them look fairly non-descript.

Design wise, choose the following if you can: semi-spread collars (they look good on every guy); French placket with no pocket (as a proper dress shirt should be); and barrel cuffs (not French cuffs, as you won’t be wearing these with a suit for now). You can browse TM Lewin’s clearance section to see what they have. Their “slim fits” fit decently well on the average sized guy. At $32 a pop, this should set you back $160.

For pants, I’m going to fudge here and assume you at least have a pair of khaki chinos you can use for casual Friday. To add to this, I recommend two pairs of wool trousers, one solid mid-grey and another slightly darker. If you must choose a pair of non-grey pants (and only if you absolutely must), I recommend brown. Pick whatever weave you’d like (from flannel to sharkskin), but just make sure the fabric doesn’t look too shiny. You don’t want to look like you forgot your suit jacket at home. Sign up for Land’s End’s newsletter and wait for a coupon code to come up. You can then score a pair of their Tailored Fit wool trousers for about $60.

Finally, we have the laptop bag. Muji has a canvas and leather shoulder option as well as a “3-Way” bag (an unfortunate name) for $80 and $90, respectively. These aren’t the most professional looking of bags, and there are certainly better options out there, but this slides us in at about $515, just fifteen dollars more than the budget you allocated.

Of course, a basic business wardrobe should have at least double what I’ve listed above – two pairs of shoes so that you can rotate between them (wearing the same pair everyday will quickly ruin the leather), ten dress shirts, and four trousers. Depending on your office environment, you may also want to get a few suits or sport coats at some point. These will make you much more professional looking, but they’ll be considerably more expensive.

Remember that you can lower your outlay by acquiring things over time instead of buying everything at once. Try thrifting, using eBay, and waiting for sales. Jesse’s guide to thrifting can help you with the first, our eBay roundups the second, and my sales announcements here and at the Inside Track the third. Give yourself a year or two to acquire a decent, basic wardrobe, and perhaps another five to six years to perfect it. It takes a while to acquire what you need and learn how to dress well, but the process itself can be very fun and rewarding. 

Posted in Budget Budget Shopping Business Wardrobe Office Clothes Q and Answer Work Attire Meermin Land's End Muji TM Lewin
April 13, 2011

I jokingly remarked on Twitter earlier today that the key to ironing was putting the thing you want flat under the iron. I genuinely believe that many people, especially many men, are unduly afraid of ironing. Frankly, it’s pretty easy if you have decent equipment and you don’t expect perfection of yourself.

Above I’ve posted a nice, simple how-to from the folks at the English shirt company TM Lewin. It gets all the basics along with a little trick that I’ll have to try: buttoning the collar to do the shirt’s body.

My main advice is to get a good iron - I like my Rowenta, which was about a hundred bucks on eBay. I think it’s tough to understand how much different the good iron ironing experience is from the cheap iron ironing experience without trying it, but suffice it to say I’m very happy with my investment. When my mother-in-law visited, she literally exclaimed at how easily her ironing went. A really nice iron helps make the spray bottle a bit redundant, though go for it if you don’t mind keeping it on hand.

I do my ironing after my wife does the laundry (along with her ironing). I ask her to take the shirts out of the drier when they’re still very slightly damp, and then I iron while I watch TV. An episode of Archer later, I’m usually done with a pile of eight or ten. Frankly, I don’t try to get everything perfect. I don’t mind a little rumpling from time to time - it builds character.

Posted in Laundry Shirts Ironing TM Lewin