Some of our favorite retailers are holding sales this week. If you’re in a position to buy something nowadays, we encourage you to shop small, shop responsibly, and shop at places you love. There’s never been a more important time to support small businesses. So here are some companies that we think are worth your support, along with highlights from their sale sections. You may also find your new favorite jacket or sweater.
The Armoury: 20% Off Ring Jacket Tailoring
For the first time in their ten year history, The Armory has discounted Ring Jacket tailoring by 20%. The store’s Ring Jacket suits and sport coats are among the best values I’ve seen anywhere. The clothes aren’t cheap, to be sure. But for fully canvassed coats, cut and sewn in Japan using high-quality materials, they’re an outstanding value at $1,600 for suits and $1,100 for sport coats. With the promotion, the current promotion puts them within a batting range of $1,280 and $880, respectively.
I’m a big fan of the Model 3. It’s a softly constructed coat with no padding, just a lightweight chest canvas that extends through the shoulder. The silhouette is soft and casual, but smart enough for the office. It’s also classic without being fusty. Made with a slightly extended shoulder line, a bit of drape in the chest, and a little wadding in the sleevehead, it looks flattering on a wide range of body types. Men with broad shoulders will find that this is a coat that actually fits them. Men with narrower shoulders will find this gives them the illusion of an athletic, V-shaped figure. You can see the cut on Simon at Permanent Style, or hear Armoury co-founder Mark Cho explain it in this video. As with all the Ring Jacket items at The Armoury, this cut is exclusive to the store (and wears quite differently from the more common 184 Model you may find elsewhere).
If you don’t yet already have staples such as a grey suit or navy sport coat, now would be an excellent time to pick one up. The Armory has two summer-ready navy sport coats. One is made from a wool-cotton blend that features a lightly ribbed twill. Most summer sport coats come in plain and open weaves, which can look a bit flat. The texture on this Armoury sport coat gives it that much more surface interest, which I think looks especially good if you don’t plan to often wear ties. The Armory also has a subtle navy glen plaid, if you prefer a pattern. Additionally, I love this oatmeal-colored windowpane sport coat, which can be worn with trousers in grey, mid-brown, and navy. As with all of The Armoury’s Model 3 jackets, I recommend taking your regular jacket size.
Division Road: Archive and Seasonal Sale
Division Road carries the sort of clothes that can make anyone look good. Based in Seattle, Washington, their store specializes in the kind of workwear, Americana, and heritage-style clothing that has become a backbone of men’s casualwear. These clothes are geographically neutral — something you’re just as likely to see in Des Moines as San Francisco. They work across a broad range of lifestyles. And they’re built to last in terms of construction and design. For guys who live busy lifestyles, hard-wearing clothes such as these are easier to maintain than fancy cashmere sweaters and tailored sport coats. (Pete recommends this sort of stuff for busy dads).
This week, the store put up their new sale section, where you can find old and new season stock discounted by as much as 40%. Included is an incredible looking Eastlogue parka. While expensive at $725 (even on sale), it’s essentially a two-layer system that allows you to wear the coat in three different ways — the parka by itself, the liner by itself, or the two together for frigid days. I think it would look great with a pair of jeans, boots, and a textured sweater (these from Corridor look handsome, especially the version in cedar brown). I also dig the stout cotton sweatshirts in grey and gold, the Gitman plaid flannel with a kitten-soft brushed interior, and the Still by Hand car coat. Private White VC’s twin-track jacket features a unique center-front placket that allows you to layer up in the cold. The panel gives you 4cm more space when you need it, or a tighter fit when you’re wearing this just over a jersey. You can read Ian’s review of his twin-track jacket at his blog.
Stag Provisions: Extra 25% Off Sale Items, Code EXTRA
Like Division Road, Stag Provisions specializes in the kind of workwear and Americana that fits into nearly anyone’s wardrobe. I like them because they’re a small boutique with a massive selection. They also seem to fill that space that J. Crew has somewhat left behind. This is an excellent one-stop-shop for guys who are just looking to build a casual wardrobe without too much fuss and bother. Think of it as a slightly more rugged version of Sid Mashburn (less preppy, a bit more rugged).
For summer, they have some white, short-sleeved shirts from Universal Works and Todd Snyder that have been made with interesting weaves. Universal Works also has a terry cloth polo shirt that I think would look good with navy shorts and a pair of these Shoe the Bear woven mules. This olive Alex mill work shirt would look terrific with a basic pair of blue jeans and some boots. The faded RRL sweatshirt is a bit pricey ($150 with the promo code), but I love how the color looks in real life. Lastly, these Monitaly linen guayaberas can be worn like a shirt jacket — layered over a soft jersey tee, combined with shorts and some sandals, for weekend lounging or at poolside hangouts.
Steed Tailors: Sale on Handmade Neckties
Ever want to wear a piece of Savile Row tailoring, but don’t want to splurge for a bespoke suit? This week, Steed Tailors put up a new online store, where you can find a selection of handmade neckties, facial masks, suspenders, and garment bags. The ties are entirely made in England by the same woman who makes for Chittleborough & Morgan (another Savile Row shop and one of the successors of the famed Tommy Nutter tailoring house). At the moment, the ties have been discounted to just $55 or so. If you plan to wear these with suits, I recommend the foulards or small geometrics, which tend to look a bit more formal. Steed has them in staple colors such as navy and burgundy. For tweed jackets, try the ties in wool. For something you can wear with suits or sport coats, pick up the textured crystal weaves.
Steed also has soft facial masks, which are made in such a way that you can combine them with a removable PM2.5 carbon filter (one free filter is included with each order, although you can purchase more). The shell is completely reusable and washable, although you’ll want to replace the filter after each use. Steed tells me they may introduce some ready-to-wear and made-to-measure shirts later this year, along with ready-to-wear blazers and dinner suits. If they do, the jackets will be produced to their bespoke standards (although in a ready-to-wear fit) to keep their London tailors busy.
Wooden Sleepers: Discounts On Gift Cards
A couple of months ago, I bought one of Wooden Sleepers’ in-house candles after reading rave reviews — dare I say hype — on Blamo’s Slack channel. Wooden Sleepers is the menswear world’s favorite vintage shop, formerly located in Red Hook, Brooklyn (they recently took down their brick-and-mortar store and are planning to open in a larger and better location once the pandemic is over). Last year, I bought one of my favorite outerwear pieces, a vintage Lee trucker jacket, from them. I also regularly recommend them to people looking for vintage staples, such as military field jackets, chore coats, and army fatigues.
But let me tell you: the scented candles are the sleeper hit at Wooden Sleepers. One user on Blamo’s Slack channel described it as smelling like piped tobacco with vanilla. Another said it smelled like the inside of a pack of baseball cards. I think it smells like freshly baked cookies. I burn these almost every day for a few hours. The smell is supremely relaxing — just like smelling freshly baked cooking being taken out of the oven in the other room — and the candles seemingly last forever. I also like how the glass jars with rusted metal tops look on my bookshelf. I’ve bought three so far and am thinking about picking up a few more to give as Christmas gifts later this year.
You can get Wooden Sleepers’ candles at a discount if you purchase them with a gift card. The shop sells gift cards at about a 20% discount — $30 gift card for $25, $60 for $50, $125 for $100, $300 for $250, and $600 for $500. However, the additional credits will be emailed to you within 24 hours of your purchase (I believe they process them manually). That means, if you purchase one, you’ll get a gift card code for the amount you paid (a $25 purchase will give you a code for $25). You then have to wait 24 hours to get the additional code for the $5 topper. Gift cards can be used on anything in their shop, including the new shipments of vintage madras shirts, Quaker Marine hats (I like wearing the longbill Swordfish model with workwear and Americana), and American Trench’s wool-silk blend socks (my favorite boot socks).
