We’re thankful as an independent menswear blog to have sponsors, so twice a month, we like to thank them for their support. It gives us a chance to recognize them, as well as update our readers on their latest happenings.
Over the last few years, Proper Cloth has become known for combining custom-fit tailoring with casual shirt fabrics such as washed denim. Most tailors can’t make you a washed denim shirt because it requires running the button-up through a special enzyme wash — a factory process that’s too expensive for one-offs. To make the cost affordable, you have to run a bunch of these at a time, which is why you typically only see this effect in ready-to-wear. Any time you see a denim shirt from a custom tailor, it tends to look a little dressy. Without that slightly uneven, washed color and those puckered seams, denim shirts just don’t have the same character.
Proper Cloth gets around this by organizing group-runs online, which allows them to collect a bunch of orders to make the enzyme washing process economical. As a result, you get shirts that fit well enough to wear with tailored clothing (something you can’t do with that Wrangler), but also looks casual enough for almost anything else. This week, Proper Cloth opened a new window for another custom run. Along with their washed denim, they now also offer slub chambray, indigo sashiko, and a blue-and-yellow plaid. Again, by putting these shirts through a special wash, you get that slightly more casual look and broken-in feel, but with all the upsides of a perfectly fitting custom-made garment. You can wear them with one of Proper Cloth’s new fall sport coats, which now come in cozy tweed and chunky weave hopsacks.
Over the last thirty years, suspenders have gone much in the way of hats. Once common in men’s wardrobes, they’ve become something of a relic of the past. Part of that has to do with how trousers have become increasingly low rise, thanks to designers such as Hedi Slimane and Alexander McQueen. But as men are rediscovering the virtues of higher-rise pants — which elongate the leg-line — suspenders make sense again (as they only really work with such silhouettes).
Why wear suspenders? For one, they’re more comfortable than organ-squeezing tourniquets. Since your waist expands when you sit and return to its smaller circumference when you stand, belts are only comfortable in one of these positions. Suspenders, on the other hand, allow you to have a little extra room at the waistband to accommodate for these changes. Plus, they’re better at holding up your pants. Belted trousers tend to slip down throughout the day, which requires you to adjust them continually. With suspenders, you can set the desired length, put them on, and never bother with them again.
Chipp Neckwear has the most affordable ones around, at least if you’re looking for something well-made and produced in the USA. The price is $45.50, which –- much like the price of their grenadine ties -– is lower than their competitors. They offer 20 solid colors and three stripes, the choice of black or brown leather kips, as well as gold or silver-colored adjusters.
Looking for a last-minute gift? Dapper Classics is running their “12 Days of Dapper” promotion, where each day holds a totally new sale. Today, they’re offering $50 off their alpaca fiber scarves. These were woven in Peru using royal baby alpaca, a luxurious natural fiber that is lightweight, hypoallergenic, and exceptionally soft. Fine alpaca is considered a noble fiber and is thus more expensive than ordinary sheep’s wool. When used in a scarf, it’s less itchy against the neck. Dapper Classic’s new alpaca scarves come in solid colors, subtle plaids, and classic herringbones. We recommend getting one in a color that contrasts with the majority of your outerwear. Check back tomorrow, and each following day after that, for a new set of items that will be on discount.
As a style, prep has always revolved around sport. So when Rowing Blazers founder Jack Carlson landed his collaboration with one of the greatest sportswear brands, FILA, he was over the moon. “FILA has always been one of my favorite brands, so this is a dream collab for me,” says Carlson. “While rowing was always my primary sport, tennis was a close second — and more often than not, I’d play decked in head-to-toe FILA. I loved living in Oxford because almost all the courts there is grass. Being out there on a grass court, wearing FILA, surrounded by spires, hitting that green felt ball — there’s nothing better.”
Some time ago, Rowing Blazers and FILA collaborated together on a tennis collection. Their second project is inspired by FILA’s history as a pioneer in statement sportswear, particularly clothes intended for ski slopes. This genderless collection taps into some of FILA’s archival designs around skiwear, specifically ski jackets, ski pants, half-zip fleeces, googles, and two hats. They also have two mountain-ready sneakers decorated with corded laces, heavy-duty lug soles, and splashy reflective stripes. And since this is Rowing Blazers we’re talking about here, there’s also a beefy rugby for good measure. All the pieces come in ’90s style colorways, including neon pink, highlighter yellow, and pistachio green.
The new ski collection is available now on Rowing Blazers’ website. Select styles are also available at FILA.
If you’re looking to build a wardrobe on a budget, you could hardly do better than by shopping at LuxeSwap. Since they’re an eBay consignor for high-quality clothes and accessories, you can get much better deals here than what you typically find in stores (even at bargain bin sales, clearance prices, and end-of-season promotions). LuxeSwap lists everything as a ten-day eBay auction, and the starting price is almost always just $9.99. The final price ends up being whatever the gavel lands at, and it’s typically much lower than 50 percent off retail.
This week, they have a whole new batch of Rota trousers, G. Inglese shirts, Portuguese Flannel button-ups, and Drake’s button-downs. There’s a quilted down parka in there from the Nigel Cabourn x Eddie Bauer collaboration, an adire-dyed Post Imperial shirt, and some Alden shoes. Perhaps most notable is the WW Chan tailoring and brown corduroy Eidos double-breasted suit. You can see a photo of Greg at No Man Walks Alone wearing the brown corduroy suit at Permanent Style.
