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Proper Cloth is holding a summer sale, where select fabrics are discounted by as much as 40%. You don’t typically see custom clothiers holding promotions like this (bespoke tailors commonly raise their prices on the first of every January). But Proper Cloth combines the styling and accessibility of ready-to-wear with the customization of made-to-measure tailoring. Along with the usual broadcloths, poplins, and oxford fabrics you’d find at a traditional shirtmaker, they also carry casual materials such as rayon and Tencel, indigo cotton, and vacation-styled prints. You can even get custom-fitted polos (long- or short-sleeved). These fabrics can be made into standard shirts using Proper Cloth’s ready-made patterns or custom-fitted to your proportions.
The sale section includes a wide range of fabrics available for customization, with prices starting at $75. These fabrics include summer-ready madras, Italian pique cotton, lightweight chambray, sun-faded plaids, and business staples such as light blue end-on-end (these lend a little more visual interest than your plainer, solid blue fabrics). There are also sporty chinos, soft-shouldered tailoring, soft merino-silk sweaters, upgraded Supima cotton T-shirts, and a range of classic outerwear (including knee-length topcoats and smart-casual trucker jackets rendered in wool and linen).
Dapper Classics just hit their 11th-year benchmark. To celebrate this anniversary, they’re offering customers up to 30% off, depending on how much they spend. This would be a great time to try out a pair of their Hertling-made trousers produced from high-end tropical wools and flannels (prices come out to about $165 with the promotion), Italian leather dress belts ($67), and, of course, their flagship socks ($17.50 for staples such as the wool or cotton navy over-the-calf socks, which will go with anything except black suits, where you will want to wear black socks).
As a company that has stood by American manufacturing long after others abandoned it as a trend, Dapper Classics offers unique value. It’s not just that the prices are surprisingly affordable for American-made products (the sale prices here are lower than what you’d pay for something produced in China). But also, the quality rivals many of the best manufacturers, regardless of country of origin. Dapper Classcis’ patterned socks hold up better than similar dress socks from leading European names such as Bresciani and Marcoliani. Their products are produced at small, family-owned firms, and they’re a great way to support American workers, especially during this Fourth of July.
Spier & Mackay is also holding a sale. At the moment, you can take 20% off any order with the checkout code SM20. The company has blown up in recent years because they offer incredible value for people who favor a more tailored wardrobe: half-canvassed, soft-shouldered sport coats start at $248, two-piece suits at $398, linen and oxford shirts at $58, and even overcoats are available at $398. These items typically cost two to four times more at other stores. Spier & Mackay keeps costs down by focusing more on fabrics, cuts, and proportions, and less on handwork and marketing.
If this is your first order with Spier & Mackay, consider grabbing two sizes to see which fits you best. The company offers free returns for first-time customers based in the United States. After that, there is a small restocking fee (ranging from about $5 to $15, depending on the item). The company also has a measuring guide to help you nail down your size.
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. But why might you want to wear suspenders? For one, they’re more comfortable than organ-squeezing tourniquets. Since your waist expands when you sit, and returns 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 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. You can set the desired length with suspenders, 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 is lower than their competitors — much like the price of their grenadine ties. They offer 20 solid colors and three stripes, the choice of black or brown leather kips, as well as gold or silver-colored adjusters.
Our friends over LuxeSwap list hundreds of high-quality menswear auctions on eBay every Thursday night. These auctions, which run for ten days and end on a Sunday, are usually consignments from customers that shop at high-end retailers such as Mr. Porter, No Man Walks Alone, and The Armoury, which allows you to get some of those stores’ products for a fraction of what you’d pay otherwise.
Up on the auction block now is a Frank Clegg leather duffle (very chic for traveling), Jacques Marie Mage Mollino glasses (their most wearable model), some Inis Meain linen knitwear (great for summer evenings), Schott shearling (see this fit on Andrew of 3sixteen), Lof & Tung derbies, a stack of Leon menswear magazines, Sage de Cret army jackets and fatigues, retro-styled Camoshita shirt, De Bonne Facture corduroy shorts, Lemaire chore coat, and Blurhms Western shirt. To home-in on the best stock, do a search for #1 Menswear.
