Twice a month, we like to give our sponsors a special shoutout. Doing so allows us to recognize them for their support and update readers on our sponsors’ special happenings.
Although Proper Cloth is primarily an online custom shirtmaker, they also do a lookbook (or two or three) every season, like many ready-to-wear brands. These lookbooks can be a great source of style inspiration, especially since they’re aimed at showing Proper Cloth’s customers how their new products and fabrics can be combined in different ways. In their latest lookbook, there are a ton of ideas on how to wear tailoring a little more casually.
An easy solution is to opt for sport coats, rather than suits, rendered in visually textured materials such as hopsack or tweed. You dress this down further by pairing the jacket with jeans. In the photo above, you can see how this call comes together: a visibly textured tan sport coat worn with a slubby, marled sweater and slim-straight white denim (a little dressier than blue jeans to match the formality of the jacket) looks a lot more casual than the standard sport coat uniform with wool trousers. Brown suede shoes finish this beautifully, as they complement the textures and level of formality. For more ideas, you can see all of Proper Cloth’s lookbooks on their website.
If you’re a denimhead, you may have heard of neppy denim, a heavily textured fabric with tufts of cotton poking out from the surface, creating something like a snowy landscape. Neppy denim is distinct from other types of textured fabrics. It’s a little more irregular and mimics the flecking of Donegal tweed, but misses the streaking you see on slubby denim.
Neppy denim jeans are a specialty product typically sold at high-end boutiques for hundreds of dollars. This week, Gustin has them for just $159. These jeans are made in San Francisco using a 58/42 cotton-silk yarn (the highest silk content they’ve offered to date). The jeans are available in Gustin’s classic straight, slim, and skinny fits, and come in raw indigo, so you develop the fades. The price is relatively low because Gustin’s entire business model is oriented around producing only what they can sell through pre-orders, which allows them to cut costs and not charge you for overstock. They also skip the traditional wholesale market and bring products directly to you.
Why would anyone want neppy denim? The texture allows it to fade in unique ways, giving the material a handcrafted feel without being over-the-top. You can pair it with one of Gustin’s saddle blanket or woodsman flannel shirts, a heavyweight sweatshirt, and a pair of all-white minimalist sneakers. All of these items are ways you can upgrade things that are likely already in your wardobe, as they’re made with better, more unique materials that will age beautifully with time.
Dapper Classics is giving our readers first dibs on their Black Friday sale, where you can get 30% off on any purchase with the checkout code BF30. The code applies to their freshly stocked “Dapper by Italy” shop, which has classic ties, pocket squares, and scarves. The most notable is perhaps the pure wool, square scarf you see above, which is inspired by La Chasse à la licorne, a series of seven tapestries made during the Late Middle Ages. Keen-eyed readers will note that the motif has decorated a number of high-end pocket squares and scarves from clothiers such as Hilditch & Key and Drake’s, both highly coveted and selling for quite a bit more than this Dapper Classics scarf on sale. The burnt orange background on this scarf will nicely complement brown tweeds, while the navy reverse highlights light-blue oxford button-downs and adds visual interest to a well-tied accessory.
This would also be a great time to grab a few pairs of their over-the-calf socks, particularly in navy wool and mercerized cotton. Navy socks go with anything short of jeans: grey flannel trousers, tan chinos, taupe whipcords or cavalry twills, and suits of any color except black. Over-the-calf socks prevent your bare calves from showing when you sit down, as they don’t droop throughout the day. Dapper Classics’ over-the-calf socks are just as good as any of the ones from high-end European brands. However, since they make these socks in the US, you don’t have to pay for unnecessary overseas shipping and duties.
If you’re looking to build a classic wardrobe on a budget and you don’t want to trawl through eBay and second-hand markets, it would be hard to do better than by going to Spier & Mackay. Based in Canada, this company has built a cult following in the last few years by offering guys the sort of classic clotehs typically sold at high-end clothiers, but at a much more affordable price. The suits and sport coats feature a soft shoulder with a classic lapel and a length that (mercifully) covers your rear. They also have oxford cloth button-downs with a full collar roll, chunky shawl collar cardigans, and even dress outerwear such as double-breasted topcoats.
Much of what you’ll find here can be worn wonderfully during the holidays. For example, this grey herringbone tweed is the sort of thing you can wear with a plaid shirt and some jeans to a holiday party. The shawl collar cardigans can be paired with tan chinos or tailored trousers when hosting guests at home. And if you want to ring in the new year with style, they also have tuxedos. Be sure to sign up for the company’s online newsletter—you’ll get a 10% off code.
If you’re just starting to build a neckwear wardrobe, you could do worse than starting with a basic grenadine. The textured Italian silk adds visual interest to solid-colored sport coats but is also subdued enough to pair with patterned jackets. Your next few ties should continue to be basic—rep stripes, foulards, and perhaps a knit for casual occasions.
Once you have the basics, consider getting things in more seasonal fabrics. Raw silk and linen are ideal for summer. However, in the fall and winter months, you’ll want things such as tweed, cashmere, wool challis, and most of all, ancient madder. Paul at Chipp Neckwear once told me that the chalky hand of ancient madder reminds him of a horse’s wet nose. I’ve always thought that description is charming. Madder ties are useful in the winter because they sit in the middle in terms of formality. They’re just as good with tweed and corduroy sport coats as they are with worsted suits. Chipp’s ties are made in NYC using the same English silks as what you’ll find from top-tier producers, except theirs cost less than $70.
As an eBay consignor, LuxeSwap doesn’t do Black Friday sales—they do blowouts. Every year, they hold onto some of their best stock for one big round of auctions, which goes up on Black Friday. These are, again, ten-day auctions that end on a Sunday. But rather than their regular stock (which is already quite good), it’s the best of their inventory, patiently built up over the course of a year.
Matthew at LuxeSwap tells us that he’s preparing for this year’s blowout, which will go up this Friday. But if you can’t wait, check out the current round of auctions for Barbour jackets, Alden boots, Wythe moleskin shirts, Ralph Lauren flannels, and Drake’s accessories. Remember, you can always find some of their best items by doing a search for #1 Menswear.
