Put This On wouldn’t be possible without the generous support of our sponsors. So twice a month, we like to give them a special shoutout. Doing so allows us to recognize them for their support and update readers on our sponsors’ special happenings (and there’s a lot happening with the start of spring around the corner).
Proper Cloth is starting to stock its shelves with some shoulder season items, such as lightweight Oxford cloth shirts, cotton-linen trousers, and wool-linen jackets. Cotton- and wool-linen mixtures allow you to get the best of both fibers—the moisture-wicking properties of linen without all the rumple. Wool adds a touch of warmth and drape, while cotton lends a crisper, cleaner appearance. For an easy spring outfit, you can try Proper Cloth’s light blue Oxford shirts with a pair of cream cotton-linen trousers and a textured wool-linen sport coat.
The company is also reintroducing its California plaids, which are lightweight, pure cotton twills decorated with soft, dusty plaids in spring-ready colors—light grey with slate, light blue with canary yellow, or a faded blue with peached rose. As with all of Proper Cloth’s shirts, these can be made according to the company’s block pattern or produced made-to-measure. You can send them measurements of either your best-fitting shirt or your body, and they will cut the shirt accordingly. Their custom shirt program allows you to specify the fit and style details, such as button-down versus spread collars, popovers of full-button fronts, made to be tucked or untucked. Proper Cloth offers free remakes on all first-time orders, allowing you to home in on the perfect fit.
In the last ten years, countless companies have promised to deliver something of value by “cutting out the middleman.” This has become something of an online marketing cliche, but for Gustin, a San Francisco-based company that helped pioneer this pitch, it’s true. Gustin started as a denim brand that went through the traditional distribution route by wholesaling raw denim jeans to retailers. At some point, they sold directly to consumers online—at basically the same price they sold to stores. This strategy has allowed them to pioneer one of the more interesting menswear business models: by selling directly to consumers through a pre-order system, they eliminate the markups that come with traditional retailing (including the costs of covering unsold inventory). As a result, consumers can get made-in-USA goods for a fraction of what they’d pay elsewhere.
This system also allows you to experiment with things you might not otherwise try. Gustin built its reputation on raw denim jeans, but they also use materials that are a little more unique than your standard ~12oz indigo denim. This week, they’re running a pre-order on herringbone jeans made from 13oz pure cotton denim. As always, the appeal of raw denim is all about how the material naturally fades and wears, and the textured herringbone here will certainly give these jeans a unique look after a few months. Pair them with a chore coat, a chambray work shirt, and a pair of dark brown work boots.
Last week, someone at NPR interviewed me for a story they were doing on pocket squares. As more men shed neckties, the pocket square has become even more important as a way to decorate that part of your chest that would otherwise look a bit empty (especially with solid-colored suit jackets or sport coats). However, there are better and worse ways of wearing a pocket square. To my mind, the most important rule is to avoid any kind of pocket square that matches too closely with your tie—such as pairing a blue pindot pocket square with a blue pindot tie. Doing so makes you look like you bought your accessories in a matching set box from one of those stores that supplies high school students with prom clothes.
Instead, your pocket square should complement but not directly match your tie. It’s easier to do this with pocket squares that aren’t made from fabrics typically used for neckties, shirts, or jackets (so nothing like a wool herringbone tweed pocket square or a solid-colored red silk). You want something with a unique design. This way, bits of color in your pocket square will pick up or complement some other color in your tie. A navy paisley pocket square complements a solid colored brown tie, or picks up the secondary color in a green tie decorated with dark blue stripes. If you’re not wearing a tie, just choose something that complements your jacket.
Dapper Classics’ newly stocked pocket squares are a perfect example of this. They were made in Italy from wool-silk and silk-cotton blends. The rolled, stitched edges ensure this doesn’t look like a table napkin, while colorful motifs add a bit of color to any tailored ensemble without seeming like you stuffed a random piece of fabric into your pocket. The spring-colored one pictured above would be a particularly good complement to tailored jackets in tan linen, taupe cotton, and tonal blue seersucker.
Spier & Mackay has developed a cult following since they debuted on StyleForum in 2014. Before them, it was difficult to get quality, affordable tailoring in the styles and silhouettes that online menswear guys obsessed over—soft shoulder, trim but not tight chest, and a classic length that covers your rear. Above them are dearly expensive Italian clothes that start at four figures; below them are fast fashion brands that sell awful tailoring. Spier & Mackay’s tailoring begins at around $300, but the coats are half-canvassed and fit many guys well.
In the last few years, Spier & Mackay has applied their expertise in classic tailored clothing to more casual pieces. This spring, they have rugged moleskin trucker jackets, cotton jungle jackets, and even mesh shirts in the style of Aime Leon Dore (for a fraction of the price). If you’re feeling the chill during these waning days of winter, Spier & Mackay has two iconic overcoat styles: the tweedy Balmacaan and Ulster, both originally designed to take on the blustery winds of Ireland. These are the sorts of things you can wear with tailored trousers, Aran sweaters, button-up shirts, and split-toe derbies—basically alternatives to sport coats if you feel tailoring is too formal for your lifestyle.
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.
If you’re looking for a deal, you can’t do better than shopping at LuxeSwap. After all, Matthew has been curating high-end clothing for discerning shoppers for over a decade. Much of his stock is gently used clothing sourced from people who are clearing out their wardrobes, but sometimes he also gets clothiers looking to offload old stock (previous clients include store names that often get fawned over in the menswear universe). The thing about LuxeSwap is that they put up new ten-day auctions every Thursday. Every action starts with the low, low price of just a penny, and the ending price is whatever it is when the gavel strikes. As a result, you can score tremendous deals.
For example, take a look at the current round of auctions. There are Loro Piana Roadsters, Paul Stuart tweeds, Ring Jacket gun club sport coats, Red Wing ropers, Gokey carryall, Real McCoys chambray work shirt, and Brioni chukkas. Most people are probably familiar with the Prince of Wales check as being a glen plaid with a faint blue overcheck, but in the official Scottish tartan registry (yes, that’s a real thing), it’s actually this grey-brown plaid with a vivid blue border. Remember that you can always find the best of LuxeSwap’s stock by searching for #1 Menswear.
