We wouldn’t be able to do Put This On without our sponsors, so twice a month, we like to give them a special shoutout. Doing so allows us to recognize them for their support, as well as update our readers on our sponsors’ special happenings.
Proper Cloth has some new shirt fabrics from Thomas Mason, one of the higher-end lines from Italy’s Albini Group. Even if you’re new to custom tailoring, you’ve probably heard of the line. Thomas Mason is widely touted as one of the best shirt fabric labels in the world. Having started in England over 200 years ago, but bought out by the Albini Group in the early 1990s, it combines conservative English taste with high-end Italian manufacturing. Thomas Mason fabrics are typically very soft and smooth, luxurious to the touch, and admittedly a bit expensive. A custom Thomas Mason shirt commonly starts at $300, but Proper Cloth offers them for around $150. That’s barely more than what J. Crew charges for them as ready-to-wear.
Proper Cloth also has a new line of custom-made summer trousers in fabrics such as open-weave, high-twist Fresco, which is usually only available to clients of bespoke tailors. Being open-weave means that the trousers are breathable, while the extra-twist on the yarns allows the fabric to be naturally wrinkle-resistant (hence why the material is so popular among frequent travelers). Proper Cloth also has trousers in comfy stretch cottons, crunchy Irish linens, and cotton-linen canvas blends. Like their shirts, these can be custom-made according to your measurements, or produced in ready-to-wear sizes.
Paul Winston, the proprietor of Winston Tailors and Chipp Neckwear, likes to say that his family’s company serves a more traditional-minded customer. But since the company’s founding in 1945, they’re also made some pretty wild clothing. Paul’s father Sidney was known for producing things such as patchwork tweeds, madras trousers, and sport coats with vivid linings. And shortly after Paul joined the family’s company in 1961, he designed a small line of clever, pictogram neckties. The difference between sophisticated humor and bad taste, Paul tells us, is always “who and where.” “A chairman once gifted my ties to his board members, and that was considered good humor, but when the same ties are found at Nordstrom, they’re considered bad taste.”
At the moment, Paul has some neckties laying around his office in very limited quantities (about one or two of each design). “My favorite is the one of the snake in the grass, which I designed years ago,” says Paul. “That one is $50 with shipping. The other two — a fish and beer print, and a handpainted mallard tie — are $25 each with shipping. They may be of interest to collectors.” The ties aren’t listed on Chipp’s site, so to purchase, you’ll have to contact Paul directly. You can reach him by phone at (203) 559-7653 or email him at paul@chippneckwear.com.
It’s probably too late to receive these in time for Fourth of July, but with US elections around the corner, you’ll find plenty of opportunities to wear Dapper Classics’ new flag socks. Like with everything Dapper Classics sells, these are made in the USA to top-end specifications. Dapper Classics’ socks, particularly in cotton, are silky and smooth, as they’re produced from mercerized yarns. Mercerization is a textile process that strengthens yarns, improves their dye uptake, and imparts a silk-like luster. By using mercerized cotton, Dapper Classics is able to produce a finer, more breathable sock for summer. These also have a pattern that’s been finely knitted into the weave, rather than just printed onto the surface, which means they’ll hold up better to multiple washings. Wear them with anything — suits, sport coats, tailored trousers with sweaters, and dressier forms of casualwear — to show a bit of patriotic pride.
New York brand Rowing Blazers opened their first West Coast pop-up location this week at Los Angeles’ Brentwood County Mart. The mart, which debuted shortly after the war in 1948, has a diverse mix of tenants that includes an old-timey burger joint and a Visvim concept space. Rowing Blazers is taking up a small space inside the mart’s US Post Office (officially known as Brentwood Substation No. 1). And yes, it’s a functioning post office where you can pick up packages, send mail, and purchase stamps. The Rowing Blazers pop-up features a curated selection of tees, polos, rugbies, dad hats, and, of course, blazers.
“The Country Mart is classic. And there’s nothing quite like it anywhere else in the world. It’s old L.A. — but it’s also the spot where some of the coolest people in the city hang out,” says Rowing Blazers founder Jack Carlson. “It’s cool without being flashy. And what could be better than doing a pop-up inside a post office?”
The Rowing Blazers pop-up is officially open now and will continue for four months. You can visit it any day from 10 am to 6 pm.
