Twice a month, we like to give our sponsors a special shoutout. Without their support, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do, so here’s a heartfelt thank you to those companies who help make Put This On possible.
Back in 2008, Simon Crompton wrote about something he calls the “Italian Background.” The idea is that British men are more likely to experiment with their shirts or ties, then keep things sober through their sport coat or suit choices. Italian men, on the other hand, will keep ties and shirts conservative, but then play with sport coat fabrics at every opportunity. There’s a kernel of truth in this. If you visit the various shirtmakers on London’s Jermyn Street, many of them will carry everything from multi-colored stripes to Tattersalls to floral prints. Meanwhile, Michael Hill, the Creative Director of Drake’s of London, tells me his most popular ties in Italy are the solid navy ones.
Over at Proper Cloth, you can find new patterned jackets for that distinctly Italian look. The fabrics were sourced from various Italian mills — Zignone, Guabello, and Marlane among them — and they come in those lively patterns the country is known for. There are subtle tonal plaids and shadow checks, as well as a few wool-silk mixtures for texture. By using a bit of silk in the yarn, spinners can achieve a certain texture that’s not possible with pure wool (in the photo above, you can also see some mottling within that texture). Proper Cloth’s half-canvassed sport coats feature your usual Italian details: patched pockets, a soft shoulder line, and razor straight lapels for a more modern look. Prices start at $495.
Long-time readers know Chipp supplies the most affordable grenadine neckties. They source their silks from the same Italian mills as top-end brands, but their ties start at a much more affordable $45 (grenadines are $60 and, like everything Chipp sells, made in New York City). Paul Winston, the shop’s owner, tells me he can’t imagine charging much more because he remembers what neckties used to cost fifty years ago, back when his family’s business dressed men such as President John F. Kennedy, Andy Warhol, and Joe DiMaggio.
If you’re looking for your first grenadine, consider three colors: black, some sort of dark blue, and silver. Black can look severe in certain contexts, which is why it’s often not recommended for suits or socks, but the color manages to be neutral for grenadines and knit ties. You can wear a black grenadine with navy suits, tobacco linen suits, and brown tweeds. Dark blue, either in the shade matching your navy suits or one shade lighter, is equally versatile (a dark blue tie can also be an excellent way to visually anchor a light-colored sport coat, which could otherwise float away from you). Lastly, silver grenadines are for guys who only wear ties on special occasions — weddings, fancy parties, and other formal gatherings. Silver ties look less like office-clothes than their dark blue counterparts, and the textured grenadine weave here keeps these from looking cheap and shiny.
Over a Dapper Classics, you can find a range of their accessories and trousers on sale. Included are their dress socks, which come in fun and sober varities. These slate blue socks can add a touch of color to an outfit while still being appropriate or the office. Being slate blue also means they’ll go well with grey, tan, or blue trousers, which make up the bulk of most men’s wardrobes.
Dapper Classics also has chunky herringbone scarves made from baby alpaca (which is softer than almost any other fiber except cashmere), map themed pocket squares, and a few of their trousers. These taupe tropical wool trousers can be worn with navy sport coats and even brown tweeds, whereas the tan linens might be better for weekends and dark brown tropical wool with casualwear. There’s even one size left in these very useful mid-gray Fresco trousers. Fresco is a type of high-twist, open-weave tropical wool that holds a crease but doesn’t wrinkle very easily. Many men find that they can wear the material almost year-round, barring the coldest of days. Being mid-gray also means they’ll go with nearly anything.
Like millions of other people, the team over at Rowing Blazers is feeling devasted by news of the Australian wildfires. So they what to do what they can to help. All proceeds from the sales of their Australian rugbies are going directly to WIRES, Australia’s largest wildlife rescue organization. WIRES is committed to the preservation and rehabilitation of Australian wildlife, and Rowing Blazers wants to support their relief efforts. Each of their four Australian rugby shirt designs is cut and sewn in Europe from a stout 14oz cotton. They feature Australian icons, such as the Waratah flower, a New South Wales emblem, and the 1961 Australia’s rugby team crest. You can wear them on their own with jeans, chinos, fatigues, or chunky corduroys such as you see above. They can also be layered under casual jackets and tweed sport coats for a collegiate look. See our post on rugbys for style inspiration.
We all have clothes in the back of our closets that haven’t seen the light of day in years — and things this season we want to buy. To solve this problem, No Man Walks Alone and LuxeSwap have partnered up for a “trade-up” program, which allows you to sell your old clothes through LuxeSwap’s consignment service and turn those profits into No Man Walks Alone store credit.
The new program is straightforward. If you send your clothes to LuxeSwap, they’ll do all the hard work of selling it for you through their eBay webshop. And if you’re willing to take your profits in the form of store credit at NMWA, they’ll reduce their commission from 40% to 30% — and NMWA will top off your profits with an additional 10%. Effectively, that means 30% more value than you’d get otherwise. Store credit gets posted not long after the auction closes, and it never expires.
For those in New York City, LuxeSwap is holding a trunk show at NMWA’s showroom at 336 West 37th Street, Suite 310. You can drop your clothes off at the trunk show, which will save on shipping costs. It can also be a way to check out some NMWA goods.
LuxeSwap is also hoping to get a Hertling trouser sale up this coming Friday, February 7th (same day as the trunk show). The sale will include a ton of new trousers they collected from the factory. Additionally, those who want to browse the “best in class” of each week’s eBay auctions can look up the keyword #1 MENS or #1 MENSWEAR. Matthew at LuxeSwap tells us he tries to get that keyword into each of the coolest auctions.
