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Close your eyes, and you can already imagine what a tailored sport coat wardrobe would look like for fall and winter — nubby tweeds, ribbed corduroy, and possibly a chunky hopsack. But try to imagine the same for spring and summer, and many men will fall short. Some may say pure linen and then stop there.
Proper Cloth this week dropped a whole new line of spring/ summer tailoring, and it’s full of warm-weather options. The olive, faint glen plaid sport coat pictured above comes in a wool-linen blend. The linen mixture here gives the fabric a dry hand and a crisp feel, without making it so wrinkle-prone that it’s hard to pair with chinos. Proper Cloth has pure wools, gauzy weaves, and other linen-blend materials in cheery springtime colors such as light blue, coral, and taupe. Each jacket is made with a soft, unstructured shoulder (no padding), dual vents, and a classic three-roll-two configuration. As usual, they offer clothes in nearly every size imaginable — here from a jacket size 28 to 64, including options for long, regular, and short, in fits slim, extra slim, and classic. Even just browsing around will give you ideas for how to put together a tailored outfit this spring/summer.
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, are 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.
Dapper Classics just launched twenty new sock styles this week as part of their spring/summer collection. All of their socks are made at a third-generation, family-owned mill based in the United States. Their socks are knitted with high-end yarns on a fine needle machine, and then hand-finished at the toe, so you don’t have a bumpy seam. Most importantly, they compare well to high-end European makers such as Bresciani and Marcoliani, but they cost a little less because their customers don’t have to shoulder the burden of import costs.
As part of their new spring collection, the company offers large-scale houndstooth socks, cross-hatch socks, and a few cheeky designs, such as the one for St. Patrick’s Day (just around the corner). If you order three or more pairs of regularly-priced socks, Dapper Classics will also throw in a free pair from their “sock of the month” club.
For a small, young brand, Rowing Blazers has been able to secure some impressive collaboration deals. Since their founding in 2017, they’ve supplied official club blazers to various rowing, ruby, and social organizations — including Princeton, Cambridge, UPenn, UVA, and Rowing Blazers founder Jack Carlson’s alma mater, Georgetown. Over the years, they’ve also collaborated with prep institutions, such as Harry’s New York Bar (birthplace of the Bloody Mary) and Warden Brooks (makers of the authentic Wall Street duffle since 1978). In some ways, the company has been built on its ability to collaborate with larger-than-life names.
Recently, the company has been able to secure its largest collab yet — a deal with the NBA. The new line includes club ties, rugbys, blazers, banker bags, sweats, and scarves decorated with the emblems of various teams. Staying with the company’s collegiate theme, their new lookbook for the collection is inspired by Michael Jordan’s freshman dorm room located at The Graduate Chapel Hill. “For Rowing Blazers x NBA, I looked at how some of my all-time favorite NBA players were dressing when they were in college,” says Carlson. “I thought about the kinds of things I like to wear, and just wanted to make timeless, elevated pieces, inspired by old-school Americana but luxe and really well made.”
Every Thursday, our sponsor LuxeSwap throws up hundreds of new eBay auctions, centered around high-end menswear, womenswear, and decor items. The auctions last for ten days, which means they end on the second following Sunday. Since these auctions start at a reasonable $9.99, the ending price is often a small fraction of what you would have paid at full retail.
This week is special. As the company recently reached out to No Man Walks Alone’s customers to help clear out their closets, this week’s auctions includes many high-end items from the popular online store. Keen-eyed readers may recognize the Heschung Tyrolean shoes, Eidos suit, and G. Inglese shirts. Dig around and you can also find some Carmina shoes, Drake’s button-downs, Viberg home slippers, a De Bonne Facture polo, and a Berg & Berg overcoat. As usual, for a quick cut at the best of LuxeSwap’s auctions, do a search for #1 MENSWEAR. That’s like a cheat code to see what LuxeSwap thinks is the cream of their crop.
