As an independent menswear blog, we couldn’t be more thankful for our sponsors. Their support allows us to keep bringing you content. So twice a month, we like to give them a special shoutout and update readers on our sponsors’ special happenings.
If you’re in or around New York City, Proper Cloth is holding a sample sale next month. The event is happening from August 5th through the 8th (Thursday through Sunday), and doors will be open from noon until 7 pm. You can find shirts, suits, blazers, chinos, trousers, accessories, and more at the sample sale, all marked down at discounts that start at 50%. The sample sale will be held at Proper Cloth’s offices, located at 495 Broadway (sixth floor) in New York City.
Readers may also want to check out their new feature on short-sleeved shirts. Although you can use any of Proper Cloth’s shirt fabrics for a short-sleeved shirt design (they are, after all, a custom clothier), the team selected some of their favorites for this warm-weather style. Included are some terry cloth knits, Indian madras, vacation prints, airy linens, and stretchy pique cotton. You can pair these with chinos or shorts the temps get above 90 degrees. Since Proper Cloth uses textured and patterned shirtings, they can help spruce up an outfit when a light blue oxford-cloth button-down might look too basic.
After more than a year of lockdown, multiple tailors tell me they’ve never been busier. People who postponed their wedding last year are eager to have them this year, so grooms s and attendees are ordering custom suits. If you’re getting married this year, know that the classic wedding tie is something in a discrete black-and-white pattern — houndstooth, glen check, or a Shephard’s check. If you’re just a guest, you can wear anything that’s tasteful.
However, if you’re looking to buy a tie, consider the grenadine. Grenadines are perfect for weddings, but they’re also versatile enough for everyday occasions. Since they’re often in a solid color, they can be easily paired with patterned shirts and sport coats. At the same time, their discrete texture lends visual interest to plainer ensembles. Get one in a basic color — black or navy, if this is your first one, or grey if you want something primarily for special occasions such as weddings.
Our sponsor Chipp sells some of the most affordable grenadines around. Their ties are made in New York City using the same English and Italian silks found at other top-end clothiers. But instead of charging $175, their ties start at $45 (grenadines are $60). Paul Winston, the company owner, tells me that he can’t imagine charging more because he remembers what ties used to cost in the 1960s, when his family dressed the likes of President JFK and Andy Warhol.
Dapper Classics’ trousers sit in that sweet spot between mass-produced pants from mall brands and uber-expensive tailoring from Italy. Made in the United States at the Hertling factory, these trousers have a slim-straight leg, medium rise, and a split-rear waistband for comfort. They also come unfinished, which means you can get them hemmed however you need.
For spring/ summer, you’ll want something airy and breathable, such as Dapper Classics’ trousers in linen, tropical wool, or cotton. For fall/ winter, Dapper Classics offers woolen flannel and flecked lambswool Donegal. Get them in staple colors such as tan and gray. Darker colors such as charcoal and navy are good if you have lighter-colored sport coats or intend to wear these with casualwear. A few of their trousers are also on sale right now, with pairs starting around $195.
This past week, Rowing Blazers launched a new line inspired by Jack Carlson’s own travels, studies, and time as a member of the US National Rowing Team. Dubbed “The International Collection,” the line includes 1990s-inspired running shorts that can double as swim trunks, colorful nylon hats, and tourist-inspired t-shirts. There are also intarsia flag sweaters representing some of the company’s favorite places. These clothes blend the beauty of sport with the romance of travel, and bring everything together in a ’90s inspired aesthetic that you can wear with chinos, shorts, or jeans. The collection is exclusively available on Rowing Blazers’ website.
In the last few months, much has been written about whether the suit and tie are dead. In what may be our new work-from-home lifestyle, most people don’t need to wear a tailored jacket and dress shirt. Yet, there’s something comfortable about the form of a tailored jacket. If you’re looking for an alternative, Nigel Cabourn’s Mallory jacket could be a solution. Based on jackets worn by the 1924 Everest expedition, this short coat with three patch pockets has the vague semblance of tailoring, but none of the pretense. It’s essentially a workwear garment with a hint of adventure, and it sits somewhere between classic tailoring and uber-casualwear.
The Mallory has been a staple of the Cabourn collection since 2003 when it was first introduced, and it’s a go-to for many men who enjoy wearing more casual versions of classic clothes. It has the general form of a sport coat — revers, three-button closure, and correct pocket placements, and is typically rendered in materials such as tweed. At the same time, the soft construction and silhouette are unmistakably casual. You can buy them with their matching trousers, which would make this a full suit, or wear them with jeans, fatigues, or workwear-styled chinos (such as the ones Cabourn sells). You can find this coming season’s versions in the “new arrivals” section of Cabourn’s website, where it sits alongside more fall/winter offerings, such as shower-resistant parkas, short-sleeved sweats, and even writing journals.
Every Thursday, LuxeSwap throws up a new round of menswear auctions on eBay. Their selection is massive, currently towering at over 1,000 items this week. Since LuxeSwap lists almost everything at a mere $9.99, the ending price is often a faction of what you’d pay at full retail.
It can be daunting to wade through the entire selection. If you want a shortcut, you can search for “#1 Menswear,” which will get you the best-of-the-best. Included this week are some G. Inglese shirts, Orslow shorts, Brooks Brothers umbrellas in trad colorways, Flat Head flannels (size up), Camoshita and Eidos polos, Standard Issue thermals, and footwear from reputable names such as Spalwart, Alden, and Yuketen. Don’t forget to comb through the “Brooks Brothers USA” tag. LuxeSwap is selling off some of the last of Brooks Brothers’ Garland and Southwick garments.
