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If you live in a big city nowadays, it’s not hard to find a custom shirtmaker. Many revered tailoring houses travel throughout the United States to meet with customers. And while Proper Cloth isn’t a bespoke shirtmaking company, they have a leg up in one regard. As an online made-to-measure shirtmaker with hundreds — if not thousands — of fabric options, they can make everything from office-ready shirts to things you can wear on the weekend.
A perfect example is this week’s washed indigo shirts. Even if a bespoke tailor offers chambray, denim, and indigo plaids, they’re unlikely to be able to enzyme wash those fabrics after they’ve been made into a shirt. Garment washing is a finishing process that takes place in a big drum with special formulas to help “age” the fabric. After a wash, the seams are a bit puckered and faded, helping the shirt look more lived-in. The result is a shirt that sits somewhere between ready-to-wear and bespoke — you get the finishing effect only seen in RTW shirts, but the custom-fit that comes with MTM. Other custom tailors cannot offer this service because washing shirts individually is too costly and time-consuming. Proper Cloth can achieve it by organizing group MTM runs.
This week, Proper Cloth is offering another such run. The washed denim fabrics will look especially good underneath tweed sport coats, particularly for guys who like to dress down their tailored clothing. And the plaids can be worn with anything casual — bomber jackets, chore coats, denim truckers, and the like. The catch is that you have to order within their available time window, which is happening this week only.
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’ve also made some pretty wild clothing. Paul’s father, Sidney, was known for producing 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.”
If you’re willing to show a bit of cheeky holiday spirit this Christmas, Chipp has you covered. Among their novelty tie selection are three Santa-themed ties that look innocent at first but reveal a little more upon closer inspection. There’s a mooning Santa (literally cheeky), Santa peeing down a chimney (for someone who’s always taking a piss), and Santa with … ahem … a heart on (look, you wanted puns, you got puns). The ties come in navy blue, which means they’d pair well with sport coats of any color, from blue blazers to brown tweeds to olive-colored corduroys. Paul says they’re proven conversation pieces and will add some cheer to your holiday celebrations.
Dapper Classics is based in Kentucky, the hardest hit of the six US states devastated by tornados this past weekend. Nearly a hundred people have been counted dead, and countless communities are digging themselves through the rubble. To help with relief efforts, Dapper Classic is donating all sales today to the Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund. That means, until the end of today, you can purchase anything on their site and know that you’ll be getting a quality American-made item, and your money will be going to help those in need.
Tomorrow, they’re resuming their 12 Days of Dapper, where they’re holding one-day flash sales from now until December 21st. You can find out about the deals by signing up for their email list or following them on Instagram.
Among all of Rowing Blazers’ collaborations, their work with the playful children’s book character Babar has become one of the most popular. This week, they’re bringing the elephant back for one massive, never-before-as-large collection. The new collection includes all of the things that Rowing Blazers has come known for — the stout rugbys, floppy dad caps, and embroidered cords — but here decorated with the iconic elephant. They also have deep-pile sherpa fleeces, French terry loopback sweats, track pants, canvas totes, and plush toys. Pictured above is one of the fleece ski caps made with functional earflaps and a “Babar Fait du Ski” patch.
You can wear these items in either conservative or bold ways. The intarsia cashmere sweater can be layered underneath a roomy tweed topcoat; the canvas tote can be used as a playful market bag. For something a little more unabashedly preppy, try wearing these embroidered Babar cords with a solid-colored Shetland sweater, an oxford cloth button-down, and some suede or shell cordovan penny loafers.
Every Thursday, LuxeSwap throws hundreds of new menswear auctions on eBay. Since LuxeSwap founder Matthew Ruiz is a long-time StyleForum member and inveterate thrifter, he’s able to sift the chaff from the wheat. This means that his eBay actions are always for exceptionally high-quality items.
For instance, check out this week’s offerings, which include a cream-colored Eidos dinner jacket, And Wander pullover parka, taupe cashmere Cucinelli sweater, brown Kaptain Sunshine sweater, suede Allen Edmonds chukkas, Alfred Sargent split-toes, and blue checked Indigofera flannel. These auctions are up for ten days and end on a Sunday of every week. If you place a bid and become the highest bidder, you will get an email alert that will notify you of when you’ve been outbid, making it easier to stay abreast of the bidding process. Since Matthew starts every auction at $9.99, the resulting prices are always a fraction of whatever these items cost at full retail, no matter where they end.
