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Proper Cloth built its reputation on delivering high-quality, well-fitting custom dress shirts. But over the years, they’ve also expanded this expertise into other product ranges, including casual outerwear, five-pocket pants, and suits. This week, they’ve launched a new product category — socks. They have summer-ready no-show socks, sporty crew socks, and mid-calf dress socks. Some of these designs include unique details, such as terry cushioning at the forefoot and heel for added comfort, or the strategic mesh panels at the top of the forefoot and under the arch allow for increased ventilation. Available in two sizes and staple colors, you can add these to your next order for any of Proper Cloth’s other products.
T-shirts don’t get much attention or fanfare. but with summer around the corner, they’re an absolute staple. Wolf vs. Goat just got in some new ones made in Portugal. These aren’t the stout, hefty cotton tees you find from Hanes. Instead, they’re made from soft, silky cotton and cotton-modal blends, and were produced with sustainability in mind. The cotton is organically grown, and the t-shirts are naturally colored using environmentally friendly dyes. Along with being more sustainably produced, they’re softer and more breathable, leaving you more comfortable on hot and humid days.
Wolf vs. Goat also has some beanies for the remaining weeks of winter. The cashmere versions are made in the United States from 6 ply yarns sourced from Consinee. “In my opinion, Consinee is one of the best cashmere spinners right now,” says Wolf vs. Goat founder Mauro Farinelli. “These cashmere beanies are thick, soft, and warm, and with the current 50% off promotion, they’re a great deal. We also have the same beanie styles in merino using 6 ply Zegna Baruffa yarns.”
Over the last thirty years, suspenders have gone much in the way of hats. Once common in men’s wardrobes, they’ve become something of a relic of the past. But why might you want to wear suspenders? For one, they’re more comfortable than organ-squeezing tourniquets. Since your waist expands when you sit, and returns to its smaller circumference when you stand, belts are only comfortable in one of these positions. Suspenders, on the other hand, allow you to have a little extra room at the waistband to accommodate these changes. Plus, they’re better at holding up your pants. Belted trousers tend to slip down throughout the day, which requires you to adjust them continually. You can set the desired length with suspenders, put them on, and never bother with them again.
Chipp Neckwear has the most affordable ones around, at least if you’re looking for something well-made and produced in the USA. The price is $45.50, which is lower than their competitors — much like the price of their grenadine ties. They offer 20 solid colors and three stripes, the choice of black or brown leather kips, as well as gold or silver-colored adjusters.
Merino is the default for dress socks because it regulates temperature and feels comfortable against bare skin. But during the summer, you’ll want something a little more breathable — linen, if you can find it, or cotton. The problem with most cotton socks is that they’re too densely knitted to be comfortable in warm weather, which defeats the purpose of wearing cotton socks in the first place (such cotton socks are only good in that they’re affordable). If you can afford to splurge a little more, Dapper Classics’ cotton socks can be a godsend on hot days.
Like all of their socks, Dapper Classics’ cotton socks are made at a third-generation, family-owned mill in North Carolina. They’re knitted from long-staple, mercerized cotton-blend yarns and then hand-linked at the toes to eliminate that bumpy seam. Mercerization is a chemical process that increases the cotton’s luster, strength, affinity to dye, and resistance to mildew. But these technical specs don’t capture what’s unique about these socks. They’re expertly knitted to be not overly sheer, yet they’re also supremely breathable on hot and humid days. Compared to linen socks, they also have a more uniform color. Get some in over-the-calf navy (they will go with anything), and then maybe some patterns for variety. You’ll notice the difference between these and merino on the first wear.
Rowing Blazers founder Jack Carlson was a college athlete who published a book about rowing blazers before he started his own clothing brand. So it’s only natural that he team up with Firstport, a Connecticut-based label specializing in vintage sportswear and its reproductions.
Their new collaboration features t-shirts, hoodies, and garment-dyed sweats emblazed with vintage-inspired screenprints that revolve around places and sports, real and imagined. There are 1980s styled sweatshirts that say “Aspen Tennis” and 1990s styled tees with “Tokyo Sailing.” The sporty, collegiate prints will go well under things such as a Buzz Rickson field jacket and some beat-up raw denim jeans, or worn in preppier ways, such as how Rowing Blazers styled them on their website. For nerds (like me), there’s also a crewneck sweatshirt and t-shirt that says “Palm Beach Chess Club,” which you can wear while smashing that chess clock (why do chess players hit those things so hard??).
A few years ago, LuxeSwap partnered with No Man Walks Alone, and later Epaulet, to do a trade-up program, where you consign your unwanted clothes for auction on eBay, and then get paid in store credit at No Man Walks Alone or Epaulet. The program allows you to get a little more for your money since No Man Walks Alone and Epaulet will top off your credits with some extra spending power (more details in these two posts). Consequently, a lot of stuff you see in LuxeSwap’s auctions comes from NMWA and Epaulet customers, which means you can find a ton of high-end stock from those stores and similar businesses.
Eagle-eyed readers will be able to spot some curiously familiar stock: Inis Meain knitwear, G. Inglese shirts, Sage de Cret field jackets, Tony Shirtmakers shirts, and of course, branded Epaulet garments. Luxeswap has almost a thousand live auctions right now, but as always, you can narrow the list by doing a search for #1 Menswear.
