It’s been a while, hasn’t it?
After a few months of limited capacity operation, the Put This On Shop is getting back into the swing of things, and celebrate, we’re kicking things off with a sale.
Enjoy 25% off our collection of fine jewelry, and 40% off everything else! Use offer codes FINESUMMER and SUMMERSALE at checkout.
That’s hundreds of items curated specifically to make you look like the cool, sophisticated adult that you are — with more on the way! Need somewhere to start? Here’s a handpicked selections from us:
Vintage Hand Woven Pack Basket
Forget Fjallraven, this is the trendy backpack for 2020. Handwoven in the Carolinas 70 years ago, this massive pack basket is sturdy enough for everyday use. Guaranteed to turn heads at the farmer’s market, swapmeet, or wherever you may choose to bring it with you.
Fine Weave Paul’s Hat Works Panama Hat
Straw hats have a few advantages. For one, they have a full brim that can flatter your face, but they don’t come with any of the social baggage that’s associated with felt fedoras. Unlike floppy baseball caps, which mostly take the shape of your head, a traditional piece of headwear like this can be more flattering. A crown can help elongate your face, while the brim frames your features. And since straw hats are relegated to spring and summer – or at least sunny days – you have a good, practical excuse for wearing one. There’s nothing better for taking the pretenses out of a hat like the sun beating down.
A straw hat can be worn with suits and sport coats, or with battered jeans, a t-shirt, and a chore coat. Or a slim pair of chinos and a one-piece collar polo. Or a pair of linen pants and a safari jacket. Barring the avant-garde, it’s hard to think of many wardrobe styles that can’t be worn with the hat above.
Freewheeling Yellow Aloha Rayon Pocket Square by Put This On
In the early- to mid-20th century, Hawaiian shirts (or Aloha shirts, as they’re called in Hawaii) were emblematic of a happier leisure style. Leading Hollywood men, such as John Barrymore and Douglas Fairbanks Jr., wore them on holiday. Elvis Presley wore a Tiare Tapa design when he broke hearts in “Blue Hawaii.” Rat Packer Peter Lawford gave them a Las Vegas edge, while Bing Crosby made a signature look out of them with his hat and pipe. The best example of all might be Montgomery Clift, who wore tropical prints to great effect in the 1953 film “From Here to Eternity.”
In some ways, the Aloha shirt was the perfect counterbalance to the oxford-cloth button-down. It was more casual, without being as dressed-down as a t-shirt, and connected to the kind of tiki and surf scenes that Americans loved in the 1940s and ‘50s. Rooted in Hawaii – where the shirt was born from a mix of native Hawaiian traditions, Japanese kimono silks, Filipino clothing styles, and Tahitian prints – Aloha shirts came in all sorts of colorful designs depicting the island’s rich culture.
Such colorful prints and fabrics can also be used for pocket squares. We had this one made at our tailor’s workshop in Los Angeles. The edges have been completely handrolled and sewn to give them a plump finish. Being rayon, this feels a bit like silk and will behave the same way in your pocket. Stuff it into a sport coat pocket for a cool, easy-going summer look.
After the Second World War, jewelry has come in and out of fashion depending on how we feel about gender and class. In the 1970s, when it was socially acceptable for men to show a more feminine side, hippies and counter-culture types wore bracelets and necklaces; high-flying business elites wore flat links with pinstriped suits in the ‘80s; and surfers have been known to use Saint Christopher medallions as good luck charms. Throughout these periods, many men have worn jewelry well – even magnificently. Like others in the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes occasionally wore a silver onyx ring to show a bit of personality. Marlon Brando, James Dean, and Paul Newman sported chunky, silver ID bracelets with jeans and t-shirts. And Yves Saint Laurent, one of the chicest to ever wear a suit, accessorized with a precious metal bracelet.
We think this chunky Aztec ring would look great with a black double rider, chore coat, or military field jacket. Years ago, Jesse described this as having a point of distinction – the ways in which you can transform a generic outfit into something more personal. “It’s easy to pile wild choice on top of wild choice, or conversely to make nothing but down-the-middle clothing decisions. To choose to demonstrate understated mastery and nonetheless show distinction is much more difficult.” There’s a huge middle ground between the outrageous and the snoozy, and developing a personal sense of style is often about steering a line between those two extremes.
Finally, for our golfing readers, up your game with these tees from the famed British department store. Comes in a handsome plastic case, too.
