About eighteen years ago, Monty Don, the British horticulturist and human Peter Rabbit, penned an article for The Guardian titled “Dirty Dressing.” It was about how to dress for the dirty task of gardening. “Never wear tight trousers,” he advised. “Always buy trousers at least one waist size too big, make sure that the pockets are big enough to comfortably hold penknife, hanky, string, phone, pencil, labels, and perhaps a mint or two. […] If you are not familiar with their joys, high-rise trousers are fantastically comfortable and keep your lower back warm. My children still squirm with embarrassment every time they see me in them (which is most days) but that is probably some kind of seal of approval.”

I remember being charmed by his intransigent views; each proclamation was stated matter-of-factly without the need for justification or even elaboration. “Do this, that, and the other thing.” Sometimes, it feels like writers are unwilling to criticize anything nowadays or put their foot down on something they know. This admittedly includes me, a menswear writer who feels it’s impossible to responsibly dole out generalizable menswear advice because people have different needs, personalities, and lifestyles.

So, in the last few years, I’ve been doing this series called “Excited to Wear,” which isn’t about things everyone should buy—no one can recommend those—but simply the things I’m most excited to wear for the new season. These posts allow me to get a bit Monty Don-ish, with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek and with the recognition that I’m only speaking about my personal views. Here are ten things I’m excited to wear as the weather gets cooler. There's also a fall/ winter playlist at the end for you.

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It’s often said that America has not been this divided since the Civil War, but even these tumultuous times pale in comparison to the social unrest of the 1960s, when post-war America’s cleavages along race, gender, and sexuality threatened to rip the nation apart. Within ten short years, the United States saw the unfolding of the civil rights movement and the outbreak of countless race riots; the publishing of Betty Friedan’s 1963 book The Feminine Mystique, which sparked second-wave feminism; the Vietnam War and anti-war protests; countless acts of state violence, such as the My Lai Massacre and police brutality at the 1968 DNC; and three major political assassinations (JFK in '63, Malcolm X in '65, and Martin Luther King Jr. in '68). The one bright spot came at the end of this dark decade, when the world finally saw a brighter facet of the American spirit. 

In the summer of 1969, an estimated three hundred million people—a fifth of the world’s population—turned on their television screens to witness a technological miracle. They watched Apollo 11 trace a path through the sky, pierce the darkness of space, and hurtle toward the lunar surface. When the American spacecraft finally descended onto the celestial body, Neil Armstrong gingerly stepped down a ladder and planted his foot on the moon’s dusty regolith. Shortly after, his voice crackled through the void: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” 

Back home, CBS was one of the many news outlets doing live coverage for millions of viewers. When the module touched down, and Armstrong announced that "the Eagle has landed," CBS' cameras cut back to their anchors, Wally Schirra and Walter Cronkite. At that moment, viewers saw an emotional Schirra wiping away a tear while the usually composed Cronkite bowed his head, momentarily speechless. Although the newsroom was silent, it felt as though the whole cosmos had just cheered. More than fifty years later, this moment is still one of this nation's proudest achievements. 

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According to superstition, good luck comes to those who wear at least one new article of clothing on Easter Sunday, the official start of spring (style-wise). For years, I wrote spring style guides for various publications, including Put This On, but as menswear has become balkanized into tiny little communities, I've found it better to simply talk about what I'm excited to wear in the new season. These "Excited to Wear" posts aren't meant to be prescriptive—find whatever works for you—but perhaps you will find some inspiration here. Here are ten things I'm excited to wear this spring, along with some miscellanea, including a Spotify playlist at the end to go along with the photos. 

Hey, Nice Pants!

Five years ago, John Mayer presented his "theory on pants" in a dimly lit room while playing Qari's "Pants from Japan" in the background. The gist: while pants are often neglected and considered to play second fiddle to jackets, they’re actually important cultural markers. From the bellbottoms of the 1970s to the baggy jeans of the 1990s to the bone-hugging slim-fits of the early aughts, how we cover our lower limbs reflects the spirit of the times. In this sense, Mayer feels we should respect the power of pantaloons and dress from the bottom up. “I’m saying we pick our pants first,” he explained, “and we pick our pants wisely. By making better decisions in pants—and making pant decisions first—we send the circulation of good taste through the rest of our body. The pants we choose will affect what shoes we wear and, systematically, what we wear on top. Good pants make good outfits.”

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You used to have to muscle your way into stores and stand in long lines to take advantage of Black Friday promotions. Nowadays, everything is online, so you can shop from the comfort of your own home. The difficulty, of course, is that you're then swamped with possibilities, making it impossible to know what to buy. To make the landscape a little easier to navigate, I round up some of my favorite Black Friday promotions every year and post them here, along with a selection of notable picks at each store. These guides are designed to cover almost every budget—from relatively affordable basics to designer items—so there's something for everyone. Here's this year's list organized by increasing order of price with a smattering of miscellanea at the end. 

J. CREW: 50% OFF EVERYTHING; NO CODE NEEDED

In 2020, when J. Crew filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, I wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post about how this preppy brand plays an important role in the menswear market. For many guys, J. Crew is their entry point into building a better wardrobe. The company's prices are relatively affordable, and the designs are fairly classic. The company sells things such as chambray work shirts, field jackets, and flat-front chinos—things that look good on almost everyone. However, the departures of Jenna Lyons and Frank Muytjens in 2017 casted a shadow of uncertainty. Speculation surfaced about plans to transform J. Crew into a version of The Gap, potentially distributed through Amazon. So it was a relief when the company ousted the old management and design team, replacing them with Brendon Babenzien, the new Creative Director, who has steered the company clear of such a fate, injecting renewed vitality into this iconic label.

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For the past few years, at the start of every season, I've made it a tradition to publish a post about things I'm excited to wear. These posts are a deliberate shift away from the conventional notion of "wardrobe essentials," a concept that has, in many ways, lost its relevance as people lead different lifestyles. They also allow me to just talk about things I'm excited about. I think that emotional connection—rather than a coldly calculated and rational approach about supposed "essentials"—is a much better way to build a wardrobe, as it makes you think about what you'll love wearing ten years from now. I've been encouraged by readers who tell me they find these posts useful in helping them build a wardrobe. So here are ten things I'm excited to break out this season, along with a Spotify playlist at the end that will hopefully set the mood.

THE POLO COAT

Like many things, the game of polo is an international phenomenon with cultural origins now long forgotten. The modern version of the game was first played in Manipur, India, where locals called the fist-sized wooden ball pulu, a Tibetic term later anglicized to polo. In the mid-19th century, British cavalry officers picked up the sport in India, imported it to England, and then spread it around the world during the height of empire. It’s through this intoxicating mix of sport and nobility that polo has become such fertile ground for menswear. The game has given us the button-down collar, jodhpur and chukka boots, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Reverso, and the most recognizable menswear logo. It has also given us the polo coat—the most American of dress outerwear styles.

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I envy people who aren't interested in clothes. Just the sight of a chunky cream sweater or camp collar shirt is enough to send me into a daydreaming tailspin, where I waste hours of my day poring over online images and reading about the product's construction. Then I imagine the new and exciting life I would lead if I only had that outfit, temporarily forgetting that I'm actually sitting on my couch with my laptop, cat, and Pendleton blanket on my lap, having not moved for hours and with no intention of doing so. I recently found myself doing this, as many of the best online stores are having their end-of-season promotions, each product page ripe with the hope of possibility—the opportunity to dress up for a friendly lunch, a celebratory dinner, or a walk to the market to buy flowers for one's self. So here is a roundup of some of the sales I've been admiring online, peppered with ideas of when and where you can wear such items. 

SSENSE: UP TO 60% OFF; NO CODE

Maybe it's because I recently watched the Lemaire SS24 show, but I've been once again daydreaming about the artsy, cultivated life I assume I would live if I just owned a few more pieces from this French designer. Lemaire's clothes fit loose, giving you comfort and room to hide an aging dad bod, but they're rendered in fabrics and details that allow you to pretend you're a sophisticated Belgian artist excited about the coming relaunch of the beloved book-lit mag Bookforum. I really like the company's summer pants, which come with self-belts, twisted side seams, and topstitching in unusual places. They move and swish when you walk and lend an attractive silhouette to plain summer outfits. I've been wearing the company's taupe twisted pants with a cream-colored, silk camp collar shirt I bought from The Post Romantic last year, modeled after this Umit Benan design (the shirt isn't on Post Romantic's site, but is available if you just email them). 

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For the last few years, I've been doing these posts about things I'm excited to wear for the season. They're a way for me to talk about things I'm excited about without getting into the fraught concept of "wardrobe essentials" (which feels increasingly less relevant nowadays when people have such different needs and lifestyles). Still, readers have found these posts to be useful as seasonal style guides. Here's this year's "excited for spring" post with a bonus soundtrack at the end. You can check previous years' posts for 2018, 2019 (I also did one for summer), 2021, and 2022. 

CHAMBRAY AND SILKY SHIRTS

I've always been primarily an oxford cloth button-down guy. I admire the style's place in American clothing history, as well as its casual, rumpled nature and bookish appeal. However, in the last few years, I've also added two other shirt styles to my regular rotation: snap-button Western shirts, mostly those rendered in denim or needlecord, and silky shirts made from slippery materials such as rayon, Tencel, and actual silk. 

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In the mid-2000s, I used to take the bus to Kinokuniya, an Asian bookstore in San Francisco that sold Japanese magazines like Men's Precious, Men's Ex, and, of course, the famous Free & Easy. Non-English publications, then as now, covered classic menswear better than their English counterparts. While American magazines like GQ and Esquire featured articles on Thom Browne and Tom Ford, Japanese publications discussed the differences between English and Italian tailoring, Alden's many lasts, and specialty retailers like The Andover Shop. The issue, of course, was that the writing was in Japanese, making it unintelligible to anyone who did not know the language. Aside from English brand names, there were only a few amusing English phrases, such as RUGGED MAN and DAD STYLE (terms for workwear and trad, respectively). Despite my misgivings about spending $25 on a magazine I couldn't read, no one else did this kind of print coverage. The photos alone were an education.

Last summer, I was delighted to learn that Eisuke Yamashita, a former Men's Precious editor, now runs his own website, Mon Oncle (French for "my uncle"). His site features profiles on menswear legends such as Luciano Barbera, celebrities such as Juzo Itami, and artisans outside the menswear space, such as woodworker Takafumi Mochizuki. I was also pleased to see a multi-part series on Yukio Akamine, whom I regard as the most stylish man alive. Akamine has a long history in the Japanese menswear scene. He's introduced generations of Japanese men to classic style and consulted for brands such as United Arrows. Nowadays, he runs a made-to-measure tailoring company called Akamine Royal Line and appears on Japanese shows to discuss menswear.

In his Mon Oncle interviews, Akamine shares some charming observations and advice. He encourages people to wear jackets that are full enough to allow for comfortable layering ("It doesn't make sense if you can't wear a sweater underneath your jacket") and recommends using fountain pens on a regular basis ("Write letters and take notes. Dozens of years later, they will be a memory for the next generation."). Akamine also emphasizes the importance of good manners ("Don't arrive at someone's home empty-handed. Purchase something that you enjoyed eating. Take it out of the bag, hold it with both hands and say, 'Please enjoy this.' Or wrap it in a furoshiki."). Regarding style, he says, "You don't have to read fashion magazines. Open the window and look outside when you wake up in the morning. A man who can cook rice is a hundred times cooler."

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I was having dinner with Nicholas Templeman a few years ago at Besharam, a small Indian restaurant located on the outskirts of San Francisco. Over spicy vegetarian curries and delicate semolina puffs, we discussed how the British shoemaking trade has changed over the years. I told him I'd recently spoken with Daniel Wegan and Emiko Matsuda, two bespoke shoemakers who, like him, left prestigious West End firms to launch their own shoemaking businesses. Wegan and Matsuda's operations are modest, with no advertising budgets, celebrity endorsements, or visible shopfronts. When I asked how customers typically find them, they said, "Instagram." "That was a big part of why I left John Lobb when I did," Templeman told me. "At the time, some independent makers in Japan made good use of social media, but not many people in the UK. Even the big shops were barely visible online. With the rise of social media sites like Instagram, I felt this was a good time to become independent."

In the last twenty years, the British bespoke trade has changed dramatically along two fronts: skyrocketing rents and the loss of skilled labor have made it more difficult for larger firms to earn profits and maintain quality. Simultaneously, the internet has created a more informed consumer. These customers, who can be described as "shoe mad" enthusiasts, scour blogs and forums for niche details about shoemaking that few people know or care about. Like Athenian philosophers or Tibetan monks, they use the dialectical process to arrive at truths about handwelting and Goodyear welting, Celastic and leather stiffeners, and the specialized construction techniques that go into the uppers and soles of shoes, such as split-and-lift sewing and fiddleback finishings. For men who have succumbed to the allure of craft, celebrity endorsements and shallow, romantic accounts of the bespoke process are not enough. They want to know the intricate, technical details of shoemaking.

These changes have impacted the British bespoke trade in some crucial ways. In the mid-19th century, Punch co-founder Henry Mayhew published a seminal study on London's laboring classes. He estimated the city had 28,574 shoemakers (or "bootmakers" if you prefer the Queen's English) in the 1840s, making it the third most popular occupation. By the end of the century, improvements in ready-made footwear dramatically shrank this number to around 3,000, consolidating many workers into a handful of large firms. Among these businesses were gilded names such as John Lobb, Peal & Company, and Henry Maxwell, who built reputations by making shoes for presidents and pioneers, authors and actors, titans of industry, and other members of the ruling class. They also reaped the benefits of a fawning press. After reading enough breathless prose, wealthy men convinced themselves that spending thousands on shoes "would itself be an act of poetry," as my friend Réginald-Jérôme de Mans put it. 

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