Even when it’s online and you can shop from the comfort of your own home, Black Friday still feels like a mad dash to find the best deals. Over at Put This On, we’re rounding up the best of Black Friday promotions. The list is massive, with the number of sales going into the hundreds, and we’ll be adding to the list over the weekend as we learn of new deals. For those who want something more manageable, I’ve pulled together some of my favorites in these three posts. Combine those with the ten sales listed below, and you have what I think are the most exciting Black Friday deals this year.
Todd Snyder: Up to 30%; Code BLACKFRIDAYNOW
Todd Snyder’s sale is perhaps the best on today’s list. For one, the company is a natural step-up for guys who love J. Crew. After all, Todd himself was once a designer at the brand and his company now occupies the physical space where J. Crew used to have their men’s flagship Liquor Store. I like his long topcoats, suede jackets, and collab Champion sweats. Todd Snyder’s prices are fair even at full retail, but they come down a little lower today with the checkout code BLACKFRIDAYNOW.
Best of all, the code applies to their third party brands — and they have a great roster. Here, you can find Crockett & Jones shoes, Red Wing work boots, Stutterheim raincoats, Private White VC outerwear, and John Smedley knits. I particularly like the cream-colored Drake’s shawl collar cardigan ($375 with the code), all-black Blundstone boots ($122), and these fantastic RoToTo Nordic indoor socks ($28). The code even stacks on sale items. These Sanders tassel loafers are going for just $192.
Skoaktiebolaget: Classic Men’s Shoes and Accessories on Sale
Skoaktiebolaget, a sponsor on this site, has become one of the leading online boutiques for high-end footwear. One of the things I like most about their operations is how there’s something for everyone –- from the more affordably priced Lof & Tung to premium, handwelted shoes by Saint Crispin’s. For Black Friday, they’ve put an assortment of their shoes and accessories on sale.
These handwelted Enzo Bonafe chukkas, which are made with a studded Dainite outsole, are the sort of shoes you can wear most of the year. They go with jeans or casual tailoring; they work on sunny days and for when it’s raining. Lof & Tung’s Chelseas are also an excellent value at just $219. Unlike other Cheleas, including those costing upwards of $1,500, these are made from a single piece of leather, so there’s no side seam below elasticated gusset. Naturally, I also like the split toes (a very handsome shape). Skoaktiebolaget also has classic men’s accessories on sale — handmade EG Cappelli neckties, Hestra gloves, and Rubinacci pocket squares.
Carmina: Free Dress Belts With Any Footwear Purchase; Extra 20% Discount On Outlet Stock
Carmina, another sponsor on this site, is offering two promotions today. The first allows you to get a free matching dress belt with any footwear purchase, along with free international shipping on orders over $180. The second is an additional 20% discount on all outlet shoes. For guys who want something well-made, but don’t want to spend more than $300, you’d be hard-pressed to find something better than these deals here.
At checkout, shoes are about $265, and the boots are $295. These are made in Spain from full-grain leathers, come with a Goodyear welted construction, and, most importantly, look good. Allen Edmonds’ factory seconds are cheaper, but their designs are hit or miss (and often miss). Meermins are about $200, but can be challenging to break in. Carmina’s compare well to Crockett & Jones’ mainline, and their outlet promotion today puts them at about half the price of a pair of C&Js.
Self Edge: 15% Off; Code BLACKFRIDAY2019
Self Edge holds big promotions less frequently than the US holds presidential elections. Things rarely get discounted more than 15%, and even then, those minor discounts only happen once a season. I suspect it’s because they don’t hold seasonal stock, and what they sell never goes out of style. Everyone today wears jeans, flannels, and t-shirts. Self Edge just sells better versions of those things.
If you’re just getting into raw denim, I think 3sixteen’s SL-100x is a great starting place. It’s commonly recommended on denim boards because it’s a slim-straight cut that works well across a range of wardrobes and flatters many body types. The material is also woven in such a way that the jeans’ interior feels flannel soft — an unusual thing for raw denim. Additionally, I like Self Edge’s selection of Lady White t-shirts, Iron Heart flannels, and masculine jewelry. I’ve been wearing this ring with workwear often. Buzz Rickson makes my favorite marled grey sweatshirt. If I had room in my closet for another leather jacket, I’d get the Fine Creek double rider pictured above. And I like these fatigues from Stevenson Overall Company. When I met Kiya once for coffee, he was sporting a pair of those with a short-sleeved sweatshirt. He looked great.
Independence Chicago: 20% Off Sitewide and Free Shipping
There are a million stores nowadays that specialize in heritage style, Americana, and workwear, but Independence does these looks better than most. They’re the sister company to Oak Street Bootmakers (who’s also having a Black Friday sale). The Chicago-based boutique carries all the niche Japanese lines you’d expect –- Battenwear, Engineered Garments, Orslow, and Kapital. I also like how they style Drake’s accessories in less conventional ways.
Here, you can find discounted Drake’s shawl collar cardigan and scarves ($408 and $260, respectively), a waxed cotton Engineered Garments Upland jacket ($640), Orslow jeans (about $220). Orslow’s 105 is their slim-straight cut, while their 107 is slim-tapered (I prefer the 107, but both are great). There’s a navy moleskin Vetra chore coat ($172). I also like the selection of Howlin’ knitwear, which comes in brushed Shetland, speckled Donegal, and even playful block colored varieties.
Ranch Road Boots: 30% Off All Shoes; Code BOOTFRIDAY30
I’m a little hesitant to recommend something I’ve never handled before, but I’ve been following Ranch Road Boots for the last year with great interest. The company was founded a few years ago by Sarah Ford, a San Angelo native, a former Marine, and a Harvard Business School grad. The company specializes in contemporary versions of work boots, namely military boots, Chelsea boots, and most of all, Western styles. The boots are Goodyear welted, made in Spain, and cut from full-grain leathers. They’re also reasonably priced around $350 to $400.
I like how they combine casual styles with a traditional Goodyear welt construction. They even have a black side zip, although it has a slight Western vibe. Pictured above are two of their more popular styles, the Bexar and Gunner. Being a pull-on boot means the shaft has to be a little larger to accommodate your foot going in. Supposedly, Ranch Road narrowed that shaft a little to give it a slimmer look — and to allow it to fit neatly under slimmer jeans. I assume that means it’ll take a little more work to pull your feet out, but I like how they look less rustic than Red Wing’s Pecos. I’ve been wondering if they can pass for side-zips when worn. At $265 with the discount code, I’m tempted to see.
Proper Cloth: 40% Off Select Custom Shirts
Proper Cloth is a sponsor over at Put This On, a site I work for, but I also think they’re one of the best online made-to-measure shirt companies. Of the eight or so MTM companies I’ve tried over the years, they’ve provided the best custom fit. They also have a great unfused button-down, which they call their Soft Ivy collar. You can read reviews of their shirts over at Menswear Musings and From Squalor to Baller.
Most of all, I like how they can make casual shirts, which isn’t always possible with traditional custom shirtmakers. Bespoke tailors will have casual fabrics such as linen, needlecord, and wool-cotton blends. But they won’t have the kind of interesting textures and prints you can find at Proper Cloth (and certainly not Proper Cloth’s washed denim shirts, which are only possible through large group orders). For Black Friday, Proper Cloth has some of those causal shirtings discounted by as much as 40% off. I like the ombre plaids and melange basketweaves. With prices starting at $75, these are an excellent value.
Uniqlo: Various Black Friday Specials
In the US, fashion designs are famously not covered under intellectual property laws. You can’t legally protect the cut of a shirt, for example, or the design of a parka. Years ago, the Supreme Court ruled that clothes are too utilitarian — like spoons or hammers. So fashion companies have to find smart ways to protect their intellectual property.
Uniqlo gets around this by having special relationships within their supply chain. Instead of sourcing yarns from any old supplier, they’ve developed proprietary products in partnership with Toray Industries in Japan. Heattech is designed to keep you warm; Airism is designed to keep you cool. Those products are then patented as technologies.
They work pretty well, too. Since its introduction in 2003, Uniqlo has sold nearly 200 million units of their Heattech products. They come in tops, mufflers, hats, scarves, and even jeans. I mostly like the material in thin, stretchy baselayers, which you can wear under your clothes to keep warm. They’re not as insulating as heavy wool baselayers, but they’re more comfortable if you have to spend any time indoors. Along with their other Black Friday deals, Uniqlo has Heattech baselayers today starting at $9.90.
Tommy John: 25% Off Orders Over $100
A couple of years ago, I went searching for the world’s best underwear. The most embarrassing part of that process was me purchasing a pair of $150 boxer briefs from Zimmerli, a Swiss company commonly hailed as the best producer on classic men’s style boards. Those felt amazing at first, but they lost their softness over time. In the end, the best underwear I found was a pair of $34 boxer briefs from Tommy John, which the company calls their Second Skin.
First, a word about cut. Boxer briefs are absolutely more comfortable than boxers, which give you no support at all. And they look better than regular briefs, which are bad for obvious reasons. Tommy John’s are excellent because they’re made from a non-pilling micro-modal blend. Micromodal is spun from wood pulp. It’s a type of rayon, not unlike the Bemberg that lines your suits. When mixed with Spandex, as it is here, it’s stretchy, comfortable, and silky. It also wicks sweat from the skin, feels oh so cool, and is much more breathable than cotton.
Plenty of companies make micro-modal boxer briefs, but some pill over time, and others lose their softness. I imagine I’ll never find out what makes Tommy John’s material so perfect, but in the five or so years I’ve been wearing them, they’ve performed the best. Second Skin gives you support where you need, keeps you feeling dry, and has a “quick draw” opening that allows you to do your business. A few years ago, I threw out all my old underwear and just replaced them with Tommy John.
Barneys New York: Closing Sale
As you may have heard, Barney’s New York is shuttering and the company will soon only live on as a licensed label at Saks Fifth Avenue. In the meantime, the company is holding its closing sale. The discounts so far are meager — less than what most other retailers are offering for Black Friday. I haven’t had time to trawl through the inventory, but I recently remembered that Barney’s carries my favorite fragrance: Helmut Lang’s Curion. Initially created in 2002, the perfume was short-lived before it was taken off the shelves. But during the time it was on the market, it garnered praise from critics and eventually became sought after by collectors. In 2014, the company relaunched it — and it’s as good as I remember.
Curion is a soft leather scent without any of the smokiness that can make old-world leathers, such as Knize’s, feel fusty and overpowering. It opens with bergamot, mandarin orange, and pink pepper, then almost immediately transitions into suede and carrot seed. In the end, you get a strangely alluring mix of cedar and musk — not an uncommon combination, but so comforting here. I wear mine with leather jackets and cold weather tailoring. It’s a modern leather scent for guys who don’t identify with that version of masculinity that involves big gold chains or piped tobacco. Find a sample of it first, if you can (never blind buy bottles). Then remember it’s on sale at Barney’s.