This will probably be the last sales post for the season. After this, there will be a few price drops here and there, but sizing will start to get scant, and the selection narrow. At the moment, however, there are still some excellent end-of-season promotions. Here are seven I’ve been looking at, along with choice picks from each section.
No Man Walks Alone: Up to 40% Off
No Man Walks Alone, a sponsor on this site, just started their end-of-season promotion this morning, where you can find select items discounted by as much as 40% off. This season, I bought one of their Chamula sweaters, which are hand-knitted in Mexico from plush merino yarns. They’re stretchy and somewhat loosely knitted, but supremely comfortable and have an attractive, slightly uneven texture. Available in Fair Isle and an American flag motif. Just size up, as these run small.
I also bought a black pair of these Kaptain Sunshine cords. It feels strange to be so enthusiastic about five-pocket cords — a style you can find for $50 at Levi’s — but these are a little higher waisted and fuller in the leg, which I find makes them more comfortable to wear. They drape cleanly, have distinctive L-shaped pockets, and simply look great. I’ve been wearing mine with bomber jackets and long topcoats. Like those Chamula sweaters, however, you’ll want to size up.
Although the holiday season is over, Scott & Charters’ chunky shawl collar cardigans are great for whenever you’re entertaining guests. They’re distinct from other chunky shawl collar knits in that the silhouette is elongated — the collar drapes like a thick roll of dough and the body is longer than what you’ll find from Drake’s and The Armoury. I like wearing them at home with thin merino turtlenecks and flannel trousers. There are some great photos in this season’s NMWA lookbook showing a similar combination.
No Man Walks Alone also has some tremendous outerwear this season: topcoats from DOPPIAA and Valstar, down parkas from Kaptain Sunshine, and leather jackets from James Grose. In the photo above, Greg Lellouche can be seen wearing an Inis Meain ribbed mock neck sweater with Rota whipcords and a James Grose RAF shearling jacket. Not pictured are his Heschung Tyrolean shoes in expresso calf, although you can also use black field boots for a more tonal ensemble. Valstar’s shearling trucker jacket is also a favorite of mine this season, but it’s very expensive, even on sale. That said, if you’re going to splurge … this jacket is pretty great.
Todd Snyder: Extra 30% Off Sale Items, Code BIG30
In the last few years, I’ve been pleased to see slightly more wearable versions of shearling outerwear, a style that was previously associated with the Marlboro Man. Greg’s shearling bomber above, for example, looks much more manageable than the RAF originals or their Aero counterparts. I also love this season’s Todd Snyder’s suede shearlings, which come in dusty shades of pearl gray and deep blue. They’re contemporary, but classic, and can be easily worn with slim-straight jeans. With the current promotion, these come down to an impressive $735 — not inexpensive, but exceptionally priced for this material.
Todd Snyder has some other great things in his sale section, as well. These stout Cruiser jackets are inspired by the heavy wool outerwear that hunters and loggers used to wear in the Pacific Northwest (Filson still sells them, but they fit tremendously big and boxy). Todd Snyder’s are a little slimmer and more contemporary looking. Available in red plaid and solid olive wool, these come down to $342 with the promotion. I’m also tempted by these long-sleeved, camp collar shirts ($118). The orange/ green striped version would look great under a causal suit this summer.
J. Crew: Extra 40% Off Sale Items, Code EXTRA40
J. Crew’s Wallace & Barnes may be one of the most slept-on lines in menswear. Not everything in the collection is great, but if you’re looking for affordable basics, you could do worse than by sifting through their sale section every few months. The clothes have more of a boutique feel than J. Crew’s mainline, are made from better materials, and are inspired by vintage pieces that Frank Muytjens and his team routinely used to collect for their design archives.
At the moment, you can find blue plaid flannels for $53, cargo pants for $64, and pleated corduroys for $96. A few months ago, I was at one of their stores admiring this red plaid flannel shirt ($53). The fabric is a bit hairy and nubby — which makes me wonder how it’ll age — but it also has this perfect pitch of red that I think would look great under almost any kind of casual outerwear. The shirt is triple-needle sewn, as you’d find on vintage work shirts, and the collar is lined with chambray. For winter warmth, check out these honeycomb knit thermals, which come down to just $36 with the promo.
SSENSE: Up to 70% Off
My favorite pants days look like the US national debt. They’re ballooning and threaten only to get bigger. This season, I bought two pairs of Lemaire’s twisted trousers – black and tan – which are my widest trousers to-date. They have a twisted outseam that curves from the side of your hips to the front of your leg. In doing so, they do a bit of magic. When you’re standing evenly, these look like voluminous trousers. But when you shift your weight to one leg, the outseam forces the leg to curve outward, giving the pants a distinctive shape.
Let me be clear: these border on being Hammer pants. If someone said they’re feminine, I wouldn’t disagree either. But they straddle that androgynous line that’s popular with a certain section of contemporary designer clothing nowadays. I like them in tonal outfits, particularly with loose sweaters, robe coats, and side zip boots. The self-belt, which is long enough to wrap around your waist twice, looks great when hanging down. I bought them after seeing a pair on a friend, and I can’t deny that I was also inspired by the photo of Martha Stewart above. Julien Salibur often wears them on Instagram. Get a pair if you like brands such as Robert Geller, Stephan Schneider, and naturally Lemaire. They run true to size.
There are some other gems in SSENSE’s sale section, as well. Their Spalwart retro-runners, which go great with Americana and workwear, start at just $169. There also plaid flannel shirts from Engineered Garments ($178) and EG-sister brand South2 West8 ($88). RM Williams’ Chelsea boots are handsomely shaped and go with everything from contemporary to prep. SSENSE has a suede pair for just $272 – the lowest I’ve seen them priced.
Beige Habilleur: Up to 50% Off
Earlier this season, I bought a Balmacaan coat from Camoshita. It was made from nubby wool, draped beautifully, and fit like a cape (as the style is supposed to fit). But I ended up returning it because I didn’t like how the collar looked when flipped up, and I wasn’t sure if I’d be happy always wearing it down. Truthfully, had I kept coat, I think I would have been perfectly satisfied with it. But Michael Hill at Drake’s tells me that they’re coming out with a Balmacaan coat next winter and I’m waiting for that version.
Beige Habilleur in Paris, however, has another Camoshita bal coat that looks promising. This one is made from solid-colored olive wool. I don’t know how the collar performs, but Camoshita cuts their bal coats so beautifully, it would hard to go wrong with this purchase. Assuming you live outside of the European Union, and thus don’t have to pay VAT, this comes down to $640. Pretty great for such a beautiful coat. You can see more photos of it in Beige’s lookbook this season. Trunk Clothiers also has that original Camoshita bal coat discounted right now to $969. You can see Yasuto wearing that model himself at the top of this post.
Blue Owl: Extra 15% Off Sale Items, Code 15MORE
Blue Owl is having an archive sale, where you can find previous seasons’ items marked down by as much as 70% (most discounts, however, are between 25% and 50%). At the moment, you can knock those prices down further by using the checkout code 15MORE.
The store has a good mix of designer and workwear that I think should work for most guys. They carry everything from Our Legacy to RRL to Attachment/ KKA. This suede Our Legacy jacket is a bit cropped, but I can see it going well in more directional ensembles. Goodhood once did a photoshoot with the jacket, where I think they styled it exceptionally well. I also like this Chimayo-inspired RRL shawl collar cardigan, which you can sometimes see crop up on Alessandro Squarzzi’s Instagram. And this Mizusawa down jacket from Descente is excellent if you like the performance of techwear, but want something more subdued. The company has been making waves in the last couple of years with their collaborations with Todd Snyder, Head Porter, and Suicoke. Vlogger Reggie Casual has a video about them on YouTube.