Last night, when Mr. Porter announced their second markdown, I visited their sale section and many more. I’m relieved to say that the apocalyptic clearance sale that many predicted would happen is not, in fact, happening. This is good news for those of us who want to see stores survive. However, there’s also good news for shoppers: sales this season are slightly better than usual, even if they’re not at blowout prices. Retailers that normally don’t hold sales are holding one. Mr. Porter added previous seasons’ inventory to their sale section. And a bunch of stores started new promotions this morning. Here are what I think are the season’s best sales, along with highlights from each.
Mr. Porter: Up To 60% Off
Outerwear: Along with slashing prices for the second time, Mr. Porter added some new inventory in their sale section last night. In the outerwear section, you can find leather jackets from Valstar, Reese Cooper, Golden Bear, and Kingsman. The Valstar shearling trucker jacket, pictured below, is one of my favorites from last year. You can wear it with chunky sweaters, raw denim jeans, and pebble-grained boots for a terrific cold-weather outfit. Valstar also has supple suede bombers if your climate is more temperate. Additionally, check out these topcoats from Camoshita and Mr. P. Most topcoats are too short and slim, but Camoshita’s topcoats always have enough room to give them verve. Neither of these coats will be wearable this summer, but you can consider them pre-fall purchases.
Textured Knitwear: Knitwear is often better when it’s textured. Plain merino crewnecks can be nice under a sport coat, but they’re too dull on their own. A textured knit in a solid, staple color — grey, blue, cream, etc. — can be worn with just about anything. Much like grenadine ties, they’re plain enough to be worn with patterns and will add visual interest when you need it.
This season, Mr. Porter has textured knits from Oliver Spencer, Emma Willis, Kingsman, AMI, Barena, and Visvim. Even these spongey sweaters with their melange of colors are better than smoother, plainer knits. And while they’re not as versatile as crewnecks, I like the chunky, textured turtlenecks from Anderson & Sheppard, Massimo Alba, SNS Herning, Man 1924, and Inis Meain. Just note that thick turtlenecks tend to run very warm, so they’re only wearable on the coldest of days.
Shoes: There are some impressive discounts on covetable footwear labels, including Edward Green, John Lobb, George Cleverley, and Purdey. These unlined Edward Green penny loafers, for example, would look wonderful with a summer sport coat. Tricker’s black grained derbies are also surprisingly useful with gray woolen trousers and charcoal topcoats. Use them in dark tonal, casual outfits.
However, after so many months of quarantine, I find myself looking at the more casual options: Common Projects’ basketball low tops, Castañer’s leather espadrilles, and Gyakusou’s Zoom Pegasus. I really like the idea of wearing these retro-styled Nike Tailwind 79s with a long-sleeved knitted top and a pair of shorts for lounging around the backyard. Soho Home’s fluffy bath slippers would be lovely for the home (I own a pair and they’re very cushy).
Odds and Ends: There are other notables. Francesco Maglia makes some of the most beautiful single-stick umbrellas in the world (they’ve done private label work for Tom Ford and Hermes). Begg makes my favorite scarves. This Bleu de Chauffe briefcase would be a nice step-up from your standard Filson. You can pair this burgundy Drake’s x Aime Leon Dore pocket square with a brown or navy sport coat. There are also some nice socks from Anonymous Ism, Beams Plus, and Maximilian Mogg. I’m tempted to buy a pair of these Thunders Love socks because of their unique texture.
No Man Walks Alone: 30% Off Italian Makers
This week, No Man Walks Alone is offering a 30% discount on all of their Italian labels. This includes suits and sport coats from Sartoria Carrara and Sartoria Formosa, trousers from Rota, dress shirts from G. Inglese, and accessories from Bigi Cravatte, Tie Your Tie, Sozzi, Calabrese, and Talarico. Additionally, there’s some interesting casualwear from Valstar and Doppiaa, including shirt jackets and last winter’s topcoats.
For guys who wear tailored clothing, there are some basics here that should be in any wardrobe: a navy summer sport coat, a brown winter tweed, a pair of grey trousers for summer and winter, and some light-blue button-downs in various weaves. Beyond your basics, I recommend picking up a pair of cavalry twill trousers. Cav twill hangs like iron, swings when you walk, and stretches where you need. And since they’re hard-twisted worsteds, they tend to hold their shape better than flannel, which can bag over time and require repressing. I find myself wearing cav twill more often than flannel.
For a stay-at-home outfit, I’ve been eyeing these terry cloth polos from Doppiaa. I can imagine them being worn in the backyard or at the poolside with a pair of Joyce’s rayon-blend shorts and Castañer’s espadrilles.
The Armoury: 20% Off Ring Jacket Tailoring
For all the years that I’ve followed the store, I’ve never seen anything discounted at The Armoury. Sometimes things make it to their sister site Drop93 or in-person sample sales in NYC or Hong Kong. But as a general rule, they don’t hold sales.
This morning, however, I noticed that some of their items from Ring Jacket are now available at 20% off. This includes suits (which start at $1,120), sport coats ($840), tailored chinos ($220), and overcoats ($1,440). Most men, I think, would do well in the company’s Model 3 cut. Made exclusively for The Armoury by Ring Jacket in Japan, the cut features slightly wider lapels, a swelled chest, and soft sloping shoulders that extend just past the shoulder bone. I find the silhouette results in a flattering V-shaped figure. Men with broader shoulders will find it fits them better, while narrow-shouldered folk (such as me) will appreciate how the silhouette makes their waist look slimmer by comparison. You can see the silhouette in action in this YouTube video.
In the summer, it can be challenging to wear a patterned sport coat because fabrics tend to be hard finished, resulting in harder, sharper, and more vivid lines. However, The Armoury has some patterned sport coats this summer in deep blue, mid-brown, and sage green that look tasteful. I also like the tan Fox Air double-breasted suit and the olive mohair-blend single-breasted suit (modeled on Mark above). Neither is a staple, but they strike me as fun summer suits you can wear on various occasions: to the museum, to parties, to brunch, or whenever you please. To quote my friend Pete, “dare to look rad.”
J. Crew: 60% Off Select Items, Code SALEAWAY
If J. Crew were to ever disappear, it’s hard to imagine another company offering as much value as Wallace & Barnes. The company’s subline is inspired by vintage pieces that Frank Muytjens and his team used to collect for J. Crew’s archives. The cuts, detailing, and fabrics are often more interesting than J. Crew’s mainline, all the while being offered at Gap-level prices.
This season, I picked up a stack of their garment-dyed t-shirts. These vintage-inspired tees feature slightly shorter sleeves, a never-sag, double-needle sewn collar, and a tubular-knit construction, which means there are no side seams. I love their color range: dusty black, military olive, muted midnight, etc. My only complaint is that they put the care tag on the interior collar (why oh why!?). However, you can remove it with a seam ripper. Just take care to only remove the tag, and not rip out the collar seam.
It wasn’t long ago when t-shirts like this were only available from boutique brands, which would charge you upwards of $75. At J. Crew, you can nab one for just under $20 right now with the checkout code SALEAWAY. For a garment that’s entirely cut, sewn, and garment-dyed in Los Angeles, that’s a tremendous deal.
Don’t sleep on the mainline, either. Their field mechanic jacket is currently just $64 with the checkout code. It has a cinched waist to give the jacket some shape, ample pocket space, and a stowaway hood for when it rains. The stand-up collar frames the face well, and the easy-to-maintain, wash-and-wearability means you don’t have to baby this very much. This is the sort of thing you can wear with jeans, chunky sweaters, and oxford button-downs. Again, this is $64 for a jacket. Fashion boutiques nowadays charge more for cotton socks.
Ralph Lauren: Up To 40% Off, Including RRL
Ralph Lauren is having a 40% off sale, which includes RRL and Purple Label. Earlier this season, I picked up this dusty pink RRL flannel shirt. Made with a camp collar and two spacious chest pockets, I love how it looks with old blue jeans. As a color, pink pairs so well with blue, but most pink flannel shirts are too vivid and sharp. They don’t have the dusty, old workwear vibe that layers well with an olive military jacket and a blue chore coat. This one, however, is perfect. The way the collar splays is just icing on the cake.
Given the price of the RRL’s shirts, I promised myself that I wouldn’t buy this scenic-print viscose-blend shirt as well. But imagine how it would look with faded blue jeans, a vintage denim Lee trucker jacket, and some suede roper boots. Or any outfit in that old “California Sunshine and Noir” post.
Moda Operandi: Extra 15% Off Sale, Code 15OFFSALE (Ends Today)
A couple of months ago, Business of Fashion reported that Moda Operandi is shuttering their men’s business. I’m disappointed since I think Josh Peskowitz was making the company into one of the more interesting men’s retailers since he came aboard as a director. However, for anyone looking for a deal, this means that the site is having a huge clearance sale. Until the end of today, you can even knock an extra 15% off sale prices with the code 15OFFSALE.
There are so many terrific labels here: Chimala, RRL, Blue Blue Japan, and Engineered Garments are favorites for workwear. Chimala’s sweatshirts and tees are loose and boxy, while chore coats are perfectly faded. The whole line feels like womenswear inspired by menswear, and then recycled back into menswear again. Lemaire has a similar unisex, fashion-forward vibe, but more for the contemporary side. Additionally, there are some heavily discounted Chamula knits, Begg scarves, Matsuda eyewear, Yuketen shoes, and Valextra leather goods. The whole site is worth a browse.
Battenwear: Extra 30% Off Sale Items, Code SAFERATHOME
Battenwear is one of the most heavily slept-on labels in Americana. And yet, its story traces the history of menswear so perfectly for the last ten years, it seems well-poised to capitalize on today’s obsessions. Born in Japan, Shinya Hasegawa came to America to study fashion marketing at the Fashion Institute of Technology. From there, he ended up scoring a job as an assistant designer at Woolrich Woolen Mills, where he collaborated with Daiki Suzuki and Mark McNairy. It was through that experience that he actually learned how to design clothes — and gain the confidence to start his own label, Batten Sportswear (later Battenwear), in 2011. Today, he and his wife traverse the country from New York City to Topanga Canyon. His line is a reflection of his interests: hiking, surfing, and vintage sportswear from the 1960s and ’70s.
Battenwear is ideal for people who love the idea of vintage gear from Gerry, Alpine Designs, Holubar, North Face, and REI. It’s very much sun, surf, and California culture, as defined by saltwater soaked tees, 60/40 mountain parkas, and PacSun corduroy shorts. Over at their site now, under the sale section labeled “web specials,” you can find everything from stretch climbing pants to active lazy shorts, lightweight shell anoraks to batten-down parkas. They have raglan-sleeved camp shirts made with charming chest pocket placements, as well as an ultra-cool, four-pocket, guayabera-inspired “island” shirt. Everything they produce is made in the USA.
I bought one of their adjustable corded field caps (which is basically a shallow dad cap). Wrote Pete at Put This On: “Corduroy makes for a surprisingly great accent fabric, especially (obviously) in fall. I like the color of this Battenwear model and the subtle embroidered logo; sort of a grown-up Stussy hat.” For $31 with the checkout code SAFERATHOME, it’s hard to go wrong.
Kiehl’s: 20% Off Any Purchase, Code SUMMER (Ends Today)
I’m a big fan of Kiehl’s for grooming products. However, it’s hard to make blanket recommendations since everyone will have different needs. That said, I use their 24-Hour Oil Eliminator Moisturizer in the summer, then their Ultra Facial Cream in the winter. They’re both facial moisturizers, but the first is useful when your skin is more likely to be oily, while the second is best when the weather is cold and dry. If you use the Midnight Recovery Concentrate Oil after coming out of the shower, you may not even need to use a moisturizer the next day.
I also like the scrub soaps and shampoos. They’re a little more expensive than what you’ll find at the drugstore, but not exorbitantly so and they last much longer. The soaps feel nice, while the shampoos are specially formulated to help with different hair types. I find their Oil Infused Shampoo to be great for thick, dry hair. I use it in conjunction with their Amino Acid Conditioner.