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One of my favorite purchases last year was a custom-made, black boxcalf folio I commissioned from Chester Mox. I’ve written about the company a dozen times before, but they’re one of my favorite makers. Bellanie, the woman behind the husband-and-wife team, graduated a few years ago from an apprenticeship she took with a former Hermes artisan. Her work today is comparable to the best I’ve seen anywhere – including Hermes – but is sold at a fraction of the price. 

The quality is all in the stitching. Machine-sewn leather goods have straight stitches, such that each stitch sits perfectly in-line with the next. Handsewn leather goods, on the other hand, are made with what’s known as a saddle-stitch. That’s when two needles pass through the same hole, either with an awl first piercing that hole and guiding a needle through, or with the holes punched by hand using a pricking iron. The technique is laborious, but it results in a stronger seam. Whereas machine-sewn seams can unravel if one stitch breaks, saddle-sewn seams have to be picked apart using a special tool. 

Frankly, I mostly like them for aesthetic reasons. Machine-sewn seams have visible holes in-between each stitch, but saddle-sewn seams look clean and tight. For people who appreciate craft, the work is beautiful in its own right. 

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It seems crazy to open a brick-and-mortar in today’s retail environment, but Jake Grantham and Alex Pirounis recently took their chances with their new store, Anglo Italian. It’s located in the Marylebone area of London, a small residential district mostly characterized by its Georgian townhouses. As Mayfair rents have increased, a lot of commerce has moved to districts such as this one. This is the same neighborhood where you’ll find Trunk Clothiers, English Cut, and Monocle’s offices. 

The name Anglo Italian obviously reflects the shop’s aesthetics – a somewhat modernized version of a mid-century style, when the Italians used to look to the English for their cues – but it’s also reflective of Jake and Alex’s personal backgrounds. Jake, a native Londoner, worked for a while on Savile Row and then Drake’s. Alex, on the other hand, was born in Biella, Italy, and got his start at Kiton (his father, incidentally, has also worked at Loro Piana and Zegna his whole life). Both met when they were employees at The Armoury, which is how most readers probably know them. Their faces have shown up often on style blogs. 

When I spoke to Jake this past May, just a few weeks before the store’s opening, I asked him if he was worried about the apparent slowdown in Italian tailoring. It seems forever ago when people were obsessed with Neapolitan shoulders and unstrapped double monks. The landscape today for men’s style is a lot more decentralized – with people dabbling in designer clothing, streetwear, workwear, and classic tailoring.  

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For a blog called Die, Workwear, I’m really into Unionmade. The store specializes in hard-to-find workwear, heritage brands, and Japanese imports. Basically the sort of things you’d see in Free & Easy, back when they were still being published, but available in one (very large) boutique. 

They also have some great sales every once in a while, which make their admittedly high prices a bit easier to stomach. Last night, they cut prices in their sale section, where you can knock another 20% off with the checkout code EXTRA20. Shipping is a reasonable $10 for most of the United States ($40 to $60 international). 

You’ll find a lot of good basics here. Gitman Vintage button-downs, striped Saint James Bretons, Wolverine work boots, New Balance sneakers, and the lowest price I’ve ever seen for a staple Barbour jacket. I also really like these light washed Levis jeans, which come in the 1947 version of their 501s (the cut has changed a lot over the years, but the 1947 version is probably the easiest to wear with its slim-straight fit). On a hot summer’s day, I can imagine those being worn with this white Arpenteur camp collar shirt and some Yuketen huaraches. 

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These cat-monogrammed split-toes may be the best and most ridiculous thing I’ve ever bought. They’re from Saint Crispin’s, which has become one of my go-to companies for dress shoes. For years, I’ve always considered Edward Green to be my favorite label for footwear. Like Drake’s, their batting average in terms of design is exceptional, which means you can pick almost anything from their catalog and be assured you’ll look great. Getting a good pair of shoes from Saint Crispin’s, on the other hand, takes a bit more deliberation, but you can also wind up with something more unique. 

I think of Saint Crispin’s as the bridge to bespoke – sitting halfway between ready-to-wear and something truly custom. A lot of it is about the shaping. Since Saint Crispin’s are handwelted at the front and pegged at the waist, they don’t have the welt you traditionally find on Goodyear welted footwear, which allows their shoemakers to cut the soles closer to the uppers. Coupled with their sleek, foot-hugging lasts, this gives their shoes a kind of shapeliness you don’t see everywhere else. See this post for a comparison of how Saint Crispin’s chukkas compare to a similar pair from Crockett & Jones. The difference is incredible. 

Since every pair is made-upon-order, you can also ask for almost anything you want. That includes the design, which for bespoke firms such as G.J. Cleverley, I find to be half the draw. I recently bought these two split-toes from Skoaktiebolaget (an advertiser here, but also one of my favorite shoe shops because of their great service). I had them modify Saint Crispin’s traditional split-toes with the sort of v-shaped wing you see on the side, going from the apron to the quarters. And as a tribute to my cat, instead of the personalized monogram they normally peg into their waist with brass nails, I had them do an outline of a feline. I can’t take credit for the idea; this customer did it first. 

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Just a reminder, the order window for this year’s summer tweed run closes Monday, July 31st. Last year’s run was tremendously popular, so I’ve brought it back one more time. For those unfamiliar, this is an English woven cloth, made to look like the raw silk jacketings of yesteryear. The difference: being a silk-linen blend, rather than pure silk, it’s both cooler wearing and less shiny, making it easier to wear in modern contexts. The subtle, irregular flecks you see throughout the cloth also make this something like a summer version of Donegal tweed (hence the name). 

For readers who may not have custom tailors, or just like the ease of ready-to-wear, No Man Walks Alone is taking a length of the fabric for a special pre-order run on Sartoria Formosa sport coats. The jackets are handmade in Naples – to the same standards as the workshop’s bespoke commissions – and come in a silhouette that I think is both distinctively Italian and flattering (in contrast to the skinny suits seen elsewhere). The shoulders are soft and sloping, but just ever-so-slightly extended, and the chest is cut a bit full. You can see examples of their work in this post. The pre-order window for Formosa’s jackets also closes Monday. You can take 15% off the price with the checkout code PREORDER15. I genuinely think Formosa’s ready-to-wear line is one of the best values right now on the market, and the discount only makes it sweeter. 

 

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Designing cloth has become one of my favorite aspects of running this blog. It’s great to see a cloth materialize, after months of planning, and then see readers send their lengths to tailors, so they can be turned into suits and sport coats. In the past, I’ve put together special edition runs of tobacco brown Fresco, navy houndstooth Fresco, and a silk-linen blend I call “summer tweed.” The last one is my favorite. 

It’s also apparently a favorite of readers. In the last year, I’ve gotten more emails about this one than any others. Those who subscribed have written in to say how much they like their fabrics (and the resulting jackets they had made). Those who missed out have asked if the cloth will ever be offered again. 

So, I’m doing one more run of this fabric – this time with a special collaboration with Sartoria Formosa (more on that below). 

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A couple of years ago, Wall Street Journal’s style editor Jacob Gallagher described the Italian menswear line Eidos as “something that only looks good on men who are as handsome as the brand’s designer, Antonio Ciongoli.” I admit, up until then, I had been thinking the same thing. And while Antonio always looked good in photos – wearing trim white jeans and citified bomber jackets – I’ve learned my lesson over the years in not modeling my wardrobe too closely after handsome Italian men I see online. 

Last winter, however, while I was around downtown San Francisco, I decided to stop by Bloomingdale’s and check out the line. The clothes, to my surprise, were exceptionally wearable. The knits, based on old Aran classics, were updated with more interesting weaves and details. The polos were trim and cut with unusual collars, but they looked good when layered under a jacket. And then there was the outerwear, which was my favorite part of the collection. Slouchy, knee-length topcoats – one of which I later bought – paired just as easily over sport coats as they did with sneakers and jeans. You can see Mitchell Moss wearing a brown tweed one on his Instagram.

Part of this is about the editing process. In an amusing segment at Blamo! (a menswear podcast you should be following), Antonio said that he’s tried to make the line a lot simpler over the years:

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Most pants are made to visually disappear into the background of an outfit. A pair of grey flannel trousers set the stage for your shirt, tie, and jacket, just as jeans serve as the foundation for almost any causal ensemble. In the summer, however, when it’s too warm for layering, your shirt and trousers ought to do more than usual. I like slightly atypical tops this time of year. I’ve also been looking for pants with more distinctive closures. 

Almost all trousers you’ll come across have a simple button or zip closure, with more sophisticated ones coming with what’s known as a “French fly” (also called a waist stay). That’s the hidden, interior tab that attaches to an extra button or two inside of your pants, which relieves strain from the top of your zipper and allows the fly to lay flat. Some designers, however, pillage archives to come up with more unique systems. Some are easily wearable; others admittedly less so. 

The more daring ones, such as Margiela’s “sailor pants,” often take after historical dress. Those multi-button designs are modeled after something Regency-era men used to wear on the whipping seas. And while they were once a favorite of Beau Brummell, they’re all but unwearable today except for men who have a lot of time on their hands. Similarly, while heritage-inspired brands such as Engineered Garments have made their versions of Thai fisherman pants – also known as Sabays, which is Thai for “comfortable” – the loose, wraparound style is maybe a little too close for comfort to culottes (unless you’re David Sedaris anyway). Blurhms’ wrap pants, I think, are a better alternative if you like that style. I just wish theirs fit a bit fuller. 

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Globalization has been a double-edge sword for menswear. On the one hand, it’s wiped out many of the distinctive features that once made regional dress unique. There are a million sources these days for Macclesfield silk ties and minimalist sneakers, but few companies genuinely doing anything off the beaten path. At the same time, it’s allowed consumers to more easily tap into overseas markets (and, by the same token, for overseas companies to gain a broader audience). 

Even with all this access to information, however, it can be easy to overlook things happening around the world. South Korea, for example, rarely gets the credit it deserves. While much has been written about how China and Japan are changing our taste, little has been said about how South Korea is developing a menswear scene rivaling its neighbors. In the nation’s capital, you can find some surprisingly good bespoke tailors these days. Shops such as BnT Tailor specialize in Italian-inspired cuts – with their straight, wide lapels and sweeping quarters – but with clothes that often fit cleaner than what you’d get out of Naples. Similarly, boutiques such as Sculpt are as good as anything you’d find in New York City, while the number of domestically designed, Korean ready-to-wear labels is increasing every year. 

Like with Japan and China, however, it can be difficult to navigate the South Korean market if you can’t read the language. Sites such as High Snobiety and Hypebeast have covered the Korean fashion scene, but they often focus on streetwear brands that might feel alien to the average reader here. So, I thought I’d put together what I think are some of the most interesting labels right now coming out of the country – ranging from heritage-inspired workwear to more contemporary, minimalist styles. 

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