Fabrics are my favorite part of fall/ winter wardrobes. Heavy tweeds, corduroys, and flannels for tailored clothing. Then sturdy wools and leathers for casualwear, as well as spongy alpacas and Shetlands for knits. Everything just looks and feels so cozy.
The same goes for ties. Although few men need more than a handful of ties nowadays – some striped rep silks, solid-colored grenadines, and basic knits – seasonal neckwear is a great way to add joy to a wardrobe. Alan Cornett put it well recently when he said: “some purchases flavor a wardrobe, though their proportions are small.” A well-chosen tie, pocket square, or scarf is a great way to give a nod to a certain season or occasion, “changing the tenor of an ensemble.” A wool tie can complement the cold-weather feel of a tweed jacket, or add an autumnal touch to a navy worsted suit.
There are thousands of fall/ winter ties out there, but broadly speaking, you’re looking at five categories:
One of the things you notice when you start paying attention to leather goods is that some of the world’s best makers come from countries with long saddlery traditions (that is, the art of making leather goods for horse riding). Hermes, for example, started as a harness and bridle rein workshop in the Grands Boulevards quarter of Paris. And today, many former saddlers – as well as people trained by former saddlers – work in the French city to produce leather accessories for men.
Similarly, most of the top-end English makers specialize in working with bridle leather. Bridle, for those unfamiliar, is one of the three main materials in saddlery – saddle and harness leather being the other two. The difference between them is in the finishing. Saddle leather is left “raw,” which means it has little oil or wax content. That makes it relatively dry and stiff, as well as susceptible to water stains. Harness leather has a bit more oil and wax, as well as a smoother grain. The dressiest of the three, however, is bridle. It’s the smoothest and most polished, with a high oil and wax content that blooms to the surface, giving the leather a beautiful luster. Of all the dress leathers out there, it’s also the most durable. Figure it this way: if bridle leather was originally created to secure a horse rider’s life, it’s probably good enough to hold your laptop.
One of my favorite companies for bridle leather goods is Simpson, which might be the youngest label to have a 150+ year old history. As the story goes, it was started in 1997 by Robert Simpson, a member of the Krolle family. The Krolles were behind Tanner Krolle, one of England’s oldest and most famous leather goods companies, having been around since 1856. When Chanel bought Tanner Krolle in the ‘90s, however, Robert left and took a few TK employees with him. Together, they started a new leather goods manufacturing house called RBJ Simpson (otherwise known as Simpson London).
Ralph Lauren will always have a special place in my heart. It’s the one company I really admired growing up – more in terms of how it was appropriated by streetwear culture, rather than the preppy Americana crowd it was originally intended for. I also think few companies have been as consistent and as great for so long. There isn’t much from their archive that I don’t think looks good today (just slim up some of the ‘90s stuff, Ralph!).
About ten years ago, the now defunct Japanese menswear magazine Free & Easy published a special issue on Ralph Lauren (I put up a few pages from it here). Most of the clothes featured are long gone, of course. They were made sometime between the 1970s and ‘90s, although styles like them can still be found on Ralph Lauren’s site. For obsessives, vintage pieces come with a bit of provenance, but since some have become collectors’ items, prices can sky rocket into the thousands. Assuming you can even find them in the first place.
Despite that old line attributed to Mark Twain – “the coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco” – it actually doesn’t get that cold here. In the dead of winter, temperatures can drop into the low 40s, but that’s basically springtime in Moscow, when street performers come out to Stary Arbat to busk for tourists.
Still, that doesn’t make me want dress coats any less. And by dress coats I mean the kind of topcoats and overcoats that have mostly disappeared from modern wardrobes. With fewer men wearing suits and sport coats nowadays, fewer still need the kind of outerwear that traditionally accompanied them. So, today, we have hundreds of casual outerwear styles, but only a handful of options for something dressier than a parka.
My own wardrobe has two dress coats, and despite the weather being less-than-frigid, I find them surprisingly useful. They’re too warm for the afternoon, but great for keeping out that biting chill in the morning and night – which are basically the only times I’m outside of work.
I don’t think I remember any Black Friday season being this good. Six more great sales started last night. There’s End, Meyvn, and Club Monaco for casualwear (the last of which now includes third-party brands); Skoaktiebolaget and Pediwear for some amazing shoe deals; and The Hanger Project for classic men’s accessories. Running through the stores, here are some highlights:
End: One of my favorite shops for casualwear. The selection here rivals Mr. Porter’s and, for Black Friday, they’ve discounted almost everything 20% off. The promotion is automatically applied at checkout and it stacks on already-discounted items in the sale section. Like with Mr. Porter, I think the easiest way to tackle this is by browsing their list of brands, although if you need some suggestions, here are some I really like:
Casual Outerwear: Barbour, Aspesi, Belstaff, Mackintosh, and Stutterheim will get you through any kind of weather, and the styles are versatile enough to be paired with almost anything. The Barbour section includes a ton of stuff that’s not just outerwear as well (e.g. bags, sweaters, shirts, etc).
Ark Air: I wrote about Ark Air a couple of months ago. They’re the civilian wing of an old military uniform manufacturer. I like how the prices aren’t over the top, relative to what’s on the market these days, and the 20% discount only makes it sweeter. For something a little more upscale, I’m a big fan of Ten C.
I don’t know if anyone actually does Black Friday anymore. It seems like all the sales drop a few days before. Last night, five new sales popped up in my inbox – the best of which is probably Mr. Porter, although Brooks Brothers, Ralph Lauren, and LL Bean are also great if you’re looking for something more traditional (more info below). Some notable things I found last night while going through the sites:
Mr. Porter: The obvious favorite for most people. In the last few years, Mr. Porter has become one of the largest online shops for high-end men’s clothing. The problem is getting through that inventory – especially during sale season when things move quickly. My usual strategy is to comb through their designer list; then browse through the broader categories (e.g. shirts, outerwear, shoes, etc) and filter by size. The first lets me hone in on things I like, while the second allows for more serendipitous finds.
Interestingly, Mr. Porter has discounted a lot of stuff this season that’s normally excluded from promotions, including shoes from John Lobb, J.M. Weston, Edward Green, George Cleverley, and Viberg. I was really tempted by some of those Edward Greens last night. Other lines I like:
I’ve been really into oversized scarves lately. Your standard scarf is something like 12″ by 62″, usually made from lambswool because it’s cheaper than cashmere but still has a bit of loft (that loft helps you retain heat). Begg has some nice ones mixed with angora fibers, which give them a slightly softer hand and hairier appearance. For a budget buy, Sierra Trading Post has some Abraham Moon lambswool options that are nearly free.
If you’re up for a splurge, however, an oversized scarf can be a wonderful thing. They feel cozier when wrapped around the neck, and if you can get them in the right dimensions, they drape beautifully. Something a little wider – closer to 25″ or 30″ instead of 12″ – means the scarf will fold more when worn, giving the neck and chest areas a bit more visual interest. If the scarf is long enough, you can also wrap them around the neck a few times, or try one of the more complicated knots described by Simon Crompton below.
The only problem with oversized scarves is that they can be a bit bulky. That’s part of the charm, really, but the issue can be minimized in two ways. For one, you can aim for scarves made with looser weaves and from finer fibers (such as cashmere). In the right material, you can get all that beautiful drape without feeling like you’re wrapping a blanket around your neck. Second, keep these scarves to heavier outerwear. Bulky scarves look less conspicuous with heavy coats than they do under sport jackets. For wear with tailored sport coats alone, I stick to smaller designs.
There aren’t a lot of things I’d call “essential” in men’s clothing. You need a “sincere suit,” maybe also a shoehorn. And if you wear denim, you’ll likely need a repair shop. Even the best jeans blow out at some point, which means – whether you’re reluctant to throw out a favorite pair or trying to get those beautiful sky-blue fades – you need someone who’s good at patching and mending.
Denim Therapy was started ten years ago by Francine Rabinovich, a former ad executive who was inspired by an old pair of jeans she couldn’t throw away. She decided there must be hundreds of people like her, so she started a speciality shop just for denim repair. Today, the company employs three seamstresses, who together push out about a thousand repairs a month. The strangest request they’ve received? Emily Mcintosh, who serves as the company’s Operations Manager, tells me they sometimes get stuff from people who have been involved in motorcycle accidents. “You’ll get these jeans where the EMT had to cut the person out of them, and we’ll have to figure out how to sew them up so they look normal again.” Not an easy job, depending on where the cuts were made.
Even for guys who have been reading about bespoke tailoring for years, the world of bespoke footwear remains opaque. There’s not a lot of published information on the subject, and what’s available is often written in Japanese. Next month, however, there will be a new English text that promises to be interesting. Master Shoemakers is a new book by Gary Tok (known to some as gazman70k on StyleForum). For the last couple of years, he’s been traveling around the world, meeting and and talking with shoemakers – partly as a client looking for nice shoes, but also as a writer documenting a dying craft.
Master Shoemakers features eleven shoemakers and shoemaking firms from France, Germany, Italy and the UK. They included storied names such as GJ Cleverley, John Lobb Bootmaker, and Foster & Son, as well as niche artisans such as Anthony Delos, Hidetaka Fukaya, Benjamin Klemann, Roberto Ugolini, and Stefano Bemer (before his passing). As far as I know, this is the only book of its kind. I recently sat down with Gary to talk about his project.
I hate having zippers on my pants, but I love them on my shoes. My go-to causal footwear these days are side zips – an ankle height, usually plain toe style that features a zipper running up each of the medial sides. Without any of the straps, buckles, or elasticated gussets you’d find on jodhpurs or Chelseas, they have a sleeker and cleaner look. I like them for their slightly rockstar vibe, even if my life resembles any thing but.
The great thing about side zips is that, although they’re a little more interesting than traditional styles, they’re surprisingly versatile. The key is to pay attention to certain details. The cleaner, more minimalist versions have concealed zippers and thinner soles (although some have Cuban heels, I like mine to sit closer to the ground). You can find these from brands such as Robert Geller, Tom Ford, Story Et Fall, and Maison Margiela. Mine, pictured above and below in grey and black, are from Margiela. Note, to get that lower profile, the soles typically have to be glued on, rather than stitched. I don’t mind so much, but it does mean they can’t be resoled as many times.
These sorts of side zips pair well with contemporary brands such as Robert Geller, Stephen Schneider, and Lemaire. I like them with more casual pieces – a zippered cafe racer from Margiela, for example, or hooded coat from Stephan Schneider – but for a night out on the town, you can try them with a topcoat and some slim trousers. It’s a slightly dressier look, but one that feels laid back.
