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.

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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:

• Workwear: Nigel Cabourn, Levi’s Vintage Clothing, Blue de Paname, Arpenteur, Kaptain Sunshine, Needles, Neighborhood, and RRL. The LVC 1947 501 jeans are a great straight-leg model if you want something a bit more comfortable through the thigh. 
• Contemporary casualwear: Nonnative, Barena, Elka, Albam, Margaret Howell, Maison Margiela, Maison Kitsune, AMI, Tres Bien, Wings & Horns, and Our Legacy. This Margaret Howell fishtail parka looks especially good. 
  
• Neo-retro outdoor brands: Battenwear, Epperson Mountaineering, Mt. Rainier, and Patagonia. Pair one of the Battenwear jackets with LVC 1947 501 jeans, a Jamison’s Shetland sweater, and these Diemme boots. 
  
• 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.
  
• Knitwear: Inis Meain, Howlin’, Jamison’s, SNS Herning, and Inverallan. I’ve always thought Inverallan has some great shawl collar cardigans. 
  
• Shirts: Gitman Vintage and Individualized Shirts are nice for easy, go-to basics. I also like Portuguese Flannel for, well, flannels. 
  
• Shoes: End is low-key one of the best shops for sneakers. See the selection for Nike, Adidas, Vans, Superga, and Reebok. They also carry some great niche lines, such as Shoes Like Pottery, Spalwart, and Buttero. For something a little more rugged, check Diemme, Red Wing, Yuketen, Timberland, Tricker’s, and Viberg. Vibergs are rarely discounted and their service boots are great with workwear. 
  
• Accessories: Finally, Anonymous Ism and Wig Wam for socks; Ebbets Field Flannels for baseball caps; Filson, Head Porter, Porter, Master Piece, and Mismo for bags; and Jason Markk for sneaker cleaning supplies (this stuff works like magic). Sneaker ER also looks interesting for sneaker care, although I don’t have any personal experience with the brand. 
  

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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:

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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. 

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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. 

There are lots of options these days for denim repair. In addition to your local tailoring shop, you can try Denim Surgeon, Self Edge, Schaeffer’s Garment Hotel, Indigo Proof, Standard & Strange, Context, and Darn & Dusted. There are probably a dozen more that I’m missing, but my go-to source for the last couple of years is Denim Therapy in NYC. 

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. 

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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. 

What spurred you to write this book?

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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. 

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Of all the clothing styles we derive from warfare, you wouldn’t think the soft knit cardigan would be one of them. But when James Thomas Brudenell, a British army officer and the 7th Earl of Cardigan, wanted a sweater he could slip on and off without disarranging his hair, a new classic was born. Button-front sweaters have their roots in the Crimean War, in which Brudenell fought, but today they’re associated with cozy firesides, pipe smoking, and grandfatherly attire. 

That’s not to say they have to be stodgy. Steve McQueen gave shawl collar styles a macho appeal when he used them as part of his off-duty uniform. Hip Parisian youths on the Rive Gauche wore them in the ‘50s and ‘60s while discussing jazz, philosophy, and New Wave films. And Kurt Cobain inspired millions of grunge fans in the ‘90s to raid their local thrift stores for vintage pieces. 

 

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Like I’m sure anyone reading this site, I’m very particular when it comes to my clothes. I like my tailored jackets to have an extended shoulder line, side vents, and a three-roll-two closure. I prefer my trousers to have slanted pockets. And if the fabric is loosely woven, I think jackets are better with flapped pockets instead of patch (otherwise, with something like a Shetland tweed, the pockets can sag a little more with time). 

There are some things, however, that I’ve never been able to settle on. Like how I feel about the curve on a lapel – which is sometimes known as the belly. 

 

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If you live in North America and love Saint Crispin’s as much as I do, there’s some good news this month. The company just started their “Saint Crispin’s of the Americas” operation, headed by former Armoury employee Zachary Jobe. This means three things. 

First, there will be many more trunk shows. Phillip used to visit the US twice a year, hitting only the largest cities. With Zachary’s help, they’ll now be touring the US on a quarterly basis, visiting everywhere from Miami to Washington DC to Atlanta to Denver to San Diego to Los Angeles (in addition to the usual rounds through NYC, Honolulu, San Francisco, etc). You can see their full tour schedule here. 

This is useful since, more than any other shoe company, it can be important to try Saint Crispin’s on in-person before buying. They make their shoes with a lot of shape – cutting things a bit closer to the foot – and use harder stiffeners. That means there’s less room for error when it comes to fit, and the break-in period can be more punishing if you get things wrong. More trunk shows means more opportunities for men to try on their shoes in-person and get professional advice. 

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