This is the face I imagine Franco Sozzi makes when he hears you only wear crunchy silk knit ties. He’s the president of Sozzi Calze – a century-old Italian manufacturer of high-end dress socks and knitted neckwear. Crunchy silk knits, such as those from Drake’s, are often favored by men’s style enthusiasts for their unique texture and weave. As Franco shows, however, other things can look good as well. 

Silk is nice for knit ties because it’s versatile. Particularly in a color such as black, you can wear one year-round with almost anything – brown tweeds, cotton sport coats, grey wool suits, etc. It’s the one tie you can rely on when you don’t want to put too much thought into your clothes, but also need something to dress down a tailored jacket. The style has been made famous by everyone from mid-century jazz musicians to the literary version of James Bond (who Ian Fleming often described as wearing a dark suit, clean white shirt, and “thin, black silk knitted tie.”)

In the last year or so, however, I’ve started to appreciate more seasonal knits. Ones made from wool or cashmere have fuzzier textures, which makes them pair well with tweeds and flannels during the winter months. I also recently picked up a cotton knit tie to go with a linen suit. Cotton tends to produce a flatter weave than silk, but sometimes you want that bit of understatement. See above, for example, where Franco is pictured wearing a patch pocketed, tan suit with a fancy shirting (monogrammed, no less) and soft, beige cotton knit. The whole ensemble just has a nice spring/ summer feel to it – more so, I think than, if he went with a crunchier silk. 

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It’s ironic that shoemaking is sometimes referred to as “the gentle craft” since, of all the bespoke trades, it’s seems like the least gentle of them all. The lasts are carved from large blocks of wood using a hinged blade; the stiff leathers are pulled over their wooden forms using pinchers; and heels are attached by nailing them down with hammers. The whole process sounds very noisy. 

Out of that process, however, can come such beautiful and elegant things. Nicholas Templeman recently sent me the photo above of my country grain Norwegians, which are currently in their in-welt fitting stage. Sleeker than Edward Green’s Dover, but more conservative than Saint Crispin’s 633 split-toes, they look like the perfect blend of town and country – something to wear with tweeds in the city. 

To get to this stage, a lot had to be done since Nicholas made my lasts a couple of months ago. The first step was to draft the pattern – much like a tailor would for a suit – and then lay the pieces on a leather hide. Only, in this case, the cutter has to be careful with where he or she puts the pieces. “The vamp needs to be cut from the hind quarters of the animal, since that’s where the grain is tightest,” Nicholas explains. “As you move up towards the neck, the leather get increasingly softer, so it doesn’t work as well for areas that bend a lot.” That sort of careful cutting is what prevents loose grain wrinkling, which you sometimes see on more casual shoes (or just cheaply made ones). 

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One of my favorite things about Drake’s is their ability to design things that feel contemporary on the one hand, but also classic on the other. It’s easy, after all, to produce ties that are classic and boring. Also easy to make ones that are trendy and awful. Steering a line between those two worlds, however, that takes skill, which is why Drake’s is so impressive. For a company that ventures beyond your typical Macclesfield silk prints and basic rep stripes, their batting average is very high. 

Some of that is due to how closely Michael Hill and his team work with mills. “I’m hesitant to take all the credit,” he tells me. “We’ve been working with the same mills since the 1970s, which means every collection is a collaboration. I often sit down with them and pour over their archives to figure out what to design today.” Those new designs will draw from a color here, maybe a weave there, but then be updated in ways to make them feel current. “There are few better ways to design than by looking at what’s been successful for us and the mill in the past,” Michael says. 

That’s important for men who like to wear more casual suits or sport coats. A conservative striped tie will go with anything, but if you’re looking for something more interesting to go with a tailored jacket, Drake’s always has plenty of tasteful options. Some of my favorites from this season:

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Just a friendly reminder that next week is the last week to get in on two cloth runs I’m organizing. The first is a slubby, silk/ linen blend inspired by a raw silk sport coat I saw on Taka from Liverano & Liverano (pictured below); the other is a navy houndstooth Fresco that’s both wrinkle resistant and highly breathable. Both are my way of getting summer fabrics with a bit more pattern and texture – things we appreciate in the fall/ winter seasons but struggle to find during the warmer months. 

When I originally designed these, I had sport coats in mind – although they can also be used for casual suits (ones where the jacket and trousers can be worn as separates). A few readers, however, have emailed me with project ideas I never even considered. One is thinking about turning his silk/ linen blend into a double-breasted summer suit; the other is planning to use the same fabric for a field jacket (see Eidos for inspiration). Both sound fantastic and are making me reconsider what I’m going to do with my lengths. 

Note, given the nature of custom runs, once the fabrics have been produced, there won’t be any more available. We’re running exactly the amount needed to fulfill the pre-orders – nothing will be held as stock. If you’re interested in joining, you can read more about the projects here. Of course, you can also email me with any questions. 

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I love this scene from Curb Your Enthusiasm, where Larry David charms a woman by admitting he’s not a cool guy. “Which is a pretty good line,” he later tells Ted Danson. “I never did that when I was dating – admit that I wasn’t a cool guy. Now I didn’t give a shit, I just said ‘I’m not a cool guy!’ Fucking worked! I’m going to use it all the time!”

That’s how I feel about retro-inspired running sneakers, which former Four Pins writer Jon Moy would probably describe as “NarcDad.” Styled after classic running shoes from the 1980s, they look like something you’d see on an NYC narcotics officer in a bad detective film. Or maybe a suburban dad in light-washed jeans. They’re utterly uncool and not at all hip, which is sort of how I feel these days seeing fashion guys in Rafdidas, Yeezys, and Hender Schemes. Cool shoes, but too cool for me, so I wear running sneakers – they’re my way of admitting I’m not a cool guy. 

I do they think can look stylish though. When done right, they suggest a bit of playfulness. Not as stark as Common Projects, nor as fashion conscious as Ultra Boosts, they show you can look good without taking yourself too seriously. The key is to wear them with slim jeans, as baggy ones take these too far down the NarcDad road. It also helps have some interesting, but still reasonably classic outerwear (see Rocky Mountain Featherbed’s down coat or Niche’s military field jacket). For a slightly dressier look, you can pair them with a topcoat and a hard bop, like Jake from The Armoury.

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Ralph Lauren started their mid-season sale this week. You can take 30% off select items with the checkout code RLFAM30. There are some pretty good deals floating around, particularly if you’re able to combine the promotion with the already-discounted items in their sale section. Some things I found last night while browsing the site:

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It can be hard to wear a tailored jacket in the warmer seasons. Even if it’s made from a loosely woven linen or lightweight tropical wool, a tailored jacket typically has multiple layers inside to give it structure – canvas, padding, haircloth, etc. The trick, of course, is to find something as softly tailored and lightly lined as possible. With fewer layers between you and that (hopefully) breathable shell, your body will dissipate heat better and you’ll in turn feel cooler. 

None of that is six o’clock news to anyone who’s familiar with tailored clothing, but few people think about the different ways to make a jacket breathable. For one, Ermazine allows for better ventilation than Bemberg (which in turn allows for better ventilation than silk). The first is a lightweight viscose; the second a soft rayon. Most tailors rely on Bemberg because it’s durable, inexpensive, and readily available, but Ermazine can sometimes be had upon request. 

Then there are the different ways to construct an unlined jacket – some of which are better suited to certain materials than others. Below are some jackets from No Man Walks Alone, which nicely illustrate these techniques. 

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The weather in the Bay Area has turned a bit drizzly this past week. The best raincoats I’ve come across are made from techy or treated fabrics – such as Gore-Tex or waxed cotton – but I’ve been relying on this 1950s mountaineering anorak instead. It’s a simple piece, made from an untreated, plain weave cotton, but the pullover style gives great protection, while the string-closure at the neckline can be tightened when it’s cold. 

Pullover-style jackets such as this one have been associated with everyone from adventurers to college students. See, for example, old photos of Edmund Hillary and his team as they climbed up Mount Everest, or Kirk Douglas and Richard Harris in the 1965 film The Heroes of Telemark. Theirs were designed for mountaineering, which means they were made from more rugged materials and insulated for warmth. Somewhere along the way, however, the anorak became trimmer and lighter weight. In the mid-century, Belstaff and Barbour made some for less arduous missions, while in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, Peter Storm’s were associated with British casuals. You can also spot the jacket in old Ivy Style photos, such as those in Take Ivy. 

For the kind of wet, chilly weather we’ve been having, I like to wear mine with jeans, some LL Bean boots, and a chunky turtleneck sweater. The problem with anoraks is that the fronts can sometimes be a bit plain, so turtleneck gives bit of a visual interest at the neckline. This particular jacket also has a few interesting pockets around the body – a big kangaroo pocket at the chest, two pockets at the hips, and two pockets halfway at the back. It’s a more interesting look, I think, than the kind of packable anoraks you see today around college campuses. 

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For clients of custom tailors, finding a good spring/ summer fabric can be tough. Once you get past your basic linens, cottons, and tropical wools, you’ll notice that warm-weather fabrics don’t have the same textures and patterns that make fall/ winter clothes so appealing. Gone are your prickly tweeds and district checks. Instead, you’re left with solid-colored fabrics on the one hand, and patterns that look like they can only be worn at Pitti Uomo on the other. 

After last year’s successful tobacco Fresco run, I decided to put together a couple more custom fabrics. Like last time, I’ve found that it can take a lot of work to get the color and general design just right – a little too much of something this way or that way, and the swatches just look off. After a bit of work, however, I think I have what are two very special spring/ summer jacketings. 

 

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Anonymous Ism couldn’t be better named. The Japanese sock manufacturer has little social media presence – no Facebook or Instagram accounts, just a Twitter page with one lonely Tweet. Their company website isn’t even working. I finally tracked down their North American rep a few weeks ago and asked if I could get more information. He replied: “what would you like to know … and why?!”

It seems the company would like to stay as anonymous as possible. The only information I could get is that they’re owned by Gallet – a 32-year old Japanese company that has traditionally done private label manufacturing for high-end brands and shops. Anonymous Ism is their house line, and it’s proudly made in Japan, but they apparently don’t like talking about it. 

Nonetheless, the company makes some of the best casual socks I’ve come across. I’ve been wearing them for the past year and was so impressed by how well they’ve held up that I bought a dozen more this past sales season. Some of their offerings include quarter-length and no-show socks, although I only wear their three-quarter length designs. Typically made from a blend of cotton, acrylic, and polyester, they stay up surprisingly well throughout the day – letting you avoid that dreaded sock pooling that can happen around your ankles mid-afternoon. 

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