Apparently, when it rains, it pours – at least when it comes to mid-season promotions. UK clothier End just started mid-season sale, where you can take take 20% off almost any purchase with the checkout code AUTUMN15. The code surprisingly works on brands that are typically excluded, such as APC, Common Projects, and Maison Margiela.
East Dane was introduced a few years ago as a sort of menswear side to ShopBop (a large, online emporium for women’s wear). Like their counterpart, East Dane has an equally big selection, ranging anywhere from minimalist fashion forward lines to more classic brands. Their focus is admittedly not that targeted, but if you sift through their inventory, you’ll be surprised at how many good things are carried here.
For the next few days, they’re holding their mid-season sale, where you can knock 25% off with the checkout code INTHEFAM25. The code also works on their sale section, which makes some items discounted as much as 93% (I almost bought this Master Piece backpack last night). Some notables I found:
Southern Italians are famous for their soft tailoring, but nobody really does a soft jacket like the Spanish. Specifically their Teba – a country jacket that comes mostly unpadded throughout the chest and shoulders, and features those signature shirt-like sleeves, ventless backs, and most importantly, notchless lapels. In a world where everything is being homogenized, the Teba is one of the last articles of men’s clothing that’s still unique to a region.
Stories regarding the style are a bit murky. Some say the original Teba was a gift to the Count of Teba, Carlos de Mitjans y Fitz-James Stuart (known affectionately to his closest friends as Bunting), from King Alfonso XIII. Others say the exchange was the other way around. Others still say the jacket was originally made on London’s Savile Row and then adapted by a Spanish tailor to fit the Count’s needs. Whatever the actual origins, the Count almost certainly popularized it, and he most likely wore it out in the Spanish countrysides, where he spent time drinking wine and hunting quail. Over the years, it’s become an iconic piece of Spanish countrywear, mostly surviving on its comfort and aura of romanticism.
Construction wise, the Teba is something like a shirt jacket, combining the unstructured Neapolitan form with British-like-style. The notchless lapels may look odd at first, but they’re hardly even noticeable in dark fabrics. When worn, they give the jacket a more casual vibe. The ventless back and shirt-like sleeves also keep things casual, while the unlined and (largely) unpadded interior make things look relaxed.
It’s always exciting to see creativity and craft come together. Bespoke shoemaker Nicholas Templeman is coming to the US this month, starting Friday, October 9th. He’ll be visiting New York City, Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco. To prepare for his tour, he’s put together a collection of eight samples – ranging from the sort of conservative oxfords he used to help make for John Lobb of St. James, to dandier styles, such as a bright-colored button shoe.
My favorites from him are somewhere in between – styles that have a bit more flair than a traditional oxford, but are conservative enough to wear with a simple suit or sport coat. The adelaides above, for example, are beautifully made from a smooth box calf, and then distinguished with hatch grain facings and counters. A bit of interesting history: box calf used to refer to a hand curried and boarded leather – called so either because the object they used to prepare the leather was box-like, or because the process created box-like markings. It was supposedly done to help soften the leather, but nowadays, that’s done through the tanning process, so the term box calf just refers to a smooth (usually black) leather, like you see above.
Three years ago, when I visited Antonio Panico’s workshop in Naples, he showed me three safari jackets. One was constructed from linen, another from cotton, and a third, surprisingly, from a hefty cashmere. Together, they represented how you could wear the style three seasons out of the year. The jackets themselves were a bit too big for my skinny frame, but when Panico put them on me and belted them up, I can’t say I’ve ever felt cooler.
Since then, I’ve been wanting a safari jacket I can wear in the fall, just to go with the cotton and linen ones I sometimes use in the summer. The key to making these look good, I think, is to have the garment styled more like a jacket than a shirt (which shirt jackets like these can lean either way). That means a slightly slouchier fit, rather than something overly tailored, and details such as bigger buttons at the front, bellow pockets on the hips, and – possibly – even a separate side body panel, so that the jacket has a bit more shaping.
Heavy cashmere is too rich for my blood, but I’ve been thinking about getting one made from tweed or moleskin. The nice thing about shirt jackets is that, since there’s no interior construction, bespoke pieces are much more affordable than other kinds of tailored clothing (think, something around $750, which isn’t inexpensive, but a far cry from the ~$2,500 tailors charge for bespoke sport coats). You do need a custom shirtmaker who already has your pattern, however. If he or she has to create one from scratch, expect to pay a few hundred dollars more.
There’s something beautifully organic about Hiro Yanagimachi’s shoes, but many people have never heard of the company for a very simple reason: despite there being over fifty bespoke shoemakers in Japan, and nearly two dozen ready-to-wear labels, their shoes are rarely sold or even seen outside of the country. In fact, they’re rarely even talked about on English language blogs, which means the rich world of Japanese footwear remains fairly opaque to outsiders.
There are some makers, however, who occasionally visit the US and Western Europe. The Armoury, for example, hosts trunks shows in NYC with Koji Suzuki, who trained in Florence, Italy under the famous Roberto Ugolini. Similarly, Hiro Yanagimachi is just starting to tour the world. “British shoes taught me the meaning of classic,” says Yanagimachi. “At the same time, I’ve always enjoyed the fun in Italian style, the sophistication of French footwear, and the comfort and casual nature of American shoes. I don’t follow any particular style, but they’re all reflected through my work when I try to answer the question ‘what is a Hiro Yanagimachi shoe?’”
Brooks Brothers just started their Friends & Family sale. The event used to be held mid-season, but it’s apparently gone pre-season now (aren’t we technically still in summer?). In any case, you can take 25% off almost everything on their site with the checkout code FRIENDS. Some notable items include:
Boots: These shell cordovan boots are some of my favorite shoes to wear with both jeans and tailored trousers. They also come in a suede version, which you can spray with a waterproofer and turn into rain boots.
Slip-Ons: Some nice models for tassels and pennies. Also a lightweight tie model from Crockett & Jones (available in pebbled grain or suede), which I think go well with casual suits.
Unstructured Shoes: Floppy, unstructured bluchers and chukkas from Alden.
Outerwear:Some Beretta hunting coats, starting at about $300 with the discount. This model has a shoulder strap system inside that allows you to sling the jacket across your back when it’s not in use.
Shirts: The coupon code stacks on Brooks Brothers’ Every Day Value deals, which means shirts come out to about $57 apiece if you buy in sets of three. Check out their oxford-down button-downs (available in both solid-colored and striped options), as well as dressier chambray and denim models.
Luggage: Brooks Brothers’ sales are always the best time to pick up Filson bags. They also have a good range of luggage from JW Hulme, if you want something in leather.
Sale Section: There are some linen shirts in sale section that come down to an appreciably low $45 with the discount code. Available in both solid colors and stripes.
It feels ridiculous to call a pair of ~$1,500 shoes high-value, but Saint Crispin’s really do feel like some of the best deals around. For about the price of high-end ready-to-wear, you not only get a pair of handwelted shoes with a lot of the shaping you’d find in bespoke, you also get a world of customization options. So many, in fact, that you can spend nearly an hour mulling over an order. Or at least that’s how long I spent yesterday at The Wingtip, as Phillip Car is in San Francisco this week holding a two-day trunk show.
Technically speaking, Saint Crispin’s has five levels to their customization program, but you can somewhat group them into three (for all five, you can visit their website). The first level is your standard made-to-order, where you can get any of their mainline models in a variety of leathers, colors, and sole types. There are also small details, such as sole monograms and toe plates. Somewhat standard stuff, although Saint Crispin’s is one of the few companies who offers a wide range of crust leathers (a type of unfinished leather that’s handstained at the company’s Romanian workshop). With handstained leathers, you can ask for even subtler variations in color that you might not be able to achieve with finished materials.
There’s also the possibility of getting last adjustments, in case their standard lasts don’t fit you properly. Here, small pieces of cork are either added to the last before the shoes go into production, or pieces of the lasts are rasped away. You can see part of the process in the video at the end of this post. It’s an ingenious solution for people who like Saint Crispin’s shoes, but just need to get a better fit. Phillip tells me that, along with getting a better fit, customers can even ask for complete changes to the toe shapes. Useful if you, like me, want a slightly rounder toe for more casual styles.
I had a nice chat with Patrick Johnson and one of his sales reps, Remy Ghougassian, a few weeks ago. The two were in San Francisco fitting customers, so we met after hours at the St. Regis hotel to chat over drinks. Since they just moved to New York City, I asked if they’ve found any cultural differences between the US and their home country, Australia. “I think there are some,” said Remy. “Australians tend to be more informal, even in professional settings. You can meet someone for the first time and they’ll treat you like an old friend.”
Perhaps that’s the best way to describe P. Johnson’s tailoring – casual, informal, and utterly unpretentious. Their company specializes in a trimmer, sportier take on traditional tailoring, although they don’t go as trendy as some fashion-forward lines. Patrick noted that, while they can obviously make anything a client wants, he prefers slightly more traditional lengths. “Short jackets often accentuate the hips, which is rarely a good look for men,” he said. So while their suits and sport coats fit slim, the jackets are still long enough to cover the wearer’s rear.
What really defines their tailoring, however, is the construction method. P. Johnson is a made-to-measure customer clothier, using adjusted, computer-generated patterns that they produce in-house (in Australia, although the tailoring itself is done in Italy). This allows them to offer a better value to those who aren’t interested in bespoke. And while they allow clients to choose from a variety of styling details, their default house style is very soft. So soft, in fact, that even their most structured suits are about what you’d typically find in Naples – everything else is only softer.
Suit jackets and sport coats aren’t the only things that come unstructured. For the miserably hot days we’ve been having lately, I’ve been enjoying my unlined shoes. Soft and slipper-like, they feel a little more comfortable and carefree when temperatures climb past the mid-eighties – even if you’re still sweating like a pig.
To explain, most leather shoes come with a full leather sock liner built-in. That means two pieces of leather are joined to form the uppers – there’s the leather that faces the outside world, and the leather that touches your feet. By joining these two pieces together, you get something that’s a bit more structured and will hold its shape better. Without the lining, however, you get a softer, more comfortable shoe. Whereas most leather footwear needs a break-in period, unlined shoes feel like slippers on first wear.
My favorite unlined shoes come from Alden. They have three main models: a chukka, a loafer, and a blucher. Like with neckties, when a company describes their footwear as unlined, they usually mean they’re lightly- or partially-lined. Alden’s loafers are lined at the back half of the shoe and at the toe – leaving only the vamp and front sides unlined. This gives their loafers an appreciable softness when worn, but they’re not nearly as soft as the company’s chukkas, which are almost completely unstructured.
