The latest issue of Free & Easy has a nice little feature on sneaker repair shops in Japan. From resoling the bottoms to repairing the linings to even recoloring the uppers, these look a bit more like what a leather dress shoe might go through during a recrafting process. Fingers crossed, I’m hoping to compile a list of similar shops in the US, which will be published at Put This On.
Mr. Porter just started their end-of-season sale, with select items marked down as much as 50% (a nice drop from their usual first-round markdown of 30%). Included in the sale is a surprising selection of Edward Green shoes, which are typically excluded from any discounts. Some other notables include:
Traditions in men’s clothing are great, although sometimes a little innovation isn’t so bad either. For the cool, damp mornings we’ve been having in the Bay Area, I’ve been breaking out my Gore-Tex parka. Gore-Tex is sometimes used as a generic name for all weatherproof/ breathable fabrics – much like how Kleenex is used for facial tissues and Jell-O for gelatin – but in fact, like those other products, it’s something very specific.
Originally introduced in the 1970s, Gore-Tex is a trademarked name for a kind of multi-layer shell. The outermost layer is typically treated with a durable, water resistant finish (to help water bead off the surface). Beneath that is a thin and flexible membrane, which has a web-like structure with billions of microscopic pores per square inch. This membrane is fine enough to not let water droplets through, but allows heat and humidity to escape. And finally, just below that is a protective, breathable film to help keep dirt and oils away from the sensitive membrane.
All this makes Gore-Tex a much more breathable fabric than traditional weatherproofing systems, such as bonded or waxed cottons. Which means it’s also a lot more comfortable to wear in cool, but not quite cold, weather conditions (like we’ve been having this Spring). My Gore-Tex jacket is from Nanamica, a Japanese label that specializes in outerwear and bags. Seen above is their company’s flagship model, the Cruiser, which is available at End and Barneys. You can also find Gore-Tex jackets through brands such as Patagonia and Arc’teryx, although I think the “heritage-y” designs from Musto might be easier to wear.
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Barneys just started their mid-season sale, with select items available at 40% off. Some notables include:
You can see the whole selection here.
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What the hell happened to spring? We’re a good two months into the season, with summer being exactly a month away, but it still feels like the last days of winter. I had a chance to break out a linen suit a few weeks ago, when the temperatures climbed into the mid-80s, but it’s been too cold to wear anything breathable since then. It’s almost like spring never came.
One option I’ve been relying on is a “faux tweed” sport coat I had made through Napoli Su Misura. The term “faux tweed” refers to how the fabric has the sort of district check you’d expect to see on a traditional tweed, but none of the prickly surface. Instead, it’s made from a smoother, worsted wool, making it something like a citified version of a country cloth. Indeed, some people don’t like faux tweeds because they feel like they’re neither fish nor fowl, but they’re also perfect for those days that feel the same. Spring can be an awkward time for tailored clothing, when you might want something to match the gloomy weather, but wearing a real tweed can feel wrong in May.
You can find faux tweeds in a number of books. Porter & Harding’s Glorious Twelfth and Hudderfield’s Worsted Alsport are two of the most popular. Voxsartoria, pictured below, is seen wearing something from the first, while StyleForum member Mafoofan, pictured above, is wearing something from the second. There’s also Harrison’s Moonbeam, which is made from a wool and angora blend. It has a plush, almost cashmere-like feel, and a bit more nap than the two aforementioned sources. No Man Walks Alone has a ready-to-wear Moonbeam sport coat available this season, which was made for them by Sartoria Formosa in Naples.
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Someone on StyleForum last month commented on how it seems everything has been discovered and there are no more new tailors or shoemakers, or even worthwhile ready-to-wear brands, to talk about. Nothing could be further from the truth. In Naples and London alone, there are plenty of young, independent artisans just starting their own firms. You just have to know where to look.
Recently, a new bespoke shoemaker has emerged in the form of Nicholas Templeman, a former employee of John Lobb of St. James in London. Templeman worked at Lobb for about seven years – serving as the company’s fitter and lastmaker – before striking out on his own. His house style is classic and English, with construction techniques that closely follow West End traditions. That means the last making, lasting, and welting are all done by hand, with only the sewing of the uppers being executed by machine.
Brooks Brothers’ mid-season Friends & Family sale starts today. Take 25% off with the checkout code BBFNF25. Some of the best deals are in the footwear and sale sections, the second of which is where you can stack discounts (there’s some particularly good outerwear, such as this brown leather bomber). Also worth checking out are some of the Black Fleece shirts, which come down to $73 after discount.
My suggestion for browsing the footwear selection: sort by highest price first. Anything above $300 is usually Brooks Brothers’ better-made models. They do have some nice Superga sneakers for cheap though, should you need something for summer.
Also notable: Filson and JW Hulme luggage, as well as my favorite pair of shell cordovan shoes. The checkout code even applies to some Edward Green footwear.
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Believe it or not, the internet is over twenty years old, but despite that being more than a hundred in Internet Years, online clothing retailers have some of the worst product photography known to man. Models either look awkwardly stiff and uncomfortable (see SSENSE and Tres Bien) or they’re inexplicably made anonymous with their heads cropped off (see Mr. Porter and Barney’s).
My favorite model is the one at Gentry, who has taken the craft of wearing clothes in front of a camera to a high-art. His poses are expressive, engaging, and mysterious – but in ways that go beyond the usual dead stares you see in fashion ads. No, he’s mysterious because you never really quite understand what’s going on. Is he gesturing at something, talking to the photographer, or doing the hokey pokey? Here are my favorites, along with some guesses on what he’s saying.
Oki-Ni is having a nice little promotion at the moment, where you can take £30 off any order over £150 by using the checkout code 30OFF150. The code applies to Common Projects and Maison Margiela sneakers, including the two companies’ flagship models – the all white Achilles Lows and white/ grey German Army Trainers. If you’re looking for some versatile sneakers this summer, you could hardly do better than these two.
With the promo code and VAT discounts, each pair comes to about $275. Note, to get the VAT discount, you have to email Oki-Ni after you order. They manually process those requests, but it’s always a smooth and easy process. I’ve ordered from them a bunch of times and have never had a problem.
For sizing, I’ve gone true-to-size on both models. Mr. Porter also has measurements, should you find those helpful.
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In my time writing for Put This On, I’ve received more emails about the jacket above than anything else I’ve posted. The image is from something I wrote two years ago about my typical weekend uniform – a leather jacket with beat-up jeans and a crisp white t-shirt. And although I named the companies that made everything in the picture, I admittedly left out the jacket because … well, I wanted to keep the company’s name off people’s eBay radars. You can get these jackets for an uncommonly good price sometimes (I bought the one above for $250).
Having purchased my third jacket from the company, however, I figured I might as well answer the question. The jacket is from Mandelli, an Italian outerwear company that has been around since the mid-1950s. Unfortunately, they’re not terribly easy to find in the US. Or even in Europe. In fact, the only time I’ve ever seen their jackets in a store was at De Corato, and they dropped the brand years ago. The quality of their outerwear, however, is exceptional and their styling is tastefully European. That makes their leathers easy to wear with tailored trousers and dress shirts (think: the kind of stuff you see in Loro Piana lookbooks).
Since it’s hard to find Mandelli’s jackets, it’s also hard to find information about the company. From the three leathers I bought, however, and from the one stockist I spoke to, here’s what I’ve gathered: there are two mainlines – one simply called Enrico Mandelli and the other Mandelli Tailor’s – then a sub-line titled Mandelli Reloaded. The Reloaded line is targeted towards a younger demographic, which means it comes at a lower price point and is made in a slightly slimmer fit. The quality isn’t as nice as mainline stuff, although it’s still very good. The jacket you see above is from Reloaded, and the two dark brown ones below are from mainline. Mainline fits a bit fuller, but I’ve had mine successfully taken in by an alterations tailor.
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