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Dress shoes are best when they’re old, but sneakers are often better when they’re new. Which works out well because, if it were the other way around, nobody could afford a good shoe wardrobe.

One of my favorite dress shoes is this pair of Edward Green Dovers, which I’ve worn regularly for about four years now. Although the leather has long been broken in, the patina is just starting to build. The toe caps have darkened and the quarters are lightly scuffed. Somehow, even in their beat-up and wrinkled state, they always look their best on their last wear. Such is the magic of good dress shoes – a truly good looking pair isn’t something money can buy. It has to be worn in.

Sneakers, on the other hand, often look best box-fresh. Picture above are Converse’s 1970s Chuck Taylor repros in their “branch” colorway, which I recently bought for summer. Like the mid-century originals, these are made with a thicker sole and heavier canvas than what’s used today (Chuck Taylors were originally a bit chunky, before slowly thinning out in order to save costs). I’ve been surprised by how much I like these. They go with my Stevenson flight jacket better than today’s thinned out design, as well as quirkier Japanese workwear labels, such as Visvim and Engineered Garments.

You can find the Converse’s 1970s Chuck Taylors line at Mr. Porter and End. Edward Green’s Dovers can be bought at Brooks Brothers (who carries the Dark Oak model I own) and Mr. Porter (who has more unique make-ups). Truthfully, however, with the exchange rate being what it is, you’re better off ordering Edward Greens through Skoaktiebolaget’s made-to-order program. The prices are simply better.

Sport coats in the fall and winter are often alive with patterns. In tweeds alone, there are dozens of variations on barleycorns and Donegals, as well as a couple hundred district checks. Good patterns are a lot harder come by when the weather gets warm, however. Part of the problem is that cottons and linens generally look best in solid colors, while tropical wools – namely Minnis Fresco – are typically only offered in plain blues and grays.

Harrisons recently reintroduced their famously popular book for patterned summer jacketings, Carlo Barbera for H. Lesser. As the story goes, the collection was initially introduced in the 1970s, when Luciano Barbera approached the British label about including a line of Italian fabrics in their collection. It was a bit of a risk at the time for Lesser, since their other offerings were so quintessentially British, but the book did surprisingly well – which is why many were surprised when it was discontinued. 

The new reissue is slightly lighter in weight than those 1970s originals (at 8/9 oz, it’s closer to what Lesser offered in the 1990s), and the patterns have been tweaked to give them a more contemporary feel. Missing are the gun clubs that so many loved, but there are still a number of handsome options. Some are a bit wild, such as a couple of bright, blueberry windowpanes, while others are reasonably conservative. I’m personally drawn to the dark blue Shepherd’s check and tan glen plaid seen in the first two images below. 

Harrisons has some other reissues planned this year. In the fall, they’ll bring back some of the cloths in their Fine Classics book, and in the next couple of months, they’ll reissue some things from Smiths’s Botany and Gilt Edge, as well as W. Bill’s Shetland. Those interested in ordering can contact one of Harrisons’ distributors (which here in the US would be Isles Textile Group). The Carlo Barbera for H. Lesser book can also be seen in large format here. 

We’re still solidly in winter, but Drake’s new spring/ summer arrivals remind us that warmer days are just around the corner. The popular English label continues to design some of the best men’s accessories I’ve seen anywhere. Michael Hill, the company’s Creative Director, tells me that they’ve relied a lot on interesting and subtle weaves this season. “We have a linen chambray from Solbiati,” he says. “It has a nice texture and a bit more color than plain weave linens. There will also be some semi-warp faced cloths, which have a nice, antique hand, as well as a lot of slubby silks." 

My favorites so far are the grenadines and pocket squares. Drake’s grenadines now come in two weaves – larger and smaller versions known as garza grossa and garza fina, respectively. They also have grenadines with striped, dotted, and jacquard patterns, for those who want something a little more distinctive (these look particularly good). For pocket squares, there are cotton bandana prints, as well as a number of interesting designs on silk habotai – an exceptionally lightweight, slightly sheer, plain weave silk that has a bit of sheen. I find it goes well with cotton and linen jacketings. 

Michael also tells me they have some sport coats, shirts, and chinos coming. "We’ve never thought about design in terms of a product alone,” he says. “It’s always been about a look as a whole, so in some ways, this is a natural extension for us. It’s taken a bit of work to learn how to construct these other things, but I feel we’ve done a good job." 

January marks the beginning of a number of fashion tradeshows and runway presentations. The London Collections just concluded, and today is the start of Pitti Uomo. After that, there’s Milan’s Fashion Week, Bread & Butter, and a couple of events in NYC.

If you’re interested in following such shows, I find Vogue, StyleForum, the UK edition of GQ to be good sites to follow. The first has runway photos, while the other two will have editorials. The Instagram accounts for Nick Sullivan, Josh Peskowitz, and Eugene Tong are also good for random pictures here and there. Tommy Ton will be shooting street style photography for Style.com and GQ, while Journal of Style will document some of the more classic looks at Pitti. For funny (fake) coverage of Pitti, follow Voxsartoria’s Twitter account.

From the recent London Collections, here are a few presentations that caught my eye.

Exciting news for readers interested in bespoke tailoring. Rubinacci’s head cutter, Gennaro Paone, has decided to leave and start his own firm. Gennaro represents the last of his kind when it comes to Neapolitan tailoring. Having started in the trade with an apprenticeship at age nine, he makes the kind of softly tailored, old-school silhouettes that has made Naples famous, but surprisingly, younger tailors find difficult to produce. From what I’ve seen, there are really two kinds of Neapolitan style. The older generation cuts something slightly fuller and comfortable looking, while the younger generation makes something slimmer fitting and more influenced by local fashion brands. Neither better nor worse than the other, but for those who admire the look of men such as Vittorio De Sica, there’s a clear winner.  

To be sure, this isn’t Gennaro’s first stint on his own. After studying full time under master tailor Antonio Schiraldi, Gennaro set up his own workshop in the town’s main shopping district of via Chiaia. After eight years, he was asked to return and become the head tailor of Sartoria Schiraldi. Then, in the summer of 1992, he joined the famous London House (aka Rubinacci), where he’s been for over twenty years. 

At the moment, Gennaro is planning to visit clients in The Netherlands and Hong Kong. A New York City trip is also very likely and I’m trying to get him out here to San Francisco. Partly because I think this is a unique opportunity to get something special, but mostly because I would like to commission some things for myself. More details to follow in the coming weeks. 

Yves Saint Laurent was once quoted as saying, “I am no longer concerned with sensation and innovation, but with the perfection of my style.” I wish I had that kind of singular focus. While I’m mostly interested in tailored clothing, my eye wanders when it comes to casualwear. I find myself sampling here and there, being drawn to new brands and styles every so often. Here are six newish companies I’ve been looking at this past year. Perhaps you’ll find something to like as well. 

I want to start an ad campaign, like the one Converse has plastered all over my city, with the catchphrase “Poplins Are Boring.” Poplin, for those unfamiliar, is a type of plain weave, where each lengthwise yarn passes over each crosswise yarn – over and under, over and under, and so on. The stuff is very smooth, very flat, and very, very boring. You can get an up-close view of it at Mr. Porter.

I think I wear poplin maybe once every few years, when I have to go to a wedding or something. Other than that, I prefer end-on-ends or twills, where you get a bit more variegation in color or texture. Not enough for anyone else to really notice, but enough for me to care. I’ve also been wearing the following a lot this summer:

First, there are these London Lounge linens, which have a nice crosshatching of white and blue yarns (sort of like end-on-end), but aren’t so slubby that they look distracting. As with all London Lounge cloths, the prices are painful, but the products don’t disappoint. Even the white linens have a subtle variation that looks better than the plain whites you see in lower end shirts. 

Some people try to improve their lives in really admirable ways - such as with every New Years, they make resolutions to lose weight, quit smoking, or save money. One of my resolutions this year is to build a new pants wardrobe. It’s admittedly silly and trivial, but on the upside, since it requires no sacrifice or discipline on my part, I’m likely to actually meet it. 

The problem with off-the-rack pants, I find, is that even with a good cut, it can be hard to get the back to fit well. That’s because so much depends on how you stand. If you stand with your hips forward and knees locked – like an auditioning porn star, as my friend David put it – then your pants will crumple under the seat and ripple through the back of the leg. It’s a minor thing, but once you get obsessive about how clothes fit, it’s hard to not let these things bother you.

So earlier this year, I resolved to replace all my trousers through my tailor, and in doing so, I’ve had to think about what pants might be necessary in a good, basic wardrobe. Not to say this is what everyone needs, of course. Only me. But perhaps if you wear sport coats often, you’ll find some of these suggestions useful. 

First, there are your year-round cloths, which can start with chinos. I like darker shades of khaki over mid-shades, and find dark- to mid-shades of olive green to be very useful as well. On one of Steed’s visits here, I was able to flip through some Dugdale cotton swatches, which I thought were really good (below is a nice shade of navy in a subtle twill weave, which I’ve always preferred over plain-weaves or drills). Zegna and Brisbane Moss also have great cottons, and I’ve heard good things about Drapers. 

Everyone wants the best, but what’s considered “best” is often very subjective. Here’s a pair of camp mocs, for example, from W.C. Russell Moccasin Company – a Wisconsin-based shoe firm that has been making moccasins and boots for outdoorsy folks since 1898. The color on these is a bit flat and the creasing a bit rough. And while Russell Moccasin usually makes shoes from full grain leather, these are made from top-grain, which is the bottom-half of a hide once it’s been split. The upside to top grain is that it doesn’t have any of the blemishes and scars that might be on full grain, but the downside is that it also doesn’t feel as rich and supple. And since the fibers in top grain aren’t as tightly intertwined, the leather can seem a bit airy. You can see Dave Muson of Saddleback Leathers explain it in this video.

Still, I love these mocs. The color has this perfect pitch of reddish brown, which somehow feels more classic and American to me than the usual dark browns and tans such shoes come in. The leather, while not as rich as my Quoddy and Oak Street Bootmaker mocs, also feels better suited for going out to a sports bar on a hot summer afternoon. And if provenance still means anything, I like that these are made by a 116 year-old heritage company with an utterly unpretentious website. Ordering from them feels like ordering from those mail-in catalogs in the ‘90s, where you’d send in a check or well-hidden cash along with a scribbled out form.

When I talked to Jeffery Diduch last year about suit quality, he compared the construction of suits to the making of food. That is – it’s hard to tell with any certainty how a suit has been made, but it’s easy to tell if you like it. And just like a dish, the only thing that’s important is your enjoyment. So for me, while I like my “nicer” camp mocs from Quoddy and Oak Street, these Russell Moccasins have been surprisingly getting more wear. If I think about it like food, sometimes you want a really nice grilled salmon, and sometimes you want a cheap burrito. Both can be enjoyable in their own right. In this way, these Russells are like the burrito of shoes. 

(Note, Russell Moccasin’s camp mocs can be ordered custom through Russell Moccasin themselves, but there is a wait time. If you want to go with a standard make, they can be had quicker through Sid Mashburn). 

As it goes with fashion, everything old is new again. This time literally and figuratively, as I’ve come around to being less apprehensive about pre-distressed clothes. Pre-washed denim, for example, has a nice sky blue that’s difficult to achieve with raw denim, and the lighter color goes excellently with canvas sneakers in the summertime. I’ve also recently been wearing this heavily washed chambray shirt from Chimala. The problem with most chambrays is that they’re too much of a mid-blue, like this, which makes wearing them with jeans difficult. This chambray, on the other hand, goes great with jeans and a field jacket when the weather gets cold, and can be worn alone with a t-shirt and denim when the temperatures near 90, like they did yesterday.

Strangely, heavily washed chambray shirts don’t seem to be easy to find. There’s this Chimala (which is available at J. Crew and Unionmade), an RRL, and a slightly dressier version by Acne. If you’re willing to go a bit darker, however, a world of options opens up. Barney’s has an especially large range this season. There’s also this heavily washed denim shirt from The Jean Shop. It’s too thick to wear as anything but a shirt jacket, but it works well as one if you size down.

In the above, the boots are from Oak Street Bootmaker, the t-shirt from Barns, the jeans from 3sixteen, the wallet from Flat Head, the belt from Don’t Mourn Organize, and the field coat from Aspesi. The field coat is about five years old now, and is no longer available in Aspesi’s collections, but they make similar ones every season. APC also has a really nice field jacket with a detachable lining, and if money were no object, I like these by Visvim, The Real McCoys, and Ten C. For a budget friendly option, there's J. Crew’s Garrison

 is a great value. It’s a touch overpriced at full retail, but there’s rarely a week when J. Crew’s mainline isn’t put on sale in some way.