Sponsored: Beckett Simonon

It’s confusing to watch some legacy clothing giants from Ralph Lauren to Macy’s stumble when it comes to this thing called the internet, the thing that completely changed the way people want to shop and the thing that younger and more innovative entrepreneurs seem to manipulate with more agility. It’s almost as if the thinkers behind these old brands borrow from the too-big-to-fail music industry playbook, ultimately falling behind. With staggering hubris, they expand and expand over and over with more and more new stores in cities across the globe, then ultimately pull back and close those stores because the anticipated sales weren’t there. (Google the story of Tower Records.) In the wake of disappointing sales and closing stores, the spokespeople from these companies almost invariably tell the press some version of “We’re going to start paying more attention to our online presence.” Gee, ya think?

Yours truly wearing the Cole Bomber Jacket in navy suede
Yours truly wearing the Cole Bomber Jacket in navy suede

As I’ve written before, it’s exciting to see young brands take a good idea, run with it, and execute it well with a worthwhile product, especially when the product is handsome, well-made, affordable, and workable. One such recent entry is Beckett Simonon.

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While Our Sense of Occasion Goes on Life Support…

I went to a Broadway show the other night. When I arrived at my seat at the Lyceum Theatre for Nick Kroll and John Mulaney’s hilarious “Oh, Hello,” I took a look around the audience and quickly realized that I was the only one in a suit, let alone a tie. It looked like a crowd at a Yankees game.

This is where we are.

Jeans, sneakers, t-shirts, hoodies, shorts, flip-flops, baseball caps… at a Broadway show. I also hear that it’s not much different at the opera or the ballet. It’s no wonder why so many guys rely on anonymous nude or semi-nude profile photos on smartphone apps to get laid, because in person with clothes on, their chances are bleak. It’s a boner killer.

Our culture is awash in the relentless pursuit of super casual comfort. I look around and see a world dressed in the sartorial equivalent of mac ’n’ cheese, bringing the cozy, fleecy, stretchy, onesie, elastic waistband comfort of the couch at home with them wherever they go. If I didn’t know any better, I’d presume everyone was on his way to or from the gym. But one look at the bodies infected with the athleisure virus, and I know better. If it’s about dressing for the job you want, I’m seeing armies of aspiring camp counselors and intramural softball coaches.

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Ditching the Unnecessary Cost (and Waste) of Cartridge Razors

When Dollar Shave Club disrupted our costly enslavement to expensive premium blade systems back in 2012, the shaving game was turned on its head. Harry’s followed Dollar Shave Club with its own subscription model, offering premium blades and better looking handles. Then Gillette clumsily copied the cool kids with it’s own subscription model with more multi-blade cartridges and hideous handles, calling it “Shave Club.”

I was an early adopter of Dollar Shave Club. As a man with limited means and the creator of a blog that explored sartorial stealth and effective living on a budget, DSC offered a brilliant and very affordable solution. But even then, I was always bothered by the waste and the plastic. We get a plastic container of plastic blade cartridges, which all get thrown out at the end of the month. It seems small, but the waste adds up. If I could be one less person contributing to the floating continents of plastic in the ocean, I’d be a happier man.

I wanted to see if I could cut the cost (and the waste) even more. And I did.

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A Photographer’s Uncomfortable Look at the Grim Possibilities of His Future

Edward Albee’s “A Delicate Balance” had a glorious Broadway revival in 1996. I saw it three times. In the play, Agnes and Tobias, a retired well-off couple, are visited by their good friends Edna and Harry, who arrive at their door in a panic, asking to stay. When the hosts ask their friends what’s wrong, Edna can only say, “We were frightened.”

Harry and Edna’s terror is never explained in the play. It remained an unnamed fear. When I saw the play, I was only 26 and didn’t really understand this ambiguous fear. Now, at age 46, I think I get it.

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Goodyear Welted Shoes

My favorite dress shoes are Goodyear welted shoes. I love the way they look, I love the way they wear, I love the way they last. Aside from their superlative construction, they have a classic, masculine look that works with suits, casual pants or jeans. Sturdy and elegant.

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What I’d Wear If Bicycle Helmets Became Mandatory

Generally speaking, the world of bicycle helmets is a world of ugly. If you looked to your typical bike shop, you’d think that the only option is that ubiquitous racer/alien-brain design, forcing bicyclists to just accept that this is as good as it gets with helmets.

There are a couple of other bike helmet brands that make reasonably attractive alternatives, but they can’t seem to resist playing the “we’re the fun company with kooky designs and a nutty logo” card, which leaves me searching high and low for the grownups table. I certainly appreciate a dose of whimsy, but since we’re all adults here, let’s maybe embrace and demand some elegance and sophistication.

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Podcast Episode N.37: Watch Snobs, Dressing with Dignity and Gene Wilder’s Willy Wonka

In this episode, I respond to some readers’ reactions to an article about a new affordable automatic tool watch that resembles similar watches on the luxury spectrum. I also share a few anecdotes about how dressing with a sense of occasion served me very well. The last segment is about what Gene Wilder’s performance as Willy Wonka meant to me as a young boy.

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