If you read my recent shoe collection post you know that I like longwings quite a bit. They’re an incredibly versatile shoe style, and over the years I’ve collected four pairs from four prominent brands. Since I know I’m not the only one interested in this style of footwear I thought I’d dive in to the details and compare the various aspects of each one – each have their little nuances that make them unique in their own way. […]
Buying Guide: Knit Ties
The role of the necktie in modern dress has waned significantly, even with the resurgence of classic menswear in the past ten years. Even so, it’s worth having a solid understanding of different types of ties so that when you do choose to wear one, you know that you’re doing so to your full potential. […]
Taking Stock: the State of my Shoe Collection
I was recently doing a bit of deep cleaning and reorganizing in my apartment, which led me to take all of my shoes out of their little hutch and move them onto the floor. It had been a long time since I’d seen them all laid out like that in one place, so I decided to take stock of everything and see how my collection looked as a whole. […]
How to Find the Perfect Summer Sportcoat
Mid-summer may seem like the least appealing time of year to wear tailored clothing, but the opportunities (and obligations) are everywhere – weddings, vacations, and other summery social events often benefit from (or require) a certain level of formality. While wearing a full suit and tie can indeed be a bit stifling, I have found that sportcoats are a great middle ground – put-together enough to look good, but not nearly as stuffy or unpleasant as the full rig. […]
San Francisco Professionals, Part III: the Bartender
One of my favorite aspects of living in a large city like San Francisco has been carving out my little micro-city within it – finding the places that I return to time and again, and getting to know the people that work there. It has a way of making a large, dense city feel much smaller, […]
Buying Guide: Penny Loafers
In celebration of the good weather we’re having here on the West Coast I thought I’d write a roundup on one of my favorite shoe styles – the penny loafer. This list covers all of my favorite styles, as well as many other options at a variety of price points. […]
In Defense of the Middleman
In the age of Direct-to-Consumer brands, retailers have become a popular enemy. Their entire industry has been reduced to just “middlemen” – some intermediate step that adds no value and instead adds cost. We’ve all seen the ubiquitous direct-to-consumer graph – how marketing, retailers, and everything else just adds layers of cost on top of an already completed product. But is it really that simple? […]
San Francisco Professionals, Part II: the Trainer
Of all the industries out there, health and fitness are perhaps the most saturated with marketing fluff – fad diets, “as seen on TV” exercise machines, trendy “boot camp” classes, and so on. It’s astounding that so much noise exists in this industry, because the secrets to success are well-known – a good diet and frequent physical activity will get most people where they want to go. Nonetheless, we continue to surround ourselves with over-marketed fluff, perhaps to convince us that we’re doing more than we are, or maybe because making something complicated makes it easier to feel like we’re good at it. Regardless of the reason, all this noise makes finding good fitness expertise for a good price very difficult. […]
San Francisco Professionals, Part I: the Barber
One of my favorite aspects of living in a large city like San Francisco has been carving out my little micro-city within it – finding the places that I return to time and again, and getting to know the people that work there. It has a way of making a large, dense city feel much smaller, and I’ve loved forming relationships with many of the talented people here. […]
Meermin’s Expanding Empire
Earlier this month I was able to catch up with the Meermin team when they conveniently hosted a trunk show in Amsterdam, just a few blocks from where I was staying. The brand has perhaps not received as much chatter as they did a few years ago when they were new to the market, but they’re still doing what they do best – making attractive, well-made shoes and selling them at a pricepoint that nobody can touch. […]