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In Praise of the Unfused Dress Shirt Collar

One of my pet peeves with the average dress shirt is the fused collar. A fused collar is one that undergoes a high heat process that fuses multiple layers of fabric together, producing a collar that looks and feels perpetually starched, whether it’s been ironed or not. It’s fine, and I tolerate it. But I’ve grown to appreciate (and even favor) a non-fused collar. It’s not so stiff looking, lending a more relaxed, confident and cooler nonchalance to an otherwise crisp look.

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A Smart New Handlebar Bag from Brooklyn Bicycle Co.

Anybody who rides a bike can use an extra compartment for things like lock and chain keys, a phone, a tire repair kit, a bag of weed… The big challenge is finding one that balances looks, durability and price. Brooklyn Bicycle Co. just introduced one that does just that.

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Iconic Eyewear from Curry & Paxton, via Mason & Sons

One of the most iconic pairs of glasses in cinematic history was the pair Michael Caine wore during his tenure as Harry Palmer in the films The IPCRESS File (1965), Funeral in Berlin (1966) and Billion Dollar Brain (1967), all based on spy novels written by Len Deighton. Now you can get an authentic pair of your own…

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Classic Tailoring: A Sartorial Hill I Will Die On

The cooler and edgier bros of the moment have been embracing all kinds of remixes and twists with classic tailoring. The suit has moved on, yo. It’s all about being short, brief, casual. A hyper-softening and casualization of the suit is in full swing, moving it closer to comfy and approachable athleisure. Slouchy, even.

According to the so-very-right-now, the classic tailored suit as you’ve known it is dead, bro. Or at least that’s the vibration on the street and the interwebs.

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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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