Top Photo Credit: Cory Doctorow
Spring’s coming up fast. Punxsutawney Phil says so. And while Fall might be #1 on most preferred style season lists, Spring is the top dog for plenty too. The exhaust blackened snow has finally melted, you can feel your fingers again, and then there’s that first day when gorgeous women fall from the sky only to land on sun warmed blankets in the park. The still slightly crisp breeze ushering bangs across lightly freckled foreheads… sweaters cast aside to welcome the almost forgotten caress of the mid day sun… smiling eyes behind sunglasses that beckon your…
Hold it. When the hell did a coming of age novel break out? Let’s just get to the goods. Prices are steep on plenty of these now, but here’s to hoping sales roll around.
Bonobos: The Washed Chino Blazer – $178.00
Compared to the Merona Kensington or the Stafford Prep options, this one costs an arm and a leg. But both of those cheaper alternatives have issues. Bonobos is famous for their fit, so you’d think this one would nail it. Same fabric as their washed chinos, only cut and sewn into jacket form. Orange contrasting lapel button hole won’t please everyone, but for others it’ll be a nice touch. Meanwhile, as mentioned yesterday in this month’s best bets, the in-house JC Penney Brand jcp has just launched their own chino blazer in exact chest measurement sizes. High hopes on that one.
Claiborne Gaylord Suede Oxford – $60.00
Yes. Those’ll do just fine. If they’re anywhere near the quality and feel of the oft mentioned Stafford wingtips and boots, then there’s another serious winner here.
Warby Parker Edgeworth – $145.00 (polarized only. Rx costs even more)
Some guys will spend a king’s ransom on sunglasses, and some certainly will not. Not cheap, by any stretch, but damn. Not available for the Warby Parker in-home try-on, but returns are prepaid and free if you’re in the contiguous United States. Japanese Titanium temple pieces, blue polarized lenses, and a retro look that’s a step away from the costumey-line. Wish they’d have made a non-polarized version for less. More discussion on sunglasses happening now on threads.
Navy & White Nautical Sweaters: J. Crew Factory – $27.65 w/ PRESDAY | L.L. Bean Sig – $74
These are popping up everywhere. Another opportunity to look less sloppy on your downtime. One of those articles of clothing that lets you work in some color for spring, without going full Easter Egg. Update: Looks like J. Crew Factory extended their 30% off + free shipping code PRESDAY through today, 2/19. They also dropped the price a bit. Nice. Thanks to fash1on in the comments.
Shinola Watches. Built in Detroit. $400 – $800 (not on sale yet)
Shinola is a new watchmaker that should hopefully start selling their timepieces soon… and they look incredible. Assembly is happening in Detroit and are made from parts sourced from a variety of suppliers. Quartz Movement components are “imported from Switzerland and elsewhere.” The cases are made from US Steel which is fabricated in China. But the goal of the brand is to grow the % of U.S. stuff in each watch in the years to come. Price range for the watches appear to be in the $400 – $800 range. A lot for a quartz, but the sneak peaks at the designs look terrific (check the galleries here and here at the bottom of the page). Credit to them for trying to base operations here, right? Shinola is a decedent of a Texas-Based firm called “Bedrock Brands”, which happens to be owned by the founder of Fossil, Tom Kartsotis. Yep. That Fossil. Thanks to Eric H. for the style tip.
Fossil Estate Briefcase – $148.00
Speaking of Fossil, it seems like they’ve gotten the message that their logo might be a bit of a detriment. And it appears that there’s no logos on this simple, professional, yet not stuffy briefcase. Waxed cotton and leather trim. Also available in all leather for one hundred dollars more.
Banana Republic Tailored Wool/Linen/Cotton Chambray Blazer – $198
Some chambray blazers look a little too much like Mom jeans. This isn’t one of them. But how dark is it really? Haven’t seen one in store yet, and the BR website is notorious for not quite real to life coloring of their goods. 65% wool, 23% linen, 12% cotton makes for a not-so-average fabric mix, but a blend that many of us would love to see in a lighter shade and applied to a set of suit separates. Still shaking fist at sky for missing out on last year’s wool/linen peak lapel number.
Merona Trench Coat – $49.99
Fifty bucks? For a trench? Haven’t seen this one in stores yet, but it’s 100% cotton that’s allegedly “water repellent / water resistant”. Nice above the knee length too. That’s some budget Inspector Gadget gear right there.
Clairborne Suit Jacket – $65.00 & Pant – $37.00 in Navy Cotton
Everyone expects a khaki cotton or lighter linen suit to wrinkle. A navy suit in either fabric is a total luxury. You’ve got a navy wool as your wardrobe anchor, and now this is for more casual nights when it warms up, or for mixing and matching with other stuff when a full blown suit would seem out of place. And so what if it wrinkles? Fit and fabric on the jacket is outstanding for the price. More over here, and hat tip to texas_ed in the comments on the same post for pointing out the matching pants. Expect an in-person in the not too distant future.
Brooks Brothers Suede Tie Drivers – $148.00
Tie Driver. Not fighter. Rich looking suede, a not too agressive heel grip, and boat-shoe like rawhide lace ties on top. Spring & Summer. Bring it on. Also available in a deep navy and an eye gouging green.
Suitsupply Lazio Linen Suits in Brown or Grey – $469.00
Soft Italian shoulders and a half-canvas construction. Woulda been nice to see some options in their $399 price range, but that line seems to be all but dead (only one suit is in that section at post time). Part of the new spring collection Suitsupply is currently taking pre-orders on. They’re also making a blue, wool-linen blend, which might resist wrinkling a little more.
Fifth&Brannan Rees Denim Jacket – $195.00
A total splurge. $200 is no small price, but it’s the latest from small & independent Fifth&Brannan, and it appears to be a really well executed, different take on the denim jacket. This one looks more like a jacket made from denim, and less like a pair of jeans that was somehow turned into a jacket. Black coated Cone Mills indigo denim, standup mock collar, and gunmetal buttons. Designed by the fiancee of Barron at The Effortless Gent.
What have you got your eyeballs glued to in this pre-spring period? Leave any leads in the comments below…
if you apply promo code PRESDAY to the jcrew factory navy/white sweater, you can get it for $27.65 and free shipping. looks like code is good only on 2/19.
you’re a saint. thanks for the heads up.
Picked up the Claiborne suit and am looking forward to the opportunity to break it out. Just a heads up to anyone considering it, it is a ONE button, or in the case of my order a zero button, since they apparently forgot to sew one on (actually don’t mind this because I can place it exactly where I want it now). Also, this baby fits SNUG. As in almost too tight snug. Looks great, but if you have a larger chest/arms, you may be slightly uncomfortable. Pant sizes are more similar to jean/khaki sizes than dress pant sizes. So if you wear a 32/33 jean and a 34-36 in dress pant, you’d want to go with the 32/33 range.
Oh my. Those Claiborne wingtips. I came *this* close to ordering the AE Neumok in snuff suede because I want a darker brown suede wingtip for the spring. I might head over there after work to check these out. I’m pretty happy with my Stafford shoes – they’re holding up well and look great, though admittedly they aren’t worn that often since they are rotated with about 16 other pairs.
I’m sure you’ll get a hard time for recommending expensive quartzes, Joe. I was lucky enough to attend a very cool event called Northern Grade (if it comes to your city, check it out, seriously) and got to talk to one of the Shinola guys. Very nice guy and the products look excellent. They are also coming out with some great looking Horween leather products in March. Strangely enough they also make nice looking bikes.
On another note, I will absolutely be picking up those BB drivers if there is ever a sale.
Wow, I didn’t even notice it was only a one button when I plowed through a lot of the new jcp spring arrivals: http://dappered.com/2013/02/review-the-jcpenny-spring-2013-wooster-led-line/ But yeah, agree that it fits snug. Which is great for plenty, and I’m 100% with you on it being borderline too tight. A 38R on me was starting to trip my “ooh, maybe I shouldn’t” trigger.
Nice! They extended it. Original dead date was yesterday. Perfect. Thanks for the heads up.
I have to say, I kind of like the idea of a one button peak lapel cotton suit. Sort of a summer wedding tux! Easy thing to miss considering they don’t even specify number of buttons on the website. Still an awesome find, and appreciate the heads up on it.
Those AE Nuemok in snuff suede are on backorder, and I can see why; they look incredible. I’m planning on picking up a pair sometime in March.
They are awesome shoes. If you want to save a few bucks, Amazon has them in quite a few sizes for around $250. Sign up for the mailing list, and you can get 20% off, bringing them to $200.
As an owner of an Omega SMP quartz, I can certainly get behind more expensive quartzes. The quality of the watch in general is equally important.
As I understand it, suitsupply 399 suits, or at least the sevilla are fused.
So you’d probably want to shell out the extra 70 bucks for a half canvassed anyway.
I like everything about Shinola but the name. Am I the only one?
There is someone selling the AE Nuemok on Ebay for $140 with plenty of sizes in stock. As of today they just have tan suede and brown leather. Just search Nuemok and you will find it. It’s Ebay but feedback ratting is pretty good and returns are accepted.
Thanks – that is a terrific deal. Alas, I don’t need another light suede shoe – I wish they had snuff suede. Hopefully someone else cashes in, though.
I received the Fossil Estate Slim Briefcase for Christmas… it’s awesome. It comes with a slightly distressed look to it that just gets better with use. The profile on the bag is slim enough that you really need to consider what you’re carrying in there, but it’s spacious enough that you can cram stuff in if you really want to. The leather trim with the waxed canvas looks great too. I keep a MacBook Air in a protective case, iPad, small notebook, several pens, some gun, headphones, travel-size mouse and a couple other things in there and it’s a pretty snug close. There is a padded divider for the electronics as well, which is a nice touch. Great bag, I recommend it.
love the price on it – but no 36 which is probably a good thing for the wallet
am i crazy for thinking there should be a lot more USA sourced materials at that price? i mean especially compared to a timex
I ran into this same exact problem. All of my current suits & jackets are 38R and fit me well. I was at JCP a couple nights ago and found this one to be a bit too snug. It was pulling at the button, if buttoned (i seemed to remember it being a 2-button, though I guess I could be wrong). But, a bump up to 40R was too much. Disappointing.
I tried the claiborne blazer on and it fit perfect at 38r. Bought it. I wanted the matching pants but you were right. Im a 30w32l and that was at least 2 inches too large at the waost. Will have to check online for a 28w.
I picked these claiborne wing tips up. Usually a size 9, I bought an 8.5. I also picked up the stafford captoe chukkas on clearance for $36; these were true to size. Handsome shoes.
I have a pair of leather neumoks. Solid shoes. Really sleek and slim profile.
The Nordstrom 1901 ‘Maui’ drivers are a nice alternative to the Brooks Brothers for a bit cheaper.
The name and the quartz movements, sure. For $400-800, they’re competing against A LOT of quality brands offering Swiss and Japanese automatic movements.
Tough to see their niche from a value perspective.
I like that Bonobos blazer, but it looks chopped as hell from behind. Barely covering the top of that model’s ass crack. AND they don’t offer Long sizes.
I’ll have to pass.
I picked up the Rees and the 15% saved a bit off of that $200. I’m excited to see how this jacket will wear over time, as well as it being crazy versatile looking.
I found the Cutter (that Stafford captoe boot, i presume you’re referencing) to be 1/2 size big. Their Ashton and Asher too, and the notoriously, crazily-sized Camlin a full 1.5 size too big. just checked out the Claiborne Wallis (a somewhat poor man’s AE Kenilworth?) at JCP; in fact just posted some pics here:
http://threads.dappered.com/showthread.php/9290-The-poor-man-s-Kenilworth?p=102158#post102158
Did you by chance see those too?
This is a little late, but an alternative to the nautical sweater variation, how about this:
http://www.jpeterman.com/Vallauris-Shirt
Maybe it’s more of a summer variation- a decent price, but they hammer it on you with the shipping.