Seventy Five dollars. That’s a lot of money. It’ll get you a couple pairs of Levi’s, a nice dinner out, or a couple months at your local gym. Seventy Five dollars. It is a lot of money, especially if you spend it right. Ten picks follow, all for $75 or under, and some of them are much, much less.
1. John W. Nordstrom® Trim Fit Cotton Dress Shirt – $59.90 ($89.50)
Nordstrom’s house line shirting occupies a nice space. They’re not target cheap, but they’re not inching up on a hundred bucks either when on sale. This one is from their higher house line, the “John W. Nordstrom” collection, and has a nice texture to the all cotton fabric. Is it super slim at the sides? No, but it’s decently trim and you don’t have fabric billowing out from your rib cage. Ships and returns for free.
2. Seiko 5 SNK809 – $49.99
Fifty? Sold & shipped by Amazon? Nice price for a do-anything super-casual automatic. It’s on the small side at 37 -38mm, but it’s a favorite for plenty. Timeless style on this one too. Big fan of the hour & minute hands, and the red tipped second hand. Comes with a black nylon strap, but if you want to replicate the look seen here, they’ve got a black & red striped NATO over at C&B.
photo credit: jasentaja
3. Chipp Neckwear “Look Closely Tie” – $35.00
A charming tie for your next… performance review. 100% silk. 3 1/4″ at its widest point.
4. Lands’ End Canvas Cotton/Cashmere Rugby – $41.40 ($69)
So it doesn’t look like LEC is completely fading into the night. A new arrival, and it looks like the Canvas line from Lands’ End might have cranked out another outstanding laid-back rugby. Perfect stripes, chambray collar and cuffs, and a soft,95% cotton, 5% cashmere blend. One more way to be relaxed without looking scrubby at home. It is a hand-wash or dry clean only type of deal, so know that. More of a sweater than a shirt. You’ll need the code GLITTER and pin 4020 to get this price. code is good for 40% off full price items and 20% off items already on sale. Code expires today.
5. Everlane Made in the USA Suede O-Ring Belt – $65.00
Not cheap, but Everlane has quickly made a name for themselves when it comes to producing quality goods all while keeping their supply transparent. This belt is made in San Francisco from deep chocolate suede and polished hardware. Perfect with jeans, and no, you don’t have to wear suede shoes when you wear this thing.
6. Schott Zwiesel Tritan Crystal Glass Saucer – $49 for six ($90
)
A lot of higher end cocktail bars have switched from martini-style glasses to these things. Traditionally used for champagne (cheers Old Sport, now, get back to working on your crossover) they make an elegant, but still masculine vessel for Manhattans, the Alaska, and all types of cocktails. $50 for six is a nice deal. Final sale though. Sold through GILT.
7. B.R. Slim-Fit Indigo Chambray Button-Down – $41.70 w/ BRGIFT40
A chambray shirt really does accomplish the high-low thing with blazers and even suits. Problem is finding one that’s not rigid, and can breathe a bit. The new soft-wash indigo chambray shirt from Banana Republic can be layered under a sweater, or worn with a cord blazer to a holiday party. It doesn’t fit super slim, so if you’ve got some bulk on your upper body, know that you won’t be swimming in it, but it shouldn’t be too tight at the same time. BRGIFT40 should be good for 40% off for most, but some might get 45% or 50% off w/ BRGIFT45 and BRGIFT50.
8. American Eagle Lace-Up Boot – $59.97 ($99.95)
If these look half as good in person as they do online, then they could be a major steal at sixty bucks. Like a mega-affordable option for those that drool over the Red Wing Beckman, but can’t swing that kind of investment right now. Great looking shade of tan. Might become the pair you reach for on the days when the weather has turned to crap.
9. “Merry Mixmas” (Various Artists) – $10.49
Good gravy there’s only so many times you can hear “Rockin’ around the Christmas Tree” before you want to plunge a candy cane through your cornea. This is the music you want to have playing at a holiday party where the ladies show up in little black dresses & heels, instead of frumpy sweaters and stirrup pants.
10. J. Crew Lambswool Beanie – $24.49 w/ GIFTNOW ($48)
Festive without looking dopey. A cool grey lambswool base with a fair isle like emerald green pattern. But just two colors, and two colors that’ll go with your winter coat whether it’s black or navy. Code is good for 30% off (usual exclusions apply) and free shipping no min. through 12/19.
BONUS For her: B.R. Gemma Printed Wrap Dress – $58.80
w/ BRGIFT40
Ah geeze. Well, yeah. That’s just not fair. Happy holidays.
For other best bets under $75 from previous months, click here.
Good looking rugby, but I’d love a version I could wash normally and as a first layer. Is it that little bit of cashmere that makes it dry clean only? I’d just as soon lose that. Those chambray cuff/placket are great, though. I expect to see more of that going forward.
What do you have against women in stirrup pants, Joe?! Women wearing these shouldn’t be discriminated against:
How’s the quality on American Eagle boots? I kinda like those, especially at that price point.
Tried that BR Slim Fit Chambray shirt a few weeks back and unfortunately it was too slim for me. Wife got me the J. Crew indigo chambray button down for X-Mas during the 40% sales, so hoping the Regular cut in that one will work out for me.
Bought the watch, and 3 straps from CB. Haven’t ventured into colored fabric straps before, but I’m looking forward to trying them out.
I got a pair on cyber Monday. I wasn’t impressed. They weren’t the boots featured above but the leather didn’t seem to have many redeeming qualities and the sole looked like it wouldn’t hold up very long at all. I returned them. American eagle has free shopping both ways so they could be worth a shot.
Well those certainly aren’t these.
http://www.rustyzipper.com/pics/68456-A4567L.jpg
Boy do I love that tie.
that watch is exactly what i’m looking for. keep up the excellent work!
The difference between the martini glass and the vintage champagne glass has more to do with volume than anything. (Strangely I was in a mixology class on Saturday where this came up.) For a bracing, dry martini you’d be diluting the drink with less water (i.e. less time mixing with ice) and don’t need as big of a glass than you would for something like a manhattan where you’re going for smoother/more “drinkable”.
Any light brown leather bands for the seiko 5 you’d recommend? Something like this…
I was thinking the same; the mixed reviews garner seeing these things in person first. (And confirming proper sizing.) Let us know how they turn out.
I’m guessing it’s hit or miss. I’ve seen some people online complain about AE boots, others have had no problems. When I ordered a pair of Wing Tip Boots a month ago, I was pleasantly surprised.
I had the same question as you about the quality. But my concern was more like, “Are they so cheaply built I will wear them once and they will fall apart? Does it look like fake leather/feel like cardboard? Will the color instantly come off?”
Now I own a few $300+ shoes (shoes are important, right?) but I figured I would gamble on these. Because they were so damn pretty. And crazy cheap. I already have all the shoes I NEED, I didn’t want to pay over $300 again for shoes I WANTED.
Well, they showed up and I couldn’t believe it was exactly what was promised. No knockoff Payless shoe version of a boot. These seemed to be real boots and I’ve received good compliments on them. Are you going to hand this $59 pair of boots down to your son when he turns 16? No way. But are they affordable and do they look and feel good? Yes, yes, and yes for the ones I bought.
You can look at Crown and Buckle
http://www.crownandbuckle.com/straps-by-color/brown-straps.html
The seiko is a great steal of a watch. in fact, I’m wearing an 805 today, which is the same thing in olive. My only gripe is that the lume is truly dreadful.
I’m planning to pick up the Nordstrom shirt in white and blue but I’m waiting for the half-yearly. They were down around $50 last time. Fingers crossed, that $8-10 would take care of most of the tailoring,
I’ve seen a few people do the white version of the Seiko 5 (SNK803 I think?) with a Hadley Roma leather band in Chestnut, it looks amazing. Probably would be similar to the one pictured.
http://www.reddit.com/r/Watches/comments/1bhu26/i_found_a_nice_band_for_my_beige_seiko_snk809/
That’s where I saw the combination. I’m just waiting for an occasion to buy the same combination once I have some money lying around.
Thank you so much!
sounds comfy, and looks great, but a rugby shirt you can’t throw in the wash isn’t a rugby shirt. I had to pass on that qualifier alone. Otherwise looks awesome