10 Best Bets for $75 or Less – Seersucker, leather, linen & more

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. Mossimo® Men’s Slim Fit Polo Shirt – $14.39 w/ SAVE20 ($17.99)

Waitaminute… these aren’t the same as the ribbed cuff/collar options with the pocket on the chest? Perhaps they’re a little more like the old mossimo polos? 60% cotton / 40% poly “stretch” fabric. Haven’t seen these in store yet (says they’re not sold in stores online). Lots of potential here. Hat tip to Luke S. for sending in the heads up on these.

 

2. Worn & Wound “Model 1” Horween Leather Watch Strap – $79.98 ($89)

Just a touch over $75, and a major splurge for a watch strap, but good grief they look incredible. Made in the USA from one of three shades of Horween leather (crimson, rye, or coal), and your choice of either matte steel or black PVD coated hardware. On sale through the flash sale site Huckberry… so you’ll have to fork over an email address to get access. Ships for under $4.

 

3. J. Crew Factory Navy Seersucker Necktie – $21.00

A solid seersucker tie? Sure. Why not? Seems like a decent way to inject a little summertime style into your spring wardrobe while the temps are still reasonable. And when summer does finally heat up, it should go great with many a summer suit… except for seersucker. Seersucker suit + seersucker necktie = too much pucker.

 

4. Target Merona Oxford Cloth Club Shorts – $8.74 ($24.99)

Shorts weather is a comin’, and one of the best deals out there is the oxford cloth Merona shorts at Target. These sure appear to be similar if not the exact same as the oxford cloth shorts they sold last year (pictured above). Look for the option that has the weave type as “oxford” instead of “twill”. Twill is just fine, but it’ll be a bit heavier. These things are super soft and extremely comfortable. Hits at about the knee. Not super slim through the legs, but not huge either.

 

5. “Road Tripping in America” – by Lisa McNamara & Paul Olson – $3.99

Graduate from college, land a couple of solid jobs, then buy a condo in Chicago and a sailboat on Lake Michigan. Living the dream right? Turns out, for at least one couple, it’s not. What ended up being the dream, was jettisoning that “normal life” and instead spending a year living out of the back of a Toyota Sienna, exploring the U.S., filthy rich with time. It’s not a step by step chronology of Paul (tech dude extraordinaire here at Dappered) & Lisa’s year on the road, but instead a meandering w/ purpose tale that dips in and out of introspective conversations, what ifs, why nots, and the occasional talking inanimate object. And there’s plenty of stories from the road too. Available just on the Kindle/Kindle app at present.

 

6. Tretorn Nylite Linen Sneakers – $62.99 ($78)

Tretorns lightweight sneaker gets even breezier with linen uppers. Available through a bunch of different places (6pm has the sale price, they were just 25% off at East Dane over the weekend, and the pic above is from AE) so with sales these might dip down into the $50s range. Comes with both fabric and leather laces.

 

7. Bespoke Post’s “The Den” Candle – $10 ($15)

Was originally part of their “Churchill” box, but worth picking up on its own. A candle that actually smells pretty darn manly. Wood, leather, tobacco, maybe a hint of some sort of spice in there too. A nice item to add on if you’re coming up a bit short of the free shipping at $45 threshold.

 

8. Saks Fifth Avenue BLACK Tech-Touch Leather Driver Gloves – $32

Hey, it’s still cold in the morning in some parts of the Northern Hemisphere… Has a similar looking design to the extremely well liked Orvis Lambskin drivers (less ventilation, more glove). Ships for five bucks if you use the code FLATSHIP. Brown is down to just mediums. Part of their extra 40% off sale event that ends today.

 

9. Link Up Knot Ball Cufflinks – $26 via GILT

Heavy metal cufflinks don’t seem to “fit” with all of the lighter weight, lighter shade spring & summer suits, so consider investing in a pack of knot cufflinks like these. Ebay has a bazillion of these sets (some with an insane amount of options for a cheap price) but perhaps you have some credits at GILT. Or perhaps you just want to buy from a known merchant, instead of some no name eBay seller on Mars. Fifteen pairs gets you all the basics and then some.

 

10. Nordstrom Mini Check Trim Fit Non-Iron Dress Shirt – $49.50

A newish arrival. Nordstrom’s house brand shirts are worth the cash. Great collars, good quality (not stiff/scratchy) non-iron fabric, and a slimmer fit that still allows you to move. This baby gingham / micro check would look great with the J. Crew factory seersucker tie and under a medium grey suit. Business, but still nodding towards the coming rise in temperature. Ships and returns free.

For other best bets under $75 from previous months, click here.