10 Best Bets for $75 or Less – Gingham, $10 pants, & summertime Scotch?

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. H&M Waxed Canvas Weekender – $59.95

Utilitarian in it’s simplicity. Waxed canvas exterior, two grab handles up top, a simple shoulder strap to go hands free, and appears to be good size (they don’t give you the depth measurement).

 

2. Mitchell Leather Money Clip Wallet – $49, $79, or $149

Serving as an update here, four months after the original purchase. Love this thing. Works great, looks incredible, and is aging well. Shown above in the $79 Horween Chromexel in Burgundy. Haven’t had any issues with the metal binding causing trouble against fabrics (jacket pockets, pants pockets, etc… no catching, wearing, or tearing issues).

 

3. Declaration Clothing Made in the USA Tee – $28

That’s a lot of money for a t-shirt, but, they were just on sale through Huckberry at a discount. Fingers crossed that they end up back there. Look, graphic tees aren’t the most popular thing among style-fans, but these are made in the USA, trim fitting, extremely soft, and there’s history behind their designs. A splurge.

UPDATE: The guys at Declaration Clothing caught wind of their shirts making the Best Bets, and they wanted to offer 20% off to all of us w/ the code Dappered. Code expires Sunday 7/20. Many thanks to them for doing that!

 

4. TheTieBar Royal Blue Gingham Cotton Pocket Square – $8.00

A crisp, white, linen or cotton pocket square is always gonna be #1 with a bullet… but a royal blue gingham is a solid #2. It gets a lot of play this time of year (warmer weather = more color), and it even looks good next to deeper, darker navy. Super cheap through TheTieBar.

 

5. Aston Grey “Jetway” Suede Derby – $79.95

A bit over the $75 limit, but DSW runs sales often, and they do ship free with the code SHIPR (so we got that goin’ for us, which is nice). Big fan of their “dien” suede buck (which appears to be identical to Banana Republic’s “Owen”), but these are noticeably slimmer through the sole & toe. Available in the two shades shown above.

 

6. Glenmorangie 12 yr Nectar d’Or Single Malt – $65.99

Real summery… for a single malt Scotch. Spends a decade in Bourbon casks, then gets finished off in Sauternes (a sweeter, French wine) barrels. Lots of citrus & honey without being overly sweet. Plenty of spice to mull over as well. Not the smokey, earthy stuff some Scotch fans reach for in the colder months. Quite the opposite.

 

7. Cole Haan Greenwich Leather Money Clip – $11 – $12 ($48)

It’s oddly difficult to find a basic leather money clip with a little bit of personality. The Cole Haan Greenwich line delivers, but is usually way overpriced at between $30 – $50. Now? Dirty cheap via Amazon. Dirt Cheap at CH too, but they won’t ship free and fast like they will through Amazon if you have Prime.

 

8. Nordstrom Reversible Dress Belt – $32.90 anniv. pre-sale ($49.50)

There are a lot of really bad belts out there. Seems like 95% of the affordable dress belts out there are stuck with buckles that are either too big or too shined up. This one doesn’t seem to suffer from either of those drawbacks. Plus, the curve to the buckle is a welcome change from the usual 90 degree angles. Ships & returns free, and is currently at this price as part of the Nordstrom Anniversary Pre-Sale, which you have to be a card member to access (sale opens to general public on Friday).

 

9. Polo Ralph Lauren Willem Loafer in Tan – $74.99 ($99)

Gets a lot of things right that other drivers get wrong. Bit of color across the top with the strap, subtle logo tag on the side, and decent quality for being a (now) $75 pair of easy to wear summer drivers.

 

10. Old Navy Slim Fit Twill 5-Pocket Pants – $12.99 ($29.94)

Huge thanks to reader Eli for pointing out how good of a deal these slim-fit 5 pockets are: “The material is soft but not flimsy. They’re cut slim without being skinny, and I even have larger thighs and they still fit great. I got 4 of ’em…” Code SAVINGS knocks an extra 20% off through Wednesday. UPDATE: Not it doesn’t… at least not on clearance items, which these are tagged as such. Dang. No ten dollar pants. Thirteen dollar pants though.

 

BONUS: Ledbury Wessex Stripe – $75 if… you got that rue la la deal…

But that’s a pretty big if. Remember about a month ago, when the flash-sale site Rue La La did a spend $75 get a $150 voucher to shirtmaker Ledbury? Right. Already burn through that thing? Probably. But if you haven’t (and you picked one up) consider the slightly out-of-the-ordinary Wessex Stripe Button down. Nice sized collar for going tieless, and obviously the corners of the collar will be kept in line thanks to the buttons. Looks great with a navy linen or cotton blazer, or under a much lighter colored suit jacket.

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