Most Wanted Affordable Style – February 2015

Consider these to be power rankings. Whether you’re looking for gift ideas or a quick upgrade for yourself, expect these to come around about once a month. You’ll find new arrivals and old favorites, especially good deals, or maybe something pricey to keep an eye on for future sales. The potential best of the best, which you may or may not have seen already. Got a tip on something that deserves to end up in the monthly Most Wanted? Send those in here.

 

5. That Saddleback makes their thin brief in a solid black

Please excuse the crap-tastic desaturated black & white image of the (orginally) Dark Chocolate Brown Saddleback Thin Brief seen above… but at least that’s closer to the cleaner black than their currently offered “carbon” black option. No disrespect to the carbon color. But once they announced hey were doing away with carbon, and said they might make a run of some items (who knows which) in black… then some of us got our hopes up about a clean and mean thin brief in all black. How much more black could it be? None more black. Yet it doesn’t appear to exist. Yet. (To follow along with our 100 year test of the Saddleback Thin Brief, head here.)

 

4. Seavees Westwood Tennis Standard – $59.00 ($78)

Also wanted: the weather in which to wear them sockless. Big hat tip to our man (and frequent Dossier tipster) Eric H. for passing these along. On sale for under $60 via Huckberry. $72 via Amazon. They ship and return free through Amazon, while at Huckberry you’ll need to shell out $4.98 for outbound shipping, and returns are on you unless you take Huckberry store credit. Lightweight, salt-washed canvas uppers. Suede accents. Red White & Blue heel stripe. You can almost smell the BBQ smoke.

 

3. Textured Shawl-Collar Pullover – $73.87 w/ BRSOME ($98.50)

Still plenty of sweater weather left. While most brands have switched over from wool to lighter weight cottons for spring, this one (while still mainly cotton) still feels like a cold weather sweater. The cotton/nylon/viscose blend has some good texture to it. The waffle knit on the body is offset by ribbed panels that run the length of the sleeves. Kind of a cool detail there. The shawl collar is more of a mechanic’s collar. It’s just not quite as tall as a standard shawl, and looks/feels more natural without folding/rolling it (as they did on the BR site). Saw this in store and it’s much better looking in person than online. Should drop to $50 – $60 w/ codes. The BRSOME code is good for 25% off full-priced styles. Not the best offer from Banana Republic. Meanwhile, the code BRCARD is good for 30% off, no exclusions, for cardholders. Not bad if you have your eye on a blazer or something.

 

2. Orvis Lambskin Leather Driving Gloves – $69.00

Ever pick up an item on a whim, love the thing (or things), and get asked about it seemingly every-time you wear it? Right. Those are the items you honestly consider buying duplicates of, just in case it gets lost/wears out/spontaneously combusts. You might experience that with these gloves. Totally unlined but not over ventilated, these lambskin gloves from Orvis are perfect for when it’s cold, but not bitter. And if you drive a manual, they do provide a bit of nice grip on the shifter & wheel. Will acquire a patina over time. Limited sizes at post time. And like the Saddleback case, it’d be pretty slick if they made these in black. (NOTE: No idea why these aren’t showing up when you browse on their site, or, why there’s a “women’s clothing” sub heading, while they’re clearly labeled as men’s?)

 

1. GAP Cotton/Nylon Mac Jacket – $89.60 w/ DEAL ($128.00)

No epaulets, no cuff tabs, no belt. Simplicity. Cotton nylon blend should be water repellent and might give the fabric a slight marbled/matte shine (instead of flat chino) look? Appears to be lined in chambray. Nice work outta GAP on this one. Always on sale, and was going for $76.80 yesterday during a 40% off code, but now is back up to around $90 with the 30% off code DEAL.

 

BONUS: The Goal Worthy Tissot Le Locle Small Seconds Automatic – $535 – $925

There are a ton of gaudy, small seconds, DIESEL inspired watches out there. This ain’t one of those. All class here, with a brilliantly proportioned and placed seconds sub dial. Fantastic hands, Roman Numerals at 12, 3, 6, and 9, and the script Le Locle badge at 9 next to the date window. Not just suit worthy. Tux worthy, even though Black Tie purists would say you just don’t wear a watch with a tux… but… screw em’. (Retail is $795 for stainless and $925 for the rose gold option. Can be had for less through other sellers like Jomashop.)

Want more most wanted? Click here for the top 5 most wanted lists from previous months.