The Best in Affordable Style from the Month that Was

A wise man once asked: “What the hell just happened?” And for good reason. There is value in looking back. It gives us all a good gauge as to what is good, and more importantly, what is not good, going forward. Sure, the “clip show” is mostly a cheap (affordable?) device to create new content out of already published stuff. But it’s also a good way to catch up in case you missed something. So cue the flashback music. Here’s the very best from the month that was…

Best Sale: Banana Republic 30% off No Exclusions (exp)

This was a surprisingly quiet sale from BR. And while 30% off at Banana Republic is usually just ho-hum, the no exclusions detail… was more than a detail. That was huge. Leather jackets, sportcoats, traveler jeans. They all got the cut. Overall, not the best month for sales since it seems like most retailers were sandbagging for the long holiday weekend that’s coming up shortly. Expect Thursday’s Sales Handful to be more than a handful, with a full roundup of the best sales and promos the men’s style world will be running this long weekend.

Best Individual Deal: AE Merlot Collection for $157 – $200ish (exp)

Remember this? Seems like AE was blowing out their stock of merlot-shade calfskin shoes, and some Strands, Park Ave., and McAllister shoes were going for crazy inexpensive. Like… less than factory 2nds inexpensive. Just before an extra 20% off deal buried the price, we ran a “how to wear it.” So in case you picked up some Merlot shoes during the sale, especially the wingtips, this might be of some help.

Most Looked Forward to Style Scenario: First Day it Cools off a bit

Some style scenarios are just more fun to put together than others. And this would be one of the more fun ones. Why? Because after months of doing style scenarios that try to balance looking great with not melting into a pile of sweat, it’s nice to not have to worry about perspiration. As much.

Best Sign to make it into a Product Photo Shoot: Wish you were Beer

Sometimes, some days, a nice Red IPA just gets me man…

Best Looking Lineup: Only 5 Styles of Shoes you Need

Lots of questions about this particular group of five over the email and the twitter machine and the instagram portal. From left to right: Allen Edmonds Weybridge in black (discontinued), Allen Edmonds Fairfax in Chili (~~discontinued~~… UPDATE: Can’t believe this, but these just popped up on HauteLook today. Lots of sizes too. Thought these things were dead and long gone?), Stafford Gunner Cap toe in Cognac with a bit of black shoe cream lightly applied, Banana Republic Paul Loafer in Fudge, Superga Cotu Classic in White.

Best Reason to Start Saving Money NOW: Saddleback Hard Sided Brief

No release date yet. But… want. In chestnut or dark coffee brown. Good gracious you’ve got to expect that this thing is gonna be on the pricey side.

Most Extensive Post: 50 of the Best New Fall Arrivals

If this first crop of new fall arrivals is any indication of the season to come? Then the world of menswear can look forward to a very, very nice fall. Quick highlights: These boots from Nordstrom could be real winners. J. Crew’s new unconstructed cord blazers come in two awesome shades. And while they’re a bit steep for an unlined glove, the Orvis unlined Lambskin driver is back.

Best Place to Find Dappered not on Dappered: Art of Manliness

We’re famous! Many thanks to Brett and the team over at AoM for the opportunity to write a guest post.

Most Wheelhouse Dappered Post: 25 Most Underrated

Semi Spread Collars. Black shoes. Room in your clothes to actually move freely. Not documenting every single style-related thing to social media. All those and more. Giving what doesn’t get nearly enough credit its due.

Best .gif from the Weekend Dossiers: “Linus Contemplates”

It’s that time of year. Isn’t it. We could all benefit from being a little more like Linus. The world could really use more Linus. And probably a little less Lucy. (Although her Psychiatric Help fees can’t be beat.)

Best Use of Burgundy by a Brand: Gustin & Horween CXL #8

What, was it double-coupon day at the Horween tannery and somehow Gustin was the only one that showed up? Good on em’ for getting such a huge amount of Horween’s Chromexcel in color #8 (their deep dark burgundy). This month saw an oddly affordable, Made in the USA Briefcase, as well as some made in the USA boots go up for pre-order. Kinda a bummer that you have to wait clear til December to get your feet in those boots though. But? That’s their model.

Worst Movie to Pick for a Style Scenario: Jason Bourne

BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN WE DIDN’T DO IT ANYWAY. The man wears the same jacket for like 75% of the movie. Bourne? Not a clothes horse. Still. Made for an interesting challenge. Writing it up honestly reminded me of a research paper I had to do back when I was still being formally educated. I realized about halfway through I couldn’t prove my thesis. But… I mean, I was halfway through. So? I plowed on. The professor even wrote in the margin halfway through the paper… “You’re going to have trouble proving this, aren’t you”… but still gave me a B- for the attempt and effort at the end. Pot committed and sunk costs aren’t always exactly the same.

Most Over-mentioned Boot Style: Chelseas

Listen. They’re having a bit of a moment. And from the affordable to the splurge worthy, you’ve got plenty of solid choices right now. Besides. Chukkas and heritage style work boots get mentioned all. the. time.

Best Return of an old Segment: 5 Favorites

Already got one in the can for next week. Stay tuned. Got a suggestion for someone in the style industry/web-o-sphere you’d like to see interviewed for 5 favorites? Send those in here.

Feeling Nostalgic? Here’s the archive containing previous editions of Best of the Month that Was.