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: All the Black Friday – Cyber Monday Deals
Pictured above is a composite of every sale image & item picks collage put together from the Tuesday before Thanksgiving to the Wednesday following. The point is: For all the talk about supply chain instability, bare store shelves, and inflation due to lack of supply/high demand… it seemed like the power of the customer’s dollar won out… this time. What could have become an “Old Mother Hubbard” bare cupboard situation, quickly seemed to evolve into an arms race between some big retailers. J. Crew seemed to go for it with 40% off plus the additional 60% off stocked final sale section deal. BR stepped it up late in the weekend. Bonobos had their annual day on Monday. Huckberry threw the switch. Target went 30% off Goodfellow. Heck even Lululemon and Christopher Ward had solid deals. And through all of it, Nordstrom tried to price match everything they had in stock that was on-sale somewhere else. It was… a weekend.
Rarest Sale: Bonobos: 35% off (expired, ran Cyber Monday)
After spending most of 2021 super-quiet, Bonobos brought back their best offer of the year on Cyber Monday. 35% off. That’s as good as it gets for them, unless something ends up in the sale section and they run an extra 25% off (or something like that) code. And then it’s a gamble to whether they’ll have your size on sale. When will they run another deal on full priced stuff? Sheesh, that’s a hard one. Late May 2022? Hopefully earlier.
Best Steal Alert: Allen Edmonds 5th Avenue for $199 (expired)
And they dropped to $169.15 if you hadn’t signed up for their collector’s club yet and you got that stacking extra 15% off. Sale worked on either leather sole or Dainite sole models. For all the talk of inflation and supply chain crunches… I couldn’t explain this one guys. It was that good. Made in the USA with nice European leathers? For dress shoes you can wear for years and years and years and years? Wild. They’re back “up” to $237 (or $255 for the Dainite). Which is still a heck of a deal.
Most Dappered-y Post: Best Looking Affordable Men’s Outerwear
Because at some point “take your coat” goes from a nagging chore extolled by your parents, to a fun part of being a grown up. Coats, jackets, puffers, vests, and more.
Best Post for your Place: The Dappered Space: 5 Essential Home Decor Items for any grown-guy’s home
Those “items” are actually categories, so you can hunt out a perfect something for your place that perfectly matches your style, but there are specific item picks if you want them.
Coolest (& Dumbest) 21st Century Chamberstick: Graypants Wick LED Light – $149
It’s a freaking $150 chamberstick. That’s absurd. It was also 15% off during the Huckberry Sitewide Sale! And… it looks amazing. I can’t reconcile these things.
Most Useful Posts: The Gift Guides
Suited Guys, Rugged Guys, Dad Guys, Shoe Guys, Guys who aren’t Guys because they happen to be Gals. Lots of ideas, various price points, various points of view since we threw these up in the air and our (terrific) contributors grabbed what appealed most to them. Huge thanks to them all.
Most 2021 Dappered Stereotypical Style Scenario: Smart Casual Fall Temptation
Blues/Grays/Browns. A polo under a sportcoat. Chukkas. Even I know this is wallowing in the rut. You love to see it. Maybe.
Newest Sock Champion: Taylor Stitch Made in Italy Merino Blend Socks – $22.50
Taylor Stitch’s line is mostly focused on heritage-inspired workwear. So to see them pumping out socks you can wear with everything from suits to jeans is a bit of a surprise. And that slight dissonance is probably why they are quietly the best socks on the market. Bar none. Got these on a whim (I think it was to trip a tiered discount threshold months back?) and I was stunned. They are the Golidlock’s, “perfect porridge” socks. Not too dressy. Not too casual. Just right. Sure some might prefer over the calf for suits and dress trousers, but plenty of us will happily wear these with dress slacks and suit pants. That, and they’re a medium weight cushioning. Nothing majorly squishy, but not paper thin either. More than a few fun colors and patterns, but timeless all the same. And you can machine wash and dry them. The (new) King is here. Bow down to his sock-dom Excellency.
Most unintentional Rod Belding Cosplay: This Working Weekend Outfit
What’s old is new again. Light wash jeans will do that. Out here looking like a sub on Saved by the Bell. (Big thanks to mtang7 for the Rod Belding call out).
Best Restock: Spier & Mackay Core Line Suits – $358
And among the chaos of the last couple weeks, Spier has quietly restocked their core-line suits, which are arguably the best value in the suit business. Half canvas construction. Nice wool fabrics. Easy to tailor, non functioning sleeve cuff buttons. Two fits: Slim, and a more athletic “Contemporary.” All the basics are here… Medium Gray, Charcoal, Navy, Medium Blue, even a “Postal” Blue and Burgundy. First suit or sportcoat or shoes purchase ships and returns for free. Otherwise, you’re on the hook for a $15 return label.
Most Liked Instagram Post: The Sweater Drawer Destroyer
Cats own the internet. Among other things.
Best Use of Gray + Earthtones: Style Scenario: Fall Temptation – On the Casual side
There is an oddly persistent believe that brown(s) and gray(s) don’t go well together. But they often do. Both dressed down and dressed up.
Biggest Eyewear Surprise: Target Acetate Sunglasses – $30
Thirty bucks for a pair of sunglasses that feel like the real deal. From Target of all places. Fingers crossed these start to trickle into stores so the next time you/we are hitting Tar-zhay for, I dunno popcorn and batteries, we can pick these up and put them on our faces. Head here for a full in-person review.
Most Uncomfortable Question: Are Low-Top Jordans the new “Dad Shoes”?
They’re super comfortable and offer all day support. They’re probably favored by guys who were raised in the 80s, came of age in the 90s, and are now middle age. MJ is pushing 60 after-all. Geeze this sounds familiar. I don’t think we’re quite there yet. With the Jordans. But yeah. The similarities are difficult to ignore. Werther’s?
Scariest Seasonally Appropriate Garment: Turtlenecks
What is it about this simple style of sweater that makes them so flippin’ scary? Love the way they look. Love the way others look in them. Love the way they feel. And… can’t seem to wear one. It’s like Fedora guy in that commercial. Or not. Maybe not at all. Because it’s just a darn sweater. Good gravy some of us (hi) have a long way to go. Turtlenecks shown above are the merino lattice knit from Spier and Mackay, which are just about sold out. So SOMEONE out there has the onions to pull it off.
Latest Non-Tie Item from Tie Bar: These Wool “Miracle” Sportcoats
TL;DR: They’re good. Not great. But they’re good. Another nice addition to Tie Bar’s growing lineup of goods that happen to not actually be neckties.
Smartest Suggestion: E-Waist on Thanksgiving
If there was ever a day to leverage the jogger/eleastic waisted everything trend, it was Thanksgiving.
Best Weekend Read: The Metaverse is Bullsh*t
Via our man Michael: “Our robot overlords seem to think that the Metaverse is the future of the internet. Sure, the Metaverse concept sounded cool when originally conceived in classic cyberpunk novels by Neal Stephenson and William Gibson. But what Zuck and other so-called tech “visionaries” miss is the fact that IN EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE METAVERSY BOOKS the world is a dystopian hellhole and the metaverse is a drug that’s our only means of escape from the horror. In this fantastic article, Wes Fenlon breaks down why the whole Metaverse concept is doomed to fail… and I completely agree.”
Feeling Nostalgic? Here’s the archive containing previous editions of Best of the Month that Was.