Welcome to the unhappiest time of the year. (Pseudo) Science says so! The winter doldrums are often cold, dark, dreary, sloppy, messy, and bleak. Which means it’s a perfect time to dress well, as there’s absolutely no reason at all to do so. Everyone is miserable! Which means a little bit of intentional (but not obnoxious) color can brighten a room, and possibly someone’s mood. Maybe that mood is yours. Maybe it’s your partners. Maybe it’s some public-facing worker who has had 27 schlubs be rude to him or her that day. A little effort and mutual respect can go a long way.
The Suit: J. Crew Ludlow Atlantic Blue Italian Stretch Wool Suit Jacket + Matching Trousers = $479 ($675). Certainly not a dark navy, but not some true blue/summertime bright blue. Icy cool. Which is perfect for both now in the doldrums, AND when it heats up in a few months and a shot of crisp color is needed. Sale expires Wednesday February 21st. Also available in their athletic leaning Crosby fit jackets and trousers. The less expensive option: Spier & Mackay Medium Heather Blue Suit – $398
The Shirt: Tie Bar Non-Iron Poplin- $55. Good quality and they do their best to keep them in stock.
The Tie: Tie Bar Tonal Square Dot Navy Tie – $24. Has some rich-looking texture, while costing less than a quarter of a hundred dollars. We’re working our way towards Tie Bar’s $99 free shipping threshold, so stand by for more picks from them…
The Pocket Square: Tie Bar Mesh Floral Rust Pocket Square – $14. A muted brownish red, with a floral pattern signaling the season on the (distant) horizon. (checks math… okay we’re at $93 so far at Tie Bar, so…)
The Socks: Tie Bar thin Stripes Slate Blue Dress Socks – $8. Cheap! Cotton and not wool, so you won’t get the wicking and temperature regulating properties that wool brings, but… again: Cheap! And now we’ve finally triggered the free shipping threshold at Tie Bar. So we got that going for us.
The Watch: Baltic HMS 002 – $400ish: Sharp. Assembled in France. Powered by a Miyota automatic movement. Priced in euros. Free shipping and returns from France to the United States.
The Shoes: Spier & Mackay Blake Stitched Cap Toe Oxfords with Rubber Sole – $178. Recently restocked. They’re sleek, they’re made well, and the materials used are quite nice for the price. That and the subtle, rubber sole will help keep you upright on late-winters slick sidewalks and stairs. Full review here in a dark brown.
The Belt: Banana Republic Burnished Leather Belt – $89.99 ($110). Or whatever medium or even dark brown dress belt you have on hand. Style “experts” will say to try and match your leather accessories as close as possible when assembling an outfit… but most of us just really don’t care as long as they’re in the ballpark.
The Blazer: Banana Republic Italian Cotton Stretch Flannel Knit Blazer – $189.99 ($300). Made from a soft, knit stretch-cotton flannel from Italy’s Emmetex mill. No shoulder pads. Soft construction. Will look just as good over a t-shirt as it would over an OCBD.
The Sweater-Polo: Spier & Mackay 100% Merino Knit Polo – $54.40 ($78). Spier knows merino. And this sweater polo is knit from 100% pure merino. The “denim” blue is, oddly enough, a perfect contrasting compliment to dark wash jeans.
The Jeans: Target Goodfellow Comfort Stretch Jeans – $34.99 ($40). A much more affordable alternative to Banana Republic’s Luxe Traveler Jeans. Full review here.
The Watch: Orient Bambino 38mm Silver Dial – $260. Reviewed here. Really nice. Band it comes with is black, but with 20mm lugs that’s an easy swap out if you’d prefer a brown band to match your belt. But really, again, no one is gonna notice or care.
The Socks: Made in the USA Darn Tough The Standard in Navy – $29. The best, most versatile socks on the market.
The Boots: Allen Edmonds Loden Suede Landon Cap Toe Boots – $249.98 ($475). Dark green suede that somehow remains subtle. Make sure you treat them with some stain/water repellant before you head out into the muck that is the winter doldrums. Goodyear welted in Port Washington Wisconsin. On sale, but these should be first quality. So no restocking fee, no “slight cosmetic blemishes,” and they’ll ship/return for free.
The Belt: Made in the USA L.L. Bean Essential Belt – $44.95. The new standard. Review here.
The Jacket: lululemon Down for It All Jacket – $149 FINAL ($198). From their excellent, easy to move in, won’t make you look “puffy” Down for It All line. Note that this one is the jacket style that doesn’t come with a hood. Which some will prefer. Final sale though. No returns or exchanges. The (much) more affordable alternative: Amazon Essentials Puffer Jacket – $35.80
The T-Shirt: Under Armour UA Velocity Jacquard Short Sleeve – $9.99 w/ EXTRA50 and ships free w/ FS24 ($30). Part of the big Under Armour January clearance event. True performance wear here. Not cotton based. So it should wick and breathe and all that good stuff.
The Joggers: Target All in Motion Textured Fleece Joggers – $34. Certainly more lounger than jogger… but that’s what most joggers are.
The Hat: Made in Japan Huckberry Beanie in Heather Rust – $15 ($30). An inexpensive favorite. Acrylic/wool blend. Red, but not fire-engine red thanks to that heather-effect.
The Bag: Herschel Supply Novel Duffel in Steel Blue – $76.99 ($110). They keep making these things because people keep buying and liking these things. Separate shoe compartment is a nice plus.
The Socks: Made in the USA Darn Tough Number 2 Micro Crew Midweight Merino Blend Hiking Sock – $25. Excellent workout socks. Excellent casual socks. And they have flying outhouses on them, so, that’s a clear plus.
The Sneakers: Nike Air Force 1 “winter ready” ’07 LV8 in – $114.97 ($135). Mostly gray but with pops of “bronzine.” Beefed up a bit for winter weather. They’re not mountaineering boots, but they’re better than, say, Chucks. Keep your expectations reasonable, and you won’t freeze your toes off by picking these over something truly waterproof if the weather is a disaster. Dark gray base should hide reasonable splashes of mud, dirty snow, etc.
The Watch: Orient Kamasu Dive Watch in (dark) Green – $290. Reviewed here. Really nice. One of Orient’s best. Deep green dial.
The Huck team is off on vacation. Which means their big winter clearance is very…
Brooks Brothers starts their winter clearance with an additional 25% off sale items.
Plus a Christmas album you probably haven't heard yet this year. Maybe.
With a focus on holiday events. It's their last sale before their shipping cutoff.
Style choices to make for those times when how you're perceived is critical.
Timex grows into a solid, grown-up dive watch design.