President Joe Biden greets the Washington Nationals’ Racing Presidents on the South Lawn Driveway of the White House, Sunday, July 4, 2021, during the Fourth of July celebration. (Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz)
This post will be updated as more sales roll in. Weirdly enough, Presidents’ Day weekend is traditionally the first “big” retail promotions event of the year. The holidays are long gone, while winter clearance stock has dwindled. It’s not quite spring, but any excuse is good enough for stores and brands. So yeah. Presidents’ / President’s / Presidents Day. Here we are. As always, picks are limited to items with at least a decent size selection at post time unless otherwise noted. (above photo credit)
This one’s quiet. Buried within a promo email there’s a mention 0f 25% off full price with that BRPURCHASE code. Simple enough, right? And while it’s nowhere near a 40% off Friends and Family deal they tend to peak at, they only do two of those a year. Hey, at least it’s something. And (readies a link that’s been used here a hundred times…) something is something! Exclusions apply of course. Leather and suede apparel, 100% cashmere and select cashmere blends, and a few other things won’t get that 25% off. Code BRPURCHASE is set to expire at the end of this Monday, 2/19/24.
Updating for the weekend. Mid-week Nike was running a quiet code which had Killshots at 25% off, but that expired Thursday night. Well? No code needed anymore! 25% off should happen when you put either the original navy swoosh or maroon swoosh killshots in your cart.
Up until now (Monday 2/19) Ledbury had been doing 30% off, and there was a steep $125+ must spend threshold. Well, no more. No more threshold. No minimum spend. An additional 40% off. All final sale though. No returns or exchanges.
Monday Update: They’re now also doing free shipping no minimum. Yes, even on final sale stuff getting an additional 50% off. There are an immense amount of exclusions on the full price side. Bit of a bummer, there.
Another on-the-fly weekend update. Gone is the SHOPNOW code for 30% off. Now they’re marked as 29% off. Well okay then. In case the steal alert somehow missed you. These are their 4-season weight flagship suits. Easy to tailor (when you have the time), non functioning sleeve cuff buttons. Timeless 3″ lapels. Available in four colors. Ludlow jackets are here, trousers are here. Meanwhile, Crosby Jackets are here. Trousers are here. Remember since they’re suit separates, you have to put each piece in your cart individually before you check out. Getting a special call out because these suit separates are usually excluded.
Nordstrom’s good-for-the-price in-house dress cap toe oxfords and suede chukkas are on significant sale. Free shipping and free returns too, as this sale is at Nordstrom and not Nordstrom Rack. (The Rack charges for returns. Not at Nordstrom.) There’s plenty more than shoes in there (see the Barbour and navy Rhone commuter)… but… it’s a true clearance. Expect sizes to be scattered and color selection to be mostly odd.
Appears to be a price matching deal. Kiehl’s doesn’t seem to be doing this direct, and at Nordstrom there’s free shipping no minimum. So, not bad. Not bad at all.
If you’re going to a spring wedding this year and you need a suit, now’s the time to scout one out, get it in-house, and get it tailored so you’re not rushing for that big day. Head here for a review of Spier’s newer, lower-cost, Red Label line. Still all wool and still comes with a half-canvas chest piece that will form to your shape as you wear it. They just knock the level of some of the other bits down a notch to save us, the customer, money in the end. Just one fit on these too. Something they’re calling “tailored” which fits somewhere in between their normal slim and athletic-leaning “contemporary” fits.
Here’s how this works: They collect orders for 3 weeks. Then they’ll start manufacturing them by style. (Assuming they work in where they can over the coming months?) Estimated delivery isn’t until (wait for it, literally) late June. But you end up with getting made in the USA (Maine) shoes from a heritage company for wholesale prices. Time continues to be the only commodity actually worth anything.
Big. Seinfeld. energy. Madewell specializes in basics (some would say norm-core) and they do it well enough that they’ve assembled a loyal following. Just watch out for final sale items. Anything tagged as such can’t be returned or exchanged.
The Pick: adidas Stan Smith Lux – $58.80 w/ BIGSALE ($145)
Wow. The lux version of the Stan Smith is now back to under $60. On sale at $84, and the code BIGSALE knocks an additional 30% off at checkout (proof here). Full review here. That’s pretty absurd considering that the “primegreen” (read: all synthetic) version is pegged to $100. The lux has good quality leather uppers, are lined in leather (except for on the underside of the toe cap), and have a combo glued and stitched sole construction. For sixty bucks? C’mon now. Ships free if you create an account/log in.
Obligatory reminder that BR Factory doesn’t have quite the same level of fit, finish, and fabrics that mainline Banana Republic does. But that’s also why they’re so much more affordable. Life is all about trade offs (or not taking the trade offs…) right? Since that additional 15% (Monday Update: they’ve bumped this up to twenty percent) 20% would come off the marked down price, total % off would be 60%. Which seems like an absurd amount, but these “outlet” positioned brands like BR Factory almost never sell anything at MSRP. But 60% off is pretty really quite good, overall, for BR Factory.
This is the tail end of their fall/winter stock, so sizes are pretty picked over. No code needed. Discount should happen at checkout. Extra 25% off runs through this Tuesday, 2/20/24.
The combo pick:
= $199 total (reg price $374 for all three)
Not a bad deal. Usually Brooks Brothers’ shirt deals are either limited to their clearance stock (these are as wheelhouse as it gets) or require buying 4 (or more) shirts. Three / under $200 is doable for most, and not a bad time to stock up if you’re a fan of the Brooks Brothers non iron as so many seem to be.
Free shipping is no small thing when you just want to buy a pair of cheap, no-slip sunglasses over the internet. So if you want to pick up a pair of good shades that stay on your face, and don’t want to get dinged for shipping at checkout… now’s not a bad time.
Nice to see that they got more “chocolate” Woodward Briefcases back in stock. Hard not to like those. Hard not to like WP standard, what they do, and how they do it. Full review of the Woodward can be found here (albeit in the lighter/less subtle Tan option).
Doesn’t look like much if anything new has been added to Huckberry’s sale section, and there also doesn’t appear to be any additional price reductions as of yet. But a few items (like some bestselling jackets) still have a decent size selection, and still ship/return for free since they’re over $98.
Picks above are limited to items that are NOT final sale at post time. Watch out for those. Anything tagged as such can’t be returned or exchanged.
You should be able to mix and match on the shirts/polos deal. Meaning you can buy 2 polos and 2 shirts and still get the multi-buy discount. But you still have to buy four items in total. And usually there’s a multi-buy deal for “new” customers floating around out on the googles… but you may have to jump through some technical hoops (cookies and what not) to get it to work. CT’s website is like that. Anywho, be aware that shipping is spendy, since CT stuff ships from the U.K. Expect an additional $15 – $18 at checkout for that. And know that while those “smart” jersey polos are incredibly smooth, soft, and the hidden button down collar is perfect… follow the laundering instructions. They can shrink up a bit in the wash if you’re not careful.
The Pick: Invicta Pro Diver Automatic – $59.87 ($80ish)
Ah yes, a classic Amazon sale where there are indeed some actual deals, but how they arrived at those items and those prices will forever remain a mystery to the universe. At least the Invicta automatic is still on sale. Shown above on a Crown and Buckle Supreme NATO, which also happens to still be on sale.
No sale of course since this is new stock and lululemon’s bestselling ABCs rarely if ever go on sale. But still worth a mention here if anyone is a diehard. Some new colors too. Warpstreme is what you want. That’s the pure performance material that has made lululemon’s ABC a game changer for many. That’s what the links above should go to. So why state that outright? Well…
A (bizarre) Warning: lululemon has made the (strange) decision to start making an additional version of their well loved ABC in a cotton blend called “Versa Twill.” That’s a hard-pass/heck-no for a lot of us (at least at the sky high $128 price point). Cotton is cheap, launders reasonably well, and is a well loved material for stuff like basic chinos and jeans… but wicking, quick drying, wrinkle-resistant, and highly breathable cotton is not. Just make sure to not confuse the two if you love performance gear (read: engineered/science-y fibers). Honestly, I can’t fathom why lululemon has made a cotton-blend ABC… at least from a customer-care perspective. I can see why, maybe, from a corporate margins perspective, but I’m trying to not be too cynical here.
Crews to Cardigans. Half Zips to Shawl Collars. Plus the pros and cons of each.
Smart choices, both in style and practicality, for rainy fall days.
Suede shoes and suit deals too.
From wheelhouse standards like chinos and sweaters, to fancy holiday stuff like velvet blazers and…
Weekend update: JCF drops the price on those suede boots to under $80 (final sale…
In person with an iconic loafer... in a not so classic shade.