Brooks Brothers Wool & Leather Varsity Jacket
I’m selling my Brooks Brothers varsity jacket. Errybody get your bid on, errybody errybody get your bid on. What!
One Pair of Leather Shoes
Today, I was asked for a recommendation on a pair of black leather shoes. My friend wants a pair that can be worn with jeans. I think a man needs a few options in the hard-soled category, so before saying anything else, I asked if he had any other leather shoes. His answer was no. I told him I’d think about it, and well, I’m planning on just sending him this post.
Black matches a lot of things, but I’m going to have to go with Jim Moore’s advice and tell you that oxblood will keep you matching for days (Those aren’t his exact words.). Dark brown and merlot are also options, but stay away from the chili color for now. If you really want to get the most match for your buck, and this shoe is going to be the power horse of your new sartorially-conscious wardrobe, I’d go with oxblood. Don’t worry, I’ll list some black options too.
Ok, I’m going to be a bit biased on this, because I wear Allen Edmonds and Alden daily. I do own other brands of shoes, but honestly, these are my favorites for the money. I try to rotate my black, brown, merlot and oxblood colors so that I can keep each pair looking fresh. Leather does need to breath. Although you’re going to want to wear them everyday, I’d advise against it so that you can give them time to rest.
I think you should start with a cap toe balmoral or blutcher style shoe with possibly a small amount of brogueing along the cap. If I lost you at bal, here’s the scoop on the two styles. I have them both and rotate them in and out as I feel it’s necessary. Don’t be afraid to wear any of these with jeans, either. Check out the inspiration images below and I think you’ll agree that both of these styles go great with jeans. Before you break the rules, you need to know them. Bals were traditionally reserved for more formal occasions, but I like the look of them with jeans, so I break the rules whenever I feel macho.
Here are a few oxblood, dark brown and merlot options.
Balmoral:
Blutcher:
If you’re still content on getting black, here are some options.
Balmoral:
Blutcher:
Don’t forget to check ebay before you purchase one of these options, you might find a better deal there. After you do get yourself fixed up with a nice pair of shoes, watch this video from the dapper gents over at Put This On, for tips on how to take care of them.
Here’s some inspiration to get your creative noodles twisted.
photo credit: J.Crew
photo credit: The Sartorialist
This spring moc option comes straight from the supposed originators of the car shoe. And I think its another option that you can add to your lineup, especially if you’re planning to put color on your feet this spring. The few that I picked are seen above in the photos, but don’t worry, Car Shoe offers plenty of other color options.
I know this is a big step in a insecure man’s life. But you’re finally building up your courage and it’s great that you’re ready to add color to your wardrobe. Show the world your sartorial power. And get out there and don’t let anyone tell you that purple feet are for dinosaurs or wine crushers.
Here’s a soothing video showing how they’re made.
Tanner Goods is a local company (Portland, OR) and it looks like they have nice belts. They’re so good that they keep them in big shiny glass cases. They’re also curled in sophisticated knot patterns (intricacy = quality, right? Maybe?). Besides the nice looking belts, the company is also making tracks across the U.S. They’ve recently collaborated with the NYC-based shop 3sixteen (I hate the name and spelling, but like the shop.) to produce a waxed canvas tote bag. And the devil in my head tells me that this bag should only be used to hold an entire collection of belts, preferably those shown above.
I don’t know, maybe you need a new pair of gloves because your last pair ended up getting buried as a way to hide the evidence. Or, maybe you’re looking to get a cheap pair that you can cut the fingers off of. That way at the next Harley meet up in Myrtle Beach you don’t look like you’re just a business man posing on your dangermobile as a way to trick yourself into believing that you’re not owned by the man and that you have a wild spirit (And btw, your spirit animal is probably a hog.). On a similar note, you might just be the type of person that wants to live out some sort of Sons of Anarchy fantasy.
You could just be like me though, a Complex (I do get this mag.) man and need want a nice new pair of black leather gloves. And being the savage deal hunter that you are and a man that notices how great a pair of leather gloves looks on a gentleman, you can’t pass this deal up. Here’s the deal, Brooks Brothers has a pair of lambskin gloves that are lined with cashmere and they’re selling for fifty-nine dollars. Vroom… Vroom…
Eight Days of Style
Reader Lucy wrote to us to ask that we suggest eight super-basic, affordable Hanukkah gifts for her boyfriend “to replace his stained light-wash jeans and Nine Inch Nails t-shirts.” We’ll offer one choice for each day the oil burned.
Above: get him a mid-brown 1 1/4” belt from Narragansett Leathers. They’ll make it to your specifications for $32, and finish it with a nice brass buckle. It may not be the only belt he ever needs, but he will certainly need this belt. (Get him one in black, too.)
And while you’re at it, grab him a few Narragansett beers. Just make sure you order the belt with a few extra notches. I know you’ve heard of a beer belly, right?
Narragansett beer brings back a slew of great drunken memories that I experienced during a Christmas road trip. During the trip, Kate, I, and a group of friends, travelled from Alabama all the way up to Providence, Rhode Island. And this is where we had the pleasure of trying our first Narragansett beer. One particular fuzzy memory involves me building the largest snowman in the world. Too bad it melted before Guinness got there to confirm.
My go-to casual belt is a rifle sling belt which I ordered from Narragansett Leathers. (I stole the idea from The Trad.)
Narrangansett make their accessories by hand in Damariscotta, Maine. In addition to the O-ring and Rifle Sling belts picture above, they also make pelican and hoof-pick belts for the mariners and equestrians among us as well as all sorts of traditional belts. They’re all extremely reasonably priced, too - about $35 or $40. Cheap enough to cover your belt needs, whatever they may be. They’ll even make you a briefcase. I had them make one for my wife as a graduation gift, and it’s one of her most favorite possessions.
They’ll ship anywhere, but they’re closed February and March (snowed in, I’m guessing), and you have to call them - 207-563-5080 is their number. They’re exceptionally nice.
I really like the belt in the back. I also thought I’d add that I saw a similar style belt in the FW09 CONTEXT editorial.
