All posts in Men’s Clothing Reviews

Fall Foulards

by oxford cloth button down on October 16, 2016 in Accessories, Men's Clothing Reviews, Ties with 2 Comments

The leaves are turning, the temps are dropping, and you can order a pumpkin flavored anything. Fall is finally here and everyone is excited. For us trads, it is not so much the previous mentioned items as it is the return of layering, Shetland sweaters, and tweeds to mention a few. One item that I am especially excited for are foulard ties.
A Foulard (also called a neat) is a symmetrical pattern that consists of small-scale repeating shapes such as diamonds, dots, medallions, pines, and of course flowers. A foulard is technically a kind of light weight silk, but today the term is used interchangeably with neat.

Foulards are not strictly for fall/winter items. However, I find them to be a better fit for myself with a tweed than in the summer with a blazer and chinos. I do break them out if I am wearing grey wool trousers and blazer. If I had a chance to wear suits this would be another occasion to break out the foulards. Until then I will just enjoy them when the weather turn cool bringing out the tweeds and cords.

A Few More Foulard Ties

My Barbour Beaufort

by oxford cloth button down on October 9, 2016 in Men's Clothing Reviews, Style with 5 Comments

Finding a versatile piece of Fall outerwear can be tricky. A few years back I was looking for a jacket that I could wear in the Fall with my Shetlands sweaters as well as my sport coats. Something like my duffle coat, but not quite as warm.The answer turned out to be Barbour.

Barbour is well known and liked in Trad circles. These waxed cotton jackets conjure up images of country side hunting in a rugged Land Rover, but in reality they are more often used for cool rainy trips to the office. The fact that they perform well in either scenario gives them a lot of credibility. Combine this with their sporty English vibe and every trad’s inner anglophile longs for one.
There are lots of Barbour models out there. I have limited experience with the Brand. My Barbour jacket is a Beaufort (Thanks, Hardline 42!) It is a great model for me, it is long enough to pair with a sport coat, but not so long that it makes me look like a boy wearing his father’s coat. I would provide fit advice, but my jacket is from 1988 so I doubt that it is very relevant. For more up to date model and fit advice consult this Barbour buyers guide put together by Derek at Put this On. Check it out here: A Buyer’s Guide to Barbour

5-Pocket Style

by oxford cloth button down on October 2, 2016 in Men's Clothing Reviews, Style with 25 Comments

Over the last 6 months I have been making an effort to improve my casual rigs. First that meant that I had to re-adjust my thinking in terms of what casual actually means. What I already knew was that most people do not consider chinos quite as casual as us Trads making it a good place to start. I was not ready to go full denim so I started with a pair of 5-pocket cords.
I mentioned in last week’s post that I purchased a pair of J.Crew 5-pocket cords. Specifically I got the Vintage Cord in 770 fit. Previously I had shown the green pair (Island Pine), but I also purchased the khaki pair. I have not worn the green cords, but just yesterday I tried out the khaki ones.

In short, I could not be happier with them. The fit is slimmer with a narrower leg opening (7″ in on a size 30″ waist) and lower rise than the 1040 chinos that I wear to work, but this is exactly what I was looking for in casual pants (I did size up from a 29″ to 30″waist for those of you wondering). I wasn’t thrilled with the color right out of the box, but liked it while wearing them (I also think that they have lightened up after another wash. See second pic below for reference.). I paired them with a well worn OCBD, LL Bean Signature Blucher mocs, and topped it off with a pair of Wigwam socks.
5-pocket pants have never been my thing. I am not sure if it is the Steve McQueen connection (his style doesn’t do a whole lot for me), their period assocation, or if I was simply happy to just wear chinos instead. Whatever the case I now know that I was wrong, have discovered the joy of 5-pockets and the casual world that they have opened up to me. These 5-pocket cords in particular will pair well with my flannels, Wallabees, camp mocs, green bubble vest, and will fit right in with my fall tendency to draw on the late 70’s prep look (The Late 70’s Prep Check List).

Review Preview

by oxford cloth button down on September 25, 2016 in Lifestyle, Men's Clothing Reviews, Style with 11 Comments

I have made a few fall pick ups last week, but I am still waiting on the right weather to wear them. In lieu of a review I will share my latest acquisitions. My thinking is that this may inspire some of you out there to try something new this autumn or to fill that hole in your cool weather wardrobe before the cool turns ice cold.

First, I grabbed a pair of Lands’ End 10 wale cords in the tailored fit. I mentioned these in the my last cord post(Quick Cord Roundup). I have had issues with both the tailored fit and the quality of their cords, but with constant LE Sales they were purchased for cheap. On top of that LE has a great return policy so the risk is minimal.
Purchase number 2 is from LE as well. It is a Harrington style jacket often referred to as a Baracuta, because that is the company that produced the iconic jacket. LE calls their jacket a Barracuda and this one comes in Black Watch. My guess is that I will either love it or it will look too neo-prep and I will hate it.

The last item that I bought is a pair of pants for casual wear. I don’t like wearing jeans, but sometimes I want to wear something a little more casual than chinos and that is where I hope that this pair of J.Crew 5 pocket cords comes into play. Specifically I purchased the Vintage Cord in the 770 fit (see here). This fit is supposed to trimmer than the 1040 chinos that I wear for work, but not by much.
There you have it folks. I am slowly getting ready for fall. I have added a new pair of cords for work to the rotation, added a Harrington jacket in a fun Black Watch patter, and invested in a pair of 5 pocket cords from J.Crew. I will be wearing these as the weather and opportunity allows. More to come in the future.

A Cool Chino Post

by oxford cloth button down on September 18, 2016 in Men's Clothing Reviews, Style with 10 Comments

I wear chinos almost everyday. They are a trad staple. They are an important part of my daily uniform as they are for a large portion of the business casual population. Due to this they are always in demand as we will always need a new pair to replace the old, but keeping up on the style, fits, and changes can get overwhelming. Lucky for us Blogger Red Clay Soul has put together a great Chino post (see here).

An example of my uniform that includes chinos.

In the “Khaki Spectrum” post Red Clay Soul explains,

Khaki pants will NEVER go away. They are an integral part of the preppy uniform, and they are the go-to for business casual. Pledges love them, and sometimes hate them. After a few years they become disposable (or shorts), but you’ll be hard pressed to find a more comfortable pair of pants after they are broken in. The style(s) of khaki pants live in a spectrum. There are some that would be considered dress khakis, that go with dress shoes and loafers, all the way to more utility khakis that go with boots, and the pants that fit in the middle.

He goes on to summarize 12 brands of chinos with which he is familiar. He also segments them by noting which are appropriate for dress shoes and which work with boots. I found this post useful and thought that of all of you would as well. Head over to Red Clay Soul for the full post (see here) and check out a few more of his posts while you are at it.