Last month, I sent out my thoughts on the first hundred pages of Alan Flusser’s Dressing the Man (2002), a much-referenced, 320-page guide to “dressing well without becoming a fashion victim,” and “mastering the art of permanent fashion.”

The book is stuffed with rules, something that’s garnered it as many detractors as it has fans. Even the tailoring-obsessed designer Luke Derrick told me he sees the book as a “time machine” that “relentlessly obsesses over men from the 1920s, and tries to basically say that that decade was the best it ever got, with all these pictures of Fred Astaire.”

Still, I was sure there had to be some useful tips for today amidst the impassioned tributes to Ascot ties and Spectator shoes. And there were! As I wrote at the time, the first hundred pages alone have made getting dressed more enjoyable ever since.

Today, my thoughts on the next hundred. There’ll then be one more send after this, where I’ll both finish the book for good, and tell you everything I’ve donated or sold as a result of its teachings.

The Next Hundred Pages

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On the third floor of a Hackney industrial estate, up four flights of an exterior staircase, five industrial knitting machines click and whirr as designer Cecile Tulkens and her team produce some of the “heritage-adjacent” designs that have made her one of the most beloved, sought-after talents in independent fashion today.

Tulkens, who was all set to study History (key interests: The War of the Roses, the development of Parliament) before fate blew her onto Central Saint Martins’ Fashion Knitwear course, now proudly refers to these machines as her fleet. “We call that chunky 1930s one over there HMS 12-Gauge, because it looks like it’s from the navy,” she tells me at the start of my recent visit. “And then the green one there was made in East Germany in the 1970s.”

Having started out only being able to afford hobbyist-oriented, suitcase-style knitting machines, possessing these beasts means that Tulkens and team can now deliver “a level of quality across the board that we were always trying to fudge on a domestic machine.”

Still, it’s hard work. “None of these machines are computerised. The designs have to be calculated mathematically, then followed to the letter by hand. Most designers don’t handle what they’re doing personally anymore,” Tulkens continues. “There’s been this massive split between design and make. But what I really want to do is make really high fashion, but make it.”

It’s this, along with a surplus of geekiness and humour, that really sets Tulkens (who says she has two design moods: Undercurrent of Menace for winter, and Grandma’s Handbag for summer) apart. Producing by hand, to meticulous mathematical calculations, of course slows everything down, but it’s the part Tulkens loves most. In fact, her great sadness at the moment is all the time that managing the business takes away from her being at the machines. “I have to be email warrior and knitter, and computer-only days make me really grumpy.”

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Before we begin, two other agenda items. Emily Dawn Long texted me after last week’s What Women Want Wardrobe debut to add that Literary Sport’s Fran Miller and Jackie McKeown are her other favourite dressers today: “Obsessed with them. Crush on both of them.” (If you’re curious to understand why, the two have previously talked enjoyably about their style with Habiter and Believe in the Run.)

The second thing is that I am experimenting with affiliate links as part of this (free) send, because I want to understand whether they could move the needle in a way that would allow me to meaningfully lower the price of a Wardrobe subscription. That said, as I’ve always maintained, whether or not an item is on a network will never be relevant to its inclusion in the letter. I’m also not certain how far that needle’s going to travel, considering that a minuscule amount of the 57 links in today’s letter apply (🤪). Keep you posted. For now…

Everything I’ve Saved

• I loved this Gauthier Borsarello story last month. Another reminder—as with Hampus’ I <3 NY tee—that even as we aspire to own nicer things, few will make us (and those around us) as happy as the more personal souvenirs picked up along the way. Like, say, the custom Delta Green caps handed out to all of us on a stag weekend last month, or the £3 Squash T-shirt a friend found later that day in a North Devon charity shop. Both below.

  

• That stag was tied to my friend Hugo’s wedding, which happened last weekend. You may remember him from our early HHWI interview, or from another interview we did about special ordering an engagement ring with The Ouze. After the ceremony, I finally met his brother-in-law, Matteo Debole, who hand-makes (in LA, for not so much $) the most complimented item of clothing I wear, this patchwork star hoodie. He also makes great music. Whiz kid.

  

• After feeling I’d missed out on one for over a month, I went back to Jake’s to see which new Faimanns Stefan had made. Given our logo here, this bear called to me, and now it hangs on a little nail in my bedroom. Speaking of charms, I also spotted a post from Bunney (of Lip Balm for Life fame) about some mini disco ball charms they made for Harry Styles to gift to all of his album collaborators.

• At a meeting with Sunspel, I learned that Jonathan Anderson himself designed the colourful loopback sweatshirts they still make (and sell for under £150) back when he was creative director. The only downside is they run a little long—Sunspel does this in part to allow for an older gentleman’s paunch—so if you want a cotton sweater that’s more cropped, I can vouch for Anglo-Italian’s, which they recently released in some more punchy colours alongside your trusty navy.

• Emily Dawn Long’s first ‘SILENT DROP’ is happening this Friday, at two different times, each listed here. UTOPIA SOUTH is the one for me.

• Both Mfpen and Beige Habilleur (with Quoddy) released hardware-forward deck shoes this month. By my count, Mfpen’s has 18 metal eyelets to Beige’s 16. And while we’re on the subject, the latter seems to have put all of its Camber stock on sale...

• My kryptonite—a new Warehouse loopwheel tee with a sweet retro graphic—has returned.

• London vintage update: The designer-leaning Dossier is open for visits, having broken off from La Nausée. And Gracie Abrams is wearing a shirt from the less designer-focused Goose Finds in the new Rolling Stone.

• Carmina invited me to come by their store and make a selection. Lacking a true dress shoe, I played it safe with the Wholecut Oxford, but these unlined loafers were a close second, especially because they collapse to be almost completely flat when packed.

  

• Three more things I liked: Renatto’s earphones (not from Celine), James Harjette’s mended jean pocket, and Anna Cafolla’s affirmative Ashley Williams phone case.

• NEAT slacks are on sale at Neighbour, as is this Alumo fabric Graphpaper shirt. Nitty Gritty has taken a couple of hundred euros off the cult-favourite Kaptain Sunshine x Lady White Co. silk hoodie, still available in M and L. LW-C also has a really nice new colour of their mini hoodie, in every size. Elsewhere, Blue in Green has taken $90 off my current favourite chinos (applied at checkout), and if you’re a size 10 with some pocket change, you can get a beautiful Church’s loafer for $560 / 50% off at La Garconne.

• On the shoe front, I should also say my Doek Courts (above) survived yet another summer trip, but I’d have liked something a little more evening appropriate too. To steal the old Good, Better, Best format, these are all saved at the minute: Sebago ($165), Rancourt ($288), Officine Creative ($790). I’ve also been looking for a comfy-but-not-crazy-plush travel day sneaker. Searched a lot, saw that Drake’s has some fun online-only pastel New Balances, settled on these from Saucony.

• I’ve also been getting back into lap swimming lately (bummed this sold out!) and while looking up some Birdwell shorts, I landed on a niche Reddit debate about the brand’s perceived drop in quality over recent years. Lots of commenters are saying that if you want that look, the (still family-owned) Katin is $50 cheaper, and better. The more you know.

• It is too warm to think about knits yet, and I don’t need any new ones, but the most tempting I’ve seen this year comes from Chamula. Hand-knit merino, and there’s that star theme again.

• A few nice follows newly on my radar: Alvie Alvie, Yesterday’s Babe, China Cat Clothing.

• Lastly, the nicest thing I tried on in Paris last January—Sono’s “Mud Grey” cotton coat—seems to have landed with its retailers very early. I went to see if it was on Sono’s site too, but instead found a lovely summer OOO message:

  “Our online shop is now closed until the end of August. Thank you all for your orders and support this Summer. Wishing you a relaxing time!

  For now just music and books.

I’m hoping to keep that energy too. See you in a few days. 🐻

One of the earliest ideas I had for this newsletter was to regularly invite female friend groups to call in and talk about everything they love (and love less) about what the guys in their lives are wearing.

This was partly inspired by the sheer number of female designers behind some of the best men’s clothing today, but also by the fact that, like it or not, the “Girlfriend Glow Up”—when guys start to look a little better after getting into relationships—is a real thing.

It also just felt like it would be fun.

We’re kicking the series off today with my dream first guests: Emily Dawn Long, the current CFDA finalist whose bright, confident, smile-inducing designs are a major part of menswear’s current swing back to colour and graphics. And Brynn Wallner, the founder of Dimepiece, four-time How Long Gone guest, and one of the greatest people to have at the other end of the phone on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

The conversation went even better than I could have hoped, and includes:

• The guys they think are dressing the best right now

• The cologne they wish more guys wore

• The men’s jeans Emily wears in two sizes

• The best things they’ve stolen from past boyfriends

• The less-great pieces they’ve guided their guys away from

  … and much more. Enjoy!

To begin, if you were each to draw a cartoon of a guy in a can’t-fail outfit, what’s he wearing today?

Emily: I’m staring at three different seasons of boards, so I’m actually sort of building my guy right now. I will say, multiple of these boards have Hawaiian shirts. We’ve got an old ‘90s Bruce Willis guy, and then we have Leo from Romeo + Juliet. So I’d say my guy right now is in a really good, worn-in jean, and a very old, vintage Hawaiian shirt. He’s a little dirty.

Brynn: Yes. I also see a really good worn-in jean, like a Levi’s. Kind of loose, but not too baggy, just lived in. And then a T-shirt or a classic woven. What guys have going for them is they can pull off simplicity so well. I kind of envy how good a guy looks in a great-fitting tee or collared shirt. You don’t have to worry about curves or even try that hard, so less is more. Honestly, any blatant effort is an immediate turnoff.

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Visit any traditional men’s clothing shop, and chances are you’ll find a few rows of Falke socks. The 131-year-old, fourth-generation owned company commands a 40% share of its domestic German market, but the millions of socks it produces yearly (in the rural, mountain town of Schmallenberg) also ship out to boutiques in New York, London, Tokyo, and even Aldeburgh, a town near my mother's place on England’s East Coast, where O&C Butcher has an entire wall of Falke socks that I always enjoy losing a few minutes to.

I say “enjoy,” but it can be a little stressful too. Because while I’ve been very satisfied with the pairs I’ve bought over the years, I have never understood what their evocative, cryptic product names are referring to on a practical level. Of course I want socks that say things like Family, Sensitive Berlin, Tiago, Airport, Sensitive London, and Teppich Im Schuh on the sole. I would just also like to know what they mean.

Thankfully, I was able to summon an expert: Henrik Ossenbrink, Falke’s long-time Senior Product Manager, who once he heard what I wanted to discuss kindly visited the company’s archivist in order to fill the few gaps in his memory. Below, a breakdown of Falke’s famous styles, starting with the ‘Airport’ line, which naturally was not inspired by airports or planes at all.

Airport

“The Airport is the number one product in our men’s range, but there is a big misunderstanding around the name,” Ossenbrink tells me. “We’ve made it since 1990, so for almost 40 years now, and because of the name people think it’s for the occasion of going to the airport and flying places. In a way they’re right—it’s a business-oriented style that makes travelling very pleasant, because it has cotton on the inside for comfort and merino wool on the outside for temperature regulation. But the real reason it’s called the Airport is not because it’s made for super busy businessmen, but because the technology is about letting air flow through the layers of the sock, between the materials. There’s a system that is transporting the air: The Air Port.”

Ossenbrink adds that it’s also incredibly durable, with one of the highest abrasion test results of all of Falke’s lines. And, most usefully for our purposes, he says that many men simply swap between the Airport in the cooler months, and the wool-free Tiago in the warmer ones.

Tiago

“This story is difficult, and no-one will 100% answer it fully. I first thought it was a city influence, maybe a shortening of Santiago de Compostela in Spain. But also, Tiago is a name, it’s Jacob in Spanish. The most logical answer is that the family has a very close artist friend, who was helping to build the brand in the 1950s and 60s. And he loved living by São Tiago, in Madeira. So this could likely have been to honour his work with the company.”

As for the sock, it’s all mercerized cotton, which is stronger, brighter, and less shrink-prone. “It’s thin, but still has a very reinforced sole, so it’s really resistant to abrasion and suitable for long wears, ideally in finer shoes. The cuff construction is really nice too,” he adds. “It doesn’t slip away in any form.” That said, he says most customers are attracted to the Tiago first because of how many colours it comes in—a result of how well mercerized cotton takes on colour. Currently, you can shop it in 39 different shades, and that’s before we get onto its equivalent in the Sensitive line…

Sensitive

(London, Berlin, New York, Malaga…)

“All of these are named for their sensitive cuff, which puts less pressure on your skin,” Ossenbrink explains. “We initially positioned them as a travel article, because the lack of pressure means they will stay comfy on a train, or in a car for hours, or when you’re standing up a lot.” As for the various names, he says that “every Sensitive product, from a material point of view, is identical to one of our leading items. So Sensitive Berlin is an Airport with a sensitive cuff. Sensitive Malaga is the Tiago. Sensitive London matches with Family.

Still, he says they never wanted to call them, say, “Sensitive Tiago”, because “for us, every product has its own personality and deserves its own name. From a consumer point of view, you could question that,” he jokes, “but this is how we handle things. And it’s true. My mother always wears the Sensitive line, because the feeling is right for her, without even knowing that it’s a version of something else.”

As for the new names they chose: “The cities have no real explanation, not even in the archives, they’re just cities the family and designers love. We only changed one of them recently, the Sensitive Intercontinental. We thought it was a little unspecific.”

Family

This is Falke’s casual, comfortable, more affordable cotton line. And like the Airport, there are some misconceptions around it. “The idea here is that we are a company that’s family run, and wanted to make a democratic article that would include everyone who wants to join us. It’s actually not for people who have a family, even though we know people buy it that way. The idea is that you’re part of the Falke family when you wear it.”

Teppich Im Schuh (“The Carpet in the Shoe”)

This one, I’ll admit, is my fault for not speaking German. “We’ve never translated it, but it literally means ‘The carpet in the shoe.’ It replicates the plushy feeling of walking on a very thick carpet in a hotel room or at home. In the 1970s, it was very popular to have fluffy carpets everywhere. In these, you feel like you’re just walking on one of those always.”

A brief pause for the running line.

Bristol

“This is co-owner Franz Peter-Falke’s favourite article still. It’s named the Bristol because his ancestor, Franz Otto-Falke, did a knitting internship in Bristol, England, where the expertise was a lot higher. This is one of our oldest products, and you’ll realize that all kinds of older products had these kinds of inspirational names, while newer generation ones are more functional and direct. Before, a name was cool and nice just because somebody loved it. Today it’s like, ‘Ok, time for some market research.’”

Cool Kick (and Cool 24/7)

“In the 2010s, the sneaker trend was growing, and we saw demand for sportier articles. So this is a product you can wear all day in that kind of shoe. There’s a plush sole, and the yarn that we chose has really high moisture absorption, which is when the cooling effect of the name starts kicking in.” He adds that Cool 24/7 is a newer, big seller. “It’s a full-cotton style, unlike Cool Kick, and has little air channels in the sole, as well as integrated mesh structures which let the foot breathe a lot better.”

Walkie Light

I forgot to ask him about this one, but maybe that’s because the name makes it quite clear. Still, they’re one of the three pairs I currently own, and they’re great—really soft, really warm, perfectly thick boot socks, and I will be restocking for winter.

That, then, is about it for now. If you enjoyed this, I can call him back for a part two on the less-popular Shadow, Lhasa, Nelson, Sun Touch, and Sea Rock lines, or for more on the luxury collection, which are referred to only by different numbers. “The numbers don’t tell you anything,” Ossenbrink told me with a smile. “They were released in the normal sequence—1,2,3—but over time, a few dropped out of the line, but we still had to keep the other ones because the consumers were used to them. So now, number 3 is missing. I love the number 6, and we only make the number 1 on demand—that’s a Vicuña yarn sock, the finest animal fibre in the world, which you have to call us to have us make for you.”

I’m good on that for now. Instead, I think I’ll become a Family man, upgrading to some Airports once the weather turns. And maybe a Teppich Im Schuh for winter nights at home. How could you not?

The most energetic, uplifting showroom in Paris this season wasn’t even a showroom, not really. There were no appointments for buyers to make, no stapled line sheets being handed out, no samples of designs that would be coming next year.

Instead, the boyish Society Archive crew had simply flown themselves out from New York, along with a few suitcases of vintage items from their revered collection, a bunch of new, playful, French-language editions of their reliably sold-out baseball caps (Les Archives de la Societé!), and a preview of the underwear line they were getting ready to launch.

Then, for the next six days, in varying states of happy, heat-induced undress, Marcus Allen and his team opened their doors and offered cold beers to an international community of stylist, model, and photographer friends, many of whom just wanted to come by for a dose of the Archive’s seductive, laid-back (and increasingly imitated) energy.

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There’s a lot of talk these days about “natural activewear.” Polyester, or so the viral reels claim, is terrible for both your body and the environment. Nylon is seeping into our bloodstream. Esquire, introducing a new guide to sustainable running shorts, threatened that there might even be a link between synthetic workout gear and infertility—but then named a liner-free cotton short as the best overall pick, without addressing that most guys would still therefore likely be wearing synthetic boxer briefs in-between.

Still, when the brand imagery inspiring these conversations actually looks great, too (I’m thinking about H-O-R-S-E here, who just appeared in Laura’s latest brand rank) it’s tempting to wonder if there might really be a there there.

All of this is why, scrolling Instagram recently, I was intrigued to see a comment the designer Colin Meredith had left on a reel warning of the pitfalls of this shift. “Yes!” Meredith began. “We invented/use polyester for a reason.” (He went on to talk about the hydrophobic qualities of spandex and polyester, which is the exact kind of wonkery that makes me trust his thoughts in the first place.)

Barely thirty, the Vancouver-based Meredith is already a veteran of the performance world. During apparel design stints at Arc’teryx, Reigning Champ, and Rapha—with a contribution or two to Virgil Abloh’s Louis Vuitton along the way—he learned everything there is to know about what certain fabrics can (and can’t) do. And as his Instagram attests, he’s also a serious runner himself.

Meredith also has nothing against natural fibres: His own line is full of cottons, hemps, and merino wools, even as his co-founded second child, the performance-minded Portal, swings the other way. Given that part of my aim here is to extract knowledge from people who’ve really put in the time, I wanted to get his take on this conversation (and to be reassured that my gifted, so far unkillable, six-year-old Vuori gym shorts don’t need to be sacrificed any time soon.)

“It’s not even the first comment like that I've made” Meredith said with a smile when I called him yesterday. “I responded to a TikTok, too, just making a very similar PSA that it’s not a done deal with this cotton trend. I wish we could only use natural fibres for activewear, but the reason synthetic fibres exist is because natural ones simply do not perform.”

“The way synthetics manage moisture content is night and day,” he adds. “Polyester is at least 10 times better at wicking moisture from your body than cotton, for example. If you stop for a snack, it’ll dry while you’re taking that break. Cotton will not. Instead, you’d be chafing before you were done.”

Environmentalists, understandably, counter this with the argument that performance materials barely degrade, instead taking hundreds of years to decompose. This is true: Meredith’s dad keeps asking him for hand-me-ups of his six year-old, frequently washed Reigning Champ workout tees, because they still look brand new today.

But as Meredith sees it, we can’t exercise naked, and owning a few synthetic pieces you get decades of wear from is a more sustainable play than buying a whole bunch of cotton ones you won’t actually use once you’ve realized the synthetics just work better. “My constant strategy for sustainability,” he says, “is to make a product that’s good enough that someone can wear it for the next five or ten years.” At Portal, he’s using almost entirely synthetic fibres for the collection, “but that’s because we’re trying to make really effective sportswear that people can use and wear and wash and get a lifetime of use out of, and be comfortable making a major sporting effort in.”

That’s the other thing here: If you’re working out as a way to improve your physical and/or mental well-being, you want your clothes to support those efforts, rather than encourage premature discomfort.

He's also doubtful that sustainability concerns alone are driving the founders of the all-natural brands he’s been receiving Instagram ads for. “The labels pushing cotton workout gear are just as profit-minded as the ones selling synthetics,” he jokes. “At the end of the day, it’s still a marketing pitch, with someone trying to convince you that they have a better hold on the science, so you should spend your money with them.”

If you want to knowingly critique synthetics, he advises, focus instead on the way those fabrics are being held together. “People are using a lot of glue to manufacture synthetic-based garments these days,” he warns. “It’s become a big trend across the industry to use adhesives to seal the seams together, and when people complain about synthetic garments deteriorating, it’s my hunch that they’re referring to the glued seams falling apart. Our pieces at Portal, like Reigning Champ’s for example, are sewn together with polyester thread. They have no glued components, which is why they last.”

Before I let Meredith go, I wanted to quickly ask him what he’s getting the most wear out of this summer. His answer: The Ambit running short, the Drift Merino tees, and HOKAs on the feet—specifically the Clifton and Bondi lines, for city runs. If his intel here has made you at all curious about his lifestyle line, I like the red zip-up sweater (worn by me above), baseball-inspired T-shirt, plaid messenger bag, and while I’m not sure I’d wear it myself, the surprisingly low price of this very fuzzy V-neck. But most of all, I like that he’s just saved us all some time on a redundant gym drawer refresh.

Right now, Philadelphia has something that I’m not sure exists in New York, Paris, London, anywhere. It’s a vintage showroom called Clothing To Wear, and while you could stop in quickly just to find some new bits, that’s not really the point. Instead, the space is a full-on playroom, where anyone can try out new colours, silhouettes, and outfit combinations, all within the privacy of their own appointments, encouraged by the enthusiastic and dialled eye of owner Conor MacCormack, an artist and former house painter who’s now able to focus entirely on styling and sourcing—for Alex G, for Coach, for whoever comes through his door that day.

This set-up—the privacy and space to truly get comfortable, some great options to pick from, and the helpful eye of someone 10% cooler than you—is harder to find than you’d think, and is also the recipe for an extremely productive afternoon. (In terms of experiential comps, MacCormack says he’s always been inspired by New York’s Lara Koleji and Amsterdam’s nhogirl, as well as by how inviting and scene-setting Hollister and Abercrombie’s stores used to be.)

What also makes Clothing to Wear different to your typical vintage store is the way MacCormack’s stylist eye informs his racks. Instead of organising items by category, he instead hangs them as suggestive combinations. “When I put pieces on the rack,” he says, “I’m hanging full outfits together, trying to show how you could wear it. There won’t ever just be a block of jeans or a block of shirts you have to sift through, that’s way too much noise. When you’re rummaging through a rack of hundreds of T-shirts, you kind of become blind to them.”

It’s the consistency of these outfit arrangements that made me want to talk to MacCormack this week. When we did, I especially appreciated how he didn’t pretend not to be influenced by what’s happening in fashion at any one moment. He actually loves all of it—Celine and Rier right now especially—he’s just careful, when it comes to his own wardrobe, to only incorporate the colours, cuts, and fabrics that feel true to him. “I really love when I see an outfit that isn’t a total one-to-one of what’s being referenced, but a combination of the clear inspiration, mixed with the character of whoever’s put the outfit together.” A nice pathway for us all. Enjoy our conversation, which also covers how to find great vintage denim (it doesn’t have to be Levi’s!) and some of the non-vintage pickups he’s wearing this summer.

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If that biography is how politicos like to telegraph that they’ve done the reading, menswear’s historic equivalent is Dressing the Man, Alan Flusser’s 320-page, 2002 guide to “dressing well without becoming a fashion victim.”

Once you’ve seen the cover, you’ll spot it everywhere: In the fitting rooms of bespoke tailors, in the background of men’s style channels on YouTube, in the unfortunate “whiskey and leather chair” corners of some newer menswear stores.

Dressing the Man’s ubiquity—and some of the unnecessary hills its author dies on—has also made it something of a joke. During our time together, the designer Luke Derrick described the book to me as a “Time machine … It relentlessly obsesses over men from the 1920s, and tries to basically say that that decade was the best it ever got, with all these pictures of Fred Astaire.”

Derrick is right. It does say that about the 1920s, and it is full of Astaire shots. But at the same time, Flusser spent decades working as a designer, stylist, and tailor, most famously outfitting Michael Douglas for his star turn as Gordon Gekko in Wall Street. Surely, the book might still contain some useful gems, even if his advice on how to wear a waistcoat is currently surplus to requirements?

This weekend, I finally read the thing, and took at least enough from it to say I’ve enjoyed getting dressed this week more than I did last. Below, part one—my favourite parts of pages 1 to 100.

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When it comes to building a wardrobe, most of us would probably be happy if, by retirement age, we were choosing each morning from the kind of quality, classical items you can see Bruce Boyer wearing here. Or Nicolas Gabard here. Or Leonard Cohen here. Or this anonymous, laughing man here.

The problem is, even if I know that’s where I want to end up, every one of those outfits would lose most of their charm on the 31-year-old me of today. Without the gravitas and warmth that accompany fine lines and grey hairs, I’m certain those same suits would look a lot more flashy, and the accessories much too try-hard.

What’s more, dressing like an old man prematurely doesn’t just give off weird vibes—it also means missing out on the little style experiments that can teach you what you actually like. Successful ones also help grow your confidence, which is what actually gives all the men in those pictures so much character.

As for young people who seem to be getting the balance right—no dumb purchases, but not rushing the process either—I’d put Sam Bolianatz right up there. I forget when I first became aware of the soft-spoken 26-year-old behind the enviably well-named Boy Room, but ever since, I’ve noticed that he manages to always wear high-quality clothing while still looking undeniably his age.

Whether it’s the inclusion of a color, a plaid shirt tied just-so, a brooch pinned to his cap, or his committing to a single shade some days from head to ankle, Sam’s outfits always just have a little more life than, well, my own. I was curious how much thinking goes into all this, so I asked if we could talk about that, as well as his favourite recent pick-ups and his trusty All Saints cargo pants. Appreciate his time.

So, I don’t know enough about you. Where do you live? What’s your work?

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SONO, Lady White Co., Gabriela Coll Garments, DERRICK, Gajiroc, Fields of Necessity, Stefan Cooke, Hender Scheme, Tarvas, Yoko Sakamoto, Camisas Manolo, SENA, Ssstein and Boras…

… alongside other, more loosely accumulated intel.

I hope you’ve enjoyed these recaps as much as I’ve loved putting them together. I’ll have a few more things to say about the week as a whole before I put this season to bed entirely, but for now, here are my best notes from a day that began with tragedy, but ended with chocolate mousse at Le Petit Italien. (The sister restaurant of Chez Janou, which serves their same famous dessert, but without the latter’s long waits and advance reservations.)

Cotton Commitments, New Blues

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My schedule ran late last night, so this is a much bigger Friday and Saturday report. Inside: What I bought from Tokyo Sense, the 84-like Instagram post that led to an entire Husbands campaign, and finally solving the mystery of why the Mephisto Match isn’t sold in Europe. Most importantly, plenty of thoughts from my appointments across those two days with…

Mfpen / Evan Kinori / Body of Work / Working / Geordie Campbell / Aton / Andreas Murkudis / Throwing Fits / Laura Reilly / Tender / The Ouze / Cecile Tulkens / Olga Basha / Greg Laboratory / Sine & Cosine / CSILLAG / Small Talk Studios / Heugn / Carter Young / Wanze / Gottlob / Berner Kuhl / Paracia / Hender Scheme / Gajiroc / Mohawk General Store

Let’s get started. And if you missed my day one recap, here it is:

• Walking me through his Tokyo Sense pop-up shop, Andreas Murkurdis was wearing one of his proudest new discoveries: Affordable leather shoes from Auttaa. In our interview last month, he promised me great value finds, and there were: I bought a crunchy, almost 100% paper simple black polo from Ikiji, and a bright blue Maruhiro bowl for £13. Also, a $22 rubber scalp brush that anecdotally also pushes away migraines and tension headaches—we’ll see. Oh, and a lightweight Maison Itoi towel that reportedly absorbs three times as much water as a regular one, also for about £20.

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Hello, hello (it’s good to be back, good to be back)
Hello, hello (it’s good to be back, good to be back)

— Oasis, 1995 / — Me, All Week

Okay! I am fully up and Lime-ing in Paris, where next Spring’s collections are being exhibited and ordered in intimate showrooms across the city. Despite it being the hottest day in France of all time—42.6 C / 108.7 F—Thursday was a great start. I hit Literary Sport, De Dam Foundation, Boras, Emily Dawn Long, The Society Archive, Our Legacy, Salon C. Lundman, MAN-TLE, Tekla, and Margaret Howell, breaking for lunch with Keith and Nick at Calcifer, purely because it showed up on a list of actually air-conditioned Paris restaurants.

Included below are a ton of pictures and intel from every one of those stops, as well as from the inevitable run-ins you have in between. (If you’re not familiar with how I typically report on these weeks, here are my three dispatches from this past January, all still free to read over at Magasin.)

But quicky, the small print: I’m entirely self-funding this travel now, so to make that make sense, I’m paywalling these reports. I really hope you’ll read along—I think I’m the only editor here masochistic enough to schedule 11 appointments a day, every day, but I do it because I think it generates the most nutrient-dense newsletters.

This recap (of Thursday) will be the first of at least four daily reports, but I imagine I’ll want to send more thoughts once I’m home and have had a moment to reflect on everything as a whole. I also expect that once the weather cools enough to care again, these sends will contain more of what people are actually wearing here, this season. Until then…

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I’m writing this from my flat in North London, a few hours before my 8pm Eurostar to Paris. After a heat delay, I’ll be there from tonight (Wednesday) until Monday morning, and the compressed four day schedule is packed, but in the best way. To survive walking for hours in 103°F weather, I’m pulling up with a handheld fan, a neck fan, small umbrella, and three battery packs.

I’ll look ridiculous, but I’m excited to see old friends and new collections, and bring you along to all of it.

But for now, I’m still here, enjoying some final precious hours directly in front of my living room fan. And I realised that if I didn’t send my June camera roll/notes app dump today, it would have to wait until July, which is no good. Below, where I’ve been, what I’ve bought, what I’ve saved, and what I’ve packed for Paris. Enjoy!

If you’re new here, here’s what this same send looked like last month.

June Finds

• I finally made it to Jake’s, and the man is as welcoming as everyone says. His knits and outerwear rightfully receive all the attention, but I loved the bag charms / hanging tokens made (I believe) by his partner, Stefan Cooke, and sold in Jake’s Saturday space for less than £100.

• I also stepped into Garbstore during a rare outing to West London, and came across their latest house line, TDR. Lots of great textures, but especially the “American Waste” T-shirts—really soft, vintage American T-shirts that Garbstore sources, then overdyes and lightly distresses. I grabbed one in red, below. (Speaking of colourful vintage tees, I would go see Chad’s GAP trove if I was in NYC.)

• On the aesthetic flip-side, this was a peaceful post.

• I also went back to the bi-weekly antiques market held at Kempton Racecourse. My mum goes religiously, I go a few times a year, and should go more: It’s still the greatest Tuesday morning for those with the stamina to get out there and take it on. This time, I left with two Indonesian wooden ducks, below. (When I went with Carter in the winter, he bought a roll of fabric, also below, which ended up as an exclusive CY shirt for one of his retail partners.)

  

  

• Speaking of ducks, or duck relatives, I also stopped by East London vintage store Goose Finds for the first time. Also, back West, by Hornets, where I found an old, Auralee-coded Thomas Pink shirt for a mere £28, below right.

• Cecile also had a special show at Twos, London’s actual best vintage store (where I bought the silly, uplifting sweatshirt below left.) Regarding the the show, Eilidh Duffy’s Bog recap is exceptional, but stay tuned for Wardrobe’s visit to Tulkens’ studio. I’ll be publishing it post-Paris, it was a really special one.

  

• I’m not sure what Singing With My Friends is, but I want to go. And now there’s merch too…

• Okay, Paris packing. Given the no layers, no ice cubes forecast, it was easy: My four lightest shirts (Fuji, vintage Comme, vintage Armani, vintage Thomas Pink), some Dry-Lite Lady White Co. T-shirts, the Lady White Co. x Kaptain Sunshine cotton-linen pants, the Mfpen Commission Chino. Plus my French national football team athletic shorts, which have zip pockets (the England ones don’t), and will probably be worn more than anything. On the feet, Birkenstock Arizonas, Hari Mari flip flops, Doek cork insole court sneakers.

• Keith Henry came through London on his way to Paris—his first time in 11 years—and we had lunch. He’s taking his beloved Phigvel Aviator boots into the furnace, and also hoping to get to Astier de Villatte’s store for a full sniff test while he’s in the French capital. Other than that, more of his own incredible creations are on their way.

• Finally, if I could get it, I’d be bringing this new Warehouse T-shirt to Paris because of its perfect motto: Don’t Follow Me, I’m Lost. Talk to you out there!

Despite a Michigan upbringing, and his label’s constant association with “Americana”, Carter Young Altman’s studio is on the top floor of a canal-side office block in East London.

One building over, you’ll find the buzzy, delightful Saturday shop Jake’s, helmed by Jake Burt. Burt is one half of Stefan Cooke, the beloved label that Harry Styles is currently wearing on tour, and whose own office is just a few streets away, sharing a studio wall with the cult knitwear designer Cecile Tulkens, whose collections are sold at Twos, back along the canal. Other London talents are never far away, either: This past Monday, driving up to Altman’s studio for a first look at his new collection before it ships out to Paris, I spotted The Ouze’s Toby Vernon out for a walk with his dog.

I say all of this not to distract from Altman, but because I find it’s the most interesting context to situate his label within.

As I’ve written before, the brand is heavily influenced by American style: There’ll always be denim jackets and jeans, as well as inspiration from the aesthetics of Sam Shepard, Gus van Sant, East of Eden. But having been in London for three years now, socialising amongst the capital’s literary and fashion scenes while also growing a booming, made-to-measure tailoring service on the side, Altman is surely as influenced by the European life he’s living today, which includes regular trips to Paris to present his collections. His more fluid “Americana,” embraced by the likes of Paul Mescal, Matty Healy, and George Daniel, seems to be more a starting point than a final destination.

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An update, a preview

Happy Sunday. This newsletter is now two months old, and I’m excited to share that as of this weekend, more than 2,000 of you have subscribed. Thank you.

A special thanks to those of you who have taken out a paid subscription. It truly makes the reporting possible, and this whole project viable. (If you’re new here and curious about the plan, the thoughtful Lukas Mauve recently published a long conversation we had for his newsletter, Present Forever.)

Before we get into today’s letter, a quick heads up about the next few sends. Given that we’re approaching Paris Men’s—a week that offers editors like me abnormal access to designers, buyers, and everyone in between—the rest of this month’s coverage will lean more towards newness and on-the-ground reports than, say, reading old style books and raiding people’s closets.

After that, we’ll rebalance things, taking the long view again with an increased amount of personal style interviews—with architects, painters, hardware designers, restaurateurs, gallerists, editors, and more. It’s all going to be fun.

But first, nine learnings from a recent conversation I had with Camisas Manolo’s Manuel Molina, the classically-trained Madrid tailor making fine shirts that somehow wear as well with thrashed jeans and chinos as they do with suits. I wanted to learn more about his approach, so during the brand’s recent month-long Japan trunk show, we hopped on a call. Enjoy.

Nine Camisas Manolo Nuances

1. There’s Humour Stitched Into Every Shirt

During his early career, Molina spent a lot of time standing in old workshops, wearing a tight suit and tie and watching the more roundabout, belaboured parts of the bespoke process take place. It was enough to make him confident that anything he did himself one day would ideally feel lighter, and much more direct. You see this in his shirts’ relaxed cuts, unfussy cuffs, and ready-to-wear price point, but his brand labels are a more direct reference to this goal.

“I wanted them to read as classic and luxurious, but the message had to be something unnecessary and over-explanatory and funny,” he says. The result? A beautiful, black and off-white colour pairing, with a handsome decorative font, but text–En Camisas Manolo hacemos camisas—that, when translated, couldn’t be simpler: At Camisas Manolo We Make Shirts.

This motto, which is also his e-mail sign-off, initially caused some problems. “During my early years, some people wouldn’t answer me, because they thought I was spam.” He added that his brand’s name still causes minor issues today. “Lots of international contacts call me Camisas when they talk to me,” he jokes. “They’ve been calling me ‘shirts’ this whole time.”

2. The Shirts Come in Three Different Fits, Broken Down Here

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Natto approaches the rest of his wardrobe just as creatively. He’s one of the most imaginative dressers you can follow, and his design eye extends beyond his outfits. (He previously put me on to Zabu’s floor cushions, explaining that the best way to make a tiny New York apartment feel bigger is simply by “living lower.”)

But with summer approaching (or so I’m told, London is damp) I wanted to hone in on his hats specifically. Because while most of us have just a couple of caps we like and leave it at that, there’s a chance we’re missing out on all the fun Natto has each morning.

When did your collection start?

In my mid-twenties, once I stopped getting a fade and started just buzzing my hair. I wasn’t making that much money, and I realised hats were an easy way to add something else to my outfits.

They started mostly as a good colour vehicle: A pop of red here, a hit of yellow there. Just something that could freak the outfit a little bit. But then I started experimenting with different silhouettes. Bucket hats, beanies, balaclavas, boonies, which are essentially bucket hats with straps. Eventually, I started to feel naked without one, the way some people feel about jewellery.

Some people like to hide under their caps, but you always look so approachable in yours.

Yeah. It’s definitely not a disguise for me. I can’t really have a bad hair day, you know? So with me, it’s always intentional.

What are your favourite hat brands for summer?

For bucket hats, my go-to is Engineered Garments. I have a few, because they update their fabrications seasonally, and I already know what size I am and what works for me. I also really like SCHA. They’re a women’s brand, but my advice is to consider women’s hats too, because they usually still fit, and women get the coolest silhouettes and colours, while men’s hats are often restricted to baseball caps and buckets. I just found a cotton skull cap by them at La Garçonne.

For caps, I really like the collaboration Auralee did with Kijima Takayuki on a collection of about twelve garment-dyed dad caps. They just chose really nice colours. I also like COMESANDGOES—they have fun little souvenir caps with random slogans, a little like the hats IDEA Books make.

I also like the new Celine hats. I wouldn’t spend that much money on them, but I do like how vibrant the colour blocking is. And then also s.k. manor hill— I just looked recently at their site, and they have a raffia-style open-weave hat, and also these cotton skull caps in a crochet pattern, so you get a little bit of airflow.

Otherwise, just look for vintage designer headscarves—there are so many out there, and some of them are so nice you can also hang them up like artworks.

Which one are you wearing in this shot (above right)?

That's a hat I found at Ven. Space. I love an ear-flap hat—they’re very Peruvian, so it’s also kind of repping my homeland. I have a Junya Watanabe one too. They’re just a great texture play in the fall and winter.

What about this thatched one (above left)?

I’ve been asked about this one before. I got it at The Society Archive—Marcus gave it to me. It doesn’t have a brand label on it, but if you want a similar vibe, that s.k. manor hill one is a bit bigger, but still kind of looks like it. Or just type “raffia bucket hat” into eBay. I’m sure something will pop up.

How do you like your hats to fit?

I really don’t like when they’re loose around the brim. Of course you also don’t want them to be too tight, because then you’ll start sweating. And then with caps, they’re not always going to have the same height. I personally need mine to sit a little low.

When do you decide on the hat you’ll wear that day?

It depends on the silhouette. If something that has a very specific shape, like a structural beret, then I’ll start with that, because that is where your eye is going to go. Otherwise I feel like I have enough of a range at home to just choose one that complements or contrasts nicely with the outfit once I’ve finished getting dressed.

Does the forecast come into it?

I mean, if it’s going to rain you definitely don’t want to wear a suede bucket hat. I have a Lemaire waterproof cap [worn here] that they made one year in kind of a military shape. Nanamica also makes waterproof bucket hats, I have one of those.

Do sunglasses complicate things?

They’re part of the fun. My sunglasses and hats are friends with each other. With accessories, it’s all kind of a common thread.

Do you ever carry a backup?

Only if I’m leaving the house and really can’t decide between, like, a red or a purple. Then I’ll take it to work and ask Jake or something.

Do you wash them?

I do, I do. Especially the brims, because there have been times where I’ve broken out if I don’t.

And are there any on your wish-list?

Not really. The fun thing about headwear is that it’s rarely that expensive, so you can usually just take the risk. For me, my grail hats are probably vintage. Sometimes I’ll just go on eBay and come up with a random search—vintage Yohji Yamamoto hat, Hermès bucket hat—and those end up being the most special ones I have.

Are you welcoming John Travolta to the club?

Of course, I love that he’s pulled those berets out. Though I had to take a little bit of a break from my own after Love Story came out and guys started pulling berets out everywhere.

What’s the strangest hat in your collection?

Ten years ago, I found a magazine from 2003 at a book fair. It was just a random zine, but it came with a hat that has the date of the 2003 New York City Blackout on it. It just says August 14th, 2003. Whenever I wear it, people always ask me, “What happened on that date?” It’s fun.

The Luke in question is the rising menswear designer Luke Derrick. (Just this February, Derrick was shortlisted for the LVMH Prize, and singled out in the New York Times as a London talent to watch.)

I’d met Luke socially a handful of times over the years—he and Horace studied together at Central Saint Martins—and after starting this newsletter, I wondered whether he, like Maxime last weekend, might indulge me in a strange request: Would he come round to my flat, and help me better understand the clothes I already owned?

He kindly said that he would, once he was back from visiting the Helmut Lang archive in Vienna. And last month, we finally made it happen.

The day didn’t go entirely as planned. Our time going through my wardrobe (read: bedroom closet) was instructive—see this video, and the bottom half of this newsletter—but in the end, the conversation we had in my living room beforehand felt more worth leading with here. Luke was so unflinchingly open about the low points of his career, and the industry experiences he’s had so far, that after he left I found myself thinking about those moments much more than the (still useful!) shopping guidance you’ll also find below. (For example, what “self-lined” garments are, and why to look out for them.)

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Reading each of them over the past week, I found that much of the material had either aged poorly (advice about office dress codes, say) or consisted of tips you’ve likely heard before, for instance that a navy suit is the most versatile. What follows are the parts that still felt interesting, helpful, or just funny to me. For brevity’s sake, I’ll be shortening the books each came from to AGW, EH, and SATM respectively. Let’s begin…

1. Tailors use a shorthand—“the drop”—to summarize our body shapes. It refers to the difference between our chest and waist sizes: An athletic “drop eight” means a trouser size eight inches smaller than the chest. Off-the rack suits are typically made to fit a more conventional 6-inch drop. (EH)

2. A lot of terms to do with summer fabrics derive from the Persian language. Khaki comes from khak, which means “dust.” And seersucker comes from shirushaker, which translates to “milk and sugar”—a reference to the smooth (milk) and rough (sugar) weave of the fabric. (EH + AGW)

3. The word “bespoke” comes from the moment the customer reserves the fabric they’ve chosen for their suit. That fabric would then “be spoken for.” (EH)

4. Dry cleaning our suits too much breaks down their fabric over time. (Ideally, we would only do so once a year.) The solution in the meantime is to own a bristle “suit brush,” which lifts dust, dead skin cells and debris from the fibres before they lodge forever. (EH) [Note: They’re all typically inexpensive—people seem to like Kent ones like the CC2.]

5. Lesser cashmere blends are often coated with an emulsion that imparts the soft hand of top quality cashmere, but also gives the fabric a greasy residue, and eventually wears out completely. Rub your fingers together after handling, and you’ll know if your potential purchase has been similarly treated. (EH)

6. You only need one set of shoe trees, to use overnight on whichever pair you wore that day. (EH)

7. If you’re going to a suit store intending to make a purchase, bring a dress shirt whose fit satisfies you. The collar height and sleeve will help the tailor alter your jacket correctly—typically, they’ll want your jacket to reveal half an inch of shirt, and half an inch of collar. (SATM)

9. Also, bring the items you’d normally put in it—your wallet, your glasses, your phone—and put them in the pockets while you’re trying the suit on. (SATM)

6. The “Savile Row Fold” guarantees your trousers won’t slip off your hanger. It works like this (EH):

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Visiting again a few weeks later, I asked Maxime if we could have lunch, and during that meal—where I learned that he’d also made playlists for Celine’s stores during the Hedi Slimane era—I asked if I could also visit him in his home, in order to get a better understanding of the vintage collection he was telling me about. That Friday evening, I intercepted him at a train station on his way home from work, and we travelled about an hour outside of Paris, transferring from the train to a bus, ending up in a commune called Montreuil. There, in an apartment full of old records and an ailing cat, and after a quick glass of wine with his girlfriend, he took me into his dressing room and began showing me choice finds from his almost two-decades of searching for high quality second-hand menswear on a freelancer’s budget.

Turns out, you can own four pairs of J.M. Weston shoes, and a couple of bespoke Lanvin suits, without an executive’s salary or a nice inheritance. You just need to enjoy the hunt.

Before we got into one of the most instructive, tip-heavy conversations I’ve had in recent years, I asked why Barré is so attracted to quality vintage tailoring, even as he mostly spends his time with a more bedraggled music crowd. “It’s because professionally, I’m still sort of a teenager chasing his dream,” he replied, “but I don’t want to look like a teenager.”

“Working in music, working with your passion, it’s great, but it’s not financially very rewarding. So I like the idea of looking more adult than I professionally am. It’s a bit of a disguise.” He also appreciates the contrast that comes with wearing a decades-old Harris tweed jacket to work, even as Baile funk and Young Thug play in his headphones. “If you work in music, it’s very easy to identify yourself as part of a subculture, but I don’t want to be so identifiable. Just because I listen to those artists doesn’t mean I have to dress like them.”

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