Deals and Steals for the Weekend - 6/20/2014

Welp, folks, my trusty old laptop bit the dust on Wednesday, so I'm vaguely off-line for a few days while I get my warranty figured out. Hopefully I'll have my setup back in order by next week, but beware that posting may be a bit irregular until I do. Fortunately, I'd already put together a pretty good list of Deals and Steals pre-crash, so you won't have to go without (oh, the horrors). 

"Every weekend, check in on the blog for a collection of the best (read: my favorite) deals and steals on the interweb for some quality shopping over the weekend. Have any to add? Share them in the comments or shoot me an e-mail. Also, if you're biting on any of these hooks, I'd love to hear about it!"

Up to 70% Off at Mr. Porter:

Remember how I said we would return to the Mr. Porter sale? Well, the time has come, and this week's list looks almost exclusively at their e-commerce collection. Prices are now marked down to up to 70% off retail prices, which can get you some pretty incredible deals. To avoid repetition, we won't be featuring any items that we listed the other week, but they may be worth taking another look at for further reduced prices.

For the new deals this week, we divided things up into a few categories that we thought really took the cake as far as variety of great (and now affordable) options. First up:

Lightweight Jackets:

Yeah, it's still summer, but Fall will be here before you know it. Plus, I don't know about you folks, but where I live (Chicago), it's been a rollercoaster of 95 degree days followed by 60 degree days, so having some options to throw on when it gets chilly is never a bad idea. Plus, shopping ahead leaves you prepared, instead of scrambling. Here are our picks (with just a few notes):

Windproof Lightweight Jacket | Beams Plus via Mr. Porter

Originally $300, this is holy-hell marked down to just $90 (yeah, those 70% drops do damage). Gotta love the details on this one - the not-too-bright red, the contrasting ribbed cuffs, the windbreaker fabric. Stylish, and functional, and affordable!

Cotton Bomber Jacket | Hardy Amies via Mr. Porter

This guy is marked down to a little under $160 (originally $525), and is a helluva great example of a classic bomber jacket. Nothing too funky on this one, which is great - and the color is a bit unique, in a really nice, subtle way. Not a true blue or a navy blue, but lighter with a touch of grey...maybe more....slate? Sharp, regardless.

Cotton Twill Lightweight Bomber Jacket | APC via Mr. Porter

This is about as classic as it gets. Read more about twill over here in our 'Know Your Fabrics' series, but with a brand like APC (also known for their great selvedge denim) you should be pretty confident you're getting a solid piece of apparel. And at $188 (down from $470), it's not as hard on the wallet as APC tends to be.

Woven Cotton Bomber Jacket | Hentsch Man via Mr. Porter

A really lightweight bomber, this one comes in a nice off-white shade that looks almost linen-y, and will be perfect for one of those cooler summer nights, or to throw on for a beach bonfire. Pretty classic design, but I enjoy the contrast between the dark ribbing and the lighter body. Now just under $190 from $375.

Shirts:

I'll start this section by saying SHOP FAST - this stuff sells out real quick. I had a whole list of shirts yesterday, today they are gone. Good news, they added more, soooo new list!

Slim Fit Check Brushed-Cotton Shirt | J.Crew via Mr. Porter

I know, we gave you a lot of J.Crew finds already, but this is one of the few left, and I think the only slim fit. It's a nice shirt too, definitely leaning casual with a button-down collar and a Tattersall check, but I could see me throwing it under a casual blazer with a cotton tie. And at $21 (and free shipping, remember), this is the definitely of a steal (regularly $70).

Camouflage-Print Cotton Shirt | J.Crew via Mr. Porter

One more from J.Crew - I'm not sure I'd wear this myself, but if you are looking to try out some camo (or already like the look), I appreciate the way this deviates from the standard camo 'shapes,' if you will, and going for something a bit more swirly and abstract. Just a cool touch, to my eye, and at $30 (originally $100), it's quite affordable. I'd rock it as a lightweight jacket, almost, or contrast it with some bright white jeans.

Esquina Short-Sleeved Cotton Oxford Shirt | Saturdays Surf NYC via Mr. Porter

I've been hearing tons of good things about Saturdays Surf NYC and this might be a good chance to check them out. You know my opinion - can't go wrong with an OCBD, and the short sleeves on this one make it a bit More summer appropriate (as does the slightly more saturated than normal red hue). This one's only 50% off, but that still brings it down to $50 (from $100), which isn't unmanageable. 

Walland Plaid Cotton-Flannel Shirt | Billy Reid via Mr. Porter

Billy Reid is another designer I've heard some good things about but never had the scratch to try. That said, I'm digging this flannel for fall - I love gingham, and the warmer brown checks on this plaid bring to mind a cold-weather gingham. It's got the rugged flannel look, but oozes sophistication rather than shouts 'lumberjack'!

Pants:

Surprisingly few shorts options, but plenty in the trousers and jeans.

Bowery Straight Fit Wool Trousers | J.Crew via Mr. Porter

Finding a pair of wool trouser (especially sharp ones like these, in navy) for under $100 is a hell of a challenge, so scoring these for just $42 (originally $140), is a great bargain for a pair of pants that will be incredibly versatile come fall and winter. Seriously, you will wear these with everything. If you click through the product images, I like how they styled it a bit more casually.

Simon Slim-Fit Brushed Cotton Twill Chinos | NN.07 via Mr. Porter

A solid pair of slim chinos in a red that's just deep enough to avoid the in-your-face feel that some brighter pants have. The brushed cotton fabric will help tone this down too (as opposed to something with more sheen), and in the end you have a fantastic casual pant, and at just $50 (originally $165), you won't feel bad wearing these to run errands or hit the dive bar.

Slim-Fit Cotton-Blend Trousers | Billy Reid via Mr. Porter

These just look like a fantastic summer pant. Described as sharp, but soft and lightweight, I have a feeling this will work equally well on a hot day at the office (showing up to work already sweaty is the worst), or relaxing on the weekend at a BBQ or lake-side picnic lunch with your sweetheart (ugh, I'm daydreaming about what I'd rather be doing right now). Regularly $225, these are marked down to around $68.

Alexander Regular-Fit Dry Selvedge Denim Jeans | Raleigh Denim via Mr. Porter

No frills here, just some solid raw selvedge denim, of the type that normally doesn't sell for much under $200. I think all I need to say here is: $85.50, down from $285. Just keep in mind they are regular fit, not slim, so if that doesn't float your boat...well...don't buy them, I guess. 

Shoes:

Not seeing a lot, but check back regularly - last year I got my Sperry's (seen in today's Instagram #WIWT post) for $50 here, there are usually some good options at some point

Again, these things are all flying off the shelves, so don't be surprised when stuff starts selling out, but check back every so often for restocks or newly added items. This sale can be a treasure trove!

OK, OK, I won't leave with JUST Mr. Porter, so here's a list of a few other nice sales going on:

Club Monaco is offering an extra 40% off clearance items.

Charles Tyrwhitt has shirts on sale starting at just $35.

Pact has a summer sale with an extra 20% off already discounted items (great chance to stock up on some no-show loafer socks).

Bonobos is offering an extra 30% off sale casual shirts (code GETSHIRTY).

Nordstrom is in the midst of their semi-annual men's sale.

J.Crew Factory is offering an extra 30% off sitewide.

If I get a chance, I'll update this list as the weekend goes on. Happy shopping!

Deals and Steals for the Weekend - 6/6/2014

Alrighty folks, it's that time of the week. I'm gonna keep it pretty short this week, got company coming in and our apartment is a bit of a mess, so I gotta wrap this up and get to work! So here we go:

"Every weekend, check in on the blog for a collection of the best (read: my favorite) deals and steals on the interweb for some quality shopping over the weekend. Have any to add? Share them in the comments or shoot me an e-mail. Also, if you're biting on any of these hooks, I'd love to hear about it!"


Semi-Annual Sale at Mr. Porter:
This is one of the most highly anticipated sale events in the menswear world. Mr. Porter carries, like, exclusively cool stuff, but most of it is very high end and very expensive, so their semi-annual sales are sometimes the only chance for us budget-conscious shoppers to grab some of their dapper duds. Right now, discounts are up to 50%, but later in the sale you'll see them jump to 60% and even 70%, so expect to see us revisit this. This week, take a look through the J.Crew selection, which even at the lower discount becomes pretty damn affordable. Among the standouts to me was this madras-y popover:

Check Cotton Shirt | J.Crew via Mr. Porter

This hits all the right notes for a perfect casual summer shirt, plus, J.Crew's popover selection is kinda new and therefore often excluded from sales (and rarely in the clearance section), so the discounted price of $45 is hard to beat.

Also gotta point out this Ludlow suit in a beautiful glen plaid, which is a perfect follow up to our recent 'Know Your Pattern' feature. At full price, the suit will run you a hefty $678, but the sale has it down to $339 for both the jacket and pants:

Ludlow Slim-Fit Glen Plaid Suit | J.Crew via Mr. Porter

Ludlow suits are a go-to these days for gents liking a more modern, slim cut, but eager to avoid the chopped-jacket trend. I love the rich brown of this color, and while it might be a bit heavy for summer, it will look fantastic come fall. The link above will take you to the jacket, and you can find the matching pants here.

Just a few links to some other products I'm digging:
A nice casual cotton crewneck pullover that will be a perfect layering option for cooler summer evenings - $42.50 (originally $85)
A fair-isle patterned wool sweater that I was hunting for this winter, but never found at an affordable price - now just $60 (originally $120)
In a quick look beyond J.Crew, this Levi's Vintage T-shirt - sure, it's not cheap at $45 (down from $90), but I'm really liking the 50's retro feel, might be worth the extra dough.

Again, we'll be revisiting this sale in the future, so keep an eye out!


Extra 15% off at Kohl's:
Honestly, I've never shopped at Kohl's before, and never really considered it. However, my girlfriend has been working with them at her marketing firm and recommended I take a look - I was pleasantly surprised to see some nicely discounted Levi's and Dockers, which are two of my go-to's for jeans and khakis. I'm thinking about picking up this pair of Docker's (I believe they are Alpha Khakis - Kohl's has them listed as 'Slim Tapered Modern Khaki Pants' but they sure as heck look like the Alphas, and the 'Slim Tapered' fitting is consistent with the Alphas as well:

Alpha(?) Khaki in Ink | Dockers via Kohl's

They have a bunch of classic neutral colors, which are actually sometimes kinda hard to find. I'm particularly drawn to this 'Ink' color, which has a subtle grey tint to a darker blue, and clocks in at just $35 (originally $58). 


Effortless Gent Giveaway:
This last one is just straight up a steal, haha. I've mentioned before that I'm lucky to get to do some work helping Barron with Effortless Gent and his other project, Cladright, so I'm happy to spread the word about a killer giveaway he's running. Through Wednesday, June 11th, you can enter to win a pretty damn good-looking pair of loafers from up-and-comers Paul Evans: 

Even better, if you win, you get to take your pick of the four colors (my favorites are the tan fellas on the right). Head over to the site for information on how to enter!

Have a great weekend!

More Shoe Candy...

First off: I know things have been pretty slow on Wide Eyes, Tight Wallets over the past week or two. Unfortunately, it looks like this is going to keep up for a bit longer. I'm having some technical issues (aka my computer is on the fritz) which, combined with a hectic schedule, are going to keep me from giving my full attention to the blog. So, until things settle down a bit, I will sadly only be able to offer sporadic posts (but I promise to write as often as I can).

On the plus side, I do have a full-length post that should be ready to roll out tomorrow, and in the meantime I have this little juicy tidbit for all you readers out there:

I tweeted about this a while ago, but I'm not sure how many of you got to check out the summer sale at MR PORTER. MR PORTER has a pretty incredible selection of drool-worthy menswear apparel and accessories. Unfortunately, most of it tends to be waaaay out of my price range, and they rarely offer any sales. The good news? This is one of those times, and while the sale is nearly over, there is still a very decent selection of much-more-affordable-than-usual goods to be found. When I saw the sale go up, these brown Sperry Topsiders were actually the very first thing to catch my eye. 

But alas, they were also one of the very first things to sell out (well, actually JUST my size sold out, and pretty instantly). Therefore you can imagine my giddiness when, all of the sudden, MR PORTER restocked...in my size only. In fact, when I got on the site, there was only one shoe left in any size, and it just happened to be mine. Now, to be honest, I screwed the pooch on this one a bit...in my haste to snag these before any other lucky bastard could put them in his cart first, I accidentally ordered expedited shipping. MR PORTER normally ships free (one of the things I love most about shopping there), but the $20 overnight shipping kinda put a dent in my excited over the savings. Silver lining was I got these shoes in just one day, and honestly, I'm just glad to have them. They still ended up being a bit cheaper than full price, and you really can't go wrong with a pair of classic brown leather Sperry Topsiders.

Now, I think these leather guys are all gone for good now, but there are still some canvas Topsiders left for ONLY $40!! Someone go buy them...if I hadn't just blown my shoe budget on these, I'd be grabbing a pair for myself. Check the other sale items as well, you might find that high-end piece you've been pining for, and it might for once actually be in your budget.