'Know Your Patterns' - Houndstooth

I’ve said this before, but one of my favorite (now kind of long-term/ongoing) trends has been this resurgence of classic menswear patterns, especially when I see them being used in new ways. We talked recently about glen-plaid, which definitely falls into this category - originally mainly found in heavier wool suiting and outerwear, and now everywhere from shirts to ties to suits to bright chinos. It's just a great way to ground a ‘trend’ or new idea in something classic that has already stood the test of time.

That’s why, for our second installment of ‘Know Your Patterns,’ we are turning to the classic houndstooth check. The pattern originates in the Scottish lowlands as far back as the 1800’s, and traditionally alternates dark and light 'checks' for a look that is both refined and bold at the same time. Originally, the pattern was used pretty exclusively with heavy wool suiting and outerwear, just like Glen Plaid (and, I would guess, most patterns coming out of Scottish antiquity). Again, the application has spread widely as clothiers have experimented with the pattern in multitudes of uses.

The houndstooth pattern itself is characterized by an almost checked appearance, and is made up of repeating 'abstract' blocks with four kind-of jagged points (which is where the pattern derives its name, as the points can be reminiscent of a hounds jagged back teeth): 

There is a weaving pattern that causes this to happen, but it’s technical beyond my own interest (a quick google should pull it up for you if you are so inclined). The checks tend to run at a diagonal, giving a bit more visual interest compared to a standard square check (like a gingham). Even more variation is given by playing with the scale - more popular with women’s coats and dresses is a jumbo-scale print in stark black and white. On the other end of the spectrum is tiny puppytooth, often in a monochromatic scheme (or with subtle color differences), that function much like any other micro-pattern, appearing solid from a distance, with the visual depth clarifying as one gets closer. For the record, I love puppytooth the most - besides the cute name, it’s such a fantastic way to spice up a look without standing out like a sore thumb - in fact, to most passersby you are just wearing a solid garment, but those who know you enough to get up close can see how splendid of a dresser you really are.

The look has come in and out of popularity in waves, and is definitely feeling some time in the sun today as a pattern you can find used on almost any garment of clothing. I’ve really fallen in love with it as a tie pattern - I think it lends some old school charm to a look that I can then pump up with some more modern touches. It's also usually small enough in scale that it plays well with many patterned shirts. Brooks Brothers has a really nice option in navy that's currently pretty well discounted at $55.65 (seen below, originally $80), or you can grab this one in traditional black and white from The Tie Bar for just $15.

Houndstooth Tie | Brooks Brothers

Another subtle way to wear the pattern is in a dress shirt - which is where it really does act like micro-gingham or a micro-stripe - almost solid, but really not at all! Charles Tyrwhitt has some great shirts in puppytooth, all in warm colors like sky blue or lilac, like this one currently running just $39:

Lilac Two Color Puppytooth Dress Shirt | Charles Tyrwhitt

Progressively moving to larger pieces, I’ve been seeing summer blazers pop up with a usually light blue houndstooth pattern, which creates a really cool warm-weather vibe that doesn’t stick the standard (and some may say tired) staples like seersucker or gingham. I got a great cotton/linen jacket from Uniqlo for my birthday (pictured here on the Wide Eyes, Tight Wallets Instagram - @WideEyesTWBlog), but I believe it’s all sold out (maybe for the season). However, for not a ton more (a very reasonable and often discounted $188) J.Crew offers a very similar option - bonus, it might not suffer from the few Uniqlo faults of cropped tail and long sleeves.

Ludlow Sportcoat in Mini Houndstooth | J.Crew

If you want to go bolder, or at the same time more traditional, I suggest looking for heaving cloths and more fall/winter clothing. Where I would see a large-scale houndstooth check as kind of clownish on a shirt or tie, it looks bold and bossy on a luxe overcoat, or in muted colors on some toothy tweed. Sorry, though, we're currently too out of season for me to find an example on sale now, but I did find this shot of a fella looking damn good in a Thom Brown wool overcoat:

Photo Credit - The Bulletin

If you haven’t tried the pattern, I suggest picking up a small piece - it’s irregularity and funky shape can make it seem unapproachable, but it’s easier than you think to work into a regular ‘fit, and once you start, you won’t turn back.

How do you rock houndstooth? Do you have any favorite pieces? Share in the comments:

Deals and Steals for the Weekend - 5/16/2014

Okidoke folks, got friends on their way for the weekend, so I'm on a time crunch and will be keeping my commentary to a minimum. Still have some great deals for y'all. First, the spiel:

"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!"

And now the deals:

Shirts Only $29.50 at Charles Tyrwhitt:
People who like Charles Tyrwhitt love Charles Tyrwhitt. I have a few of their shirts, and I'm a big fan myself. Best part is, their shirts normally run a whopping $60, but are often discounted down to $40. This time around, they are dropping prices even further to only $30. The other great thing is that, while not custom, they do offer the same patterns with several different options - so if you see a shirt in slim fit with regular buttons, chances are you'll be able to grab it in extra slim fit with french cuffs for the same price, if that's your thing. My first pick is just a classic, white shirt in a twill fabric:

White Twill Dress Shirt | Charles Tyrwhitt

This is just the perfect dress shirt. Again, available in a few fits, and even a few different collar options, but this one in the extra slim fit with a spread collar would be my choice, hands down.

Next is this fella in a blue puppytooth:

Royal Twill Puppytooth Dress Shirt | Charles Tyrwhitt

Puppytooth is just a cool name to being with (logically, it's houndstooth on a much smaller scale). I love the way that it looks solid from a distance, but up close has a lot of visual depth and is an interesting pattern. Grab it while it's hot.


Bespoken at Gilt (plus, $25 off with our referral link):
I haven't had the chance to try them out yet, but Bespoken makes some very stylish stuff - in fact, I believe they were one of GQ's "Best New Designers" or whatever they called it last year, which meant they did a pretty affordable collab featured at Gap - nice, since their regular priced goods are pretty expensive. Gilt has some great pieces knocked down with some serious discounts. Still not cheap, but some of the options are cool enough to be worth a little extra dough. For example, this tie, which is legitimately made from selvedge denim:

Skinny Selvedge Denim Tie | Bespoken via Gilt

I've seen chambray ties all over the place, but never selvedge denim, and I kinda dig it. The dark blue with the dots is a perfect pattern, stylish but versatile, and the peek of the selvedge ID on the bottom is kinda badass. Marked down to $60 (like I said, not cheap, but cool, and originally $130).

I'm gonna leave this one at just that pick, but check out the other options, lots of blue, and lots of summery patterns. Get $25 off is you sign up with our referral link.


40% Off New Arrivals at J.Crew Factory (prices as marked):
J.Crew Factory doesn't really need an intro. As usual, it's J.Crew's outlet line, so similar styles at lower prices. They just added a slew of great summer duds, and we picked out a few favorites. By far, the top of my list is this unconstructed blazer in 100% linen:

Thompson Unconstructed Sportcoat in Linen | J.Crew Factory

Not only is it just a great-looking summer blazer, but this may very well be the first JCF blazer that doesn't come fully lined! Even their other linen options are lined throughout, so this is perfect, especially if you've had your eye on an unconstructed Ludlow but haven't been able to part with the cash, as this one is currently only $118.

I'm also really digging this Hawaiian shirt in bright blue:

Short Sleeve Washed Shirt in Hawaiian Leaves | J.Crew Factory

Hawaiian shirts are back in style this year, but you have to be careful, and this one hits the right notes. The leaves aren't huge and flowery, the collar is button-down as opposed to wide points, and the colorway is simple. Currently about $39, down from $65. 

We'll throw in one more here, with these red oxford cloth trousers in their slim Bedford cut:

Slim Bedford Pant in Oxford | J.Crew Factory

Oxford cloth pants are no joke the most comfortable things in the world, but still look sharp as hell. I have a pair in blue, and am trying to pick up a pair in red this summer - these may be the ones, and at $45 they are cheaper than most other options out there.


Factory-Second Shoes from Allen Edmonds:
Last, I just want to point you all to the brand spanking new Factory-Seconds site from Allen Edmonds. Previously, you had to jump through some hoops to get the seconds inventory from AE, but they finally caught up with the internet age and have their inventory available online. Keep in mind that these are seconds, which means they have some sort of flaw or blemish that keeps them from being sold at full retail. However, most examples I've seen have been close to perfect, with flaws being very minor and sometimes impossible to find. Definitely worth a look if you're looking to grab some new kicks. I'm not going to recommend anything specific, as the options are numerous and the selection depends heavily on your size, so just check it out yourself!

And that's a wrap - have a great weekend, check back on Monday for more, and share any of your own 'Deals and Steals' in the comments below!

An Introduction To My Personal Style

Before I post too many more articles, I wanted to give you a bit more of an introduction to myself and my style, and therefore what I will be talking about a lot on this blog. To demonstrate, feast your hungry eyes upon THIS masterpiece of a photo! Haha ok, so maybe not masterpiece, and honestly it’s not the best picture ever (thank you random iPhone self-timer camera app). However, I am proud of the way my gorgeous girlfriend and I look, and this does a decent job of illustrating several of the sartorial lessons I have learned thus far.

This picture is from this past weekend. We decided to skip the crowds and celebrate Valentine’s Day a few days early and take advantage of Chicago’s Restaurant Week at the same time, we got all dressed up and had dinner at Farmhouse Tavern (by the way, I highly reccomend everything I mention in that last sentence). While I wear a tie almost every day and try to look my best at all times, I don’t really dress up all that often, so I was excited by a chance to do a little extra with my ensemble.

I already had the brown blazer and the charcoal trousers that I really liked (thank you Frank and Oak, who will be getting a full review at some point. I absolutely love their clothes and service), so I decided to use that as a base to build on. I snagged the shirt during the last few days of Charles Tyrwhitt’s winter sale (a steal at $35, normally $160. CT will be getting a review in the future as well). It is my first shirt with french cuffs, so I got to order some cuff-links as well. I wanted to look sharp and stylish, but not super formal or over the top, so I opted for a pair of Navy and Pink silk knots. You can’t see them in the picture, but the navy comes across as the main color, allowing the pink to more sublty compliment the shirt.

Next I moved on to the tie and pocket square combo. The pocket square was another first for me, and I wasn’t really sure where to start, so I looked for some professional advice. A GREAT resource is Tie Society. Check out their services sometime (you may have heard of them as the Netflix of ties), but my favorite part is that they will give you tie and pocket square matching advice. Even better, they don’t limit themselves to their own selection, and are really interested in helping you look good. I’ve talked with Jake at Tie Society countless times and he has really helped me improve my look. Back to the point - I had my eyes on a dark grey wool tie with light ‘cornflower blue’ pinstripes from The Tie Bar, and was originally thinking of a navy-based pocket square. In the end, after discussing it with Jake, I decided on something lighter and more classic and went with white linen with lavender edges (also from The Tie Bar, and you guessed it, review coming). The white lightened the whole outfit up a bit while the lavender tied it to my shirt. I love tie clips, so I threw on a dark grey one as well.

Lastly, after talking to Jake I decided that while it is OK to wear brown shoes with charcoal grey pants, the shoes I had were a bit too dark to go well, so instead I opted for a pair of black half-brogues from Allen Edmonds that I scored on eBay for only $30. I ordered a pair of great heart-patterned socks from Nordstrom for the occasion, but they didn’t arrive in time, which was a bummer, so I went with a pair of grey and black argyle socks I have that are accented in lavender.

And the FINAL touch: a goddamn stunning woman on my arm. Honestly, the key to looking good, ever.

Anyway, like I said I was pretty proud of the final outcome. I followed a lot of ‘rules’ I have found while matching patterns, colors, textures, etc. to put together something that looks like a good outfit, and not a collection of separate pieces of nice clothes. I wanted to give you a taste of my style, and where I am on the sartorial spectrum. You won’t find me at Pitti Uomo or NY Fashion week or in any street style pics, but I think I’ve got the basics down. Future articles will spend more time on individual aspects of outfits such as this (blazer fit, trouser break, cuffing, etc), and will include the afforementioned reviews among other topics, but this is just glimpse! Let me know what you think, what you would have done differently, any input you might have!