Three Things I Love (Including an Update from Proper Cloth)

Over the past month or two, I had three things I really love come together in such a way that I had to share here on the blog:

1) Reader Participation: As much as I love sharing my own menswear knowledge, I never let myself forget that I myself still have tons to learn. With that in mind, one of my favorite things about blogging is getting feedback from you folks, especially when you open my eyes to new information that helps me be a more stylish gent (and more informed blogger at that). Last month, following my review of Proper Cloth, AJ helpfully pointed out one ill-fitting aspect of my MTM shirt that I would never have noticed. Take a look at the following picture and see if you catch it:

To me, it seemed like a pretty perfect fit - but take a look at the armholes. As AJ was kind enough to inform me, the armholes on a proper-fitting shirt should drape vertically (or close to it). The way that the armholes on my shirt angle inwards is an indication that the yoke was cut too wide. Who knew?! Thanks AJ, from now on this will be one of my 'checklist' areas when evaluating fit.

Which brings me to the second thing I love:

2) Great Customer Service: After AJ pointed out the above flaw, I shot an e-mail to Proper Cloth. Honestly, since I hadn't even noticed the issue, I would have been happy keeping the shirt as is, but I wanted to adjust my pattern for future orders - but Proper Cloth would have nothing to do with my lack of demand for perfection! Not only did they help walk me through the changes in the measurements that would correct the angle, but they promptly submitted an order for a re-make, no prodding from my end at all. Fan-freaking-tastic. In my opinion, as MTM options become more and more abundant, finding a brand that makes a good fit is far easier than finding a brand with a great product and customer service that sets them above the competition, and Proper Cloth rose to this challenge with great success.

And that brings me to the final item on my list:

3) A Perfectly Fitting OCBD: Just check out the difference in the shoulder and arm:

Perfect vertical arm-hole seam!

So I'll close out with two pieces of encouragement (wow, all about numbered lists today, huh?): First, check out Proper Cloth. Second, chime in! Teach me something, share your style, or just say 'Hi,' I love to hear from you.

To reiterate, this article refers to a sponsored review, and the products reviewed were provided to me free of charge. The article, however, remains objective and unbiased and is published without prior editing or review by Proper Cloth. While I love to be given products to review, don't worry, I will never endorse a product I wouldn't wear myself. 

Bills Khakis - A Quick Update

Today we wanted to just chime in real quick with an update to last week's look at Bills Khakis (and interview with their founder, Bill himself). A few days after posting, we received our samples in the mail and wanted to give you our in-person evaluation!

The folks at Bills were kind enough to send the following items:

Selvedge Cramerton chinos in M2 Standard Fit (Plain Front)

Poplin Shorts in M2 Standard Fit (Plain Front)

Kingston Plaid Shirt from the Tea Label Collection

Newport Stripe Polo

The samples we all sent in size medium and 32 inch waist, and unfortunately I'm a size small and 30 inch waist, but while I was unable to get a good feel for the fit and sizing of the items, I did get to check out the fabric, construction and design. Here are my thoughts:

Selvedge Cramerton Chinos: 
Right off the bat, my first reaction to these is that they feel tough. And in a good way. The fabric isn't rigid or stiff, but it definitely has some heft and feels like it could take a beating. I'm digging these less for the fit (which seems a bit relaxed to me) or super-fashionable styling, but because I really feel like I get a sense of the origins of Bills Khakis - which was originally inspired by a pair of WWII khakis. Unlike a lot of 'fashion' chinos, which you'll be lucky to maintain through a couple-dozen washes, these are a real pair of work pants, more than up for the challenges and wear of ever day life. I also like that they offer them in finished inseams or an unhemmed length if you want to take them straight to the tailor for a perfect fit.

Poplin Shorts: 
For these, I had an almost opposite reaction as to the chinos. Again, the fit seems more relaxed that something I'd prefer, but the fabric is great. Instead of being a standard twill chino, these come in a poplin fabric - interested in the difference? We've got an article on twill in our 'Know Your Fabrics' series and one coming up on Wednesday diving into poplin, but long story short, the poplin is lighter and breezier - perfect for a pair of summer shorts.

Kingston Plaid Shirt:
Of all the items, this is the one I want to keep the most. While they don't advertise it directly as such, the fabric is very lightweight and breathable, and with the bright plaid pattern it immediately brings to mind an outside-the-box madras (read more about madras here). I could see this easily becoming a go-to casual summer shirt, with a distinctive laid-back rumpliness (is that a word?) and actually one of the slimmer fits of the items sent - maybe indicative of their younger Tea Collection line. Thumbs up.

Newport Stripe Polo:
Big fan of this one as well, which comes in a jersey fabric as opposed to the more traditional pique. Honestly, that's what I like most about this - I'm really not a fan of standard pique polos, something about it just says frat boy to me, and this comes as a great alternative. The navy and orange horizontal stripes are a nice stylish touch as well, with a vaguely nautical vibe, interesting colors, but nothing that will stick out like a sore thumb. Again, can't really get a feel for the fit, but it does look to be a little looser, so keep that in mind.

In conclusion, I think the items really emphasize some of the points that were made in last week's article - each has some decidedly modern and stylish aspects (selvedge detail on the chinos, poplin fabric on the shorts, slimmer fit and bright colors on the shirt, and non-traditional fabric on the polo), but hold onto a more classic relaxed style that dads, older men or more conservative dressers will definitely feel comfortable in. The prices are a bit out of Wide Eyes, Tight Wallets ideal budget, but after getting a feel for the products I think I can confidently say you're paying for quality, so if you have the funds, Bills duds would be a great investment.

This was a sponsored review, and the products reviewed were lent to me free of charge. The article, however, remains objective and unbiased and is published without prior editing or review by Bills Khakis. While I love to be given products to review, don't worry, I will never endorse a product I wouldn't wear myself.

Niche For Men Deodorizing Wipes: An In-Person Review

Rapid-fire product reviews, gotta love it. Carl of Niche For Men, LLC reached out to me with a product to share that I think will be 100% appropriate for your next 'walk-of-shame' type of morning. After a night of raucous debauchery, and maybe not spending the night at home, you might be thinking outside the box for ways to freshen up. Niche For Men comes in with a, not-quite-unheard-of product in the form of an all-in-one facial and body wipe. 

A 'Niche for Men' 5-pack.

The product description really labels the things as an alternative to a shower when you're on the run, and the directions are pretty darn simple as well. Basically, use one wipe (they come in packs of two), and wipe what's smelly (or dirty, or grungy, you name it, just don't go wiping every hipster you see).

Two sets of wipes inside each pack.

The only thing that weirded me out at first was the direction to wash your hands after use. "Wait," I thought, "aren't the wipes supposed to do the washing themselves?" But then I thought a bit more, and confirmed with Carl that this is merely a suggestion to avoid ingesting the cleaning solution (or getting it in your eyes). Makes sense now. 

Poppin' one open.

I tested these out while I was traveling for the holidays. I thought they would be a perfect remedy to that gunky feeling you get after sitting in a car for 13 hours. I had planned on using one and then going out, but that afore-mentioned car ride had me beat, so I freshened up, hung around the house for a while, and then went to bed.

Goin' to work.

The results were...results. After a quick wipe, I definitely smelled much less like BO and more like a respectable human being. However, my girlfriend noted that the scent was kind of feminine. Personally, I don't think it's overly so, and it didn't bother me much, but if you're freshening up for the ladies, it's something to keep in mind. While I did smell better, I'm not sure I necessarily felt cleaner. One of those issues of masking vs. cleaning, I guess. However, I will say that it did a darn good job removing the oil and general scumminess that had built up on my face via a few fast food drive-in stops throughout the trip. By the next morning, the perfume was pretty much gone and I was starting to get a bit musky again, and definitely was ready for a shower.

Not too shabby!

Bottom line, I could see these being useful, if I had more of a use for them (circular logic, kinda, I know). I don't do a ton of traveling at this point (though I'd love to), and am rarely unable to shower once a day. I also don't really work out during the day (though this should change), so I don't often need a quick mid-day refresher. However, if I was to start hitting the gym on a lunch break, I think these wipes would be a great way to save some time (if necessary) and skip a post-workout shower here or there. Likewise, after a 12 hour flight, it could be very refreshing to duck into the airport bathroom and put a wipe to a quick use before bustling off to a business meeting. I don't see myself buying more of these in the immediate future, but I'll be keeping them in mind as an on-the-go solution moving forward. They run $3.00 for a two-pack, so I wouldn't think about using these like, 10 times a day, but here and there is entirely viable.

And I would definitely take advantage of these wipes real quick when I stumble out of bed for a Sunday Brunch, still bleary eyed and hungover from the night before. At least I'd show up smelling like roses!

Hucklebury Shirts - In-Person Review

About two weeks ago we featured a brand spotlight on Hucklebury, an up-and-coming men's shirting company with a current campaign on Kickstarter. Parag followed up with me and sent me a shirt to see and test for an in-person review, and the results are in! Check out the brand background over here, and get the lowdown on the shirts below:

Quality of Construction:

The main thing to stress here is the fantastic quality. First of all, the 100% Egyptian Cotton fabric is comfortable as hell and drapes wonderfully when wearing. The collar is a workhorse, and will definitely never flop, with a tie or undone for some drinks after work. Personally, I prefer a bit softer of a collar, but I know menswear aficionados all over the net clamor for stiffer, heartier collars, and they won't be disappointed here.




Other small details continue to point to the high quality of construction. The pattern matching down the sides of the shirt is pretty damn perfect, the mother-of-pearl buttons are a classy touch (and more durable than cheap plastic alternatives), and the single-needle stitching, especially on the placket, offers a sleeker, more streamlined look than standard double-needle work.

Contrast stitching on bottom 

There are just a few areas I found slightly lacking. At this price point, I would hope for a split yoke along the shoulders, but it's definitely not a deal-breaker (for the record, a split yoke allows for greater freedom of movement in a shirt, but is much harder to construct as it not only adds an extra seam, but also an entire new dimension of pattern-matching). Additionally, the stitching on the contrasting bottom button-hole seemed a little rough, and it would have been nice to have gussets at the side seams for extra durability, but the 365 day guarantee (which is such an awesome promise, and worth mentioning again) pretty solidly negates the need.

Fit:

As fantastic as the construction of the shirt is, I have to admit I'm not entirely blown away by the fit. From my understanding, the shirts are still in pre-production, so Parag didn't have a ton of sizes sitting around to send me. Therefore, I had to settle for a trial shirt a bit off of my sizing, and went with a 15' neck, rather than my usual 14.5'. Knowing this, I reasonably expected the whole shirt to run a bit big and definitely took this into consideration during the review. Take a look at the pictures:

Honestly, everything is so close. I do love that the shirt comes already darted...a lot of shirt-makers refrain from doing this as it adds yet another seam that, if not made entirely straight, throws off the pattern on the back of the shirt.

Can you pick out the darting seems at the sides of the pictures? Subtly well done.

Hucklebury does a great job here, and the darts definitely add a taper to the shirt that most off the rack shirts do not have. For a size too big, this shirt fits way better along the waist than I would have expected...

Fit at the waist (front).

Fit at the waist (side).

...and that's gotta be due to those darts. Nice touch, Hucklebury!

Also, take a look at the armholes, and the mobility around the shoulders.

Once again, for a shirt admittedly a size large, the armholes are very reasonably high and fitted, and there's no unseemly bunching or movement of the rest of the shirt when I raise my arms.

Really, my hesitation when it comes to fit results largely from the fact that, while those areas mentioned above are close enough that a size down would more than likely alleviate any concerns, I'm not sure I'd be able to make that switch. The collar and the shoulder seams on this size are a pretty exact fit for my body, and I'd worry that sizing down would make those areas too small. At the same time, a few other areas, such as the sleeves and looseness at the upper chest make this size too large for me to wear. I'll have to give the 14.5' neck a try to see if I can make it work, because damn, I want to make these work!

Another shot of the fit (keeping in mind this is a size too large):
Close to perfect in the waist.
Great fit at neck and shoulders.
A bit too roomy in the sleeves and chest.

The Bottom Line:

Undoubtedly, Hucklebury offers an incredible deal when it comes to quality for the price. The construction and fabric alone are enough to make these shirts worth buying at $78. As for the fit, the darting and resulting taper in the body are there, as are the higher armholes. If you're a super-skinny guy like me, you may still need some tailoring or alterations to get the perfect fit, but someone with a bit more meat on their bones will more than likely be very pleased with the dimensions. If the fit works for you, this is a helluva buy. If you want to get in on the introductory pricing and support their kickstarter, head over here to for more information regarding contribution options.