Deals and Steals for the Weekend - 1/9/2014

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!"

This week, we're going with high-end designer duds being offered at crazy low prices. This is the time of year for seasonal sales that drop some normally hugely expensive items down to a price range that doesn't make me regret memorizing my credit card. 

East Dane End-Of-Season Sale:
I had actually never heard of this e-commerce retailer before, but got turned on to them just in time to catch this huge sale. The site offers a lot of high-end designer goods, similar to MR PORTER, and most would normally be pretty far out of my price range, but this sale puts a lot of great items in reach. For instance, there's a large selection of Gant Rugger shirts hovering around the $40 mark (most originally $125). This madras plaid is one of my favorites:

Madras Plaid Shirt | Gant Rugger via East Dane

I'm really digging the spread collar, where most shirts in this style come with a button-down collar. The spread just ups the formality a bit, and I think this would look great under a summer suit.

Shift back to winter real quick, I also spotted these chinos (another offering from Gant), knocked down to just $50 from an original price of $165:

Winter Chinos | Gant Rugger via East Dane

I love navy chinos as an incredibly versatile alternative to khaki. Even better, these are made with a 'winter weight' cloth, and this polar vortex has me all about warmer duds for the next few months. Check out the rest of the sale for some other great designers at surprisingly affordable prices.


Up to 50% Off Fall Styles at Rag & Bone:
Rag & Bone is in the middle of their seasonal sale and have a ton of items at unusually low prices. I'm actually pretty blown away by the price of these selvage (selvedge?) jeans, which are going for a pretty unheard of price of $75 (originally $255):

RB15-Indigo Selvage Jeans | Rag & Bone

Selvage denim rarely goes for under $100, especially with a designer name like Rag & Bone attached. If they have your size, I highly recommend grabbing these.

I'm also so tempted by this mock-neck sweater, especially after seeing this similarly cut one in red, rocked incredibly well by Wes over at TSB:

Jeremy Army Pullover | Rag & Bone

The sweater is running $105, which is still a bit steep for my blood, but is a great deal when you look at the original $350 price tag. A late Christmas present for myself, maybe?


Up to 60% Off at Todd Snyder:
Like Rag & Bone, Todd Snyder is one of those designers I've always loved but could never afford. This sale changes things, though, and I'm ready to jump on a few items. First on my list is this incredibly comfortable looking pullover crewneck sweatshirt:

Off-White Pocket Sweatshirt | Todd Snyder

Lately, I've been on a drive to convert my college casual wardrobe to something more grown-up, and this would make a great replacement for those hoodies that I wore everywhere when I was younger. I love all the details, from the gusseting at the neck to the chest pocket. The regular price of $130 was way high for something I'd probably mostly wear around the house, but at $56, like I said, ready to jump.

Todd Snyder does a lot of great collaborations as well, like these Todd Snyder + Seavees Army Issue Sneakers. Originally $125, these are going for only $49, and look like a great casual shoe for when the weather starts to warm back up.

Olive Army Issue Low Sneaker | Todd Snyder + Seavees

The lightweight look isn't just weather-appropriate for the spring and summer, but it will also balance great with shorts (I hate the way a chunkier sneaker looks with a trim pair of fitted shorts). Also, military styling has really developed into a long-lasting trend over the past year or so.


Barneys Fall Designer Sale:
We'll close things out with a few picks from luxe department-store Barneys, whose Fall Designer Sale is running apparel, shoes and accessories at up to 75% off. One of my top picks is this great, very wintery tie, offered exclusively through Barneys at $39 (down from $70).

Exploded Houndstooth Donegal Tie | Barneys

I have a great tie collection, but I've stuck with bargain deals (lookin' at you, Tie Bar), and am trying to add some nice ties to the mix. This wool/silk mix looks fantastic and would certainly fit the bill.

I've probably made it clear that I love chunky sweaters, and I love tweed, so it shouldn't be a suprise that I'm closing out with this awesome Tweedy Cable-Knit Sweater by Saturdays Surf NYC:

Tweedy Cable-Knit Sweater | Saturdays Surf NYC via Barneys

What's not to love? It's incredible appropriate for this cold weather, and the style is spot on. Factor in the huge discount, from $160 down to $59, and it's a deal that's really hard to pass up...so don't!

Suiting Patterns and Fall Ties

I've been all over topics relating to the changing seasons as the temperatures have been dropping, and here's another one for you. Along with the new season comes a lot of new trends, and there's one in particular that I've been pretty geeked out about. I'm seeing more and more designers and labels offering ties made from traditional suiting patterns. I'm sure this isn't an entirely new phenomenon, but something about these patterns goes perfectly hand in hand with wool ties. Wool ties go hand in hand with fall, so now ties with suiting patterns go hand in hand with fall (math, transitive property of equality and all that).

What do I mean by 'suiting patterns?' Quite simply, patterns that are traditionally reserved for suits. Easy 'nuff. My standout favorite as of late has been the glen plaid pattern. Plaid suits are all the rage this season, and the look lends itself just as sharply to a good wool tie. I recently scored this beauty from The Tie Bar and love wearing it under a flannel blazer. The brown foundation keeps it classic and classy, but the blue and orange lines give it some more visual depth and variety.

 

Fall Wool Plaid by The Tie Bar - $15

 

Another pattern I've been loving this year is hounds-tooth. It's such a great mixture of bold and subtle...the contrast between the light and dark abstract checks lends the perfect level of boldness while, once again, the traditional nature of the pattern never strays too far from a vibe that's pure refined elegance. Bold, but elegant. Perfect balance. Check out the Syderstone by Peter Field - definitely on my 'To-Buy' list:


The Syderstone by Peter Field - $65

 

 

WIWT - 3/20/2013

In fashion, there tends to be a misconception that, in order for an outfit to be interesting, it has to be colorful. Not only does this lead to some crazy color combinations (contrast can be good folks, but everything in moderation), it also tends to lead to a general neglect of the use of texture to give depth to an outfit. True, a combination of ‘all monos’ - monochrome, monotone, monotexture, tend to fall pretty flat and can fail to make any sort of statement whatsoever. However, you can create an interesting, maybe even exciting outfit just by playing with textures.

Take this look I wore today. You will find (almost) nothing but grey in this outfit. Charcoal grey pants, light grey sweater, mid-grey shirt, grey tie. All one color, and arguably the least ‘exciting’ color out there. The difference lies in the attention I paid to the textures of each individual item. You won’t see a similar textured piece of clothing next to another anywhere in this outfit. The cotton, dark grey trousers cozy up with the thicker, light grey cotton knit v-neck, which lays nicely over the grey chambray shirt which stands out with a hint of sheen, but is balanced again by a thick, robust wool tie.

I topped it off with just the subtlest pops of color…it might be hard to see in the picture, but the tie has ‘cornflower’ blue pin stripes, and I threw on a pair of grey socks with similarly light blue stripes as a bit of a visual surprise if you get a glimpse between my cuff and shoe.

Like I said, what keeps this outfit from blending into a big grey mush is the texture variation (one more time - cotton twill to knit cotton to chambray to thick wool). Even the black belt, when you can see it under the sweater, helps to break up the outfit into very distinct pieces.

I have a special place in my heart for this outfit right next to my special place for all things grey. Something about the color just appeals to me, fashion-wise (might have something to do with my longstanding love affair with Tweed). I’m often frustrated with the problem of too many grey items of clothing and therefore am giddy as a school girl when I can find a way, like this, to throw on all the grey layers I can think of and make it really work. Far from blending into the background with this outfit, I actually get more compliments with this combination than many of my brighter, preppier looks. On top of that, I feel much more weather-appropriate wearing this on a cold windy Chicago day that I do putting on that pastel tie I have set aside for the upcoming spring warmth.

The whole point is, think outside the box! If you want a more interesting outfit, don’t automatically grab the brightest color in your closet! Experiment, try different things out, and see what works. For all the ‘rules’ of menswear that I love so much, there are a million ways to break and bend them and look great. By the way, I love these socks. So much that I took extra pictures of them. And posted them to Instagram earlier today. $4.00 at Nordstrom Rack, thank you very much!

Today’s Outfit (I think I forgot this section in the last WIWT post):

Shirt: Frank and Oak
Sweater: American Eagle
Tie: The Tie Bar
Pants: Frank and Oak
Socks: English Laundry
Shoes: Allen Edmonds