As versatile as a navy jacket is, it doesn’t cover all of a man’s bases. While we live in a climate-controlled world and rarely have to deal with the elements like generations before us, there are still times when a man finds himself outside and in need of seasonally appropriate clothing.

Along with the functionality of having season-specific clothing, there are two distinct sartorial advantages. First, is the opportunity to have something fresh on rotation. Not wearing particular clothes for half the year makes them look and feel like a new purchase once they’ve been pulled out of storage.

Second, it’s indicative of the intentionality a well-dressed man strives for. By knowing which materials are ideal in given seasons, it demonstrates a knowledge that can often be extrapolated to other areas. Don’t get the wrong idea, I doubt anyone has ever consciously thought, “this man is wearing a linen jacket in the summer, he must be well-thought, deliberate, and intelligent.” At the same time, it’s easy to see a man as absentminded or out of the loop when he’s wearing heavy tweed and it’s 95 degrees outside.

Before breaking down the seasons and how to capitalize on them, it’s important to understand that these jackets are intended to be worn more casually. Think of them as something that’s appropriate with jeans, chinos, and even slim cargoes. They’re sport jackets, not suits. In order to ensure that they look and feel appropriately casual, there are some details to look for.

For the most part, I covered those details in a post a while back on casual suits. The same standards apply to jackets, so give that post a read before moving on. To sum it up, here’s a breakdown of what to look for:

• Cloth with some texture
• Soft shoulders
• Minimal structure through the body
• Patch or flapped pockets
• Patterns or stronger colors

With that being established, here’s how to break it down by season.

Spring/Summer jackets should prioritize lightness and breathability over everything else. Ideally they’ll be made from materials like linen, silk, cotton, tropical-weight wools or any blend of the four.

To maximize that necessary breathability, look for weaves that are more open or a seersucker for cotton (it doesn’t have to have the stripes). These allow for better airflow, which leads to a cooler-wearing garment.

In that same vein, lighter colors are both consistent with the more casual attitudes associated with summer and are also better than dark colors when it comes to heat reflection.

As long as the weave isn’t too loose, I recommend going with a completely unstructured and unlined jacket like this:

This entire thing is so light and minimal that it’s essentially a linen shirt that happens to be shaped like a jacket. I can wear it for hours without breaking a sweat.

As a word of warning, if choosing a weave that is very open, something like a basketweave or a hopsack, I recommend still opting for a jacket with a canvassed chest. I’ve found that the weight of the cloth will misshape an open weave when there’s no canvas in the chest to function as a skeleton. If at all possible, request a summer-weight canvas as even these aspects of a jacket can be constructed with different weights and materials according to the season.

Fall/Winter jackets are just the opposite. The materials used should prioritize retaining the heat put out by the body. Thicker cloths like flannel and tweed, made from winter-weight wool, cashmere, or a mix of the four are the go-to choices for cold weather pieces.

Colors aren’t nearly as important as they are in the summer as no particular color helps retain body heat better than others.

A lot of men I know still opt for a completely unstructured – even unlined – jacket for a fall/winter piece. The reason being that it ends up feeling more like a sweatshirt than a suit jacket or sport coat.

One of the best aspects of the seasonal jacket, regardless of the time of year, is its wearability and versatility. It can be dressed up with trousers and a tie for a business-appropriate look, or thrown on over jeans and a casual shirt for something a bit more rakish.

It should not be considered a special-event piece that is only worn when the occasion calls for it. Instead, it should be part of a well-dressed man’s regular rotation when he wants to go a bit beyond the normal T-shirt and jeans.

 

No words. Just some inspiration for winter. Most images pulled from Tumblr.

It seems like the subscription service model has blown up over the last couple of years. What started off with a few companies like Trunk Club and Gilt, has turned into a real force and game changer in the way men buy clothing.

Recently a company by the name of Bespoke Post reached out and offered to send me one of their boxes to review.

Before diving into the products themselves, here’s how the system works. First off, you can choose to subscribe or not. The prices for any month’s box are $45 for subscribers and $55 as one-offs. A new box is announced at the beginning of each month and you have until the fifth to decide to buy, skip, or swap it out with a box from a previous month. Shipping happens around the middle of the month and comes right to your door.

Pretty simple and straightforward.

The thing that I really like  about their service is that they don’t pigeonhole themselves into one particular category. Most subscription services are based around a specialized product or group of products. Examples would be a shirt mailed to you every month or a new box of grooming products. These are fantastic but can be overkill for guys who don’t go through products as quickly.

What Bespoke Post does is offer entirely different boxes every month. For example, their current selection includes a shaving kit, BBQ tools and equipment, kitchen knives, a gym kit, a starter tie set, etc.

Some of the boxes feel more fleshed out than others. I assume this relates to the relative price of included items. The tradeoff being that a box with fewer items will include pieces which cost more.

Each box’s page is loaded with supplemental content. There are potential add-ons that can be included with the box, blog posts detailing how to best utilize the included tools, photos and descriptions of the products and what companies they’re from, and reviews from other men who have received the box in the past.

After looking through each box, I had them send me their Polished kit.

Included was:

1 Black & 1 Brown 6.5″ Buffing Brush
1 Black & 1 Brown 6″ Applicator Brush
1 6″ Suede Brush
1 Leather Conditioner / Moisturizer
1 Black and 1 Brown Polishing Cream
1 Wax
1 Chamois

This is more than can be expected from a grocery-store starter kit, but not so much that the average user would be overwhelmed by the number of included tools. The fact that there are separate applicator and buffer brushes for brown and black shoes is a great attention to detail and makes shining a much better process.

Included on a physical card are instructions for three different levels of shoe shine and a breakdown of each included product, its use, and its origin.

I spent about half an hour one Sunday morning with two pairs of shoes and was very happy with the results.

I’ve tried many subscription services in the past, but this has been my favorite thus far. The guys over at Bespoke Post seem to think like we do. They create great boxes to fill voids that most men may have in their wardrobes or tool kits. Then they give so much information related to each box that the individual can go as far down the rabbit hole as he likes. I look forward to seeing what boxes they continue to come up with and will be using them in the future.

As a disclosure, after receiving the box, I set up an affiliate relationship with Bespoke Post. If you decide to buy one of their boxes through the links on this review or anywhere else on my site, I get a kickback from them (that honestly will just go to other box purchases for me, haha).

A mere month ago I was playing on the beaches of Oahu with my wife, my family, and no kids. I love my children, but learning the difference between a trip and a vacation was enlightening. I’m going to have to make it a point to do an annual trip without them and let them get their own mini vacation with grandparents and cousins.

As can be imagined, my typical clothing choices for a March in Salt Lake City are very different from what should be worn in Hawaii. Here’s what I packed, along with what I realized a didn’t need to bring, and what I wished I had.

Left to right from top to bottom:

Nike Trainers: One of my favorite parts of the trip was getting the chance to exercise outside. I played around with bodyweight exercises most days and never pushed myself as hard as I do in the gym, but having some shoes that are great for a workout were still necessary.

Ventoso Driving Shoes: These drivers were a perfect way to dress up a bit without looking like I was on the island on business. When we wanted to go out to eat they were an easy slip on and they were great in the airport. I always recommend a shoe that will come on and off easily while having your fourth amendment rights violated by the TSA.

Hollister Flip-Flops: I’ve owned these for eight years. It’s a testament to how little they get worn that they’re actually still in great shape. I recommend getting something cheap and expendable because you never know when they’ll get lost, stolen, or destroyed.

Cabana e Fogo Swim Trunks: Shorter than most guys are comfortable wearing, but some great trunks. These were my go-to pair last year and I was grateful to have them on the trip.

Bluemint Swim Trunks: A new edition to the wardrobe for this trip. These are some high-quality trunks that fit great, dry quickly, and perfectly straddle the line between too short and too long. What’s the point of working on that quad definition if you can’t show it off?

Taft No-Show Socks: I’m friends with the guy who started this company and he’s done very well for himself. If you’re ever inclined to go sockless (and I highly recommend it) this is the most sanitary, sanity-saving way to do it.

Olivers Apparel Athletic Shorts: Just like the Nike’s above, I wanted a good pair of gym shorts. However, with packing space being minimal, I also wanted something that I could wear when not at the beach. These transition excellently from the gym to the streets and are very comfortable in both environments.

H&M White Chinos: While I do like shorts, there’s something a bit more grownup to wearing a pair of pants. White fits the environment well and communicates some intentionality.

Docker’s Lightweight Alpha Khakis: Because we spent a decent amount of time in locales other than the beach, a second pair of tropical-weight pants was a necessity.

Target Tank Tops: Cheap, fit well, great for the beach, the pool, or a workout.

H&M Black Ball Cap: As tempted as I was to take a Panama hat, I was more active than having that hat would have allowed for. While we spent the bulk of our time on the sand, more of it was used playing frisbee, wrestling, or skim boarding than just lying around, so I wanted a hat that could stay on with the activity.

Forever 21 Oxford Cloth Shirt: Great as an open layer over a tank top, or a little more dressed up when buttoned up and worn on its own.

Forever 21 Madras Shirt: Lightweight and great for exploring on the island when not in the water.

Beckett & Robb Oxford Cloth Shirt: This was my airport shirt. The long sleeves help with temperature regulation on the plane and it worked great with a more dressed-up flight ensemble.

Most of this stuff was picked up on the cheap, and that was intentional. With a vacation like this, especially one with more of a focus on beach time and playing than on museum visits or fine dining, I wanted clothes that I wouldn’t miss if something happened to them. While I do advocate paying the best for things like Staples and dress clothes, there’s always a time and a place for cheaper, lower quality items.

That said, neither my shoes or swim trunks came cheap. Drivers are versatile for so much more than just a vacation and a quality pair of trunks should last a very long time. The great thing about those BlueMint shorts is their quality, cut, and classic styling mean they could be something I own and wear for decades. The cost per wear on a pair of trunks like these is significantly less than replacing cheap board shorts every year.

So what did I bring that I wish I hadn’t?

J Crew Oxford Shorts: Even when using limited space, it is possible to over pack. These didn’t get worn once. I had enough by way of pants and swim trunks that there was no real need.

Jewelry: Man this was a rookie mistake. I have my daily wear of stuff that I figured I’d keep on rotation while on our trip. After the first night, none of this ever left my nightstand until we left. Even when we got a bit more dressed up to go out, it was unnecessary.

H&M Espadrilles: These aren’t great for the beach and fell into the over packing territory for anything else. Any environment in which they would have been worn was better served by either the flip-flops or the drivers.

And lastly, what did I not bring that I wish I would have?

Forever 21 Sweatshirt: Simple. Athletic

MyVice Sweatpants: Simple. Athletic

While the temperature difference between Utah and Hawaii was significant, that didn’t mean Hawaii was without its cold nights. I also learned, the hard way, that spending an entire day in the cold water, could lead to some pretty low body temps when coming back onto land in overcast conditions. Even just lounging around our house at night would’ve been more comfortable and enjoyable with a little more body heat retention.

All in all, I believe I did pretty well. That being said, I know what to include and what to omit for the next trip to make it all the more enjoyable.

Yesterday I was a guest on another man’s podcast and a question about luxury watches came up. We talked about how I am saving up for one and that it’s false advertising (on top of financially stupid) for me to put something like that on credit.

This statement led to the host asking about the dissonance between faking it until you make it and false advertising.

I gave an adequate answer, but I’ve had some time to flesh the idea out in my head a bit more and believe this is an important aspect of desiring and learning to dress better. I’ll be painting in broad strokes here because it helps to get the idea across.

Let’s assume we can somehow take all of the qualities for which men are respected and appreciated – attributes like courage, confidence, strength, honor, mastery, generosity, etc. – and bottle all of these virtues up into a scale of Admirable Masculinity.

On the low end of the spectrum, we have guys with very little Admirable Masculinity. They don’t aspire to be much, aren’t confident, don’t take risks, don’t know how to behave socially etc. On the top end of the spectrum are those who are paragons of Admirable Masculinity. They epitomize everything that it means to be a man and do so with what appears to be effortlessness.

Now, I’m certainly not the first man to look at things this way. In this corner of the Internet there are others who use the dichotomy of the Alpha and Beta makes, and those who break it down ever further into sub groups such as Gamma, Delta, Sigma, etc.

Either way of looking at this works, but let’s stick with our scale.

If I’m a man who is a five on our scale of Admirable Masculinity and I dress like I’m a nine or ten, the cognitive dissonance is too much and it’s apparent to everyone around me that I’m a fraud. However, if I only dress like the other fives on the scale, I can’t use my clothing as a way to kickstart my improvement. Even worse, it can keep me from progressing even as I better myself in other areas.

The sweet spot is to dress like a six or seven. There’s enough dissonance to make me uncomfortable, therefore forcing me to either dress worse or improve my level in other areas. But there’s not so much of a disconnect that I become overwhelmed.

An example of this in another arena is weight lifting. If I have a goal of being able to deadlift 500 lbs, I’m an idiot for loading up the bar the first time with 500 lbs. It doesn’t matter if I have the ideal diet, proper equipment, and best coach – I won’t be able to lift that weight without working my way up to it.

At the same time, if all I ever do when I deadlift in the gym is 5×5 at 135 lbs, I’ll never reach my goal of a 500 lbs deadlift either. Without forcing myself to try to lift more weight this week than I could the week before, I’m never going to get any better.

Progressive Overload at the gym is faking it until you make it. Progressive Overload is also a system that can work with a man’s appearance.

Once I move myself up in Admirable Masculinity from a five to a seven, I won’t see any further improvement without faking it until I make it again. I won’t be more honorable without pushing myself out of my new comfort zone, I won’t be stronger without lifting more weight, and I won’t look better without re-evaluating my wardrobe and what it says about me.

So, once I reach a seven, it becomes imperative that I start to act like an eight in order to catalyze more growth. It’s a continuous feedback loop where my self-improvement leads to more of a need to fake being at a higher level, which leads to reaching said level, which leads to more of a need to fake being at an even higher level, etc. etc. etc.

It’s uncomfortable, but that’s a huge aspect of being a man. Comfort is overrated. It doesn’t mean there is never any room to relax and appreciate having moved from a five to an eight, that a man can only be content when he’s maxed out on all Admirable Masculinity. It does mean that we need to be able to be content with where we are, proud of where we are, while continuing to hunger to be better. It will take a lifetime, but that’s the purpose of our lifetime.