Years ago I was sitting in a lecture hall and couldn’t help but pay attention to the laptop of the girl sitting right in front of me. She was perusing the latest crop of photos from the Sartorialist and had paused on one of some red-head wearing a red shirt and white pants. He was too girly and pretty to really appeal to my sense of style, but he had on the coolest, most simple watch I’d ever seen. It had a large, but thin face, almost no frills, and was on a medium brown band. I know how simple that sounds, but it started me on a hunt to locate and acquire the perfect brown watch.

I think I finally found it.

I first heard of Daniel Wellington on GQ’s Instagram account. They have a lot of crap, but enough redeemable material that they’re still worth following (GQ that is). One of those redeemable photos was of a bunch of DW watches. They were sporting both leather and NATO straps and my curiosity was piqued enough that I decided to contact the company to find out more about them.

The name comes directly from a style mentor of the company’s founder. Reading through their history, it sounds like said Daniel Wellington would be quite the man to meet and know.

Thankfully DW was kind enough to send me a watch to review. They had me check out their selection and then let them know what I wanted. Other than the strap and the metal with which the watch is made, the design is uniform across the board. Some may like this and others may chafe at the lack of choices. Because the size and minimalism of the face itself was exactly what I’d been after, I was happy to see a company who made what they liked and stuck to their guns.

After spending more time than I expected on just the small details of the strap and metal, I had them send me their Classic Bristol in rose gold (silver is the other choice of metal). It arrived a few weeks later and hasn’t really left my wrist since. The movement is Japanese quartz – so no hand winding but no automatic movement either.

While it may seem trivial, the presentation of a product is always something I pay attention to. You want to know that a company has scrutinized every aspect of their customer’s experience and, just like a man’s appearance, a product’s presentation can effect the overall impact of its quality.

For a timepiece that was sub $300, I was pleasantly surprised to see it come in a leather, stitched box. I’ve purchased watches in this same price range in the past and plastic and cardboard have always been the go-to.

The presentation is simple and effective. Beneath the watch itself you’ll find a small instruction manual and even a spring bar removal tool. This means you can swap out straps on your own, as opposed to having to visit a jeweler or watch repair shop. It’s a simple addition but one that again shows the attention to detail that makes you want to continue working with a company.

The first thing I noticed when I took the watch out was how thick, buttery, and soft the leather was. I know that sounds like I’m writing copy for DW, but it’s honestly the best way I could describe it. Cheaper leather feels gritty, dry, or brittle and can be uncomfortable to wear.

The other immediate recognition was how thin the face itself was. This is a discreet watch that fits easily under the cuff of a dress shirt and doesn’t wear as either too large or too heavy to be comfortable for extended periods of time.

The branding is minimal and discreet – with the larger logos and product details on the back of the watch and the strap – leaving the minimalist face to its own devices.

I’ve had it for a few months and have honestly tried to find something with which to take issue. The leather took some breaking in but that’s standard procedure with a new strap and it shaped itself to my wrist after a week or so. The only con I could come up with was their lack of variety in face color and other design details. Again though, the negativity of that issue is entirely dependent on the customer’s point of view.

We’ll see how this baby does after a year of consistent wear, but I’m happy to recommend it after my initial experience. If you’re interested in buying one of these, I suggest you do so before the end of October as they are offering a 15% discount to my readers. Just enter the coupon code “masculine-style” at check out.

This is a guest post from Manny over at Well Built Style. He and his co-conspirator are relative new comers on the style blog circuit but their approach is unique and their content is top notch. I highly suggest checking them out and subscribing.

It’s no question that one of the simplest and easiest ways to improve your appearance is by improving the way you dress. To style conscious men everywhere, this is nothing newsworthy. However, despite this knowledge, I’ve noticed that a lot of style savvy men have overlooked a crucial factor that can significantly improve their appearance.

What is this factor, you ask?

Fitness.

We’re all well aware of the importance physical fitness has on our health and well-being, but did you know that physical fitness can also significantly improve your style and overall appearance? I’m sure many of you would at least tacitly agree with this statement, but maybe you’re not exactly sure how it would work. Allow me to explain.

The following are 4 reasons why the style conscious man should pay attention to fitness:

#1 –  Fitness improves your level of attractiveness

The fact is that appearances matter and they matter a lot. As a style conscious man you already acknowledge this, even if only on an implicit level. The simple act of caring how you dress signifies that you understand the importance of how your appearance is perceived by others.  That’s why it only makes sense that you should also care about your physical fitness. Considering the impact that fitness can have on your overall appearance, you would be doing yourself a huge disservice by ignoring it.

Just like having a good sense of style, being physically fit has a dramatic effect on your level of attractiveness. Research has shown that the physical fitness of a man is substantially correlated to his body attractiveness to women. Additionally, science has also determined that on men, women are attracted to bodies that indicate muscular strength, such as well-built upper bodies and muscular buttocks and legs. Moreover, research has shown that among the body types preferred by women, the “V-shape” is considered as being the most sexually attractive.

Gentlemen, the evidence is pretty clear: fitness matters.

As a style conscious man who acknowledges the importance of appearances and first impressions, you’d be a fool not to also improve your level of physical fitness.

#2 – Fitness enhances your masculine qualities

The purpose of menswear is to accentuate your masculine qualities. That’s one of the main reasons why we wear blazers, suits, and collared shirts. These garments were made to highlight our masculine qualities such as a broad chest and shoulders and a narrow, trim waist (i.e the V-taper). Take a suit jacket, for example. A well-tailored suit jacket enhances a man’s shoulders by building them out. Additionally, the suit jacket’s lapels help build up his chest, while a more tailored waist creates the illusion of a trim midsection. Put together, these effects enhance a man’s natural V-taper (or in the case he doesn’t have one, give him one). That is why a suit is considered the quintessential masculine garment.

However, the benefit of being in shape means that your clothing doesn’t have to do as much of this heavy lifting. Your physique will speak for itself. Working out consistently will broaden your chest and shoulders, while a proper diet will reduce the excess fat around your midsection. This will make all of your clothes drape that much better on your body (i.e. you’ll be a much better canvass). You will no longer have to worry about hiding your gut behind a waistcoat, or ensuring that your shoulders look broad enough under a jacket.

It’s not just the cut of the suit that makes Craig look good. He’s also in excellent shape.

#3- Fitness will improve your casual style

As a style conscious man, being in shape also means that you will look that much better in casual pieces like jeans, shorts, t-shirts, and polos etc. As mentioned in the previous point, being in shape means that clothing will drape better on your body and this is no more evident than when it comes to men’s casual wear. When you’re in shape you’ll notice that items like t-shirts and polos will flatter your physique. These garments will naturally display your well-built chest, shoulders, and arms. Additionally, when you’re in shape you will often look better in a pair of jeans and a v neck t-shirt than the vast majority of men wearing tailored suits. As a well-built man, casual wear will become your bread and butter.

No need for a suit jacket to build out my shoulders.

#4- Fitness will separate you from the pack

As a style conscious man, by improving your fitness you will dramatically separate yourself from the pack. The fact is that the average man is fat. The average man also has a poor sense of style. Now you may see some men who are in good shape and some men who have a good sense of style, but rarely do you see a man who possesses both qualities. You can be the exception. By being the exception you separate yourself from all the other average men out there. This becomes your X factor. It’ll be the extra edge that will land you that next great job, get you a promotion, or get the girl. That’s why it’s in your best interest to spend time on both endeavors.

Some of you might be thinking, “But I don’t have the time to dedicate to improving my fitness.”

Nonsense!

The time you spend browsing the internet or watching television during the week could be better spent invested in the gym.

We’re all given the same 24 hours in a day. The only difference is in how we prioritize our time.

Final Word

As a style conscious man you understand the importance of appearances and first impressions. You realize that by improving your sense of style, you demand the world take you seriously as a man. But your personal style is only a part of the equation. Your level of physical fitness is equally as important and has a significant impact on your style and overall appearance. Fortunately, with just a little extra time and dedication devoted to improving physical fitness, style conscious men will be able to elevate their look and truly separate themselves from the average man.

Here’s to saying fit and looking sharp!

Manny De La Cruz is a lifelong fitness enthusiast turned style aficionado. He is the co-founder of Well Built Style, a website dedicated to helping men around the world overhaul their look through style and fitness.

On my last post about my final review from Indochino, I received a comment heard often when referring to buying your clothes from a foreign market:

If we’re talking over $450 I’m not sure I see the advantage of going to some foreign web site over established domestic outfits. For ~$650 on the low end you can get an Astor & Black (or similar) rep to come to your house to take measurements, and then come back with the finished suit.

Before I rip into Sam too much, this is a fairly common assumption about a difference between online made-to-measure outfits and “traveling tailors.” If you are paying less than $5k for a suit, it is HIGHLY unlikely that the man who comes to visit you and take your measurements is the same person who is doing all of the cutting and sewing required to create your garments. There’s simply no way for him to make a profit by creating a hand-made suit and selling it at that price – even if he were to make it out of tissue paper.

In order to really understand what you’re paying for in any article of men’s clothing, you need to understand the 3 C’s involved in the manufacturing of clothing.

You can pick two, but not all three. For example, a fully bespoke suit off of Saville Row will have impeccable quality and be made of the best cloth; it will also cost you more than a decent used car.

Let’s break these down:

Construction

The construction isn’t the weave or quality of the cloth but the actual way in which the suit is made. Custom and off-the-rack companies will vary in their construction types. The top tier is a suit in which every stitch is made by hand by a master tailor. This level of construction requires thousands of hours and multiple fittings. The cost is high, but so is the quality and the ability to adapt the suit to even the most minor body irregularities.

On the opposite extreme is the mass-produced, cheap suit that is churned out as much as possible by machine. Machine work saves time and money and provides a suit that won’t last long, but doesn’t cost much either.

Labor costs in developing and Asian countries are cheaper than those in the West – plain and simple. One aspect of a global economy is the ease with which a company based in one country can shift its manufacturing operations to another. This allows the company to maximize its profitability by decreasing its costs. Simple econ stuff. By having your suits made in a factory in which they can pay their laborers less money, these “domestic” suit companies can offer you something that comes in under four figures.

Tucked into this aspect is a potential fourth C – customization. One of the main reasons off-the-rack suits can sell for so much cheaper than custom is because of the ease with which these suits are made. By only offering one lapel, one pocket type, one button type, one vent, one lining, low armholes, non-functioning buttonholes, and no pick stitching, mass retailers are able to save millions of dollars in construction costs each year. The fit may not be great, and the details may not be what you want, but you pay for what you get.

The last component of construction is what goes on in the interior of the suit. Simple differences like a free-floating canvas vs a fused lining help prolong the life of the suit, give it a better drape, and also increase its price.

Cloth

Technically you can make a suit from anything. However, you can give a bolt of cloth from Joann’s Fabric Store and one from Zegna to the same suit maker and the quality of the finished product is going to be incredibly different.

There are a lot of different aspects that are factored into the quality of a cloth, and – just like any other industry – some of them are superficial while others are entirely practical.

Natural fibers like wool, cotton, linen, silk, and cashmere are more costly than their synthetic counter parts. Not only is a wool suit going to drape and breathe better than something made entirely out of polyester – it’s going to cost more. The scary thing about men’s suiting cloth is how easily customers are deceived by the mills from which the clothing is sourced. If you take a look at the inside of a cheap suit – it will probably say that it is a wool blend. However, the percentage of wool to the other “blended” fibers is rarely outright disclosed. You could be wearing something that is 98% polyester and 2% wool, but it will still be branded the same “wool blend” as a suit that has the ratios reversed.

On top of the type of material used is the way in which it is woven. One of the easiest gauges of this is the super count. Unlike thread count on your bed sheets, the super count is a measure of how tightly the fibers of the cloth are twisted before they are woven into a bolt of fabric. The tighter the twist, the higher the super count. Don’t automatically assume that a higher count means a superior product. While a tighter twist does provide a softer, more buttery feel to the cloth it comes at the expense of durability. So man who has ten suits in his rotation is free to splurge on a Super 170’s wool while the man who has to wear the same suit three days a week should sacrifice softness in the name of durability.

The rarity of the material is also an issue. Synthetic materials are easily and cheaply replaceable. Whereas some suits are made specifically from the hair of a goat that only lives in one region of the world. Again, simple economics is applied here and an item’s scarcity can increase its asking price.

The last aspect of cloth is the name of the mill. Yes there are superficial aspects of this rubric, but there’s a reason certain mills have been in existence for hundreds of years. When sourcing cloth from mills like Loro Piana or Zegna, the cost of the cloth itself may exceed hundreds of dollars – making the suit an expensive investment. The counter to this is off-brand mills located in parts of Asia or South America. Their location and relative newness to the scene command less money than the Italian and British powerhouses.

Cost

Obviously this is going to come as a result of the two previous factors. If you want the best of both construction and cloth – your cost will reflect that. If you want the lowest possible cost available – your cloth and construction will suffer.

The best suit makers are those who can offer a variety in both construction and cloth, giving their customers a broad range in cost.

So, bringing this back around to Sam’s original comment – there is little to no difference between a company like Indochino who outright publishes that their construction is done in China, and others who will only admit to this when backed into a corner.  Yes it’s nice to have a professional come and take your measurements, but more often than not, this is a gimmick used to increase the perception of quality as opposed to an actual improvement. This isn’t to say that companies akin to Astor & Black (who have now filed bankruptcy) are any worse than the Indochinos of the world, but it is to say that they’re not inherently better.

Read Part 1 and Part 2

Now that it’s been over a year since I received my suit, it’s time to do the third and final part of this series – giving you an idea of how it’s held up over the year.

This suit saw some pretty hard wear during the first six months it was on rotation. It was common for me to wear this three times a week for more than eight hours a day. However, since April it’s been sitting in my closet. This is not because of any problem with the suit but because I made a career move from finance to the clothing industry and now work for a custom suit company. It should be fairly obvious that I wear my company’s product almost exclusively now.

So this is more like a one year/six month follow-up.

The first thing I want to address is a minor quality issue. I ordered my pants with side adjusters.

As you can see, the right adjuster is starting to tear at the seam. While this can be construed as a quality issue, it’s also from my wearing the suit hard. I intentionally was overly forceful when cinching up the adjusters to see how much damage they could take. So, unless you’re planning on pulling to the point of damage, you should be fine. That being said, I found the adjusters to be more ornamental than functional and would opt out of them were I to order this suit again.

Knowing that this post was coming up, I decided to wear my Indochino suit to church last week. Because it was unfamiliar to a lot of people there, it got quite a few compliments and comments. No one would have guessed this cost half as much as other suits I have on rotation.

For the sake of a recap, here are some pictures I took this morning high lighting the fit.

All in all, I would still say this is a great suit and there are very few things I would change from a fit perspective. The chest and the shoulders are maybe a centimeter too large on each side, the cuffs are just a tad short, and the seat on the pants could be brought in more to avoid having it looking too loose and large. Those are all minimal changes though. As you can see from the pictures, the back hangs clean with no rolls or folds, the pitch of the sleeves is clean, and there are no stress marks when the jacket is buttoned up. The pants fit my calves and thighs comfortably and are slim while still allowing movement.

In fact, while under serious scrutiny from the #menswear nerds on sites like Style Forum and Reddit those same criticisms would be made, 99% of people will see nothing but a flattering fit and a modern suit.

Ultimately that’s the point. Men will pay tens of thousands of dollars, wait for months, and stand through multiple fittings  in order to receive a completely bespoke suit. This is the holy grail of fit and cloth. With true bespoke you can compensate for things like sunken shoulders, disproportionate back-to-chest ratios, and other body abnormalities. There’s a reason beyond the simple fabric selection that you invest both the time and money into a suit from a master tailor on Savile Row.

But Indochino has never claimed to be fully bespoke. They are a made-to-measure outfit for men who want a suit that will fit well, look great, and not cost an arm and a leg. Their cloth may not be sourced from the best mills in Italy and England, every stitch may not be added by hand from a tailor who’s earned his golden shears, and they might not be the suits that are sourced and bragged about in the circles of the 1% – but when you’re paying anywhere from $450 to $700, you’d be a fool to expect otherwise.

My experience with Indochino has been that you get more than your bang for your buck. The fit, level of customization, fabric selection, and price point are all spot on for the young man who’s just starting to climb his career ladder. If your price point is below $800 and you are careful in your measurement process, you’ll end up with a great suit that will help you establish yourself as a well-dressed, professional man.

Here are my top nine picks for this month.

Economy

Target Mossimo Henley: One of the best-kept secrets of cheap but well-fitting mens clothing is Target. It’s where I go for my V-necks and my socks because it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, the fit is surprisingly good, and there are a ton of color options. A few years ago the Mossimo line at Target offered an awesome henley. It went away after only one season but it looks like it’s back. $13

Forever 21 Marled Striped Socks: The upcoming cooler weather is going to demand warmer socks. Something thick with some pattern will do great under a pair of dark jeans and your work boots. $3

Topman Chambray Tie: While chambray may be associated with spring and summer, it’s a great transitional material for the first few weeks of fall. It comes in the traditional blue or a more attention-seeking red. $20

Coach

1901 Canyon Chukka: Nothing says fall quite like desert boots. They’re not as heavy or large as your winter boots but are better suited for the changing climate than the espadrilles you’ve been wearing all summer. $100

Cheap Monday Slim Fit Chinos: There’s nothing memorable about these – which is exactly what you want sometimes. Pair them with a plain T-shirt or a polo when you want to fly under the radar without looking like a man child. Ideal for attending all of fall’s many sporting events. $75

J Crew Wallace & Barnes Bedford Cord Jacket: Between the corduroy and the cut of the jack, this is definitely a work jacket – something you’ll want with you for trips to the cabin or just cooler nights in the backyard. $140

First Class

Brooks Brothers Football Leather Penny Loafers: Because football. $350

Barbour Powell Quilted Jacket: The quilted trend that started picking up momentum last year is going to hit its stride this season. If you’re going to get in on it, why not do so with one of the most popular outdoor brands out there? Barbour makes the real deal and this thing should last through plenty of hunting seasons. $250

Natural Selection Denim Raw Narrow Leg Jeans: Slim without looking like you pulled on your girlfriend’s pants, these are a selvedge denim that just gets better with age. The color is perfect and there are no frills, so people pay attention to you and not the weird, bedazzled pattern on your back pocket. $255