Articles – Well Spent

Good Giving: 40 Under $40, pt. 2

November 28, 2011

Part 2 of the 2011 Well Spent Holiday Gift Guide. 40 items, all socially-responsible, and all under $40. Read More »

The Friday Find: 15% Off Sale at Sir & Madame

November 11, 2011

What’s on sale RIGHT NOW.

The good folks from Chicago’s Sir & Madame (you remember them from last week, right?) are knocking 15% off their entire stock from now through Sunday. Choice US-made goodies include outerwear from 3Sxiteen, boots from Red Wing, jeans from LVC, leather goods from Tanner, and of course, S&M’s own in-house line (those bags!). Enter code “15OFF” at checkout to get the discount. Read More »

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NorthernGRADE: Leather Works Money Clip Wallet

September 13, 2011

If, like me, you prefer your wallet on the slimmer side, then I’d definitely check out the Money Clip Wallets from Minnesota’s Leather Works. Not only are they excellently made (handcrafted in St. Paul from the same leathers Red Wing uses to make its boots), they’re also super affordable (prices range from $19 – $29, depending on the leather), and, thanks to their two external card pockets and namesake money clip, they’ll keep you organized too. Read More »

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Tagsmith Rough Out Billfold

August 4, 2011

In why hasn’t anyone else thought of that news: a rough out wallet. Handcrafted in Los Angeles from vegetable-tanned leather, the Rough Out Billfold from TAGSMITH is a simple and affordable wallet that, as the name suggests, is made with the rough, or “flesh,” side of the leather facing out, and the smooth side facing in (a practice that was made popular by the American military, who made rough-out boots, so as to prevent the boot leather’s natural sheen from ruining a soldier’s camouflage). Read More »

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The Friday Find: WHARF Summer Sale

July 8, 2011

What’s on sale RIGHT NOW.

For those that haven’t checked out it yet, Rhode Island’s WHARF is in the middle of a major Summer Sale. US-made goods from BILLYKIRK, Woolrich Woolen Mills, Engineered Garments, Steven Alan and more are now a cool 30% off. Multiple items / sizes remain from each brand, but quantities are limited, and stock is moving fast, so click on over to WHARF to get yours while you still can. Read More »

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The Makers: Corter Leather

February 9, 2011

“I make stuff for people like me.”

I didn’t know quite what to expect as I made my way to the home of Eric Heins, the 23 year old wunderkind behind Corter Leather. I knew he was young, that he worked out of his bedroom, and that he had, over the latter half of the past year, established himself as the menswear blogeratti leathersmith of choice. And that was pretty much it. Upon entering his apartment, an airy duplex in a shoddy Victorian three-flat, I was greeted by one of his two hairless cats. “My roommate said there was no way she’d ever let a cat in the apartment, unless it was hairless. She didn’t know I was friends with a breeder,” he tells me with a smile. The cat pressed itself into my leg. I’d arrived.

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Happenings: C.H.C.M. Shop

January 26, 2011

It’s a funny thing, the “Heritage” trend. As anyone in the fashion industry (er, I mean ’style’ industry – got to keep it menswear blog appropriate) will tell you, everything that’s old will eventually be new again. And so, the current popularity of utilitarian garments from the 1930s – 1950s amongst the modern non-utilitarian set isn’t all that shocking. What’s funny, though, is that the items that make up the trend were never intended to be fashionable. They were designed and built purely for functionality. That’s why they’re still around, decades after their inception. That these items are now a part of a trend, and, as such, suddenly have a shelf-life – well, it entirely defeats their purpose.

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Good Giving: 25 Under $25

November 28, 2010

Welcome to the 2010 Well Spent holiday gift guide. I’m trying something a little different this year: 25 gifts, all socially responsible, and all under $25. Small things, but (hopefully) a bit more substantive and enduring than your typical stocking stuffers. Here’s to a healthy and sane holiday season.

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MuS Leather Goods

April 19, 2010

There’s much that’s impressive about Matt Hutchinson’s MuS Goods label. Entirely handmade by the designer in San Francisco, the young brand’s collection of ironclad accessories evince a know-how and confidence of craft that transcend the label’s newbie status. The leather goods collection is made from repurposed manufacturing scraps the designer has collected from various local garment makers. Read More »

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