It’s too early for fall clothes. In the Bay Area, the trees still sway in a warming breeze, the sky blazes blue, and shirts cling to your sweaty back by mid-afternoon. But as the days pass, I’m starting to look forward to wrapping myself again soon in heavy tweeds and Melton wool. As much as fashion writers try to convince us otherwise, summer sucks for clothing. “All our concessions to the heat are compromises that trade degrees of elegance or distinction in favor of comfort,” Pete recently wrote at Put This On. “And in the end, we are neither particularly elegant or comfortable."
The good news is that fall/ winter collections are just starting to hit stores, ready to be coveted and tried on. Even if we can’t wear them just yet, now is an excellent time to start thinking about fall wardrobes. Here are ten things I’m looking forward to either buying or wearing once the temperatures dip.
Wide-Legged Pants
My favorite pants these days look like the US national debt: they’re ballooning. In the photo above, Martha Stewart can be seen standing outside her Turkey Hill home while wearing an olive tee, a pair of brown leather mules, and some big ol’ chinos. The photo was initially published in her 1991 book, Gardening Month-by-Month, which features illustrated recipes and instructive how-tos humanized by Martha’s gardening journal entries. Imagine how different this outfit would look if the silhouette was more basic.
Lemaire has similar pants this season. Their twisted outseam, long self-belt, and voluminous cut make them so much cooler than your average pair of flat-front khakis (look at this!). They are, however, extremely expensive — shaped like the US national debt and cost about as much too. But I’d be lying if I said they’re not on my wishlist. I’d love to wear a pair with Sage de Cret’s long Melton coat and some Blundstone boots.
Patched Workwear
My dream in life is to open a series of high-end clothing boutiques across the US named after those stuffy, killjoy comments you often read on online menswear boards. So, avant-garde shops called "Does Anyone Actually Wear This?” Or designer workwear stores called “Who Would Pay So Much Money To Look Poor?” This way, when people come in, walk around, and mutter to themselves, “who would pay so much money to look poor,” I can be like, “Yes, welcome!” (I also want to open a lumberyard one day called “Gentlemen! Nice Board You Have Here.”)
Patched up clothing, admittedly, can look a bit hokey, but I still love the style in certain workwear outfits. This season, Engineered Garments has a patched-up corduroy version of their Bedford, one of their longest-running outerwear designs. It comes in a variety of colors, but I’m mostly into the navy version available at Indigo & Cotton. It would look great with light-washed jeans, I think. I’m also hunting for a pair of patched-up khaki chinos, like the ones Frank Muytjens is wearing above or Hartley Goldstein used to feature on Instagram. The trick is finding something that looks convincing.
Anything From Kaptain Sunshine
Few brands capture my heart like Kaptain Sunshine. The Japanese label offers a slightly offbeat take on Americana, workwear, and heritage clothing. They’re like LL Bean, but with a sense of humor and a lot more style. The company makes clothes with exciting silhouettes and details — such as a bubble-cut bomber last year, or photographer jacket modeled after something Andy Warhol once wore to China. At the same time, since the clothes are rooted in Americana, they’re easy to incorporate into most wardrobes.
Their lookbook this season is wonderful. The belted, shawl collar cardigan drapes across the model’s shoulders like a robe, but can be worn like outerwear. The A-line traveler coat returns for another season, alongside similar topcoats with different pocket configurations. There’s a hooded bomber that combines the sensibility of Barbour outerwear with military techwear. And there’s a pair of cargo pants with unapologetically large bellow pockets. I’m excited to see what comes this season to No Man Walks Alone and Namu Shop, two of Kaptain Sunshine’s stockists (and sponsors on this site).
The Indomitable Duffle Coat
For years, I resisted buying a duffle coat because I thought the style would make me look like Paddington Bear. Recently, I came to my senses. Who doesn’t want to look like Paddington Bear? He’s adorable.
Beloved first by sailors working along the Belgium coast, then by the British Royal Navy, then by American college students, then by the world, the duffle coat is one of the most enduring outerwear designs. It’s pancake-shaped, bucket hood and jute-roped toggles are easy to manipulate even when you’re wearing gloves. Since these are made from a coarse, thick woolen known as duffel (hence the name), they age supremely well. Which means, if you’re on a budget, you can snag one on the second-hand market for pennies on the dollar. Search eBay and Etsy for terms such as Gloverall, Montgomery, and Brooks Brothers. Uniqlo also has one this season for just $130.
I was encouraged to learn that Bruce Boyer is also thinking about buying a duffle coat this season (the Gloverall Monty, to be specific). “They remind me of my college days,” he told me. During the heydays of Ivy Style, students layered these over tweed sport coats. I’m thinking of getting one to pair with jeans, Shetland sweaters, and duck boots. Between Bruce, Paddington Bear, and this Pomeranian, you can’t get a better co-sign.
Tweed, Oxford, and Whipcord
For all the histories we have about tweed, few people know what defines the cloth. It’s one of those “you know it when you see it” type materials. Prickly in texture and earthy in color, it’s the fabric of fall and winter. It somehow manages to be one of the least and most comfortable materials you can wear. Least in the sense that it’s often too scratchy to be worn against bare skin, which is why it feels and looks better when it’s layered over thicker dress shirts. At the same time, tweed has a comforting quality. It’s hardy and reliable; sturdy and flattering. In a genuinely classic cut, a tweed jacket is something you can wear for the rest of your life.
Naturally, I can’t wait to wear tweed this season, especially with oxford button-downs and whipcord trousers. In the last couple of years, cavalry twill and whipcord have mostly replaced wool flannel in my wardrobe. These rustic fabrics hang like iron, swing when you walk, and stretch where you need. And since they’re hard-twisted worsteds, they tend to hold their shape better than flannel, which can bag over time and require repressing. The word “classic” has been exhausted, but some things do endure.
Cotton Twill Suits
I’ve wanted a cotton suit for years, but the economics remain questionable. Cotton fades and wears out more quickly than wool. It stretches and bags with time. And since it doesn’t have the natural crimp found in animal hair, it doesn’t have the same “give” when worn. Unlike wool, which drapes well and can be pressed back into service, cotton is stiff.
At the same time, I’ve heard so many good things. Will Boehlke, who used to write the excellent blog A Suitable Wardrobe, says he loves wearing cotton suits on warm fall days. Luigi Solito tells me his father lives in a cotton suit most of the year. And Michael Hill, the Creative Director at Drake’s, says he loves cotton suits for all the reasons people hate them. “I can picture my cotton suit sitting on the end of my rail at home now,” he tells me. “The way the sleeves curl, it looks like my arms are in them, and the sleeves will probably stay like that even after the jacket has been cleaned. If you get one in heavy drill cotton, the fabric almost molds to your body. That’s the wonderful thing about cotton suits. They’re casual and age with you, much like a good pair of jeans.”
Drake’s has a handsome ready-made cotton suit this season in drab olive, one of Michael’s favorite colors. I’m thinking about commissioning something similar from Solito later this year either in drab olive or taupe. Daniel Penny sang praises of taupe at No Man Walks Alone. “Not quite brown, not quite gray — a chameleonic color of surprising versatility.” Olive to me feels more cheerful, while taupe looks more modern.
One-Piece Collar Polos
Sometimes impulse shopping works out. A few weeks ago, I bought this Berg & Berg polo because it’s on sale (available now for $95). It has a one-piece collar, which means the collar band flows continuously into the collar points. Without a seam for the material to easily fold over, the collar rolls like a button-down when it’s worn under a jacket.
Polos are often derided as being the uniform of golfing uncles, preppy antagonists, and Hilton conference attendees. But they’re also useful for solving certain wardrobe problems. They help dress down suits and sport coats, and look better than most open-necked dress shirts. Since the material is naturally wrinkle-resistant, they don’t require any ironing in the morning (useful for lazy people like me). And while they’re often worn poorly, polos can also be worn well. Philip Conradsson often sports them on Instagram.
Online, the material on Berg & Berg’s polo looks like any other conventional pique cotton you’d find in a mall. But in person, the fabric is surprisingly soft and silky. It’s thinner, more comfortable, and easier to tuck into tailored trousers. I’m surprised by how much I like it. I’ve been wearing mine with tan gabardine suits and navy sport coats. The company has the same model in a few new colors this fall. The new white polo is made from heavier pique cotton than last season’s, so you don’t see the double-layered placket. If you get one, size up (I’m a size 38 chest and took a medium).
Denim Western Shirts
This was another excellent impulse purchase. During last winter’s end-of-season promotions, I picked up a heavily discounted denim Western shirt from Mr. Porter. The raw denim shirt is from Kapital and features snap buttons, a Western yoke, and a lot of yee-haw charm. I haven’t been able to wear it much given the weather, but it’s gone out a few times with olive cargo pants and black leather jackets. Like Berg & Berg’s polo, I’m surprised by how much I like it — and how easy it is to incorporate into a wardrobe. If you enjoy wearing heavy boots, fatigues, and workwear outerwear, there’s a place in your closet for a Western denim shirt.
Suede Workwear Jackets
Last month, I met up with Pete in San Francisco. Pete is a construction worker and an electrician with an incredible sense of style. He wears everything from bespoke to vintage, Italian suits to Rick Owens, workwear to contemporary. I don’t know many people who dress so well across a wide range of aesthetics.
When we met up, Pete was wearing a pair of double-black jeans from COF Studio, a black denim Western shirt from Bryceland’s, and a vintage suede jacket from Polo Ralph Lauren. Over the years, leather jackets have become emblems of rebelliousness and black sheep individualism, thanks in part to style icons such as Marlon Brando and Sid Vicious. Whereas leather jackets began in the early 20th century as functional garments that protected wearers from danger, by the end of the century, they were symbols that signaled the wearers were dangerous themselves. The same history that makes leather outerwear alluring is also what can make them intimidating.
If you’re not sure whether you can wear a leather jacket, start with something in suede, which is literally and figuratively the softer side of the genre. Even double riders can look more approachable when they’re made from napped leather. I like them in a workwear style since suede picks up marks easily. With something like a plush Loro Piana jacket, a cleaner aesthetic can look old and raggedy over time. A rugged jacket like Pete’s trucker, on the other hand, only gets better with age.
Chunky Fisherman Knits
Last year, I bought a gansey from Flamborough Maine, one of the last producers for genuinely handmade fisherman knits. By handcrafted I mean they’re produced with two knitting needles like your grandmother would knit for you if she were Irish. They’re practical but archaic, and exist at the crossroads of functional design and decoration. Ganseys are traditionally worn by fishermen who work around the North Sea. Supposedly, the intricately knitted and individualized patterns used to be associated with specific home ports or families, which allowed people to identify the poor, dead bodies of drowned fishermen who had been lost at sea or washed ashore. I suspect that’s a bunch of marketing lore, but it makes for a sweet story.
You can tell a sweater is a gansey if it has a boxy silhouette and dropped shoulder seams. They’re commonly made from thicker, rougher wools and knitted “on the round” (which means they’re seamless). Ganseys feature identical panels from front to back, which allows a fisherman to get dressed in the dark and, if necessary, turn the sweater around to even out the wear at the elbows. I like them for their chunky style, blooming neckline, and deep history. The one pictured above is from Margarett Howell, but you can get more affordable versions through Le Tricoteur and Guernsey Woolens. Flamborough Maine will custom knit you one to your size and design, but they’re admittedly expensive and take about three months to produce. I look forward to wearing mine again this fall with ranch jackets and raw denim.
A Big and Roomy Balmacaan Coat
Certain clothes just look so comfortable. The Balmacaan, a type of British country topcoat, is traditionally made with a fly-front, raglan sleeves, and Prussian collar. The roomy fit looks like something you can wrap around yourself while traveling through airports and train stations, perhaps even sleep in. It’s a wonder that it also looks so good.
The best Balmacaans I’ve seen are vintage. Bruce Boyer tells me this brown cashmere Balmacaan coat was given to him as a gift thirty years ago. Charlie in Australia, who goes by Sebastian McFox on Instagram, found the incredible gray herringbone bal coat you see above in a Florentine consignment shop. “There are green and red flecks in the gray herringbone wool,” he wrote. “The coat has raglan sleeves and a wonderfully relaxed fit. Those with better knowledge of such things tell me it is handmade. The cloth feels like wool and cashmere.” Has anything in the world ever looked cooler? I’ve been looking for a coat like this forever, but unfortunately, the hunt for me continues this fall.
