PARALLEL UNIVERSE: Want Men’s Wear Advice from a Newsman? You’ve Gotta be Kidding! But Here Goes, Anyway
By David M. KinchenEditor, Huntington News Network
Hinton, WV (HNN) – I’ve been told that I’m often a spiffy dresser (spiffy?) especially compared to other veteran newspapermen. That’s not much of a compliment, since reporters often tend to be deliberately messy, with ties askew and shirttails hanging out. Director Ron Howard caught the look very well in his 1994 flick “The Paper” -- an excellent movie about a day in the life of a New York City tabloid paper.
Be that as it may, what caught my eye the other day signing on to Hotmail was a left-rail headline “10 Things You Need…in Your Closet.” Here’s a link to the story:
http://men.msn.com/articlees.aspx?cp-documentid=808248>1=8572&wa=wsignin1.0
I have no complaint with the selection of items, just the cost of them in the piece, produced by fashion experts at Esquire magazine. It sounds a lot like a product placement ploy, combined with a plea to subscribe to Esquire for a year for $8 – which is a great deal. Remember, Hugh Hefner of Playboy fame got his start at Esquire in Chicago more than 50 years ago and look where he is now!
For guys on a real-life budget – especially those (you know who you are!) who’ve been told by their wives or girlfriends that a few new clothing items would be just the ticket – here’s my selection of basics, paralleling the list on MSN:
1) A white cotton Oxford dress shirt, $40 by Izod. I just bought a reduced-for-clearance blue-striped Van Heusen Oxford button-down cotton blend shirt for $7.95 at our local discount store, a regional competitor of Wal-Mart (OK, it’s Magic Mart and I shop there often). The shirt’s collar is a 17 and I usually wear 171/2, but I don’t intend to button the top button and I like the trimmer body cut of the 17. I have several Lands’ End cotton-blend trim fit shirts that are more than 20 years old and still perfectly wearable. They’re blends and can be obtained for half the cost of the Izod all-cotton one that’s going to need ironing. A good cotton-rich poly blend is my way of handling the situation. You can get the Lands’ End no-iron shirt for $19.50 or $25.00 for the tall (my preference).
2) A lightweight cashmere v-neck sweater, $178 by Banana Republic. This is good, but Lands’ End (is this beginning to sound like a commercial for L-E?) has a nice cashmere v-neck for $139. These sweaters are fine, but my preference is turtlenecks and I picked up three of them at the previously named discount store for a marvelous $4.99 each, in different colors. The cut is generous and the all-cotton turtles didn’t shrink when I washed them. They go well with jeans and chinos.
3) Esquire’s gurus suggest $174 sun glasses; since I wear glasses, I have photo-sensitive lenses that darken in the sun, plus a pair of rose-colored prescription glasses more than 20 years old.
4) Esquire suggests $178 jeans from Levi’s, a premium brand. Docker’s – a Levi’s company – makes decent wearable jeans for about a third of that, especially if you can shop at a TJMaxx or Filene’s Basement. When I lived in L.A., I was a regular at Ross Dress for Less in Tarzana, CA. Value City also is a good choice for men’s wear that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. Regular department stores often have sales, too.
5) A pair of Zegna cedar shoe trees for $60 is great, but a discount-store pair for a fraction of that will do the trick. I like brand names but I hate to pay brand-name prices!
6) Ten bucks each for white T-shirts is too rich for my blood. The Calvin’s recommended by Esquire’s gurus are nice, but Fruit of the Loom floats my boat just as well, for about $10 for three of them. Many men prefer all cotton, but I like a cotton-poly blend.
7) Never heard of Tod’s shoes and $495 is too much money for black lace-up dress shoes. I have a pair of black wing-tips made by Clarks – a brand name that I’m familiar with because of their famous wallaby desert boots -- with a rubber sole and heel combo that makes them as comfortable as walking shoes. I’ve had these shoes for at least 20 years, along with a matching pair in brown. I bought them at a now defunct big and tall men’s store in downtown L.A. (Eagleson’s) for about $30 a pair. They’re still good looking and comfortable. I checked out Clarks shoes on the Internet and they’re in the $80-$100 range. For a top-quality American-made shoe, it’s hard to beat Allen Edmonds, for $225 to $400 or so. Johnston Murphy shoes are great, too, and you can buy a nice dress shoe for about $170. Nothing wrong with Nunn-Bush, Rockport or Dexter – I’ve owned them all and my bare feet are currently occupying Dexter boat shoes as I write.
8) The guys at Esquire must think we’re made out of money, suggesting $1,510 for a Louis Vuitton leather overnight bag. Value City supplied mine, for about $60 and I don’t worry about it getting all banged up. It’s a Geoffrey Beene.
9) A three-button navy wool suit by Canali for $1,595 is also too rich for my blood. I prefer blazers, anyway and you-know-who from Mineral Point, WI (owned by Sears, so you can get some Lands’ End items at Sears) has plenty of choices if you don’t mind ordering by mail. I like the Lands’ End suit separates because I need a 46-long jacket, but not the big-waisted trousers that come with 46-long suits. Prices range from about $125 up to $300 or so, allowing you to buy a blazer, a Harris tweed jacket (a favorite of mine), a couple of pairs of trousers and a suit for about $1,000.
10) Jack Spade isn’t actor David Spade’s brother (that’s Andy Spade, husband of Kate) and his $95 medium-width tie is on the 10 necessities list. Jack, David and Andy (not to mention Kate) are rich enough. Pick up a nice silk tie for much less at a fashion-oriented place or order one from you know who for $30 to $60 (no, they’re not paying me for this story and I’m not getting a lifetime supply of goodies!).