People tell me they like suits but dont have occasions to wear one. You can wear a suit to court, funerals, and religious services. Doesn't have to be your trial, friend's burial, or religion you believe in. Go to random trials, attend a stranger's burial, join multiple religions

Jack Kerouac is another great American writer whose style would work seamlessly today. Pendleton-style Board Shirts, cotton field jackets, Johnny collar polos, and tweed sport coats. Very much the kind of guy you still see at certain bars.

This is not what sprezzatura means. The term sprezzatura comes from The Book of the Courtier, a 16th-century text by the Italian diplomat Baldassare Castiglione. At the time, the livelihoods of certain European elites depended on their proximity to the throne. The better you could serve the King or Queen, the more prosperous and secure your lifestyle would be. In his book, Castiglione used the word sprezzatura to describe how a courtier should perform their duties while concealing all effort, so that even the most difficult accomplishments seem natural and effortless. As he wrote, it's "a certain nonchalance, to conceal all art and make whatever one does or says appear to be without effort and almost without any thought about it." In this way, you would seem indispensable to the royal court, as you are too talented to give up. Menswear writers later co-opted the term to describe the process of looking stylish without seeming like you tried. This idea goes back to Beau Brummell, arguably the single most important figure in menswear history, as his dictums in the early 19th century still shape how we think about dress today. At the time, there were powdered fops who wore ornate dress and giant wigs. Brummell championed a simpler, more austere form of male attire consisting of a dark tailcoat and full-length trousers (rather than breeches). His style of dress at the time was known as the dandy, even though today we use the term to describe someone who visibly puts effort into their dress. Brummell was fastidious about his presentation. There's an often-passed-around story about how he would spend hours in the morning tying his white cravat so it would look perfect without seeming like he tried. One morning, guests saw one of Brummell's dressing rooms with a container full of cravats. When asked what those were, the valet said: "These are our failures." Brummell insisted that you always look stylish, but effortless. If lore is to be believed, he once said: "If John Bull turns around to look at you, you're poorly dressed: either too stiff, too tight, or too fashionable." (John Bull was a term for a random man at the time, sort of like Joe Blow). Whether rightly or wrongly, this still shapes how we think about men's style today. Hence, my objection to the first outfit below on Brunello Cucinelli. A peak-lapel sport coat with a crisp white dress shirt, a dark tie, blue jeans, and bright tan shoes signals a lot of effort. To me, it looks calculated and contrived. Whereas a slightly more casual shirt (light blue) worn with a tweed jacket, no tie, and jeans looks more natural. Did Tom Selleck consider his clothes when getting dressed? Of course, no one would fall into these clothes while climbing out of bed. But he has hidden his effort better.

Some great stuff in the online RRL vintage shop. Prices are expensive because that's the nature of this business (lots of labor in procuring and presenting the items), but you can use the info and images to inform your own vintage hunting.

Some beautiful Pateks coming up for auction at FutureGrail

this is the only CEO that should be on your sweater

Seeing a lot of people talk about summer penny loafers and recommending GH Bass. Although iconic, most Bass Weejuns are poorly made. You can see the difference in the two photos below. On the left, we have an old pair of GH Bass Weejuns. On the right, we have a similarly old pair of Aldens. The Weejuns are made from a type of material known as corrected grain leather, which is a lower-quality hide that arrives at the tannery with scars and marks that naturally developed over the animal's lifetime. Since you need an even surface for shoes, tanneries will sand the surface to remove blemishes, then apply a chemical coating. The problem is that the coating will age poorly over time. In the photo here, they've developed cloudy creases. In some cases, the coating can flake off. On the other hand, Alden uses full-grain leather, which means the leather retains its natural surface. They are also careful in how they place the pattern pieces onto the hide and subsequently cut the various pieces to produce a shoe. This way, the creases are finer and less pronounced. Of course, Alden is about 7x more expensive than Weejun, but they are not the only company that uses full-grain leather. A basic Bass Weejun will run you about $175. Meermin's full-grain leather loafers are $230 — just $55 more Why spend this extra money? Because after a year or two, you will grow dissatisfied with how your Weejuns look. Then you will throw them away and buy something new, only to repeat the process. On the other hand, if you buy loafers made from higher-quality materials, you will grow fond of the patina that they've developed. Thus, you will splurge on a resole, allowing you to grow ever fonder of your shoes, repairing them as needed, and keeping the same pair of shoes for many decades. IMO, it's always better to buy less, but buy better. Consider what you really need and then figure out how things are made. Use this information to identify reliable brands and retailers. This is a much better way to shop than to say "The Row is popular right now, so I should buy that" (using the "The Row" here as just a stand-in for whatever seems to be hot at the moment — no shade to them).

i love seeing stylish strangers on the street. a genuine small daily joy