The Friday Read: The Best Sale to Shop Besides Prime Day & Summer Weekend Menswear Recommendations

Flint and Tinder menswear review 2025.

My friends, welcome back to your weekly (or near-weekly!) Friday Read dispatch, where we take stock of the world of menswear and a dash of, well, everything — from your bar cart to your wrist game and the footwear in your rotation, all via way of a few choice reading and shopping selections.

Each of those summer style essentials has been top of mind lately, as my #FreelanceLife pursuits keep me plenty busy, as you might have seen on my Instagram these past few weeks indeed. First, I hopped across the pond to tour Amsterdam with Heineken and then spent the better part of 10 days in vibrant, energetic Sao Paolo into Fourth of July weekend.

As I jet across the globe and get the chance to cover everything from fine tequila in Mexico to the best bourbon in Kentucky and the coolest watches and gear on the market — to name but a few pursuits — for sites like Maxim (along with this blog!), I often think about the idea of buying less, but buying better in building out an entire menswear wardrobe.

If you’re here reading this, perhaps you feel much the same way, and perhaps you also opt for classic-meets-modern retailers like Huckberry (more on them in just a moment).

And that’s why when something like the frenzy that is Amazon Prime Day comes around, I often tend to sit out the madness — how about you?

Instead, I try to opt for sale selections from the best menswear retailers, ones that I know well, use often, love and trust.

It’s a lofty order, to be sure, but as we looked at with the very best Fourth of July sales last week, there are remarkable deals to be had out there from fan-favorite designers across the board, be it some of the best sunglasses under $50 from Huckberry or a fresh new Buck Mason polo.

Those are just two selections designed with style and value in mind, along with better-for-the-planet materials and durability. Of course, I’ve also written lately about ways to save even more on designer menswear at Billy Reid, not to mention a host of the best discounts on summer gear from the likes of — you guessed it! — Huckberry.

The point is this: Whether you opt to shop a retailer like Huckberry or if you go the stylish small business route from another fan favorite like Bespoke Post, there are options aplenty if you seek alternatives to Amazon Prime Day — from apparel to footwear, outdoor gear, everyday carry essentials and more.

That’s what I’ll be thinking about this weekend as I kick back with a cold, crisp summer brew while wearing some of my favorite seasonal menswear. Of course, two weekend style dispatches are headed your way in the meantime. Here’s to shopping and saving the right way, and here’s to July in New York City and far beyond.

The Friday Read: The Best Gear to Shop in July, The Best Men’s Running Shorts and Amazon Prime Day

It’s another Friday here at The Style Guide, and a particularly momentous one at that.  For one, we’re capping off another hectic, fast-paced and incredibly fun New York Fashion Week: Men’s, the twice-yearly event that allows America’s top menswear designers — Style Guide favorite Todd Snyder among them — to showcase next season’s wares. Held at a mix of intimate studios and the cavernous shipping center-turned-exhibition site Skylight Clarkson Square, it’s a great week to catch up with industry pals (like my pal Jamal of StyleSocietyGuy) while taking in the season’s coming trends. It’s, in short, an excellent reminder of why I love menswear — the diversity, the modern takes on classic styles and more importantly, the great peole who make it all happen. It’s often a whirlwind of a week — that’s why I’m excited for the coming weekend and the festivities to follow.

That’s because it’s not quite your ordinary weekend exploring Brooklyn (as much as I do love those!). No, I’m heading north this afternoon to the quaint upstate town of Hudson — I took a November trip upstate to Hudson just last year, and I thoroughly enjoyed the town’s focus on excellent gourmet food, arts and culture. My trip has a bit of a different purpose this time around, though.  Famed indie rock heroes The National are hosting what should be a very special evening at former factory and current rustic performance space Basilica Hudson on the edge of town. It’s not quite your average concert, either. Dubbed “Guilty Party” — a direct play on the band’s latest single — the evening features a collaborative performance “in the round,” all taking place not far from where the band recorded said album. It promises to be an incredibly unique, heartfelt and meaningful evening — as any evening curated by your favorite band should be. So, that’s where Friday evening will find me.


And that’s not at all — in a crazy and quite busy turn of scheduling, Saturday brings the fun, quirky and eclectic New Belgium Tour de Fat to NYC. The craft beer festival and all-around extravaganza blends a circus-like atmosphere (think vaudeville performers and trick cycling races) with live music — as it were, an all-time favorite band, New Zealand indie rockers The Naked and Famous, are capping off the night. In short, it’ll be a jam-packed weekend to cap off a jam-packed week. But right now, I couldn’t be more excited. Before you start your own weekend of adventures, stick around a bit longer for our weekly #menswear news recap. Thanks, as always, for reading! Rock on!

  • Equally as important as your prep for the weekend is your weekend shopping strategy — at least, I think so. That’s why I’ve had quite the fun time putting together The List, an ongoing Style Guide series covering the best men’s gear to buy this month.  From the handsome and surprisingly affordabe Newgate Pimlico Wall Clock to the rugged and handy Line of Trade Waxed Canvas Watch Roll, I’d wager that this is gear you’re going to want to buy as soon as you can.

  • I’ll be the first to tell you I enjoy a nice, head-clearing jog through the quite streets of Midwood here in Brooklyn. It’s all the more helpful that the next time I pound the pavement, I’ll have a few ideas on how to do so in style — that’s because I covered the best men’s running shorts for GearMoose! Effective AND stylish, all at once.
  • Amazon Prime Day — the famed shopping portal’s offering of a bunch of deals through its Prime membership service —  flew by this week (Julu 12th, actually). Did you shop any deals? Let me know in terms comments!

And with that, my fellow Style Guide fans … I leave you to the weekend! Feel free to follow me on Instagram to check out Friday and Saturday’s music-filled fun, and be sure to join us tomorrow for our Style Pick of the Week.

-Beau