Thanks for joining us again for another Friday Read.  We’re on the cusp of Memorial Day weekend, so welcome. Although it looks mighty different than years past, I hope you find ways to celebrate with family and friends (socially distanced, of course). What’s on your plate (besides shopping for summer style essentials)? Maybe you’ll be spending some time outside with family or heading out on a hike? Or perhaps, you’re just focused on making the perfect summer meal and enjoying a classic summer beer? At any rate, I’d bet that the excellent Western Rise Limitless Merino Shirt (as seen above — it’s one of the best shirts for summer I’ve tried) is going to get where you need to go.

When we return from Memorial Day weekend, it also happens to be one of the best shirts to wear to work from home, what with its 4-way stretch and use of merino wool and polyester. A performance Oxford shirt you can wear all day? Sign me up. In fact, there’s a very good chance I’ll be wearing some of my own Western Rise gear to get out and about as much as possible in Brooklyn — the quiet confines of Marine Park near my humble abode sound pretty ideal right now (I’ll be wearing a camo mask from Ball and Buck, as it were). I’ll also be fueling my day with plenty of coffee, and I’m naturally going to make some time to listen to a vinyl record or three (if you happen to be a vinyl guy yourself, you might want to check out one of the best record players). In the meantime, start your weekend right here, right now — today’s Friday Read is packed.

• Let’s start things off with a truly crucial call-out. First of all, I’m going to assume you know and love Huckberry. Second of all, you should know that Huckberry is running a massive Memorial Day sale through the 25th. The details of that sale? Epic. From now until 2 p.m. EST on May 25th, you can get up to 30 percent off on some of the best spring and summer gear. That means stylish slip-on shoes (like the Astorflex Wakeflex shown above) are 25 percent off, that means some of the best men’s polos are up to 25 percent off … that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Shop what just might be the best Memorial Day sale as soon as you can.
• I’m going to go right ahead and call out another Memorial Day sale, this one also from my friends at Western Rise. The brand’s stylish and functional Evolution Pants are 25 percent off, no code needed, through May 25th. That’s right — 25 percent off some of the best pants for summer, through Monday … no code needed. Shop while there’s still time, my friends.
• But wait, there’s more. My friends at Billykirk — makers of the best duffle bag for guys — are running their own Memorial Day sale. Get 25 percent off sitewide with the code MEMORIAL25. Cheers!
• As one might expect, the good folks at San Francisco’s Taylor Stitch know how to make the best menswear for summer — and they know how to do it the right way. The brand recently announced it had achieved its goal of transitioning to the use of 99 percent organic cotton, a crucial metric that’s going to have a positive impact on the environment (and your wardrobe). To mark the occasion, they’ve curated a seriously stylish Organic Cotton Collection. Yes indeed, Taylor Stitch Organic Cotton gear is some of the best I’ve seen — and the brand was already packed with summer style essentials to begin with! Happy shopping, folks.

• Speaking of San Francisco, lauded & pioneering craft brewer Anchor Brewing is doing plenty to help the local community during these trying times (in addition to brewing some incredibly delicious beer). The brewery partnered with artist Jeremy Fish to refresh the exteriors of boarded up-bars and restaurants across the city with special artwork — putting a modern twist on the SF flag — as part of the Stay Strong SF campaign. Even more critically, every poster has a QR code that directs you to donate to the United States Bartenders Guild.  Even cooler?  The posters are available to download for free at www.AnchorBeerToGo.com — while there, you can also purchase a T-shirt (which will donate 100 percent of the proceeds to the USBG). And if you live in the area, you can get your favorite craft beer via curbside pick-up on Friday, Saturday & Sunday. Sounds great to me, right? (Speaking of craft beer, shop for your favorite growler while we’re on the subject).

• Want to shake up your weekend while giving back to a good cause? Check out Schick Xtreme’s Shave The Day mobile video gaming, where you can play as XtremeMan to shave people’s heads (a fitting quarantine haircut!) to earn Bald Bucks — those Bald Bucks are being turned into real dollars that Schick will donate to St. Baldrick’s Foundation (up to $25,000) to assist with fighting childhood cancer. Hey, you’ve got the extra time this weekend, so you might as well turn your energy toward a great cause.

Alright, that’s going to do it for today’s edition of The Friday Read. But one last thing for you — given that it’s a long weekend, with plenty of potential for lots of laidback relaxation, I’m going to point you toward my guide on how to wear a T-shirt this summer. Seriously: A T-shirt is so much more than just a T-shirt when you rock it the right way. OK, folks. That’s all I’ve got today. Have a great and safe long weekend, be sure to check out tomorrow’s Style Pick of the Week, and thanks — as always — for reading.

-Beau