style q and q | The Style Guide

A neat array of home goods from Friday & River on display, including excellent candle and planter options for your home. Photo courtesy of Friday & River.

Editor’s note: Stick around to catch up on the last entry in our Style Q+A series.

Here at your favorite neighborhood menswear blog — The Style Guide, c’mon guys — there’s inspiration to be found everywhere in terms of men’s style. And as we’ve often talked about when it comes to style upgrades, there are a lot of different things, some small and some large, that go into developing and refining great personal style. From how you buy and wear your favorite chambray shirt to the type of classic leather boots you put on every day, style is certainly an ongoing process — and that includes the things that surround you in your daily home life. Whether we’re talking a refined-yet-rugged candle or a neat planter, there are chances to put a bit more thought into nearly every aspect of your routine and the design of the spaces in which you live and work. Not to get all philosophical but… it makes a difference! And the small team at Friday & River approaches its work with all those small details and the process of excellent design in mind — that’s great news for you and me both. And when you learn more about the San Diego-based husband-and-wife brand, you realize that yes, even the unexpected items — like your leather wallet or your everyday belt — can make a big difference in the way you live your life. In discovering the brand and trying out its “Yuzu and the Sea” candle and a lovely white, leather-wrapped planter over the past few weeks, I found that I appreciate having subtly stylish goods around my Brooklyn apartment (small as it might be). And hopefully, you’ll give the brand a try for yourself — shop around at Friday & River, and learn more about what makes co-founder Joe Freitag tick. Without much further ado, check out the latest Style Q+A .

TSG: Tell about the start of the brand and your initial idea for it?

F&R: Friday & River is very much a collaboration between my wife Yumi and I. We have both worked in design or branding for brands like Levis, Burton, Luxottica, to name a few, and discovered the world of high-quality handcrafted leather goods while we were living and working in Tokyo. Inspired by the dedication to craftsmanship, minimalism and attention to detail, we learned the craft of leatherwork and started designing and making our own items as gifts for friends and family. Eventually we began selling our goods under the name Friday &River, which is derived from our last names – Freitag meaning “Friday” in German, and Kawamura meaning “Big River Village” in Japanese.

A lineup of items from the brand’s very sharp “All-Black” Collection. Photo courtesy of Friday & River.

TSG: You feature a wide range of product categories on your site — why is it important for a guy to take an interest in home design and other areas outside of just menswear?

F&R: I think most guys who pay attention to what they wear also consider their living space as an extension of their personality. Increasingly, when people spend their hard-earned money on something they are seeking items with purpose, or add a sense of joy and warmth to their lives. That way of thinking is one of the cornerstones of Friday & River and why we strive to make meaningful items for different aspects of a person’s life.

TSG: If you had to pick out one item from the Friday & River site for a guy to buy, what might it be?

F&R: I think there’s something very personal about a man’s wallet. It’s the one item that he’ll often carry with him every day for years, reminding him of where he’s been and where he’s headed. A well-made leather wallet can be handed down for generations.

TSG: On the style front, what’s an essential every guy should have in his closet?

F&R: Now that cooler weather has settled in, there’s something very satisfying about putting on your favorite watch cap. (Editor’s note: Head here for a few stylish winter accessories picks from 2016).

TSG: You post studio playlists on your blog — how does music inspire your design work, and what have you been spinning lately?

F&R: Music is a constant in the Friday & River workshop. It is the soundtrack to our work-whether it be design, production or day-to-day tasks, so we like to share that soundtrack on our site once in a while. We have a pretty eclectic taste in music, but you’ll typically hear a lot of classic soul and funk because it keeps the energy flowing, especially when we’re in production.

Want more from Friday & River on the daily? Follow along with the brand on Instagram and Twitter.

Editor’s note: To check out other Style Q&A pieces, head here.

Just a snapshot of some of the eyecatching styles produced by American Trench. Photo courtesy of the brand.

You can’t help but admire brands that delve into a product niche and ideology, and really live out that commitment. Jacob Hurwitz and David Neill have done that and then some as they’ve built American Trench, a brand with whom you may be familiar if you’ve read any of my work on VOUCH Mag — or if you’ve seen their socks in GQ. The duo developed the brand with the simple idea that manufacturing high-quality goods can be done right here in America, and they’ve stuck to it with the help of a Kickstarter launch in late 2012. I had the great fortune to check out a set of excellent American Trench socks for a review on GearHungry (and you can expect to see more of them around these parts, too). The socks are eyecatching, comfortable and quite well-made — everything you could want on your feet. And in corresponding with Jacob, he and David have a tremendous focus on doing right by the people they work with — something to be applauded and recognized. The brand makes a pretty killer trench coat, to boot. I caught up with Jacob for a few questions recently, and the interview is (I think) absolutely worth a read if you’re into supporting brands who take care of their own — and make a pretty nice product, to say the least!

The Style Guide: Tell me more about the inception of American Trench and the ‘A-ha!’ moment that spurred it on?

American Trench: I took a trip to London with my wife in the summer of 2009 and bought a trench coat there, because when in London, one must buy a rain coat, even in the summer. After getting home and reading day after day about continuing layoffs and job losses, my friend David and I were talking about US manufacturing. We wanted to make something. The idea came up…who makes trench coats in the USA? The answer – no one. So we set out to do it. We had no experience in apparel, so it took 2.5 years, but we make something special.

TSG: American manufacturing is at the core of your business — expand a bit on your philosophy behind that commitment to domestic manufacturing, and are there other brands you admire doing similar things?

AT: American manufacturing is why started the company, plain and simple. All of our products are either knit or cut and sewn in the USA. We try to use domestic source materials when possible and appropriate, but each item has been manufactured at a factory in the United States. Our philosophy can be summed up pretty succinctly: make the best you can make and do the best you can for the people around you. When we read about Brunello Cucinelli’s desire to make all of his products in Italy, which is well documented, it doesn’t sound nationalist. He makes it very clear that this is how he can best help the people around him. The best part about buying USA made? It’s totally in alignment with the core principles of our country – freedom and liberty. Buying USA made is not mandatory nor does it require belonging to a specific race, class, group, or political party. In the land of liberty, the greatest freedom we all have, what we choose to buy, can actually can create change! So there it is — vote with your wallet.

The brand’s relatively understated styles add a nice touch of color to any outfit. Photo courtesy of American Trench.

TSG: American Trench has a pretty particular product focus between knitwear, socks and your outerwear — how did that come about?

AT: We decided to launch a Kickstarter campaign to bring our trench coat to market and realized that we wanted to have a way for people to support us on Kickstarter even if they didn’t have $700+ to drop on a rain coat. So we decided to offer USA=made socks, because who can’t afford a pair of good socks? After Kickstarter, we started to get wholesale interest in the sock side of the business. People were looking for made-in-the-USA (product) and accessories, and we had both. We also found some awesome sock mills — one in Reading, PA and another in North Carolina. Interest in the rain coat never died down, so we become dual-focused on accessories and outerwear.

TSG: What was the biggest challenge (or series of challenges) you encountered in your journey to source fabric, materials and production partners for your trench coat?

AT: There have been challenges at each step, although that’s true for any business. Making the trench was a beast, we choose to make a super complicated product to start, with 70-plus pattern pieces. It took two tries to find the right factory, and not without a lot of screw-ups and fixes. Pattern making is not easy, nor is production. It’s a complicated business. Knitwear is not walk in the park either, samples and production sometimes don’t end up being the same.

TSG: What’s one style mistake you see too many guys make?

AT: Scale and proportion. If you going to wear slim jeans or trousers, the rest of the outfit should be slim. Then all items will be in proportion. You can’t wear your favorite decade old blazer with your new trim pants and vice-versa, the scale of each garment is totally out of sync. Likewise, sometimes a little looser look can be really refreshing, but make sure the rest of your outfit matches the same scale.

The other thing I would say is that less is more. Don’t cram too many colors, patterns, and styles into one outfit. For example — if you wear your double-monk shoes, keep the suit solid and the socks toned down; double-monk shoes are a big statement. Instagram style is its own universe, and should be taken treated as half-fantasy, half-reality. Less is more!

If you have square-toe dress shoes in your closet from ten years ago, thank them for their service and put them in the trash.

TSG: What’s one style-related item every guy should own?

AT: Tough one. But regardless of the item, quality over quantity. I think a good pair of versatile shoes is a must. I’m talking about something that can be dressed up or down, with a suit or denim. Great shoes make a good suit look great and turn your socks into a star. The Longwing 975 and PTB 990 styles by Alden are classic. They ain’t cheap, but you can wear them with anything. I really love the Rancourt cap toe as well.

That’s all from Jacob this go-round. If you’d like to support the brand more, check out their Web site or catch them on Twitter.

The Style Guide

All the best men's style essentials you need, every day.

Tag / style q and q

Style Q+A: Friday & River

Style Q+A: American Trench