Tag / the friday find

by Beau H.

The Friday Find: These Viberg Service Boots are an Investment-Level Pair Worth Every Penny

It’s critical, at least in this day and age (in this economy!) to know when to level up your footwear game and your menswear rotation in general with the types of pieces you can truly invest in and wear for years — yes, years — on end. Only a choice few brands truly pass muster in that regard as far as high-quality, dependable, durable gear is concerned, a test that becomes all the more critical when it comes down to the footwear you lace up every single days.

Yes, the right pair of exceptionally high-quality, handmade footwear can be a true gamechanger in every sense of the word — when you lace up some of the best boots for men, like a wonderfully well-made set of Viberg men’s boots, the difference is clear in each and every stitch.

Find out more about Viberg boots now

Viberg boasts exceptional Canadian heritage dating back to the 1930s, especially the Viberg Service Boot, an icon from the company and perhaps the gold standard as far as derby-style boots are concerned. In fact, as Viberg says of the incredibly well-made, remarkably tough and reliable Viberg Service Boots, the pattern for these boots “is a classic 6″ derby boot, which is one of the most versatile patterns available,” with deep roots for hard work outside, as the company further notes.

The style remains as rugged and hard-wearing as ever, featuring the company’s “nailed construction” for a sturdy outsole and workwear-approved performance.

In fact, with the modern rendition of the Viberg Service Boots, the company still does things the old-fashioned way, a true must when it comes to consistently crafting the best boots for men. They use stitchdown construction for a hard-wearing outer vamp that delivers weather resistance underfoot, while the Viberg Service Boots in their many handsome, essential and stylish leathers (like the Natural Chromexcel leather used here) are also finished with premium hardware and the company’s distinctive brown ridgeway outsole for added traction.

To say that this legendary Canadian and Pacific Northwest company considered every detail when it comes to the must-buy Viberg Service Boots is perhaps an understatement. And while the Viberg Service Boots are certainly an investment at more than $1,000, they’re the kind of boots made to be worn consistently on the daily (if your dress code and schedule allows, that is). Find yourself a one-of-a-kind set of the best boots for men via the Viberg Service Boots, my friends.

by Beau H.

The Friday Find: Get Out There This Season with the Triple Aught Design Stasis Jacket

As we re-emerge from a frigid winter, perhaps you’re as eager as I am to hit the road and hit the trail again with some of the best gear for men in your pack and over your shoulders. Not every brand is built to go far afield (or across town) with rugged, durable performance in mind, but the few that are, well, they’re worth your time, as we’ve discovered in our Friday Find series spotlighting underrated brands with a knack for reliable functionality and style.

Of course, Triple Aught Design, with its California roots and tactical inspiration, fits the bill quite nicely indeed, as you well know if you keep up with this style blog. And as with any great spring adventure, dependability in your outerwear rotation should prove top of mind — let’s get started with one of the best spring jackets, shall we?

Shop new spring gear at Triple Aught Design

The Triple Aught Design Stasis Jacket adds plenty to your spring gear rotation, pairing both Polartec Alpha insulation on the interior with fabrication led by a water-resistant 30 denier nylon shell. The insulation throughout is lighter in the sleeves to aid in mobility and comfort without causing you to overheat during expeditions in the field, Triple Aught Design says, while a high-coverage collar features a chin guard for added protection from the elements.

Front chest pockets also pair with a left internal chest pocket for crucial everyday carry storage, while the Triple Aught Design Stasis Jacket, as the company says, “blurs the line between everyday insulation and technical mid layer,” complete with two stylish and sleek color options. In fact, for maximum versatility, the company recommends pairing it with everything from a simple lightweight tee or used as a mid-layer beneath an overshirt.

If rugged appeal and performance is the name of the game, which it certainly is this season, then I think you’ve found the ideal jacket for lightweight utility and sleek style in spades. Make no mistake, the Triple Aught Design Stasis Jacket has you sorted out in fine form this spring.

by Beau H.

The Friday Find: Transition to Early Spring and the Weekend with this Laidback Warren Pullover Hoodie

Best hoodies for men.

On the verge of a late winter weekend, what do you look for in your wardrobe of menswear essentials? Do you look for casual comfort for laidback days at home? Something more polished for nights out? Or something so well-made, it’s hard not to find a way to work it into your wardrobe?

The Warren Hayes Pullover Hoodie might just fit the bill nicely in that regard, especially in matters of laidback, casual weekend style — and it doesn’t hurt that it’s part of an always stellar assortment of USA-made menswear from Warren, a favorite brand of mine across the past year or so. How about yourself, ehh?

We’ve talked in past Warren menswear reviews about the company’s steadfast commitment to made-in-New-England manufacturing, which just so happens to make them a perfect fit for our Friday Find series, where we dive briefly but deeply into quality menswear made the right way in small batches (in a manner of speaking, that is).

And the Warren Hayes Pullover Hoodie exemplifies the proper USA-made approach in matters of rugged, dependable style, whether worn with expertly faded blue jeans, stretch chinos and a light wash denim jacket, or a pair of tailored merino joggers for a weekend at home. Twill tape reinforcements at key stress points are accented by black matte drawcord tips, while the classic fit is apt for layering over a long-sleeve tee or a henley without leaving you swimming in excess fabric.

Made from 10.5oz. organic French Terry cotton that’s then garment-dyed to great effect in Somersworth, New Hampshire, the durable Warren Hayes Pullover Hoodie is a steadfast commitment to old-school athletic styles. And as the brand says, “every part of the construction process – knitting, sewing, and dyeing – takes place within a 100-mile radius, a testament to New England’s long-standing textile heritage.” I couldn’t have said it better myself — how do you feel about adding the utterly classic Warren Hayes Pullover Hoodie to your laidback weekend style rotation? The time is upon us, my friends.

by Beau H.

The Friday Find: These 3sixteen Selvedge Jeans are a Fresh Take on Classic Men’s Blue Jeans

Best selvedge jeans for men.

It can sometimes be tricky to improve upon a classic, especially if that classic piece happens to be a set of the best selvedge denim for men. A workwear staple for decades, the blue jean is as all-American as it gets, and yet, between fit and fabrication, some of the very best denim jeans for men get even better when in the right hands.

In the case of today’s Friday Find — a deep dive into an underrated style staple by a buzzed-about but underrated brand — the good folks at 3sixteen have you covered with the 3sixteen CT-101xs in a richly crafted stonewash, a nice change of pace from typical dark blue selvedge denim.

Find out more and shop now at 3sixteen

The New York City-based label goes deep in the world of the highest-quality denim on the market, and in this case, the 3sixteen CT-101xs boast stonewashed 12oz. denim in an agreeable weight for multiple seasons. The denim itself is stonewashed evenly for a crisp, clean and light fade, making the 3sixteen CT-101xs a solid go-between from dark blue or black selvedge denim and true light wash jeans.

Crafted with impeccable care, that makes the casually rugged 3sixteen CT-101xs a soft yet durable pair of jeans with a classic tapered cut that should work plenty well on most body types. Details like standout USA-made craftsmanship are a surefire sign of quality, along with the use of exceptional denim fabric sourced from Okayama, Japan — a country that knows a thing or two about the best blue jeans.

The 3sixteen CT-101xs can just about do it all in matters of casual style, whether paired with a classic henley and a cardigan, or with a crisp Oxford shirt and a lightweight navy blazer for a dash of seasonal, high-low style. Given the investment-level price of these stylish men’s jeans ($290, to be exact), versatility is the name of the game in terms of wearability — make your next denim-centric wardrobe upgrade happen with the fresh nature of the 3sixteen CT-101xs, my friends.

by Beau H.

The Friday Find: Best Made Co. Might Have Perfected the Chambray Shirt – See For Yourself Here

Best Made Co. chambray shirt

How hard is it to improve upon a menswear classic like one of the best chambray shirts? Originally prized for its rough-and-rugged texture that made it an ideal workwear piece, the right chambray shirt can prove as versatile as dressier shirts in your closet (like the Oxford shirt) when done the right way.

And as we talked about just a few weeks back on this Brooklyn style blog, there are companies a cut above the rest, quite literally, when it comes to crafting refreshed takes on menswear staples like the chambray shirt — and that’s where Best Made Co. can help you see a style classic in a fresh, durable and stylish new light.

Find out more and shop now at Best Made Co.

As the company sagely notes, “in the annals of workwear, few pieces have been worn through the ranks like the chambray.” And for a newly resurgent brand that was restarted in the past few years by original founder Peter Buchanan-Smith, it makes perfect sense that Best Made Co. and the Best Made Okayama Selvedge Chambray Indigo Shirt would prove a dependable flagship piece.

The Best Made Okayama Selvedge Chambray Indigo Shirt hangs its hat on indigo rope-dyed chambray fabric hailing from — you guessed it — Okayama. The shirt and its highly authentic details like true selvedge edges on the inside cuffs and side seam (as seen above) round things out in authentic, durable and eye-catching form.

Cut and sewn in Portugal, Best Made Co. also notes that its “trademark “cuff-to-elbow-tuff” reinforcements” add another layer of rugged, workwear-approved performance.

Shop chambray shirting and more now at Best Made Co.

And fittingly enough given the fact that the details truly do make the difference, this handsome and utterly classic shirt is “a chambray built to outlast trends, seasons, and years of hard work,” the company rightfully notes. In my experience with Best Made Co., that sentiment assuredly holds true — from chambray shirts to the company’s trademark axes and more. This could very well be the best classic wardrobe addition you make for the season ahead.

by Beau H.

The Friday Find: Bolster Your Jacket Roster with this Stylish Plaid Number from Patrick James

We like to keep things moving and grooving at this Brooklyn style blog — that is to say, the name of the game today is still winter outerwear and one of the best winter jackets for men, but viewed in a bit of a different light from a brand that knows a thing or two about refined menswear and comfort.

So while it can be essential to keep a thick puffer jacket or a tried-and-true peacoat at the ready, some casually rugged options (yet fashioned with durable, ultra-soft fabric) are also a prime addition to your wardrobe. Take Patrick James, the long-running California menswear purveyor (since 1962, in fact) and the Patrick James Dolomine Plaid Cord Jacket. It’s a bit of a different take on a rugged winter jacket, with the same classic plaid build as you’ll find on the best shirt jackets and flannel shirts for men, for instance.

Find out more now and shop the best menswear at Patrick James

But a closer look reveals points of distinction and comfort any guy you should be glad to have close at hand — especially as winter’s chill keeps sticking around. The Patrick James Dolomine Plaid Cord Jacket (which just so happens to be 30 percent off right now) is the perfect sort of pick for our Friday Find series — just different enough, but familiar in all the right ways. In fact, the Patrick James Dolomine Plaid Cord Jacket boasts a rich Italian-made wool blend structure to go along with that utterly timeless plaid pattern.

Here’s where it gets a bit different with the Patrick James Dolomine Plaid Cord Jacket: Note the corduroy collar and cuffs, touches typically found on waxed barn coats or field coats from iconic brands like Barbour (for instance).

Two button flap chest pockets and eye-catching angled hip pockets deliver warmth for your digits and space for your everyday carry, to round this jacket out in fine form indeed. Feel free to layer the Patrick James Dolomine Plaid Cord Jacket atop a chambray shirt or even an Oxford shirt in place of a blazer based on the weather at hand — winter style classics with just a touch different about ’em have never been more within your reach.

by Beau H.

The Friday Find: This Devium USA Quilted Flannel Shirt is the Ultimate Winter Layering Move

In my experience bundling up for the brisk weather in Brooklyn, especially these days, it often pays off to lean into rugged utility with an added dash of durable, rugged performance — just when you think your #menswear rotation has seen it all, a brand comes along that ups the ante in reliable fashion. And for my money’s worth, that brand just so happens to be Devium USA — a personal favorite of this writer, the company takes a steadfast, strong approach to the best American-made style, no corners cut in any way, shape or form.

Find out more now at Devium USA

My past Devium menswear reviews on this blog have delved into a bit of everything, from the brand’s strong but supple T-shirts and short-sleeve buttondowns to its hard-wearing waxed jackets, tough-as-nails flannel shirts and sturdy base layers like one of the best henleys for men. The list certainly goes on from there, but let’s focus on what makes this dependable shirt jacket (or shacket!) so exceptional, shall we?

And in this day and age, and with temperatures being what they are out there, I’d wager you assuredly can’t go wrong with a handsome, highly functional selection like the Devium Stamped Quilt Lined Flannel Shirt. As the name implies, it’s everything you absolutely love about a dependable flannel shirt, bolstered by details like a medium-weight quilted lining and 7oz. cotton flannel construction across the board. The fact that your new favorite flannel shirt jacket comes in a host of rich, handsome colors and plaid options is but a major added bonus, is it not?

Remember what we said about upping the ante in matters of both warmth and style? Well, the Devium Stamped Quilt Lined Flannel Shirt has plenty of both to go around in spades, from its reinforced collar to the use of hard-working, military grade snap buttons.

It’s tough to pick just one favorite color when it comes to the Devium Stamped Quilt Lined Flannel Shirt, at least in my experience, and with cut-and-sew production taking place in California featuring materials sourced in America, there’s sense of supreme style, durability and toughness to the Devium Stamped Quilt Lined Flannel Shirt — try one on for size and see for yourself, my friends.

by Beau H.

The Friday Find: The Best Made Co. Wool-Lined Waxed Field Jacket Belongs In Your Closet In the Years Ahead

Best Made Co. review.

If the Friday Find series is all about spotlighting brands that fly ever-so-slightly under the radar, then it’s also about spotlighting brands and designers large and not-so-large that are doing things the right way, the hard way, in a steadfast manner. Perhaps no company featured on the Friday Find so far embodies that ethos and craftsmanship quite like Best Made Co. (let the debate begin, but for my money’s worth, it holds up!).

And in fact, perhaps Best Made Co. isn’t so unfamiliar to you — after all, the brand was founded in 2009 by designer Peter Buchanan-Smith, and quickly shot to cult fame for its iconic axes and hard-wearing, good old-fashioned pieces like chore coats and handsome sweaters.

The company was later folded into the Duluth Trading Co. umbrella, at least for a time (after Buchanan-Smith’s departure), but the founder eventually bought his company back and retooled Best Made beginning in the fall of 2023. The real story, to hear its founder tell it, is longer and more nuanced, but there’s lots to dive into here — and it certainly won’t be the last time we talk about Best Made Co. on this Brooklyn menswear blog, my friends.

Learn more about the Best Made Co. story here

What a journey, right? The brand is back under its founder’s guidance, and as near as I can tell, the results are as tough, hard-working, rugged and functional as ever — which brings us to the Best Made Co. Wool-Lined Waxed Field Jacket, among other must-see staples from a newly resurgent Best Made Co. The company is as product-focused as ever, with a rugged ethos that looks to the great outdoors and heirloom design staples aplenty.

When it comes to the Best Made Co. Wool-Lined Waxed Field Jacket, the brand used its own proprietary Cruiser Jacket pattern to deliver a twist on an old-time favorite, using British Millerain waxed cotton for a durable shell that’s then bolstered from the inside with sturdy but supple Wyoming wool. To say Best Made Co. went all-out with this excellent-looking jacket is an understatement:

The company lined the sleeves of this field jacket in cotton twill herringbone, then used wool within its hand warmer pockets. Meanwhile, British corduroy finishes off the collar and cuffs, and incredibly, it all comes together right n New York City. They don’t make ’em like they used to, except when they do. If this is a new look at a new Best Made Co., then color me very impressed — the best is indeed yet to come, I’d wager.

by Beau H.

The Friday Find: The Iron and Resin Cruiser Jacket is Perfectly Suited for Each and Every Rugged Adventure This Season

Iron and Resin Cruiser Jacket review.

As we so often talk about on this Brooklyn style blog, it can indeed be mighty refreshing to find a brand crafting rugged menswear the right way — especially if it’s a brand that might have flown under your radar, or a brand you haven’t explored in some time.

As we try to do with our Friday Find series, it seems that when it comes to winter style essentials — and the best waxed jackets — the good folks at Iron and Resin deliver just what the doctor ordered in matters of rugged, durable and dependable quality.

Find out more and shop now at Iron and Resin

The newly reintroduced Iron and Resin Raymond Cruiser Jacket fits the bill perfectly in that regard, using a remarkable blend of quality, craftsmanship and tough-as-nails fabrication to get the details just right (and then some).

Best waxed jackets for men.

The Iron and Resin Raymond Cruiser Jacket starts off with a supple yet sturdy build featuring what the company calls a “beefy 14.75oz Raymond waxed cotton canvas,” amped up on the inside and outside with cozy yet strong features like a lining crafted from the brand’s custom Klamath Flannel pattern blanket fabrication.

The effect is visually pleasing as well as cozy and warm — how much more can you ask for from one of the best waxed jackets for men, ehh? Gusseted shoulders and a fit cut to hit just above the hip drive home the utility of this jacket, for good measure.

Iron and Resin menswear review.

Dependable details truly make the difference when it comes to the Iron and Resin Raymond Cruiser Jacket, including a heavy-duty front zipper and reliable storm closure flap for extra coverage. Front chest pockets and lower hip pockets offer space for your everyday carry essentials, a wise move given that you’ll want to get plenty of wear out of your new favorite waxed jacket.

Shop the best gear for the open road at Iron and Resin

If it seems as if the company thought of just about everything as far as the handsome and highly dependable Iron and Resin Raymond Cruiser Jacket is concerned, that’s because, at least in my experience, they certainly did.

by Beau H.

The Friday Find: This Warren Chamois Shirt is a Perfect USA-Made Addition to Your Winter Wardrobe

It’s all too easy for a brand to take shortcuts these days, to outsource production or find a cheaper way of doing things, and while it’s certainly not economical for the menswear lovers like you and me, it tends to make a heck of a lot of difference when you find a brand doing precisely the opposite.

It’s quite the heady topic rolling into a new year, and again, it might not be feasible to stock your entire wardrobe with the best USA-made menswear. And yet, if you want to feel a durable difference in every stitch, packed with style points in each piece to boot, you very well might love what’s happening at New England’s Warren, a brand I’ve enjoyed getting to wear and getting to learn about across the past year or so.

Find out more now at Warren

The brand centers its sourcing and production around New England in a major change of how plenty of other retailers (albeit larger!) are doing things these days, and the gettin’ gets better from there, so to speak.

From a durable-as-can-be rugged chore coat to a vintage-inspired sweatshirt and a stellar, small-batch run of utterly classic chinos, Warren checks off the proper boxes as far as menswear classics and timeless wardrobe building blocks are concerned.

The brand is a new one on the scene, but ranks up near the very top when it comes to my favorite American-made menswear brands — and if I had to wager, I’d say the Warren Walden Chamois Shirt should only strengthen that feeling.

The Warren Walden Chamois Shirt starts with a sturdy 7.05oz. organic cotton twill fabric from American Woolen (the cotton is grown and spun in the American South, the company notes). Followed by brushing and garment-dying in New Hampshire, you’re left with a near-perfect chamois shirt, one that should prove utterly soft yet dependable out of the box, and entirely ready to make your own.

This dependable winter staple draws its inspiration from Maine winters and coastal shirting that’s proven a must-have in fierce Nor’easters aplenty, and Warren duly notes the Warren Walden Chamois Shirt was “inspired by the practical shirts worn across New England’s backwoods and work yards.”

Whether worn with sturdy chinos or cool-as-can-be corduroy trousers, or else with canvas work pants atop a thermal henley when your to-do list calls, you’ve found the perfect shirt for the occasion in the Warren Walden Chamois Shirt.