Those Very Practical Purchases

Posted by: on Jan 23, 2012 | 4 Comments

There are those glamorous items that we scrimp and save to buy and then parade around gingerly like prizes.  And then there’s the stuff we just need.  You can’t wear suede loafers and cashmere coats all the time.  It’s been a cold, wet week here in Chicago and the practical pieces in my closet have been the stars of the show.

The most obvious of these practical purchases is a decent pair of denim.  Every time I try on a pair of top-quality selvedge jeans I fail to pull the trigger.  So I’m left with my good old Levi’s 501s, and not disappointed at all.  They take a beating, are relatively warm, and hold their dark color nicely.  On days when chinos or wool trousers just don’t seem right, they’re my go-to.

Sid Mashburn has them on his fairly new e-commerce site at a good price and only in the good finishes.  Rigid and rinsed are the only options you should even consider.  Maybe white, but not when we’re talking practicality.

A few months ago I called up Bob Carroll at John Hyatt Clothing and ordered myself a Barbour Liddesdale jacket.  And I’ve got to say, since then it might be my most-worn piece of clothing.  It’s warm, lightweight, and bridges the buttoned-up and casual worlds better than almost anything I can think of.  I happen to really like how it looks with a shirt and tie, sans sport coat.

When the weather gets really cold you’ll want to swap it for something thicker (and probably made of wool not polyamide), but for in between weather you can’t do any better for the $150.

As for footwear, I always find myself in a quandary.  I can never find anything rough-and-tumble that looks half-decent to my eye.  I’ve trashed a handful of decent boots by subjecting them to salty and slushy winters.  No more.

Some guys love their duck boots – I bought my really apathetically.  While visiting family over the holidays pictures flooded in of Chicago blanketed in snow and slush.  I shuddered and ordered the damn boots.  LL Bean’s classic Bean Boot was backordered a few months, so I went to Lands End and grabbed their offering.

I’ve got to say they’re growing on me.  If we’re talking practicality, they’re pretty impossible to beat.  Rubber treads, waterproof, warm, the whole nine-yards.  And I’m getting used to looking at them.  With the Liddesdale and some 501s they look perfectly at home, and I think I’ll keep them for practical-dressing days for now.

4 Comments

  1. Zach
    January 23, 2012

    It took me some time to grow used to seeing Bean Boots on my feet. But one should never forget that there is elegence in functionality.

    Reply
    • Stephen
      January 23, 2012

      Very true words sir.

      Reply
  2. Tom
    January 23, 2012

    Levi jeans are an essential staple and the bar that all other jeans are measured against; although, I disagree with your fit, I prefer 514s.

    Reply
  3. Bob Carroll
    January 25, 2012

    Thanks for the mention Stephen. Hope all is well in Chi-town.

    Bob

    Reply

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