The first sport coat is the blue blazer, a foundation of every man’s wardrobe. But the second jacket is where things get interesting. This is your trusted consort, your wartime consigliere, your partner in crime. It should be in the sartorial trenches with you. I wrote about it over on the Newsletter today. Subscribe here to read and join the conversation.
Read MoreLyle Railsback is a man you want to know. He’s worked at Kermit Lynch, a legend in the wine world, for over a decade. In that time he’s traveled widely to vineyards and, for those of you who care about such things, somehow managed to build a very impressive tailored wardrobe. He and his brother Eric also make their own wine in California under the name Railsback Frères.
Read MoreI’m just back from a trip to England, where we quarantined for two weeks in the countryside. Why did we do that? So I could go fishing. Why did I do that? Because I’m writing a book and it all had to happen. To read more about it subscribe to The Contender Newsletter. More and more of the action is going to be over on the newsletter. That’s where I’ll be answering your questions, previewing projects, products and the new book. If you want to hold off on that then you can still get the big picture here on The Contender. Thanks so much for reading.
Read MoreAlright kids. We’re going to try to evolve with the times and overcome procrastination and start The Contender Newsletter. I started the site to share stories about travel, style and fishing and other good things in the world. The newsletter is a chance to get a little more personal, like a dinner party.
Read MoreSome stories from around the internet, including the Falklands, bonefishing and the merits of suede shoes.
Read MoreHey now! The Contender is one year old today. Did anything important happen recently? Something big? Any world altering events? Of course everything happened in the last six months and it happened to everybody. The world feels a lot bigger (in the sense we can’t go where we want to) and at the same time more connected (well, you know why).
Read MoreHow does a place become beloved? Well if it’s a bar, an area I consider myself a minor expert in having a spent an unusual amount of time in them, they have to be easy. If I’m going there a lot I don’t want to concentrate too much. It should be not be full every night, so you can talk with somebody or keep to yourself. It shouldn’t be too big, too loud or have a drink list that’s more than one page.
Read MoreWhenever I’m in Minneapolis I try to visit Lowry Hill Meats. It’s a terrific butcher that also happens to serve great food—the breakfast sandwich, only available on weekends, has a cult following. A good butcher is such a great resource, like a wine merchant, who can offer advice, expertise and moral support.
Read MoreI received a personal email a few weeks back saying that Shiki Juraku, beloved hotel in Kyoto, had closed and would not reopen. This is very sad news. I’ve been thinking a lot about Kyoto, it’s one of the places I want to visit when, and if, travel returns to normal. And Shiki Juraku was one of the reasons why.
Read MoreIt’s hard to come to terms with this convulsive and disconcerting time. It’s affecting every person everywhere in a moral and visceral way. This site is about the pleasures of travel and style, which are at the peripheries of life. What’s happening on the streets and in legislatures is clearly the center of life.
Read MoreI can’t tell the story of Clara Hranek without talking about her father, Matt. One of the first trips we took for work, if you call going to Scotland work, was back when the Condé Nast Traveler US was still a going concern. We went to Harris, along with Jake Mueser, to see where the famous tweed was made. I was writing the story, Matt was photographing it, and I was shocked at how quickly he worked. He had a few cameras, didn’t fuss over them much, knew in his mind what he wanted but remained open to surprise. He was able, nimble and opportunistic.
Read MoreBelgian Shoes are like the Smiths. At first they’re intimidating, impenetrable and alarmingly twee. An older friend, who’s a partisan, likes them and assures you that they are in fact vital, singular and even fierce. Once you accept them into your life you can’t believe you ever had doubts. Or something like that anyway.
Read MoreThere’s something definitive about a suit. It makes a claim for certainty, a declaration of intent. A good suit mind you, not a discount number that shimmers with cheap indifference. Over the decades the suit has become synonymous with the uniform of drudgery and ill-fitting middle management. Not this suit. A proper suit remains one of the most flattering things a man can wear. To say all suits are the same is like saying all sedans are created equally. We’re not talking about a Honda Civic here.
Read MoreSome good stories from around the internet including the future of a beloved restaurant, the future of menswear and the future of a legendary shoe store.
Read MoreI wrote a story for Bloomberg Pursuits about men crossing the final frontier and growing a quarantine mustache. The mustache is intriguing because it so closely treads the line of bad taste. When it’s good it can be distinguished, singular, even aristocratic. Just as often, however, it exposes a man’s lack of self-awareness, vanity and the misjudgment of his inner child.
Read MoreI came across an old New Yorker article by John Seabrook, which had a huge effect on me when I first read it. All old New Yorker stories feel like they came out five or six years ago then you look it up and it turns out it was published in 1998. Good grief, I was an impressionable twenty-two year old—that’s half my life ago!
Read MoreI’m fascinated with what people wear in the privacy of their home. Dressing up is about presenting ourselves to the world, about how we see ourselves and want to be understood. The reverse of that, how we dress at home, is just as revealing. How people live unobserved, how they cook, how they keep their home, tells a story that’s always illuminating. It shows what we want and need for ourselves alone, which why in its way it’s more honest.
Read MoreWell, the Masters was supposed to start today. It’s been moved to November, which is strange, since the Masters signifies the beginning of spring, days getting longer and the opening of Riesling season. Now it will be in the fall, when the days get shorter and you start to think about whisky by the fire. In the scheme of what’s going on right now it’s low on the list of what’s important, but I think a lot of us are missing diversions and rituals we grew to love.
Read MoreHopefully we’re all still safe and relatively sane. Here are some diversions to help get through the tedium. I was on Handcut Radio, the podcast hosted by the excellent Aleks Cvetkovic. We talked about writing, developing a personal sense of style and a lot of other things.
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