Casual Travel Clothes

Part of the reasoning behind this post on versatility and traveling light is because I am traveling. In fact, as you’re reading this, I’m somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean, descending towards my ancestral homeland of Ireland to help repopulate the world with redheads (Hey, we all have to do our part).

Traveling is oftentimes a situation where most people opt for comfort over style; function over form. That’s why you see overweight people in sweatpants at the airport. Let me tell you something. Sweatpants are for your house when it’s cold and you’re alone and the rest of your clothes were destroyed in a fire. A man should always look presentable, at the least.

There’s nothing wrong (or uncomfortable) about traveling well-dressed. Here’s some simple and quick tips (because my flight is actually about to leave and I need to go through security still):

Slip-on shoes (try these perhaps?). They’re easy-on, easy-off at security.

Simple jeans and a sport shirt. Casual, comfortable, but still effortlessly cool. 

Sport-coat or blazer. Again, a must-have because of its versatility. It dresses up jeans, but still functions with other trousers (especially chinos, for that Yacht Club look). An unstructured (read, no shoulderpads or canvassing), unlined (no lining, you can see all the insides) jacket will be comfortable temperature wise, it can rumple and wrinkle without worry (so you can toss it in the overhead bin), but it still sets you apart from 90% of the people at your gate. When the airline has an extra first class ticket, who’re they gonna give it to? The slob in the sweatshirt and track pants, or the well-dressed guy in the sport-coat? If you want to nail a stewardess, this is how you do it (Although stewardesses aren’t what they used to be, so good luck with that). 

An example of what I'm talking about, by Modern Amusement, and what I''m wearing right now.

Unstructured, unlined. All you see is the inside of the coat.

This is not any sort of structure or lining, The hemming is just rounded off by a patterned fabric to prevent fraying.

As an added touch of versatility (and a sign of quality), look for something with working cuff buttons, meaning they can be opened. This allows you to roll up your sleeves, should you get hot.

Thanks for reading, and be on the look out for upcoming posts from abroad,

MD

PS- since it's Friday and I feel like it, check out this song. It makes me want to take Ecstasy and go to a rave.

Penny Loafers for Summer

Boy I am in a shit mood today. First, I’ve had writer’s block like a motherfucker, and I want to apologize for that. One of my goals is to entertain, and while some of my recent posts have hopefully offered some useful advice, they were a bit dry. 

Second, my Internet is going so slow lately, I can’t seem to get anything done. I don’t know if it’s the porn, pirated movies, my computer’s old age (pushing 4 years, which in computer years might as well be 400), but I can’t browse the web for more than two hours before the thing slows to a halt. It’s so frustrating I feel like my dick is going to fall off. 

Anyway, on to some style advice. Summer is a time to go sockless, and in fact, some style gurus say socks shouldn’t be worn with shorts at all. I kind of like that no-bullshit mantra, so I’ve been sticking to it. I’ve also heard that flip-flops should only be worn near a body of water, and I like that too, because people who wear flip-flops with jeans look like they went to college in the 90s and never grew up. People like that need to get punched in the groin.

Going sockless might seem like a tough transition for a whole season, but it’s really not that hard. First, just don’t wear socks. That shit’s easy and will save you from having to buy new ones. If going completely bareback isn’t practical though, check out my post on no-show socks. They allow you to still wear socks without sacrificing the look. 

Available at J.Crew, but can be found at most retailers

Another great shoe to have during the summer (besides canvas plimsolls) is a leather slip-on. I’m thinking penny loafer here, because they’re so simple. It really is just a leather slip-on; no tassels, no frilly crap. You can wear them from the office to the streets, no problemo. 

Sperry Authentic Original Penny Loafer- $55

For my money (and I don’t have much), I like the options over at Sperry Topsider. They have two versions, a dressier (read, more expensive one), and then a cheaper one for around $55. For a guy my age, I like the $55 option. It’s more casual looking, so it’s great for bars, barbeques, and whatever other summer shenanigans you’ll get into, but since they’re relatively cheap, you shouldn’t fret too much if they get a little beat up. Plus, they’re dressy enough to wear to a business-casual office setting (Granted, it’d have to be a pretty laid-back office). 

Gold Cup Dress Casual Penny Loafer- usually $150, but on sale for $90

If you’re office is more uptight, or you're tossin around $100s like Rick Ross in a strip club, spring for the dressier version, or check out some other high-end selections here. I’ve preached about the values about splurging for high-quality products before, but in this case, the Sperry loafer is nice enough to wear out and about without being so costly that you’ll be worrying over what kind of shit you’re stepping in. 

PS- some light water will take car of most bar stains if you tackle them the day after. Don’t soak the things though, they are leather, after all. 

PSS- Sperry did not pay me to write this article. But if they’d like to send me some free shoes or other cool shit, I’m totally DTF.

Thanks for reading

MD