The Hunt

Come Tuesday, Freemans Sporting Club will be taking 25% off henleys, short-sleeve shirts, polos, and other warm-weather goodies. The sale's expected to run about a week. [Racked]

Freemans Sporting Club - 8 Rivington St between Bowery & Chrystie - 212-673-3209 - Map

A Truly Magical Place

Beginning Saturday, L.E.S. boutique Narnia is hosting a month-long vintage warehouse sale where you'll find up to 80% off its storied stock from "the 1890s to the 1980s." [Refinery29]

Narnia Vintage Warehouse Sale - 157 Rivington St between Clinton & Suffolk - 10am-7pm - 212-979-0661 - Map

Big Finish!

The Top (Music Video) from Francis and the Lights on Vimeo.

Dept. of Blind Spots

We're calling bullshit on a recent Esquire piece entitled "How To Dress Like a Rich Man in a Recession," featuring what it terms "this season's best bargains." 

Sales factor hugely into the fashion business, particularly in top cosmopolitan cities like New York. Men's fashion magazines like Esquire have readers outside the big cities, sure, maybe, but not their core readers, so the fact that they rarely if ever factor sales into their equations is highly suspect... and not in your best interests.

While sales are a moving target and tastes may vary, right this minute we can direct you towards superior merch at significantly less cost than the stuff featured in Esquire's story:

Esquire picks the above suit from Banana Republic for $800, while we prefer to pay just $300 for this finer specimen from Hickey Freeman at the Barneys Warehouse Sale -       

Esquire would have you pay $1,200 for the above overcoat from Hickey, while you can take your pick from any number of first-rate cashmere coats for about $500 at the Barneys Sale - 

Esquire recommends the above leather jacket from Coach for $900, while we'd check out vintage downtown boutique Eleven, or go with this Frankie Morello Italian leather jacket for just $300 at Gilt.com - 

Finally -- we could do this all day -- Esquire likes the above Cole Haan briefcase for $800, while we much prefer to pay $585 for this De Gaulle 14" briefcase from South Willard's online boutique -

Good Times

Valet. magazine asks whether the Timex Perpetual Calendar is the perfect watch. And it is hard to argue with an American classic for just $70. 

Still, several years after the fact, we stand behind our $500 investment in the automatic Le Locle from Swiss watchmaker Tissot. It possesses a certain je ne sais quoi the Timex lacks, which comes in very handy on nice occasions:    

If we did invest in a Timex, we'd throw down $35 for this sweet faux-gold piece:

Chunky

Through Monday, find up to 80% off sweaters, T's, and denim from the likes of Corpus, Rxmance, The Smooth Company, and Idol Radec at Openhouse Gallery. [Racked]

Openhouse Gallery sample sale - 201 Mulberry St between Kenmare & Spring - 12pm-7pm - Map

Hip To Be Square

Only Portfolio.com would mourn the loss of "the Patrick Batemans of the world" ... and maybe The Beggar (What can we can, they keep us on our toes.) 

Anyway, Portfolio's point is that businessmen are less frequently dressing to impress -- a trend which it paradoxically attributes to an increasingly competitive workforce, wrought by a struggling economy and global competition, along with the rise of the bean-counter/tech geek:

"Between 'His Girl Friday' and casual Friday, between black-tie and BlackBerrys, our workforce morphed from 'Man Men' into marathon men ... If you look good, you're obviously not working hard enough. Outdoing the next guy in terms of looking put-upon is the new pissing contest."

Will the pendulum swing back in the direction of sartorial refinement? Depends on the industry, for sure, but casual, functional, and sensible are three trends that will only gain momentum for as far as we can see. Or, as that crazy son-of-a-bitch Patrick Bateman would put it, we're "long" on casual.

Float 'Yur Boat

Stocking up on boat shoes for next season? Yeah, we think this trend has legs, too. If your tastes run more toward functional than L.E.S. chic, right now, get 25% off Sebago’s full selection of dockside and boat shoes online by entering “2775-DCSEBAGO” at checkout. [The Cut]

Fun While It Lasted

[Click to enlarge image brought to you by Racked.com]

Our friends over at Racked have the latest markdowns from the Barneys Warehouse Sale, now in its final throws. Drink it in. [Racked]

Quality Control

Portfolio.com has created a test to see whether or not you can spot the pricier shoe -- which is actually pointless, because, whether you can spot it or not, a higher cost does typically equal a higher quality shoe. That's why a good shoe is always a good investment.

Because We Care

As winter slowly approaches, our friends over at h(y)r collective need your help in finding a good home for these endangered vintage Ralph Lauren Polo Country moccasin boots.

All you need is a true 9" foot and $50 to make a difference, and rescue these beautiful babies from the barren eBay wilderness.

Un-Common

For about the next week, L.A.-based menswear outpost South Willard is trying to move some beautiful pieces at swell prices like the above Raf by Raf Simmons gray canvas slip-ons just for $63. [Refinery29]

We also spied:

- Raf Simmons black sweaters for $150

- Common Projects navy 3-hole slip-ons for $194

- Common Projects white suede & leather high-tops for $192

- Raf Simmons "classic" gray suede shoes for $360

- De Gaulle 14" briefcases for $585

Speed

At 12 noon today, find preppy apparel from international-gone-local designer John Bartlett on sale at Gilt.com, along with Italian label Frankie Morello. HERE's you invite to the member's only site. Never heard of Morello. Take a look at his spring '08 collection -- It's kind of wild:

What Would DJ AM Do?

[Picture courtesy of The New York Times]

All you Hypebeast-reading, DJ AM-listening, sneakers obsessives take note:

Through Sunday, Lafayette Street sneaker aficionado Nort/Recon is taking 50% off *everything* in the store. [Racked]

Nort/Recon - 359 Lafayette St between Bond and Great Jones - 212-614-8502 - Map

Hart This

Thursday only, Hart Schaffner Marx is unloading sample-sizes at discounted prices. [Racked]

If their sale earlier this month was any guide, suits, jackets, shirts, and ties were priced from $100-$300, while sizes included: Trousers 34 waist; Suits 40 and 42 reg, etc.

HSM sample sale - 745 Fifth Ave between 57th & 58th - suite 501 - 10am-4pm - Map

The Nonstyle

In this week's Critical Shopper, Mike Albo takes a look at one of our favorites, Steven Alan, of whom Albo says, "Basically his clothes take preppy style and make it more fitted, comfortable, and less WASPy."

Albo's picks among the labels Alan carries include: "a chocolate-colored cotton-cashmere top by V::room ($185)," and "a brown Relwen V-neck sweater in merino wool ($148)."

Perfect Timing

Today at 12 noon, sale site Gilt.com will commence to unload its stock of Invicta watches (above), and John Hardy jewelry (below). As you might have expected, The Beggar has your invite to the member's only site HERE.

Barneys Revisited

The state of the Barneys Warehouse Sale... is good!

One happy customer was overheard on his phone saying, "Just came from Barneys Warehouse Sale... Yeah, fuckin' awesome. I just bought 3 suits... I've never bought 3 suits in my life."

With the magic green tag attached, you'll pay about $300 for this first-rate Hickey Freeman suit, which retailed for about $1,200:



The shoe selection is beginning to get a little weird, but there are still safe styles in average sizes like these Band of Outsides topsiders in a 10 for under $100, and these Heschung boots in an 11 for under $200:

- Mon-Fri August 16-29 - 10am-9pm

- Sat-Sun August 30,31 - 10am-7pm

- Mon September 1 - 10am-7pm

Barneys Warehouse Sale - 255 W 17th St between 7th & 8th - 212-450-8400

Put Your Money In It

Wednesday and Thursday only, British label Mulberry is taking up to 75% off top-of-the-line small leather goods. [Racked]

Mulberry sample sale - 123 W 18th St between 6th and 7th - 4th floor - 10am-7pm - 888-685-6856 - Map

Above The Fray

At 12 noon today, Ralph Lauren Purple Label and RLX go on sale at sample-sale site Gilt.com. The Beggar has your invite to the member’s only site HERE.

A Rare And Joyous Occasion

[Picture courtesy of The New York Times]

For all you frame hounds, the renowned Selima Optique boutique is quietly preparing a sale for next week -- an event that occurs only once a year, if that.

Details are still scare, but the event will most likely go down at Selima’s Wooster St shop.

Selima Optique - 59 Wooster St at Broome - 212-343-9490 - Map
Selima Optique - 357 Bleecker St between Charles & 10th - 212-352-1640 - Map
Selima Optique - 25 Prince St between Mott & Elizabeth - 212-334-8484 - Map
Selima Optique - 899 Madison Ave at 72nd - 212-988-6690 - Map
Selima Optique - 888 Broadway at 19th - 212-674-8983 - Map

Redemption

Taking The Cut’s lead, we decided to investigate the “new” Gap, under the reign of designer Patrick Robinson, only to find much of the same dowdy, unfinished, and disposable merch that one would associate with, well, the Gap. This stuff is ideal for beer-runs in rural Vermont, but otherwise useless.

Up and down the hipness spectrum -- from American Apparel and Urban Outfitters to J. Crew and Gant -- Gap’s peers are successfully infusing new life into their brands, and the business of apparel in general. Why the Gap can’t follow a similar path is, well, just not a conversation we’re going to have right now.

That said, we did find a few redeeming items from Gap’s fall season, chief among them a simple, but well-executed Herringbone blazer for just $88 (above).

Cozy and only the slightest bit dowdy, this jacket would come in very handy on weekend trips, strolls though the park, and other casual affairs. Its solid build, modern cut, and great value closed the deal for us.

Of the Gap’s two khaki blazers, the darker one would also make a smart purchase:

Count 'Em

For the next two weeks, Lower East Side men's shop Bblessing is taking up to 70% off its hipster wares online and in store. [Racked]

Choose from tons of shirts and trousers, but among the outerwear, we dig:

• Opening Ceremony double-breasted suit jackets for $324

• Man of Moods polyester windbreakers now $246

• Surface to Air marble nylon tape windbreakers for $336

Bblessing - 181 Orchard St at Stanton - 212-378-8005 - Map

"Do Your Thing"

ACL admires a new microsite co-created by Gant and The Sartorialist’s Scott Shuman featuring his portraits of New Yorkers filling out the preppy gear. ... And so do we.

Not long ago, Gant was hard to distinguish from its preppy brethren. But, as ACL notes, the label has taken pains to branch out, to sharpen its edge, and to find its own proverbial voice. That fact hit home the other day when we came across its fall line on the racks. The stuff is just more vibrant.