Presentable #30: My Favorite Menswear Brands Offering New & Vintage Items
Presentable #30: My Favorite Menswear Brands Offering New & Vintage Items
Brands that have a curated collection of well-made, nostalgic clothing and objects.
Hello all!
This week has been a whirlwind, full of sleepless nights, changing diapers, and trying to stay awake so I can help take care of our newborn. We’re still learning a lot. How to be good parents, partners, and people. It’s quite an adventure and I’m loving every step along the way.
Quick Update
To start off this week’s issue, I want to share how things are going since launching this newsletter at the beginning of this year.
As of today, I have 138 subscribers with over 1.38k views on my posts in the past 30 days. My average email open rate is 60%—something I’m really proud of—and engagement continues to rise with the amount of you liking, commenting, and sharing.
I’ve yet to see another “hockey stick” type of growth happen, but I remain hopeful and invested in this newsletter. I’m continuing to experiment and see what types of content resonates with people and figure out who else would like to join in on this community.
My Favorite Brands Offering New & Vintage Items
One trend I’ve noticed becoming more widely adopted is one where brands both big and small, who’ve previously only sold brand new items, are now offering a small, curated collection of vintage items.
“Vintage” as a term is subjective, and everyone has their own definition of what it means, whether it starts at a certain decade, or if it’s something picked up secondhand. The gray area between “thrifted,” “secondhand,” and “vintage” continues to increase and more brands are using all three when describing their offerings.
I’m really enjoying how brands are all expressing their different interpretations, showcasing items from their own labels and other brands.
Here are a few of my favorite brands doing this well:
Levi’s Secondhand
Levi’s has been around for over 100 years, and have made lots and lots of denim. I enjoyed seeing them offer pairs of used jeans for sale on their site, and in a prominent position on their site’s navigation. I’ve been buying vintage Levi’s 501s from the 90’s era and have been checking this new site for pricing comparisons when searching on eBay or other online vintage sites.
Buck Mason’s Vintage Collection
So, I have to be honest. I bought a pair of pants and shirts from Buck Mason in the past, but haven’t been impressed with the quality of their new items. When I discovered their first “Vintage Collection” drop a few weeks ago, I was very intrigued. I was impressed by the quality of the photography, selection of items, and how well curated everything felt. They recently had their second drop and I’m eagerly awaiting the next one.
Stoffa’s Rare Objects
I’ve been a huge fan of Stoffa’s “Rare Objects” drops, with their latest one focusing on sunglasses—an area i’ve been struggling with figuring out what types of sunglasses to buy. I’m inspired by the different frames, shapes, and colors they included, and I’ve learned more about which brands and models to keep an eye out for when shopping in person and online. My favorites are the Romeo Gigli’s and Ratti’s.
J.Crew’s Handpicked Vintage
I noticed the J.Crew Men’s account sharing out weekly vintage drops a few months ago but they seemed to have tapered off. I love this concept, featuring styles from the 80’s and 90’s available to buy both in store at their Bowery location in NYC and online. The drops seemed to have worked, with items selling out within minutes after posting to their Instagram Stories. I hope to visit their store someday soon and try a few things on in person.
What I’m Wearing
The weather lately has been hot, and I’m absolutely loving it. I’ve been searching for more pieces to add to my wardrobe, made of fabrics like linen, cotton, chambray, and suede. I’m trying to inject different levels of style into my warmer weather wardrobe that are still elegant, preppy, and have a bit of “ivy” flair.