Things for Spring 2013 - Part 2

4. A casual canvas bag

Alfred work bag. Picture from Property of..

Now here's another item that I think would be pretty fantastic in all those summer casuals. A casual but still presentable bag preferably made out of sturdy and perhaps a bit washed cotton giving it the perfect look to go with basically all the other items I've listed here. For a casual Friday or just to bring your laptop to a cafe this kind of a bag has been on my mind for some years now.

The best options I've seen so far have mostly come from Property of, a company that I suppose is fair to say specializes in casual bags like this. Other companies that have similar designs could be Sandqvist or perhaps Mismo (which tends to be more formal in it's design language).

And how would prefer to wear it? In a million ways, but you couldn't go wrong with wearing a navy unstructured cotton jacket, white blue gingham shirt, similar jeans to what you see below, suede plaintoe derbies without socks and an Alfred work bag pictured above.


5. Washed Jeans

RRL Jeans. Picture from Frans Boone.

Another classic that I have to admit I'm sort of missing from my wardrobe. A pair of medium dark washed jeans to go with various summer pieces. Slim fit but not too slim, a pair of jeans like this is so effortless and good-looking with a a casual cotton jacket to a polo shirt. They will also rock almost all shoe types, but really start delivering when used with medium dark or light brown suede shoes and a belt.

Admittedly I'm not a massive denim expert, so won't be recommending anything here. I'll be consulting my denim guru friend and get back to this subject later on.


6. Good quality white polo shirt

Similar to a one I have in grey. Picture from Kent Wang.

Another classic, but one that is surprisingly hard to find with specs that it should always be it. Now, for me there are two things that mainly separate a good polo shirt from a bad one.

First, no logo. Logos are almost without exception ugly and silly (and yes, I do have a couple with logos..) penis enlargers that don't really serve any function. Second, the collar design. The normal ribbed collar found in 99% of polo shirts is not that good looking, and I personally prefer a more dress shirt style collar in my polo shirt. For example, the spread collar Kent Wang uses in their polo and ruby shirts (seen above) makes a world of difference.

So, where to get these good ones? Kent Wang's polo shirts have caused different kind of reactions from what I've read, but at least my grey one has been great. It has to be noted though, that even if it says on their web page that it is very slim, I would rate it to be pretty similar to PRL's custom fit. After a visit to a tailor it has been fantastic - great fabric (better than any similar cotton mesh), gorgeous MOP-buttons and a good collar design that retains it shape well.