I am a menswear enthusiast who enjoys nice clothes. I write about, link to and wear products from a bunch of companies because I enjoy doing so. As the site has continued growing, I've been asked to write reviews, been given gifts, and been offered products, sometimes from new brands I'm not familiar with and sometimes from brands I already am a happy customer of.
My policy on such matters is this: I do accept gifts, but never in exchange for positive coverage, and generally only do so from brands I am already a happy customer of. My focus on this blog is to cover things I like and enjoy, not to tear down or attack things I don't. So my content will be almost entirely positive—except in the case of product reviews. When I am given something for the purpose of reviewing it, I never self-censor negative opinions.
For transparency's sake, below are all the free products I've received and the circumstances under which I was given them.
Drake's scarf
In 2017, my wife and I had a great visit to the UK, with a paltry one day to see London. So we each picked 1-2 things to do. I chose two menswear shops to visit—Drake's and Anglo-Italian. At Drake's I had a bad experience with one of the sales associates, which I posted about on Instagram. Their marketing guy Matthew Cole saw the post, and as a gesture of goodwill, offered to give me this scarf.
Drake's pocket square
At the end of 2017, Matthew Cole sent me a very nice greeting card and pocket square with no instigation.
Brooks Brothers golden fleece ornament
To celebrate their 200th anniversary, Brooks Brothers reached out to dozens of bloggers and Instagrammers and sent them a free ornament, asking them to post images of it on their IG Stories and timelines to help them celebrate the milestone. I was sent one, but did not post photos of it.
Brooks Brothers knit tie
Randomly, the Brooks Brothers Instagram account decided to post an image of mine that I had tagged them in as part of a "tie bracket" (I think it was around March Madness time). Based on votes from their followers, my picture won, and they rewarded me with any free tie of my choosing.
Spier & Mackay made to order sport coat
In 2017 I discovered Spier & Mackay's Neapolitan cut jacket and became interested in it. Rick, the owner, solicited me for my opinions and input on the garment each season for 3 seasons as he improved it and iterated on it each time. Out of gratitude for my input, he offered to make me a custom order jacket (not custom fit).
Proper Cloth store credit, which I used toward two shirts
In 2017, I came out of the theater having just seen the best Star Wars sequel or prequel ever made (The Last Jedi—fight me), to discover Proper Cloth had messaged me on Instagram thanking me for tagging and featuring them in my posts. Out of gratitude for that, they gave me $200 store credit. I used the credit to buy a washed denim shirt and a wide-stripe OCBD.
Proper Cloth made to measure sport coat
As part of my post-Eidos blog series, I reached out to a half dozen companies I admire and asked if they'd loan me a sport coat to try on and photograph. Proper Cloth's model is that they don't have product on hand, but it's all made to measure (as it is with their shirts). Their founder Seph Skerritt instructed senior designer Chris Callis to help me get a jacket made for me. I fully expected that I'd return the jacket so they could display it on a mannequin in a show room. To my surprise, they told me I could keep it.
No Man Walks Alone x La Portegna leather card case
At the end of 2017, No Man Walks Alone sent gifts to a large selection of their customers in the form of a leather card case they developed with one of the makers they sell. I happened to be one of them.
Ratio Clothing custom-fit Oxford Cloth Button-Down Shirt
In early 2019, I did a piece for Styleforum Journal (where I write freelance somewhat regularly) that compared various makers of OCBDs based on their different product features (origin of make, fit options, etc.). Ratio was one of the companies I featured on the suggestion of a friend. After publishing that piece, they asked me if I'd like to try their product out for free to write a review either for Styleforum or my own blog. I accepted, and published the review here.
Dapper Woodworks Tie Rack
In fall 2019, Justin Trewitt of Dapper Woodworks wrote asking if I'd be interested in one of his custom tie racks for review on my site. I said yes because my tie storage solution before was super terrible. I published the review here.
Besnard denim button-down shirt
At the end of 2019, Victor Besnard of his own namesake clothing label asked if I'd like to try his company's shirts and write an honest review. I accepted the shirt and wrote my review, which is published here.
Beckett Simonon Shoes
In December 2018, Beckett Simonon asked me if I would like to review a pair of their shoes. I said yes, and two months later I received these Durant Adelaide punch caps, which I reviewed here. Later, they offered me another pair, and I received, after much delay, a pair of white sneakers. In 2020, I asked for a pair of suede Chelsea boots to review and received them in December of that year, with a review published a month later.
Fumagalli 1891 scarf and tie
At the beginning of 2021, Milanese company Fumagalli contacted me on Instagram asking if I would agree to a feature on my blog and Instagram in exchange for a free scarf and tie. I liked the look of their product, had never done sponsored posts before, and agreed. The resulting post is here.
Cavour jacket, shirt and trousers
At the end of 2021, I asked Kevin Svindland of Cavour in Oslo if he'd agree to a review on my site of Cavour's in-house tailoring line. My standard ask is to request a jacket (sometimes trousers if they'd like) on loan for a week or two with a return shipping label. He agreed, I told him my sizes and the products I liked best, and he said he'd get back with me. When he shipped the items, he told me to keep them. The resulting post is here.