Shaving is a therapeutic experience for us in the morning. The feel of a well-balanced handle in between our fingers, the methodical stroke upon stroke, the rejuvenation—it's a nice ritual. A man can wax introspective while staring himself in the mirror and holding a blade to his throat. However, there is this moment when the romance of it all is lost...
Read MoreEvery man was once a boy. To carry this adventurous spirit into manhood is of paramount significance in the maturation of our boys. Sadly, today, that insatiable longing to explore is largely but a relic of childhood for many men. The adventurer is the child who survived. He is unapologetically wild at heart. He runs toward danger. Takes risks. Embraces spontaneity. In his book Wild at Heart, John Eldredge shrewdly notes, “Deep in his heart, every man longs for a battle to fight, an adventure to live, and a beauty to rescue”...
Read MoreLast minute travel might be one of the greatest pleasures in life. One day you're on your couch channel surfing and the next, you're on a plane to Iceland, waking up to someone else's sun. It's magic.
We recently indulged in such an adventure...to Istanbul, though. Iceland will have to wait. "Istanbul in the summer" happened to be number 67 on our 101 in 1,001 list (a short-term bucket list of sorts—101 things to do and places to see in 1,001 days). That means we’re practically obligated to say "yes" when a list item presents itself. That's how the list works...you get to say "yes" before you talk yourself out of it...
Read More1988—Cynthia Rowley started her career by inviting New York’s most well-known fashion editors to a runway show...in her apartment.
An ambitious start that has defined the trajectory of Cynthia’s success since; the Cynthia Rowley name has flourished, now with over 60 boutiques across the world. And today, Cynthia and her husband, art aesthete Bill Powers, have brought the quality and sensibility of the Cynthia Rowley brand to eyewear...
Read MoreThe right vintage accessories can introduce an interesting depth to one's style. And more often than not, no one else will have it. It is now uniquely yours. The key to wearing vintage accessories is to buy great pieces (we love sterling silver) and mix them in sparingly with modern pieces you are already wearing. It is that mix of old and new that feels current...
Read MoreAs significant as his writing was, Ernest Hemingway is remembered just as much for the life he lived beyond the page. Everything about him was oversized—war service in Europe, big-game hunting in Africa, all-night benders in Paris. Hemingway embodied a full range of traditionally masculine experiences few others have. He even had a dictum that summed up his approach: “Always do sober what you said you’d do drunk.”
His appetite for adventure only persisted later in his life, which ended tragically in 1961. If Hemingway’s literary output slowed during this final postwar decade, his celebrity spread far and wide. He wrote dispatches on bullfights and marlin fishing for popular magazines, and was the subject (sometimes willing, sometimes not) of numerous awed profiles...
Read MoreIt could be argued that the oxford cloth button-down shirt is the bedrock upon which modern day American menswear is built upon. When John E. Brooks, the grandson of Brooks Brothers founder, designed the first OCBD a shirt he spotted on English polo players in 1896, he wasn’t merely developing another garment to add to his family’s reputation, he was making history. It became the workhorse of the Ivy League Look in the 1960s. But history became legend. Legend became myth. And for forty years, the minutiae of the original oxford cloth button-down shirt, specifically the roll of the collar, slowly faded with the men who loved it. Measurements were updated, factories changed, and details diminished. It would take a Japanese man to resurrect it...
Read MoreDrinking out is kind of a luxury. Think about it. A decent scotch will run about $14 a pour. Toss back three of those and you might as well have picked up your own bottle. Enter drinking at home. Not only is it economical (we like economical), but it's as good an excuse as any to fill your home with friends while also setting up your own home bar. It was William Morris who held, "Have nothing in your home that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." We tend to agree—and a grog tray is both...
Read MoreNick Onken and Fred first met when he hired him to shoot branding images for Fred’s photography business. That was 2008. Fast forward to 2014 and not only have they become great friends but for much of that time, Nick served as one of Fred’s creative mentors. For that we are forever grateful. He possesses a youthful way of looking at the world in front of him—a unique blend of music, community, food, and pop culture...
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