I was musing the other day about when I’d make the time to pick up a gift for my wife for Valetine’s Day, avoiding both the seasonal markup on bouquets and the rush of panicked husbands and boyfriends on February 13th.
It occurred to me that this scenario is a perfect use of the biannual $50 Amex Platinum Saks Fifth Avenue credit, and I was surprised I’d never thought of that before, given the luxury department store’s considerable inventory in jewelry, home goods, and gifts.
We’re in the last few weeks of 2021, meaning those of you who hold the American Express Platinum Card only have a few days to use the July-December $50 Saks Fifth Avenue credit.
Today offers a unique confluence of promotions for those of you using the credit.
10% off Rakuten, plus $30 referral bonus
Rakuten is offering 10% cash back today for Saks Fifth Avenue purchases. In addition, if you sign up as a new Rakuten user through my referral link, you’ll get an extra $30 cash back (I’ll also get a $30 bonus). American Express Card members can also opt to receive cash back in the form of Membership Rewards points (personally, I see that as effectively a 10% bonus on top of the cash back). You can sign up for Rakuten by clicking here.
$100 off your first $200+
Through Tuesday December 14, Saks has a promotion for $50 off every $200 in spend, up to $500 off. Stacked with the Amex Platinum Saks credit, that’s effectively $100 off your first $200-$399 in spend. Here are a few I’m liking in the $200 to $250 range; you can see all of them on my $50 credit idea page.
So I figure a lot of you will be glad to see that the Supply Jacket is included in Stag’s one-day outerwear sale today. The discount is 25%—matching the flash sale discount back in March—and is automatically applied in checkout.
The jackets are designed and constructed by Rogue Territory in Los Angeles, with cool details throughout and made up in either waxed American waxed canvas or Japanese selvedge denim. Fit on these is slim; Stag recommends sizing up one.
Building on their reputation for offering quality classic menswear staples at an accessible price point, this season Spier & Mackay once again taps into the classic menswear zeitgeist—consistently delivering pieces that excite menswear enthusiasts.
Use code SAVE4FALL for an extra 20% off select tech, home, and luxe items. $25 minimum purchase; $500 maximum discount. Offer expires Monday September 20.
While I’ve been casually looking for a Tank-style vintage dress watch over the past few months, I’m not really a luxury watch guy and am quite satisfied with my Orient Yellow Mako.
Since I’m no watch expert, I’m certain there are reputable brands that I’m missing; click through the link and use the “Brand” filter to include additional brands in the search.
Be sure to look out for watches with eBay’s “Authenticity Guarantee” badge, and note that the $500 maximum discount means you’re maximizing the offer for watches in the ~$2,500 range.
Note that these archive sales have become incredibly popular in the past year, often overwhelming Drake’s website. If you can’t get through, come back to this post every half-hour or so and try again.
Pictured above: Drake’s Fawn Tuscan Tweed Jacket. 100% wool, Made in Italy (likely by Caruso, my favorite RTW Italian maker). All sizes from 38-44 in stock at time of writing.
A long-time menswear favorite for their accessories, in recent years Drake’s has expanded their offering to include a near complete men’s wardrobe, under the tasteful and timely eye of Creative Director Michael Hill. Each season’s collection builds on its predecessor, harkening to Drake’s roots in classic menswear while also acknowledging what well-dressed men want to wear now—a mix of casual and formal elements that exudes ease and laid-back confidence. You can get a sense of what this means by looking over Drake’s perennially-inspiring lookbooks.
And with the return to social events and the office feeling imminent day by day, the archive sale is a great opportunity to pick something that reflects their aesthetic at a more accessible price.
As I’ve written previously, keep an eye out for “unfinished” tailored jackets in this sale: they’re going for one-third less than their regular jackets, but are actually a better option due to easy sleeve alterations.
The $40 bonus requires that you make a $40 purchase from a store within 90 days of signing up, and is available exclusively through referral links like mine.
And while the $40 referral bonus is obviously not available to existing Rakuten members, 15% cashback is available at a number of stores familiar to This Fits readers:
Brooks Brothers
Lands’ End - I’ve been meaning to write about this season’s tailored fit madras shirts, including a cool shibori patchwork version.
Mack Weldon
Madewell
rag & bone
Theory
Taylor Stitch
Wolverine - The original 1000 Mile boot can be had in Rust Chromexcel for under $200 after stacking 15% cashback and the $40 bonus.
Verishop - Never heard of this shop until today, but they carry a decent selection of brands, including Allen Edmonds, A.P.C., and Greats.
And of course, Rakuten is available at plenty of other stores like MR PORTER, and J. Crew, just not for 15% off this week. You can still earn the $40 bonus, though.
Again, both the 15% cashback and $40 bonus promotions end on Monday, May 17th. If you’re not yet a Rakuten member, you can earn the $40 bonus through my referral link.
Through tomorrow, Friday May 7, Spier & Mackay is offering a free full canvas upgrade on made-to-order (MTO) suits and sportcoats. Normally a $150 upcharge, full canvas construction adds shape and structure to a tailored jacket.
No promo code is necessary for the discount; simply pick “Full (FREE UPGRADE)” as your “Jacket Canvas” option.
Pictured above is my first MTO sportcoat from Spier & Mackay: a full-canvas Neapolitan cut jacket made up in Die, Workwear!’s legendary limited-run “summer tweed”. Along with functional cuffs and patch hip pockets, I requested two “off menu” customizations in the order notes: a Milanese buttonhole (included free with full canvas jackets), and a patch ticket pocket. Everything turned out beautifully.
Remarkably, in spite of lingering pandemic-related disruptions to supply chains, the jacket was shipped just over 5 weeks after I ordered it. And evidently my order isn’t an anomaly: Rick at Spier & Mackay says right now they’re averaging 4-5 week turnarounds on MTO tailoring.
When I shared this picture on Styleforum and Instagram (follow me here), a number of people expressed surprise that Spier & Mackay still has the “summer tweed” in-stock. They do, but it’s not easy to find: on the fabric selection page, search for “summer” to pull it up.
Use code CUSTOM for 15% off. Promotion expires Sunday March 21, 2021.
Through Sunday, Spier & Mackay is offering a 15% discount on their made-to-order (MTO) products, including suits, sport coats, trousers, and shirts. This is a good opportunity if you’d like a Spier & Mackay garment:
made up in your specified measurements, especially if you’re hard to fit
made up with fabrics or options not offered by their ready-to-wear (RTW) collection
Regarding that last point, I’ve noticed that the promotion stacks with existing discounts on select fabrics, meaning you can have a MTO, fully-canvassed suit starting at just $431: about what you’d pay for an entry-level half-canvas RTW suit at other retailers. By contrast, fully-canvassed suits often start north of $999 at those same retailers—if they offer them at all.
Stag Provisions is offering a rare sale on Rogue Territory’s versatile and much-loved Supply Jacket, knocking 25% off MSRP in a 48-hour flash sale.
The jackets are designed and constructed by Rogue Territory in Los Angeles, with cool details throughout and made up in either waxed American waxed canvas or Japanese selvedge denim, depending on the model. Fit on these is slim; Stag recommends sizing up one.
Here’s a little something I’ve noticed in the Drake’s Archive Sale: near-identical versions of the same tailored jackets are listed twice—but one version is $200 less!
Take the jacket pictured above, a brown houndstooth with blue overcheck that I’d say is the star of this sale. Here it’s listed at $595, a fair price and a 60% discount off the $1,495 MSRP.
The same jacket is listed here at $395! The difference? The pricier jacket comes finished with functioning cuffs with holes finished for the buttons, while the more affordable jacket comes with unfinished cuffs, meaning you’ll need to take it to a tailor to have the buttons sewn on and, if you’d like, buttonholes added.
This is amusing to me, as I actually much prefer jackets with unfinished cuffs over jackets with functional cuffs, since sleeve alterations get much trickier (and expensive) once buttonholes are cut. So the “unfinished” jacket is more affordable and the better option for me!
Todd Snyder’s winter sale moves into its final days this weekend, offering discounts of up to 75% off retail after stacking the 40% off code SALE40.
Included in the sale are these fully fashioned ribbed turtlenecks, made from 100% merino wool sourced from the Italian mill Tollegno. They look to be great pieces worn on their own or layered under tailoring and outerwear. They’re also still in stock in very useful colorways.
The solid ivory turtleneck is most versatile for both tailoring and outerwear; I especially like it with brown sport coats and olive field jackets.
The solid navy turtleneck should go well on its own with grey flannels, or with a grey herringbone jacket and brown flannel trousers. Solid olive would work with similar colors.
Maybe it’s the cool look of the slanted chest pockets. Or maybe it’s the goofy Wallace & Barnes fishing club patches.
In any case, I expect a lot of you will be happy to learn that it’s now marked down by over 60%, with sizes XS, S, M, L and XL still in stock. Use code SHOPSALE for the discount, and look out: all sales final, so no returns or exchanges.
Todd Snyder kicked off their final, final winter sale over the weekend, offering an extra 40% off sale merchandise with code SALE40. These “made in England” suede Chelseas from Sanders are included.
Black boots are a bit under appreciated in menswear circles. While not everyone could or should wear black suede boots with a suit, they should work with less formal tailoring in a “city” color scheme—think tweed or flannel in navy, grey, cream, and perhaps olive. Yes, even with a crepe sole.
These boots should go well with casual outfits as well. I’ve been wearing grey denim a lot lately, and these seem like a perfect complement. If you want more versatility, the Sanders Chelseas arealso available in snuff suede and waxy brown suede.