The first pair of sneakers I obsessed over weren’t even mine. They belonged to Marcus Dillard, this impossibly cool kid in my eighth-grade class who showed up one day wearing…
I once went on a first date with a woman who, within fifteen minutes of meeting me, looked down at my feet and said, “Ah, German Army Trainers. You’re either…
I still remember my first encounter with Common Projects Achilles Low sneakers. It was during an internship at a men’s magazine, and the fashion editor walked in wearing what appeared…
If you’d told me five years ago that I’d be writing a serious style piece about Amazon-branded shoes, I would’ve laughed in your face. Actually, I would’ve done worse than…
I’ve never been the guy who embraces online shopping with open arms. Call me old-fashioned, call me neurotic, call me whatever you want—I like trying things on before I commit.…
My first styling client outside of college friends was my cousin Mike—6’4″, former linebacker build, worked construction in Milwaukee. Poor guy had been wearing the same three XL t-shirts and…
I Tried Every White T-Shirt Under $50 to Find the Perfect One Three months, twenty-seven brands, forty-two different white t-shirts, and one very confused delivery guy later, I’ve finally done…
It started as a dare, if I’m being honest. My editor and I were having one of those late-afternoon conversations that happens when both of us are procrastinating on actual…
The first time I realized vintage clothes were sometimes better than new ones, I was 19 and had just found a 1960s Pendleton wool shirt at a Salvation Army in…
The first time I ever walked into a thrift store with the intent to actually buy something, I was twenty-two and broke as hell. My first “real” job interview was…