The Essentials: 5 Key Pieces To Wear This Fall

There’s a cruel tradeoff that happens this time of year: While winter gives you a merciful head start, you make the most of what beauty precedes its bane — fall — knowing well it’ll give way to blizzards and brutal roads.

The sight of foliage on a quiet dawn drive, its ocean of orange, red and warm yellow hues calming you better than a lullaby.

The dream-inducing pattering of a perfect Autumn rain lulling you into a slumber you’ve needed since forever.

The plethora of cool outfits you can rock, each as replete in character as it is in layering quality, and time’s tragic way of limiting just how many variations of them can be rocked.

Make the most of transition season, gents, before it’s back to parkas and street slush.

And use this cheat sheet while you’re at it.

Editor’s Note: Brown’s made a big comeback to many a designer’s collection this season (not that we ever ex-communicated the colour), continuing what’s been a strong surge of earth tones in all things menswear. It’s like the ‘70s again.

You’ll see a lot of brown here today. And yes, you can wear brown with black. Pfft.


1. An 8-Wale Corduroy Jail Jacket by Monitaly

A good jail jacket is one of those things you didn’t think you’d need… until you see one.

For there are fewer feelings as awesome as being ensconced in rich, warm, 8-wale corduroy come fall, the kind that can be worn with anything.

10-second menswear lesson time: Those little ribs on cord fabric are called wales, and a wale count refers to the number of these ribs per inches present on any given piece, be it a pair of pants, a hat, or a jacket like this one; And the smaller the “wale” count, the more rugged the cord at hand.

It’s precisely the kind of detail over which a visionary designer like Osaka native, designer, and long-time admirer of laid-back American style, Yuki Matsuda, would obsess, and we applaud it. Born and raised in Osaka, Japan, Matusda’s also the founder of a clothing company called “Meg,” named after his wife (what a guy, right?). Monitaly happens to be one of its brands.

There’s lots of room in the arms and torso areas, rendering this a perfect layering piece; wear it atop a sweater, or, if it’s cold enough, under a heavier woolen coat.

Or both.

monitaly.com

Available at one of favourite Toronto-based menswear shops, Uncle Otis

2. A Pair of Elevated — But Not In A Douchey Way — 20oz French Terry Sweatpants by Aimé Leon Dore (eh-meh Lee-on door)

Aimé Leon Dore’s for the guy who gets quality, but more importantly, it’s for he who can play with two polar ends—prep and punk… and sometimes, everything in between.

Take a perusal of the New York-based label’s latest lookbook and you’ll see what we mean; It’s a constant, yet charismatic collision of double-breasted leather jackets and checked driver coats with tailored football jerseys, vintage-inspired hockey jerseys, and yes, suede Yankees ball caps. It’s like a high-school athlete got spliced with a Milanese banker, and it works well.

Pick from one of six different different colours—heather grey, yellow, brown (our fave), dark green, navy, or, everyone’s favourite, black. Either way, you’re getting a pair of top-shelf, 20oz French Terry sweatpants that won’t pill and… wait for it… were made right here in Canada.

aimeleondore.com

3. A Mock Neck Sweater Fit For A Fisherman By Denmark’s S.N.S. Herning

It was in 1919 when late Danish visionary, Søren Nielsen Skyt, set out to make the best wool sweaters for Denmark’s fishermen, only with knitting machines—a novel, but challenging innovation at the time since the classic English knits upon which his designs were based were no less than handmade.

So durable — and evidently timeless — were Mr. Skyt’s garments that they still outfit countless coastal men and women today, all of whom seek the best knitted pullovers, cardigans and vests that look smart and last forever.

But these aren’t skipper-exclusive or anything. The brand melds nuance with pure utility, and it shows in their chunky, button-up cardigans, 100% merino wool beanies and scarves, and literal fisherman sweaters featuring the brand’s signature “bubbled” texture.

Also, where else are you going to find a virgin wool sweater with a mock neck that’s handmade, brown, yet still wearable with anything you’ve got?

Available at acclaimed British menswear shop, Mr. Porter

4. An Invincible Pair of 6-Inch, Classic Moc Boots by Red Wing

Our Founder, Dino, swears by his Red Wings, and considering the beating they take, it’s little wonder why. These are no less than icons. Oiled and fully waxed, these are full-grain leather boots, the “877s,” to be exact, the same ones that’ve been made in the USA for over 60 years, now to much a farmer’s, labourer’s and shoe addict’s delight.

This one’s the 875, which just means it’s a little shorter in height.

You’ve got to love a Traction Tred rubber outsole, but nothing beats that Goodyear welt construction, the gold standard in footwear when it comes to integrity; A welt’s basically a precision-cut piece of leather that sits between a shoe’s upper and outsole, and it’s stitched into place both from the bottom of the insole and the top of the outsole, thus yielding a burly, waterproof boot that’ll outlive you. None of that glue shit.

It’s a rare, time-consuming, but respectable process, hence the premium pricetag.

Available at legendary Toronto footwear shop, Get Outside

5. A River-Treated Cashmere Beanie by Scotland’s William Lockie

Few can rival the softness and sheer luxury of Scottish wool, few like that Danish sweater brand we highlighted in figure three.

Since 1874, the generations-old business has seen their construction methods endure it all, but, yes, the fortune of being situated on the banks of Hawick’s Teviot river also helps.

Available at clothbase.com