Issue #287 | This Was the Year of the Blockbuster Watch Collaboration

This Was the Year of the Blockbuster Watch Collaboration

“2023 was the year the watch industry perfected the craft of linking and building,” says GQ. “It isn’t about simply putting an extra name on the dial anymore—makers are finding partners who push them out of their comfort zone and spike the punch bowl.” Among them? Most recently, the latest from Hodinkee’s ongoing G-Shock collab with John Mayer, where they teamed up with Online Ceramics, your Gen-Z nephew’s favorite creepy cute clothing brand. There was also a Unimatic with South Park’s Cartman, as well as a team up between Audemars Piguet and rapper Travis Scott. These are the most dialed-in watch collabs of the year according to the menswear mag’s resident watch guy, Cam Wolf.

GQ

The Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide: If the North Pole Had a Website, This Would Be It

[Partner] Gifts for him. Gifts for her. Gifts for the impossible-to-shop-for. Stocking stuffers. Gifts for sipping, smoking, running, recovery-ing, gifts that will be passed on for generations, and gifts that will be used up in a night. Huckberry has curated it all into an easy-to-navigate gift guide. It’s one of the most useful guides we’ve seen. Mainly because all the products are top-notch and cover a wide variety of price points. Basically, if you can’t find the perfect gift here, well, then, the perfect gift might not exist.

Welcome to your one-stop gifting destination.

Should Clothes Never Go On Sale?

Mall brands and online superstores like Ssense love to hawk wares at a discount, whether it’s to unload overstock or to lure in customers with hopes of turning them into repeats. Blackbird Spyplane doesn’t see how it serves them. “Black Friday can feel like a dispiriting trip to an outlet mall where you try to convince yourself you’ve found an underpriced gem not because it’s true, but just so you can participate in ‘The Theater of the Bargain….’” they say. Conversely, when you’ve had your eye on something that you can suddenly nab for less, everyone can win—sometimes. These small brands share their two cents on why cutting prices never makes any.

Blackbird Spyplane

A Brief History of Doc Martens

A beat up pair of Doc’s are a rite of passage for anyone who’s dabbled in rock and roll. Cooly, Pete Townshend, the guitarist for The Who, is at least partly responsible for making them a staple for the stage and later, the concert goers rushing them. “Their toughness combined with their softness and flexibility is what made them so perfect for the pseudo-athletic routines I performed on stage,” he says in Dr. Martens: A History of Rebellious Self Expression, referencing the high-flying stunts he’d perform with the guitar in his heyday (and later, once on Letterman.) Lace up for this quick history of the German footwear brand that’s become an icon in and of itself.

The Modest Man

Meet the Man Behind the Most Influential Ralph Lauren Instagram Account

“On one of my first trips to New York, I walked into a Ralph Lauren flagship store and my life changed forever. It made me feel like I was in a movie… The World of Ralph Lauren,” says Manuel Cozar, who runs an Instagram account dedicated to the man, the myth, the legend, and all the beautiful clothing that goes with them. Much of what’s featured, he owns—sports coats in herringbone and corduroy sold at Bloomingdales in the ’70s, the iconic flag sweater, and plenty of Western wear. We don’t need Cozar to remind us why RL is great, but perusing his decades-spanning collection makes it a lot of fun to revisit a brand that formed American fashion as we know it.

The Rake

• Russell Fleece Sweatpants – $23

• Timeless Treasures Coffee Table Book – $100

• Ferm Ripple Low Glasses (Set of 4) – $55

• Faribault Mill Northern Lights Blanket – $139

• Stegmann Original 108 Wool Clog – $145

Good style shouldn’t be a secret.

You’re clued in and looking tack sharp, thanks to Blazer. But that friend (or two) could stand to take some tips on style. Drop a hint and loop ’em in.