Mr. Porter Goes to 70% Off, and The Best of the Rest (Sales Right Now)

RRL Spring 2020 (hand knit cardigan)

The Mr. Porter sale escalated to 70% off tonight, but unless you were glued to your screen and not doing anything else (like sleeping or having a particularly ponderous bowel movement) you probably missed the best steals. That's the main issue with the sale now, that it's become so popular that you blink and you'll miss it. So there are/were some really good things available for a moment (Inis Meian at 60% off, for instance), but to some degree, they're not even worth posting except to rub in when you wake up what might have been. So, if you've become a little tired of the pomp and panic that comes naturally with Mr. Porter sales, the good news is that there are plenty of other great stores and sales to go around. Here are some of the best of the rest.

Franklin and Poe - 25% Off Tops with code SPARKLER2020

At face value, this might sound like nothing special. Remember, though, that sales aren't always judged by the percentage of the discount. There are items that are worth buying at full price, and some items that almost never go on sale. Fine Creek Leathers is one of those things. Pretty universally considered apex level leather jacket making by the highest order of leather jacket whisperers in the menswear-sphere, FCL at full price runs around $2000 USD and they're almost always in short supply all over the world. Local Philly menswear boutique F&P has the FCL No Star (a modified Perfecto model) in size 44 and the new Roberts racer in 38 and 42, and they both qualify for the sale - that's unheard of, and almost $500 off a brand that I've yet to see big discounts on, if at all. The sale ends 7/5/2020, and also applies to the rest of F&P's excellent selection of tops. F&P is also Philadelphia's best boutique menswear store, in my opinion, if you like high-level denim and heritage wear, and shopping there is a great way to support small businesses. Other notable bfra

F&P and owner Andrew Lee (modeling above) were also featured in this season of Queer Eye, and 1 out of 1 critics who write this blog agree that he stole the show.

RRL at Ralph Lauren - Up to 60% Off

Vintage workwear, military, and Western-inspired, no other brand has ever been able to quite replicate what RRL does, though many have tried. It also slots nicely into the category of workwear no one could possibly afford to wear to work in. In fact, RRL is normally priced so high that its value can be a bit eyebrow-raising. Average garment construction (outside of knitwear) is somewhat pedestrian, in my experience, and their leather jackets have a tendency to be overly distressed to the point of a bit ugly sometimes. That being said, no one does what RRL does aesthetically as a whole, and when they get it right, they really get it right.

The current sale on the official Ralph Lauren site includes a lot of RRL at 60% off. In comparison, the limited RRL during Mr. Porter's initial 50% off  tier went like hotcakes in the first few hours of the sale. Earlier this year, I found a small amount of RRL at Century 21 for ~$40-50, so this isn't the absolute rock bottom prices you'll ever see (Barneys Warehouse was similar many years ago, RIP), but the selection is much better on RL's site right now. It includes outerwear, shirting, suiting, pants, and, most notably, a few of the ridiculously good hand-knits RRL is known for.

These days, RRL hand-knits are priced well above $1000 (!). That's the same price bracket as high-end leather jackets - more than a lot of peoples' mortgages/rents, for "just a sweater." They're expensive enough that when I think of buying one at full price I chortle a little and then say "psshhhhh!" I mean, come on, $1600? At 60% off, though, they drift down from being stratospherically unaffordable to simply painfully expensive...but maybe a splurge? RRL hand-knits are leaps and bounds above the rest - the patterning, intricacy, clear handwork, texture, all of it. If you can't tell, I love them. Ian Anderson recently blogged about buying one, though he also seemed to go through some of the emotional turmoil of paying that much.

I also like this topcoat, though I'll admit it's not for everyone (maybe not even myself), and still expensive.

Ssense - Up to 70% Off

Ssense has an expansive selection, though their sale has been going on for quite some time. At high discounts, things are final sale, which is a bit of a bummer compared to Mr. P. Ssense tends to be more streetwear focused than Mr. Porter as well, but they still have a great selection of menswear and accessories even if you don't like to wear whatever we are calling fanny packs now - crossbody? Tummy packs?

I really like their selection of eyewear - though mostly run through now, they're one of the few stockists to carry Native Sons and Eyevan, two excellent Japanese optical companies. Keep your eye out for Eyevan's fine attention to detail and fine filigree work. There's also plenty of Blue Blue Japan at decent prices. You can also still find a fewNaked and Famous kimono-style shirt  jawnz on the sale as well. I still really like the ones I own, and they're relatively inexpensive (order true to size and I'd stick to the shirt styles myself).

Moda Operandi - Up to 70% Off

I must confess I have kept Moda Operandi somewhat close to the chest until now. They've been quietly building a really nice and varied collection of menswear the past couple seasons, and their end of season sales have been excellent - like Camoshita >70% off type of excellent. I was really saddened to learn that they're shutting down their menswear branch soon, though. Like many other companies, their summer sale launched a while ago but is still well worth a look. Somewhat in between SSense and Mr. Porter in selection, you can find a few RRL pieces (though the selection at RL is better, in my opinion), a small selection of Kapital at 40% off, and well-regarded Ring Jacket at 65% off. They also had a few models of Jacques Marie Mage sunglasses available for 40% off that went within a day or two (on the slower side actually, if you ask me). JMM is one of the hottest and most hyped optical companies out now (and completely justified - their glasses are extremely well made and have a very strong design language).

Need Supply - Up to 70% Off

Beams Plus

Need's site makes it very hard to tell how many items are in their sale, so you're stuck just hitting the next arrow until it runs out (17 pages at the time of this post). I also hate when sites don't let you sort their sales by highest discount. However, Need Supply's sale is still good enough to warrant a look. Much of their stock is directional yet affordable. I bought a slim 1" Cause and Effect dark navy belt for $32 that I'm really enjoying wearing with styles other than heritage Americana, and earlier passed on some Alden boots starting in the high $200s. The only sales that typically have Aldens that low are when stores go out of business.  Those killer deals were not around for long, obviously, but Beams Plus, Rogue Territory, Gitman Vintage are still floating around the site in scattered sizing. *Update - just learned Need Supply is going out of business as well.

Please excuse any typos or gibberish. It's 3:30 AM, the baby's not sleeping, and I'm typing half asleep. Happy hunting, and stay safe as always.