Issue #16 | The Year Ahead

Seven brands I’m excited about in 2024

Feb 09, 2024

P. Johnson’s Presto line makes bespoke tailoring much more accessible.

Hello Front of Book readers,

Welcome to a new issue of the newsletter.

The other day, a friend I hadn’t seen in a while asked me about my pivot to writing about men’s fashion. I never really saw it as a pivot at all—I spent the last seven years working as a senior editor for lifestyle magazines, both of which had elements of menswear and style. I considered this newsletter more of a supplement to my other writing work, but the question did get me thinking again about why, exactly, I launched this.

What I boiled it down to was this: Clothes are fun. Clothes make me happy. Cultivating style is a hobby that interests me. It’s an escape. It’s a break from the daily deluge of crap we’re exposed to. I find thinking about my own style and considering clothing to be at the same time exciting and relaxing. I also believe that men’s magazines, the traditional place guys went to to look for sartorial guidance, abandoned their audiences years ago, and there needs to be places to go to where likeminded people can find and share ideas about how to dress and express oneself through their wardrobe today. That’s the gap I’m trying to fill.

With that in mind, this week I’m sharing some brands I’m excited to explore in the coming year. As I conduct my own wardrobe audit and overhaul, I’m thinking more about individual pieces I’d like and holes I need to fill in my wardrobe. I’m trying to be more surgical with what I buy—I’m less interested in finding a brand that appeals to me and just getting something I like.

Each of the brands below offers something specific that can help fill gaps in a wardrobe with high-quality, elevated, well-made pieces. It’s a list I’ll add to with in the coming months. Please feel free to share any brands on your radar and I’ll include them in future lists.

Here we go:

1. Rubato

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Launched in 2019, Swedish brand Rubato nails the balance of dressy and casual with a focus on classic essentials in understated, neutral hues. What interests me most is the brand’s knitwear and chinos, which look both soft and sturdy and seem to wear in perfectly.

2. P. Johnson

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I’ve mentioned Aussie tailor P. Johnson before, and I had a suit made by them in 2017. Since then, the brand has expanded it’s ready-to-wear offerings and leaned even more into casual tailoring.

I’ve included them on this list because in the time since I bought my suit, made in Italy at a price point that reflects that, P. Johnson has started offering a bespoke line called Pronto, which is machine made at a Shanghai workshop using Italian construction techniques and the same materials offered at the Tuscan shop. You might lose some of the character of a handmade suit, but the starting price is cut in half, making a great bespoke suit much more accessible.

3. PML

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I came across PML at Leffot, the great West Village N.Y.C. shoe store. The small Italian brands makes really lovely denim shirts, corduroy trousers, polos, and classic navy blazers, and they also do custom suiting. I stopped by their trunk shoe at Leffot this week and you really get the sense that each item is made with a kind of craftsmen-like care you might not find at a larger brand.

4. Taillour

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The East London shop offers bespoke tailoring (taillour is Old French for “ones who make clothes”), combining Saville Row elegance with soft Italian construction. They have a series of trunk shows in the U.S. this month—a great opportunity for a custom suit or jacket from a rising star.

5. Catch Ball

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I wear white canvas sneakers all the time, so much that it seems I’m always in need of replacing them. I’ve bought back-to-back pairs of the Japanese brand Doek, and while I really do love them they’re just so damn expensive for a pair of shoes. Vans are great but they’re ubiquitous, and Cons are classic but feel cheap. So I was excited to discover the Korean brand Catch Ball (available from Canoe Club), whose shoes are inspired by the classic military sneakers of the 1950s. They’re better quality than your standard mass market canvas sneaker, but much more affordable than a niche Japanese brands like Doek.

6. Natalino

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Another brand with focus on relaxed and elegant menswear, with a sharp ready-to-wear line of sports coats and suits. Natalino is a good option for those not quite ready to pull the trigger on pricier bespoke or made-to-measure items.

7. J. Mueser

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Another brand I’ve brought up here before, I find myself drifting to J. Mueser’s Instagram and website constantly. I just find their suiting and other tailoring so appealing. There aren’t a lot of made-to-measure and bespoke options at reasonable(ish) prices in the U.S., and I really love J. Mueser’s relaxed, flexible approach to it. They’ve also go great pieces to go with the suits and jackets—wool polos, cable knit sweaters, handmade ties, and more. I can’t wait to get a linen suit from them.