Born out of necessity, coffee tables were introduced in coffee houses in the 17th and 18th centuries simply because regular tables were too tall for comfortable glass resting. As necessity and design modernized, so did the materials used to create coffee tables, ushering glass and metals has more common options. 

It’s pretty clear that the lust for the 80’s and 90’s permeated not only current fashion friends, but also interior design ones. So, it’s no surprise that glass coffee tables have made their way back into living rooms. Their styles range from eclectic to modern, making them a great choice for a living room that doesn’t want to come off as stale.

What the Experts Say

While the glass isn’t weak, it’s best to be mindful of the weight and what’s going on and around them. Diana Farberov, a professional Brooklyn-based interior designer, stays mindful about using softer objects or mats and cork boards under harder objects to protect the surface. Glass coffee tables might not be the best option for a household with pets and kids. They can, however, help a tight space feel less cramped. You can find versions that have tiered storage options as well as mixed materials if you don’t want to go all glass. Tiered storage also helps declutter a living room space, so it’s worth keeping an eye out for.

Farberov stays excited about all the styling options glass coffee tables present. She recommends coffee table books for an easy styling solution. They’re a great way to continue to show your personality because there are books on just about every topic. Just because the table is glass doesn’t mean everything on it has to match. Diana also suggests trays and catch-all in a variety of materials as well as personal pieces like photos and travel souvenirs. If your table has tiered under storage, you can add a little more there and keep the top simple.

A few hacks from Farberov:

BEST OVERALL

Mid-Century Art Display Living Room Collection

Buy Now $223.020 - $759.00

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This is peak mid century modern design. The mixture of glass, wood, and metal come together for a coffee table with clean lines and a bit of that funk for which mid century modern is best know. The glass top provides an airy surface for simple styling and the secondary wood shelf offers extra storage space.

This kind of table is perfect for a mid-size living room. The glass top introduces a lighter element while the wood (or marble depending on your preference) grounds the piece in the space. West Elm also has matching circular and end tables if you’re looking to complete the set.

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MOST MID-CENTURY MODERN

Marcio Display Coffee Table

Buy Now $383.20

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Imagine your living room, adorned in warm tones and fitted with clean lines. You’ve been upgrading furniture pieces one at a time and it’s finally culminating in an adult space. This coffee table is your mid century modern cherry on top. 

The slotted wood base is perfect for magazines and coffee table books that not only provide reading materials for guests, but add to the pops of color in the space and represent your eye for design. The glass is a quirky, yet useable surface. At 46” long, this table is perfect for a medium sized living room.

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BEST FOR SMALL SPACES

Tanner Square Bunching Table

Buy Now $254.00

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Not everyone has the space for an extravagant coffee table. Luckily, these bunching tables from Pottery Barn are a workable solution. Whether you have room for one or two, an iron frame mixed with glass shelving still creates the coveted mixed-material look. The tiered base also gives you extra storage space that’s so necessary in studio or small-space living.

The idea of bunching tables should peak your interest. It’s akin to a modular solution without the cookie-cutter aesthetic that comes from sellers like IKEA. In fact, this is one of the more affordable pieces that Pottery Barn offers.

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BEST FOR JUST THE GLASS TOP

Point Reyes Rectangular Coffee Table

Buy Now $1,995.00

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If a glass top is all you’re after, the Point Reyes Rectangular Coffee Table from Williams Sonoma is your solution. The glass top makes for a functional hard top surface spanning what would otherwise be a very textured surface. The beauty of a glass-top-only coffee table is that you still benefit from the reflectivity of the glass. It’ll bounce light, lifting the room and the heaviness of the coffee table base.

The style of this coffee table skews more beachy and less modern. That comes from the handwoven base material, which creates a more natural line as opposed to hard, straight ones.

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SIMPLEST DESIGN

Medium Rectangle Glass Coffee Table with Shelf

Buy Now $188.01

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Sometimes simple design is all you need, especially if you’re a function over form kind of person. Farberov recommends this as an affordable option as well. It has the makings of a trendy coffee table, but also boasts a second shelf for added functionality and storage space.

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TRENDIEST

Donique Coffee Table

Buy Now $195.99

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In today’s era, trendiest also means a nod to 90’s and early 2000’s. The Donique Coffee Table is all glass and so in line with the resurgence of that retro style. This is basically one solid piece of tempered glass that waterfalls at each end to create its legs. In this case, the glass is also recycled, so you can take comfort in knowing it’s a more eco-friendly glass coffee table option.

The primary benefit of an all glass coffee table is that it doesn’t leave you with an eyesore in your living room. It barely even looks like it’s there. That lets you play more with color, texture, and overall style in your living room space.

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DESIGNER RECOMMENDED

Aria Coffee Table

Buy Now $599.00

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Farverov selected this Aria Coffee Table from Urban Outfitters for its simple, yet bold styling. The wavy wood base offers more whimsical and 80’s inspired design while the glass top stays simple to balance out the the table. 

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FUNKIEST GLASS COFFEE TABLE

Ibolili

Buy Now $1,730.00

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Glass-top coffee tables make for great statement pieces in a living room space. The Ibolili is no exception. The teak wood base is a show stopper. The beauty of this table is the way it takes something so natural and makes it a furniture piece. What you lose in storage space and conventional form, you make up for in pure style and boldness.

When it comes to styling, the statement piece does the heavy lifting. The rest of your space can remain simple with maybe just a few color pops to avoid a whole beige and brown color palette.

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MOST AFFORDABLE

Rectangle Modern Coffee Table

Buy Now On Amazon $158.85

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Glass coffee tables are great, but they can get really pricey really quick, especially if you’re considering mixed materials and tiered shelving. If you’re trying to create a grown-up space on a budget, this might be just the right coffee table for you.

It still offers a mix of glass and metal. The metal tubular legs are oriented in a unique shape, which imbue the table with its own personality. You get a little bit of the statement piece vibe mixed with the functionality of rectangle glass top.

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Oysters are a treat at any time, in any season. In recent years, restaurants have embraced oyster culture wholeheartedly, dressing them every which way — with grapefruit, olives, champagne — to entice diners. Lately, though, oysters are popping up far beyond the plate: in style and home décor. A number of designers and brands from Billy Reid to Katie Kime have capitalized on oysters as an ongoing food trend and repurposed the little bivalves to create patterns and crests on new collections. 

If you’re the kind of person who starts a meal with a few briny picks from the Northeast, anyway, wearing one is a sure way to channel the same level of luxury once you leave the restaurant. 

BILLY REID

Tuscumbia Oyster Shirt

 For a darker hue of bivalve prints, this shirt from Billy Reid layers in the same motif without screaming summer-only. With the pattern, the shirt reads as navy and can work for your wardrobe well into the fall.

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TOMBOLO

Aw Shucks Shirt

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$148.00

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Inevitably, Tombolo, the Lords of the Summer Shirt, would have to pick up on the oysters-as-fashion trend. The toweling fabric and zip-front of this polo make it easy to forget you’re in the East Village and not Positano.

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TODD SNYDER

Oyster Camp Collar Shirt

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$99.00 $198.00

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Todd Snyder’s take taps into the half-shell motif while keeping the underlying color rooted in fall hues. This shirt works in summer with the open camp collar but is versatile enough to extend wear long into the autumn.

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CHEFANIE

The World is Your Oyster Napkins

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$48.00

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Are you going to your low-key fancy friend’s new housewarming and need a summery housewarming present? Here you go. (You’re welcome.) These napkins from Chefanie are so chic and immediately elevate “having friends over” to “throwing an intimate cocktail party.”

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KATIE KIME

Oyster Coaster Set

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$48.00

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These scream Hamptons House. Katie Kime’s interior design styles are an easy way to punch up your end-of-summer party and keep things light with these wipe-clean coasters. 

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WHEATON WHALEY HOME

Oyster Print in Rex by Palm Orleans Throw Pillow

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$170.00 - $200.00

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An easy way to keep the beach house vibe in your own den is to bring something light and airy to the room like this oyster-printed pillow sham. The pattern comes in a variety of sizes to fit any insert. 

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It was an inversion of the Hollywood trope; the cowboys got saved at the eleventh hour. A location scout turned off U.S. Route 287, the cattle truck-clogged interstate winding the 1,791 miles north from Amarillo, Texas, toward the Buffalo Fork River, gushing out of the Tetons south of Yellowstone. It was the late 1980s and America was facing a beef shortage. Financially-strapped ranchers, many of whom had taken out loans to limp through the recession earlier that decade, were selling off their herds to pay down debt. Betty Feuz, owner of Diamond Cross Ranch, was no exception. 

The scout was looking for a place to shoot Marlboro ads and Feuz, who was in her 70s at the time, was more than amenable to the idea. Her grandson Luke Long, who now runs DCR as a resort and event venue, said the photoshoots saved the ranch. Marlboro was first. Then came Wrangler, Anthropologie, and Filson. After that, Jackson Hole became a beacon of wealth in the state, with the highest income per capita in the country. DCR no longer has a herd, but Kanye West recorded his album Ye there. The ranch has also hosted Kardashians, as well as leadership from companies like Disney, Microsoft, and Toyota.

With a clientele like that, it was inevitable that souvenirs from DCR would become desirable status symbols. It was not inevitable that the Long family would create a fully-fledged streetwear brand or that Channing Tatum would be grammed and re-grammed wearing a DCR hoodie. But like the arc of a lasso in the air, time moves in a circle. No one on the ranch forgot about the Marlboro scout.

Around about the same time the scout arrived, Wayne McLaren, the rodeo rider who became the first Marlboro man, announced publicly that he had lung cancer. In 1992, McLaren showed up to the Philip Morris annual meeting as a protester. Executives said they weren’t sure he’d ever really worked for the company. Profits were up, but the colors – technically Boston University red and University of California gold – were beginning to fade. By the mid 2000s, the Marlboro logo, a white peak rising against a red sky, had been stripped off video games and Indy 500 jackets. By the turn of the millennium, as the widespread harm caused by cigarettes became clear, major tobacco companies reached a $206 billion settlement with 46 states that banned most advertising for tobacco products, including on merchandise. 

Now, an altered version of that old familiar logo — three white mountains, a reference to the Tetons – is rising on DCR apparel, which also upcycles the old slab serif font. The clothing looks fantastic. The Marlboro branding worked because it was so profoundly evocative. But it’s clear where the inspiration for what might be called the first “trailwear” brand came from.

Not that Luke Long is hiding it. He’s not. He doesn’t love the language of reclamation; he describes the T-shirts and hats as an homage. He’s even hired some of the same photographers that used to shoot Marlboro ads that were, in fact, themselves an homage to his family’s way of life. Culture circles back on itself. A rattlesnake makes a loud meal of its own tail. 

“I try to infuse our shirts with bits and pieces that tie back to Jackson Hole and our family’s 100-plus-year ranching history,” says Kirby Long, 25, who manages the bulk of the design work. “The images on our T-shirts are often drawn from old photos of Luke’s grandfather, Walter, riding a bucking horse in the Jackson Hole rodeo in the 1930s. I feel like the more knowledge you have of Jackson Hole, the more you’ll go, ‘Aha, I knew I recognized that.’” 

A shirt featuring the actual photo is their best-seller, Luke says. 

It’s Kirby’s goal to replace the imaginative iconography of Marlboro — Clint Eastwood reaching for a dart — with real memories of a real place: dances behind barn doors. A group of sisters trailing cattle for 35 miles. Ranch hands cycling in and out for work. For reasons related to fiction, her timing couldn’t be better.

According to Nielsen rankings released this spring, Yellowstone is the most-watched scripted show on TV. The show follows the Dutton family, who own a Montana ranch bordering the Broken Rock Indian Reservation, trying to save their land from developers.  Like Jackson Hole, a small blue dot, the show has red-state aesthetics, but leans left. Creator Taylor Sheridan has been publicly critical of Trump (who he refers to as “that motherfucker”), while riding the hyper-American, anti-cosmopolitan ethos of his show to a payday big enough he now owns one of the biggest ranches in Texas. 

The Longs get compared to the Duttons on Yellowstone. They don’t mind.

“When Yellowstone became a huge hit and there was a wild interest in everything cowboy,” Luke says. “We thought, we could do like a Fear of God, hand-drawn, oversized graphic tee with a lot of color. We wanted to do what these streetwear brands in Los Angeles were doing, and make a T-shirt that was so good that everyone wanted to know where it’s from.”  

DCR has replicated that look over and over, from their own tees to their collaborations with PacSun and Revolve. It’s a far cry from the state of their business five or six years ago, Luke says, claiming that they were selling between $10,000 to $20,000 in merch per summer to guests on the ranch. Now, he says that they sell millions of dollars worth all over the world annually. 

“There was no ‘Kate Upton wearing a Canada Goose coat on the cover of Sports Illustrated’ moment where suddenly our brand took off,” says Kirby. “The growth was always sort of steady word of mouth — one customer at a time. Friends tell friends.” 

And they haven’t accepted any outside capital, either, Luke says. 

“We could fast track growth a lot with investment dollars, but to us, it’s important to maintain full control,” he explains, saying that the VF Corporation’s purchase of Supreme in 2020 “sacrificed some of what made them special in order to pursue faster growth and bigger profits.” 

The DCR streetwear brand’s growing popularity can be credited somewhat to the tried-and-true aesthetic that arrived on the ranch decades ago and knocked on the front door. But it can also be credited in part to the singularity of that specific geography around Yellowstone, the all-American aesthetic that doesn’t quite map to a polarized ideology. 

The cowboy is loyal to the job. The cowboy, Marlboro Man or not, is for everyone.

Before the likes of Marcel Duchamp or Frida Khalo were icons, they were just people trying to make art. In the spirit of celebrating emerging artists and would-be patrons, SPY regularly bar hops with future luminaries for The Canvas Underground, a look at the next next-big-thing.

This time, SPY met with Darryl Westly, a New York City–based painter and artist who has shown in galleries and exhibitions all over the city. Westly has a background in nightlife, which has deeply informed his work—the people and places he experiences often informing the subjects rendered in his paintings. During the conversation at the Grand Central Oyster Bar, he also doodled away on a napkin.

SPY: The pandemic seems to be somewhat squarely in the rearview now, with art galleries and restaurants like this one open again. How did you, as an artist, manage your creativity during those years? Creatively stifling or giving you the time to work more?

Darryl Westly: Early on, I was at a very rapid rate. I was able to work, I was able to focus, and I also had a community of artists that I was interacting with online, like using Zoom and things like that. I was able to create this community. I’d say it was really kind of raw. The focus on what it was mainly, going and talking to other African American artists in New York, some of them were classmates of mine, and others were just peers. I could say something about how I spent more time in the studio and less time in public, but I realized in the pandemic how important it is to have a balance between different things. The work is informed by life and by engaging with people and things. Having the mindset of having to go, go, go, gotta work on this thing, it’s not giving each thing its due time. So now, I keep a kind of equilibrium. I think I’m kind of returning to that equilibrium of going out and spending time in the studio. 

SPY: A lot of artists wait tables early in their careers to have the hours to work on their art. You went into nightlife. How did those hours and that field influence the things you were doing in the studio?

DW: There’s the lack of a hierarchy that’s nice. There’s something for me intrinsically in nightlife, where I see the divisions between people start to fall apart. Whether that’s race or class or whatever. There’s something about the dark, and having these curated experiences for your senses, where there are libations, and that’s where you find commonality. I found that really interesting. I had all these conversations with people I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to.

There’s something about nightlife, particularly nightlife in New York, that allows for people to reach across barriers. That was attractive, because even within an art environment, you might expect to be open, there are still a number of delineations and different ideas going on that don’t exist in nightlife.

SPY: Being a working artist, what are some things you experienced in the process of your come-up that you didn’t necessarily expert to happen that people just starting out might be better aware of?

DW: There are things like exhibition planning, mapping out finances, or taking on work managing a schedule of output for your work that’s reasonable. I was recently talking with a friend of mine about preparing for an exhibition, and the amount of time that it takes to make that world. Then, there’s a stint of time between executing that, and receiving the payment for the work, which can vary depending on the client. That can be a big issue with, say, an artist creating a large body of work for a large space versus a smaller piece. Which one is going to require more time? Potentially an artist isn’t making any sales during the process of making the one larger piece for that show.

It’s important to be able to create a certain amount of balance in between how you’re putting work out there both on and off the online auction platforms too. I’ve had experiences where work can be priced at its primary market value, but because it’s on a platform or in a sale, that work may not sell. That can be very disheartening, either for the auctioneer or the artist. We’re pros, but I think creating the kind of situation or playing field in which you’re able to take as many swings as you possibly can with your work, is really one of the most important things. 

SPY: How did you develop your style? What is the “Darry Westly” look of a painting? There’s plenty of figures and people in them, are they people from your life?

DW: At first, it’s throwing things against the wall and seeing what I’m attracted to, or thinking about a certain kind of group or conversation. Again and again, the importance of being out there and socializing stands out. Having these conversations about things or observing people and culture, it informs you. My work starts with people or memories, and then it’s trying to infuse my own history and experiences from childhood. I’m trying to edify experience — the parts of my life where there have been struggles or issues or things that are pillars in my memory. 

To a certain extent, each painting is a self portrait, because it means my view of the world and the way I see something is on display. Now, I’m able to go on and build upon it, and kind of reach out. I do see painting, and art, ultimately, as a process of starting small to germinate an idea from a pinpoint to reach outward. Different artists kind of have different approaches. Some artists start broad and go smaller, you know? It’s a bit like creating a narrative.

SPY: How technical is the work when you’re starting on a new painting? If we peeled back all the layers here, would we see the little pencil marks of a sketch or do you find it on the fly?

DW: I’m definitely more on the technical side of things. I start with maybe a written word or an image that’s floating around in my head and then it’s working through the piece like photography. There’s elements of graphic design and drawing in my work that I’m implementing. There’s a sense of composition and the scene that I’m setting up. For instance, I’ll look at the word “seder,” in the Haggadah. I spent a number of weeks researching a number of illustrated examples of the book and different iconic books, and then seeing the different ways in which people approach the Seder. And then I’ll try to conceive a work from that research. I find that process of research very cool and rewarding. 

SPY: Was there an early note or piece of constructive criticism you got that helped your work going forward?

DW: A criticism that I got early on was to speed up the process of making work. I was dealing with a collector that was very critical about processes and things like that, or just like what amount of time was spent on work. I realized that each step and each part of the way that I go and do what I do is a part of who I am, it’s part of where I am. It was a really eye-opening experience in terms of how it allowed me to be able to go and evaluate for myself exactly how my work functions. What’s intrinsically important to me in terms of what gets communicated through my work and the integrity of the work. Some things obviously can take longer, some things obviously can take shorter amounts. But there is not a one-size-fits-all approach to making the types of work that you do as an artist. It’s the difference between writing an essay and writing a novel.

Everyone has a favorite comfort show. For some, it’s reruns of Chopped. Others love Sex and the City (and love to hate And Just Like That) or worship at the alter of Real Housewives. For American Anglophiles uninterested in baking or horrific murders in economically depressed villages, Monty Don documentaries are must-half-watch laundry TV. Don is a gardener and TV presenter who digs, repots, and irrigates while cultivating an audience equally interested in patches of shrubbery and ornate displays of floral wealth. His fans – legion, but polite – obsess over his fashion. Don’s wears wide-set trousers (though, specifically, never jeans), a popover shirt, suspenders, and a slightly oversized chore coat. (His big floppy hat is optional, but excellent.)

Don’s style was never meant to be the centerpiece of the show. That spot is reserved for Montaserras and hedges. But lately, it feels like he’s a fashion statement. Monty Don style – gardencore, but not to be confused with “Plant Daddy” tees – is suddenly everywhere. Guys all over New York and Los Angeles (and, to a far lesser degree, D.C.) are slippy into baggy Dickies and Chef Pants. They look like topiarists in search of one of NYC’s 2000 community gardens. 

“Overall, I feel like it’s the male version of the coastal grandma trend. Like Ina Garten, for guys,” says stylist and SPY Network member Nolan Meader. “I think of denim first before thinking of cotton or chinos.”

The look connotes a certain type of guy who is searching for the balance between looking good and trying too hard. Society blinked, and all of a sudden fashion was comfortable. Roomy pants and breathable jackets started replacing “slim fit” and cropped looks, making it more attractive to a wider base of people wanting to be stylish. It’s bringing a new player into the fashion fold. For a style-minded world that only included those willing to pour themselves into tapered pants, the new movement expanded fashion’s reach to guys open to style, but prioritizing comfort in what was previously only offering baggy tee shirts from college and sweatpants. Even brands have been expanding their options. J. Crew has been expanding its chino cuts to include the new extra-extra-wide literally called “Giant.” New brands and companies have also come to the forefront, like Gardenheir, selling the complete look from sunhats to rubbery shoes.

“I love the soft denim jacket,” says fashion collector and SPY Network member Eden Pritikin. “It’s honestly giving an effortless vibe. It says that whoever wears it doesn’t put a lot of thought into what they’re wearing, which inherently makes it even cooler and more effortless.” 

For those looking to recreate the style, putting the pieces together doesn’t take much work. 

PANTS

Dickies Original 874 Work Pant

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$29.99

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Dickies pants are the real thing. With products typically  seen on people doing actual manual labor, the company is perfectly willing to sell them to people who just want to walk around in them and drink iced coffee. Resist the temptation to get them in a lighter color. A true gardener is going to be on their hands and knees in the dirt. Put some wear into these by toiling at the local community garden or in the local park and then incorporate them into this wardrobe choice. 

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UNDERSHIRT

Hanes White Tee

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$30.00

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Never was there ever such a perfect plain white tee. This Hanes pack comes with five to circulate between, and all for just $30. That’s $6 a shirt. Find me a better deal. For this gardening ensemble, it works as a simple base layer for the summer months, and an insular one once the windy days of fall start sweeping through the city. 

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BUTTON DOWN

APC Pierre Brodee Denim Jacket

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$228.00 $380.00

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The game here is layers. The key is to be able to remove and add things as the day goes on and the sun beats down. Then, the layers get moved from body to tote bag. This shirt jacket from A.P.C. is giving “Brooklyn, mid-30s, and has a hanging plant in his home,” says Pritikin. The lighter shade of blue also breaks up the denim-on-denim look, while still looking nice with a little soil in it. That said, Pritikin suggests scratching the suspenders.

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CHORE COAT

Le Mont St. Michel Jacket

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$312.00

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Le Mont St. Michel has been the go-to original player in the chore coat game since 1913. The french workwear brand recently got a style bump a few years ago when they started making their way across the Atlantic in bigger numbers, but the craftsmanship still makes this a jacket you buy once and never need to replace.

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White sneakers are a staple, but different pairs communicate different allegiances. Stan Smiths align their wearers with a retro look and green highlights. Golden Gooses (Geese?) align their wearers with Lululemon and East Hampton. Common Projects are largely worn by 30-something creative directors open to the idea of working in tech. On and on. But there’s one white sneaker that defies cultural trigonometry.

I’ve worn white sneakers by Feiyu for years. They’re cheap, white (with a red and white stripe) and breathable with a low ankle. Whenever I see someone else in “the sneakers,” we exchange a nod or a smile or some form of social signaling. It doesn’t happen all that often, but it happens. Stan Smiths are too big to have that level of cool cache. 

Feiyu doesn’t have a huge marketing team or prominent billboards. I get mine at a karate dojo supply store in Chinatown. (Not a dojo, mind you. The place where the dojo owner goes to get dojo equipment for his dojo-ing.) I do this because James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem, the high priest of indie dance punk music, does the same thing and I love LCD Soundsystem. Feiyu’s are a word of mouth thing and James Murphy’s word is law in this regard. 

Feiyu, which means “Flying Forward,” is a roughly century-old Chinese outfit most often associated with Communist Party members and the Chinese National Football Team, which is deeply terrible. They are not just made in China, they are conceived in China. They came to America largely through Paris, where a sneaker collector named Patrice Bastian made them a thing and parkourist embraced them. (Apparently they are really good for jumping off stuff. I wouldn’t know. I can prove they also work quite well to walk to the supermarket and back.)

They are also dirt cheap. I buy mine six at a time for $72, still less than most people pay for Stan Smiths. I get about four months of use out of each pair, wearing them daily. They get to a perfect level of dirty fairly quickly, and then stay there. The rubber soles just wear out. 

Pairs are available at a markup on Stock X and directly through Feiyue, but, self-defeating as it may be, I think that’s against the spirit of the shoes. It’s about the journey to finding them. Do the work. Stop a stranger on the street and ask where they got their pair. You could make a friend in the process. 

FE LO 1920 White Sneakers

Buy Now

$29.99

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These simple white sneakers give anyone downtown instant indie cred. Don’t buy them here though, buy them from word of mouth sources. 

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Tod has a theory. He calls it the “Blue Rut Theory” and it goes like this: You can tell when professional men give up on personal style because they start wearing nothing but navy blue suits and white button downs. Tod, a 55-year-old software engineer, says he has lost countless colleagues to the blue rut. 

“I’m Canadian, though,” he adds. “So I have a plaid rut.” 

Tod, who asked that his last name be kept private because he’s self-conscious about being self-conscious about clothes, recently traveled from Ottawa, where he lives, to Las Vegas for a conference. He walked into a convention hall and saw the predictable thing: a sea of navy blazers. He made a decision. He was fine being a suit. He just didn’t want to be another ill-fitting blue one.

Tod flew home and reached out to Style Girlfriend, a personal styling service for men, run by women.

Style Girlfriend, founded by then-menswear blogger Megan Collins in 2010, offers a wardrobe “overhaul” service that pairs clients with stylists, to cure ASOS-itis and a related suite of fashion maladies. 

In reaching out to Collins, Tod became one of an increasing number of men seeking and accepting interventions from fashion-literate, mostly-female shopping consultants with expertise teaching men to fish for better clothes. These consultations have more in common with a haircut than with what Tan France does on Queer Eye. Tod didn’t reach out because he had no clue what he wanted. He could have gone to one of the many subscription box services flirting with bankruptcy by pairing polo shirts with hatchets if that had been the situation. He reached out because he needed a trim. He needed to sift through all the options he found online. Most importantly, he was willing to pay.

Style Girlfriend has two packages currently going for $379 and $499. If you drop the $500, you get a 30-minute video appointment, a personalized style plan that includes 12 different outfits with shopping recommendations at various price points, styling tips, and access to a stylist via email for two weeks. Tod said that some areas of focus for him, for instance, were style, fit, and layering options, adding that Style Girlfriend expanded his tastes in texture and color. 

Valerie Halfon of Shop With Val, a wardrobe consulting business based in Houston, TX, told SPY that her clients typically spend $1-3k on her services and between $2-5k per shopping appointment to rebuild their wardrobe. After she pulls items for them, her clients meet her at select stores where they go through the clothing together and they purchase what they wish.

A cheaper intervention was perfect for Tod, whose plan was simple: Try not to look aggressively middle-aged. Tod was never poorly dressed and he isn’t determined to improve his dating prospects (he’s been happily married for 28 years, and has two teenage kids). He just needed a zhuzh and he knew it. 

He happened to reach out at a unique time for Collins, who is about to get married, which complicates her branding a bit. She’s never hard-launched a relationship before, she told SPY, for the same reason that boy band members tend to hide their significant others. She wanted to maintain the illusion that followers could make her their style girlfriend. She’s pretty. If you’re dealt a queen, you play it.

Collins’ current place in the market is also complicated by the culture. She launched Style Girlfriend two decades after the first Queer Eye and a few years before its Netflix reboot. The term “metrosexual” had fallen out of common use and Details, the Bible for obsessively-groomed men, was going out of business. But Collins picked up a megaphone and made her voice heard in a frenzied, insecurity-driven cacophony over men’s outfits. Now, that call has been taken up by a chorus of thousands on TikTok and Reddit. 

“It is great that it’s now cool to give a shit,” she says. “A lot of men didn’t grow up learning this information, and they want it from a source that’s not snarky or sarcastic and speaks to them as the internet wingwoman.”

Collins also sees part of her job as permissioning. She can tell men that it’s fine to wear tailored jeans or jewelry if that’s what they want. She also recognizes that if the first battle was getting men to give a shit, the second is getting them to make better choices.

“Just because men’s style has become more normalized and socially acceptable, that doesn’t mean it’s any easier to actually build a wardrobe you love,” Gabi Meyers, a personal stylist who works for Collins explains. “It’s easier than ever to get decision fatigue with limitless options.”

Tod, for instance, knows what he wants. Something between mod and blokecore. He’s a soccer fan whose parents emigrated from 60s Swinging London. He likes that Nutters Savile Row stuff. His Instagram algorithm has picked up on that, but he’s not totally sure what he’s looking at. Meyers stepped in and introduced Tod to Atom Retro, an online shop that reproduces mod brands, 80s casual, anything “retro.” Meyers also suggested shopping at Percival and Wax London – both of which have affiliate revenue programs – as well as the Montreal-based fashion house Simons (true patriot love from all your sons command).

Nick Gray, author of The Two-Hour Cocktail Party and founder of the service Museum Hack, which offers “renegade” tours at museums like the Met, came to Collins looking for more variation in his wardrobe. His current job is more public-facing than Tod’s, and more public-facing than his last one, given that he’s often traveling and promoting his book. He told SPY that he uses personal styling services because he feels overwhelmed.

For Tod and Gray, Collins is the right fashion middle-ground, underscoring that there’s a market for menswear education, rather than a stringent, expensive curation. If the din of men’s style discourse is getting louder and louder, some guys just want noise-canceling headphones. 

Down in Houston, Val Halfon is starting to see more male clients. Her service wasn’t built to entice men, but now it does. She says her few male clients used to be international. Now, she’s getting Americans looking for guidance, looking for help with all those options pushed by the algo. 

“American men have finally come around to a more progressive mentality, which focuses on the importance of their image to get ahead in the world — personally and professionally,” she said. “Perhaps men don’t like to shop anymore than they did 10 or 20 years ago, but now they understand they don’t have to do all the work themselves.” 

It’s really easy for bedrooms to get boring. The problem is twofold. Fold one: Some bedrooms are all function: bed, dresser, maybe lamp, and that’s it. No zest. No joie de vivre. Fold two: Some bedrooms are all atmosphere:  throw pillows, blustery curtains, and that’s just the start. Both types of bedrooms are ultimately boring because they are less than the sum of their parts. Design and function don’t interact.

That’s why I bought  my opposable dentist magnifying glass. As one does.

I’m a bit of a maximalist, but not everything can be a period piece. I don’t want to fall asleep in a novel and wake up with typhoid. Also, I like to read. This adjustable magnifying glass looks cool and also helps me bring letters into focus.

I wear glasses—plural in this case because I wear about 13 different pairs that are scattered all around the apartment. When it’s time for bed, my magnifying light gets pulled down and I can read my book before bed without the trouble of having to get up and find the nearest pair of glasses. It also makes for a nice little bedside light when I’m getting up to get a glass of water or something that I can find my way back to the bedroom without tripping over anything. 

This magnifying glass from HITTI is for sale on Amazon for just over $40, and works on a number of levels. My wonky eyesight made it perfect to repurpose as a reading tool mounted on my bedframe, but it can also be detached from the clamp on my bedpost and reattached to the base to use for crafting or close-up work. Others may find it useful for close-up things like painting, sewing, or fixing things (like eyeglasses that get sat on, in my case). The 10x view through the glass is perfect for all that, and a 4.2” lens is really all you need when you can look across the page on your own or reset the glass.

Then, when I’m done reading, I can just push it up out of the way and it settles in place. During the day, it adds a little more dimension to the room, or can be stowed by adjusting it so it sits against the wall. 

10X Magnifying Glass with Light, HITTI 1,800 Lumens

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$42.99

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This opposable mirror makes reading in bed easier, and gives your bedroom some added dimension.

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Though initially popularized in France by tennis star Rene Lacoste, the pique polo is now an American country club hallmark that has transcended its sporty, preppy origins to gain membership – alongside the t-shirt and Oxford cloth button down – into the exclusive club of necessities. Still, the polo has its detractors. Poorly made and slovenly tailored polos are everywhere, business casual carries the day in all corners of the country, and many American men equate “dressing up” with looking like an amateur golfer. Odds are good that if the best dressed man in the room is wearing a polo shirt, so is the worst dressed man in that room.

In an effort to find the best polo shirts, which is to say the most wearable and attractive, I put four polos from iconic brands and various price points to the test. I wore them with a blazer, I played tennis, I put them through the ringer and the wash and after it was all said and done, the king of polo shirts retained his crown. 

Why These Polo Shirt Brands?

Lacoste and Ralph Lauren (Polo Ralph Lauren, really) were the first to popularize the Great Athleisure Garment (GAG). To leave them off a list like this would be sacrilege. The crocodile. The polo player. These are icons. Moncler and Bonobos are not – at least not in this space – but they perfectly represent the insurgents coming for the embroidered crown. Moncler is a high-end Italian outerwear brand leveraging its chic appeal and access to high-end manufacturing to expand its product line. Bonobos is a downmarket brand monetizing a product not made from pique cotton at a more accessible price point.

How Do You Test a Polo Shirt?

Because the polo originated with Lacoste, you play tennis. This is done out of respect and also with the understanding that polo shirts, though delightful served with a gin and tonic, are sportswear. Sure they may not be the moisture-wicking affairs you pick up at Dick’s, but they are meant for athletics. Also, they look great a little worn-in. So that’s basically what I did–I wore them in playing tennis, playing with my kids, messing around in the yard and out to dinner in town. 

The Lacoste Polo

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$110.00

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Style: The Lacoste polo debuted in 1933 and is still made from pique cotton and emblazoned with its signature reptile–Rene’s nickname was “the Crocodile” thanks to how he devoured his opponents. By some accounts, Lacoste was the first brand to feature a logo on its clothing, and the Lacoste polo remains the one if you want to look like a Frenchman at leisure. When Lacoste took to the courts in an early version of the Lacoste polo little did he realize that he was defining tennis style—and arguably much of sportswear—for nearly a century. 


Fit: I ordered the XL Lacoste classic polo shirt and of the four I tested, this one fit the best for my build—a nice trim fit without being constricting, and long enough that I wasn’t worried every time I bent over. The collar lays nicely, the placket lays flat, and the slightly longer tennis tail in the back is a nod to its origins as a piece of athletic wear without turning into some over-designed performance detail. 

Durability: The Lacoste polo fared well after a good dozen or more washings. My only complaint is that the collar needs a bit of reshaping after each run through the laundry. I’ve been hanging it dry because I don’t want it to shrink, which it hasn’t. 

The Lacoste is my favorite tennis polo. It’s comfortable and looks amazing on the court. It stands up to a few sets of vigorous tennis and I never worried that it would fly up on me while serving. I have enough holes in my serve without worrying about my kit.

Comfort: As the best all-around polo I tried, the Lacoste performed very well on the comfort front. Breathable, trim, and elegant, I certainly feel the best wearing this polo and it transitioned best from the tennis court to wearing under a blazer.

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Moncler Tricolor Striped Polo Shirt

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$425.00

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Style: The highest end polo I tested, the Moncler is certainly a handsome shirt. And though I like the red and blue tipping at the collar and armbands, the real statement with this shirt is the Moncler logo on the chest. The degree to which you love this shirt is likely highly related to how much you want people to see you in Moncler. For me, it’s hard to justify the high price on a garment that is neither high performance nor high fashion. Though it’s a classic design, this shirt started feeling more and more like a status symbol the more I wore it, which made we want to wear it less and less.

Fit: Tight, tight, tight. I bought the XL thinking that I should size up for a European brand, and thought that strategy worked well for the Lacoste polo, I’m probably an XXL in the Moncler. The body is nice and trim, the sleeves hit higher up the bicep, and at 6’1” this polo is juuuust long enough to hit my belt buckle. Unless you’re very slim, and like your polos to fit the same way, definitely consider going a size or two above your standard. 

Durability: No complaints on the durability front—it’s stood up admirably to many washings. I will also note that of the four pique polos I’ve tried, the Moncler’s collar has stood up the best. It hasn’t rolled or buckled after laundering, holding its shape better than either the Lacoste or the Ralph Lauren. 

The Moncler fared well playing tennis, though I confess that I wore it under a hoodie for fear that it wasn’t big enough to cover me through serves, volleys, and overheads.

Comfort: Considering the very narrow fit, I wouldn’t call the Moncler polo particularly comfortable. The armbands are tight, and the length, as mentioned above, means that you can’t tuck it in, and I knew that reaching for anything on a high shelf would mean baring my stomach to the world. 

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Ralph Lauren's Custom Slim Fit Mesh Polo Shirt

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$98.50

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Style: Though Lacoste might hold the title for the OG polo shirt, on American shores, there’s not a more iconic polo than Ralph’s. Since 1972, its suggested an East Coast establishment life of leisure better than probably any other garment. I’ll spare you the image of popped-collar preps in three different fluorescent shades of Ralph polos, and instead focus on the truly classic style you get with that polo player embroidered on the left breast. The collar does pop nicely—if you’re into that sort of thing—and has a handsome roll. All told, this looks and feels like an essential polo shirt. No 12% spandex or any gimmick, just a classic American look in a sober shade of hunter green. 


Fit: You’d be forgiven for being utterly confused by Ralph’s polo sizing options. They offer three different options: Classic, Custom Slim, and Slim. I went for Custom Slim in a size large, thinking that splitting the difference in my usual size would result in a casually elegant fit. Little did I realize that what I was getting would feel a full size too big. 

When I go back to Ralph, I’ll certainly be choosing the Slim fit, because there’s plenty of room in the shirt that I got. That said, a loose polo certainly confers an oversized 90s feel, so if your vibe is more Jerry Seinfeld than Tyson Beckford, go Ralph and go big.

Note: At the time of writing, there were just 7 colorways available in the Slim fit, but something like 50 in the Custom Slim and Classic.

Durability: After probably 15 or 20 wears, I’m happy to report that the Ralph polo has kept its shape and the collar has weathered the washing. Because of it’s roomy fit, I put it through the dryer hoping to shrink it a bit, but nothing doing. My other durability test is to play a round or two of tennis in each shirt. The Ralph passed the tennis test easily. 

Comfort: As noted above, this polo’s generous cut has made it quite comfy indeed. I like the tooth of the pique cotton—it’s soft but not fuzzy—and the extended tennis tail gives you just a tick more coverage in the seat. The armbands aren’t constricting and the placket lays well. 

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Bonobos Jetsetter Performance Polo

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$75.00

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Style: For me, a polo shirt is best when made from pique cotton, so I was skeptical of the 50% pima cotton, 50% Drytex acrylic Bonobos Jetsetter. But after wearing it many times, I’ve begun to see the appeal. Yes, it strikes a decidedly more athleisure note, but the fabric blend is sleeker than pique, which gives you a slightly different look than a classic polo. If you like the athletic look, you could do far worse than the Jetsetter, and I can see this shirt working well on a plane, where you may want the comfort and performance of your gym clothes without actually wearing them. 


Fit: The Jetsetter is a very handsome trim fit. I’m not especially svelte, but the shirt should fit many body types well. It’s got a nice drape for a 50% synthetic fabric and the collar comes to a sharper point than the pique shirts, which gives it just a touch more elegance than your average performance wear. 

Durability: Absolutely no qualms here. Easy in and out of the washer and dryer, no need to reshape the collar, and no need to worry about the shirt shrinking either. After the Lacoste, this is my second-favorite to wear on the tennis court. The performance fabric stood up to the swings and the sweat. 

Comfort: I found the Jetsetter very comfortable, but it is a trimmer fit, so those who like their shirts roomier, the Ralph Lauren Slim Fit is likely more up your alley. The hand of this polo’s fabric is quite soft, the details are polished without being fussy, and as the only polo I tested without armbands, the sleeves weren’t constricting in the least. 

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At their best, a pair of chinos can be the most versatile pair of pants in a man’s wardrobe. At their worst, they’re a profound argument in favor of abolishing casual Fridays. In service of finding the best made pair of khakis on the market—and in the hopes of determining the most comfortable as well—I, acting as SPY’s agent in the field, put four pairs, ranging in price from $80 bucks to nearly $400, through a series of tests. Not only did I find a pair of excellent pants, I found out a deep truth: I am very much a chinos guy.

Why These Chinos?

J. Crew is the Oliver Peoples-wearing 900-pound gorilla in the khaki space. Ever since the brand (well before declaring bankruptcy and restructuring) eclipsed Dockers during the knit tie heyday of the late aughts, Crew has been the default position for khaki people. They were briefly threatened by the rise of Bonobos, another great ape, but that fizzled. Really, the only chinos worth buying that aren’t from J. Crew exist upmarket. APC and Acne operate in a similar refined urban mold (less backyard party, more drinks at Gramercy Tavern), whereas Incotex goes full Riviera, evoking the dreary wait for a martini at the pool bar outside the Grand-Hotel du Cap-Ferrat. There’s a whole other world of deeply trad chinos you can get from J. Press or Bill’s Khakis or the Andover Shop, but we’ll leave those to your dad and uncles for now. 

But the real reason we selected these particular chinos from these particular brands is that these are all basics chinos. Nothing here is unnecessarily complicated or overly cute or needlessly stodgy. Chinos are best when you keep it simple.

How Do You Test a Pair of Khakis?

I wore, washed, and worked these four pairs of pants nonstop for months. 

That meant dinners out, (and plenty of dinners in), mowing the lawn, roughhousing with my kids, sitting for 40 hours a week in front of a computer, hiking, and all the other things a person might do in a pair of chinos. I recall one day where I both took a load of brush to the dump in the afternoon and attended a chamber music concert in the evening. Any exceptional pair of chinos should take both in stride. I didn’t engage in any special laundering here, just into the washer on cold, and into the dryer on hot, regardless of what the care instructions said. 

Once I had a baseline of performance, comfort, and style for each pair, I kept wearing them but also gave myself the liberty to pick and choose based on the day’s activities or weather. I wanted to see which pair I gravitated toward. I was looking for the perfect hybrid of comfort, style, fit, and durability. And after literally months and months of wearing nothing but chinos, I have a favorite.

APC Classic Chinos

Buy Now $147.50

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Style

If there’s a Platonic ideal for how a pair of khaki chinos should look—the fine folk at Parisian brand APC have found it. Just casual enough for hacking around and just elegant enough to ground a blazer and tie, this pair of pants has done everything I’ve asked of it. It’s great with sweaters and sports shirts, Italian loafers and lug-soled Paraboots. I’ve pottered in the garden, I’ve napped, I’ve shoveled snow. The plain front, straight fit, and slight taper were all highly flattering without any detail feeling too fussy. I judge a pair of chinos overwhelmingly on their versatility, and these passed the aesthetic test with flying colors. The pants themselves come in two colors—beige and navy. 

Fit

This classic slim straight pair of pants fit beautifully with a medium rise, two-button closure, and zipper fly, side pockets, and a slight taper at the ankle. If I have one gripe it’s that there’s no extra fabric in the event you need to let them out. 

Durability

After my initial run of testing each pair of chinos, this was the pair I returned to most. They’re a good middle weight, which means a wintry walk into town won’t overwhelm them, and summer heat won’t take them out of rotation. They stood up to plenty of washes, and because they’re 100% cotton, they’ve already started to break in and get softer. 

Comfort 

Of the four pairs of chinos I tested, the APCs are the second slimmest, though you’d hardly call them skinny. I found just enough room everywhere for everything, and not a stitch more. And that’s precisely what I want. I confess that I’m not a huge fan of stretch material in my trousers—cotton and wool have gotten us this far, and precisely how often are you going office-to-parkour? We won World War II without elastic-waisted athleisure easy pants, so I fail to see how they’re a necessity for padding from desk to coffee pot. These pants are plenty comfortable, especially if you’re uncomfortable looking like a slob.

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Acne Studios Ayonne Slim-Fit Cotton-Blend Twill Chinos

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Style

These chinos stand out from the pack largely on grounds of fit. Wide-legged, sturdy, and on the darker end of the khaki spectrum, the Ayonne model from Acne Studios feel particularly of the moment. Whether you hem them high and pair with loafers for a kind of shuffleboard chic look, or wear the extra fabric pooled around your ankles for a relaxed 90s vibe, these pants stood out from the pack. If Tyler the Creator, or one of the other Odd Future dudes, was choosing from my array of chinos, I’m pretty sure he’d pick these. Initially I struggled sorting out what kind of shoes to pair them with, but once I landed on a pair of chunky Paraboot Michaels—imagine the footwear of a French country mailman—I found myself putting them on all the time. 

Fit

Wide in the leg but trim in the seat, the Ayonne Slim Fit (misnomer) are entirely au courant thanks to their generous fit. They have an appealingly grandfatherly feel thanks to the voluminous leg, though they’re not so subversively large as to make them costume-y. 

Durability

These pants have held up quite well to numerous wearings and washings. No shrinkage or alteration in shape or feel. I also quite like the heft and hand of the material. The fabric is 65% cotton and 35% polyester, which accounts for some of their retro feel. The fabric is also thicker than any of the other pants I tried, which makes me think that they’ll continue to hold up nicely. 

Comfort 

As the loosest of the lot, these pants are quite comfortable. They have a simple hook closure and zippered fly, and the aforementioned wide leg has made doing basically anything in them a breeze.

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J.Crew 770 Straight Fit Stretch Chinos

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Style

Style-wise, the J Crew 770s are truly middle of the road—neither too slim nor too baggy, neither especially chic or objectionably gauche, neither look-at-me dashing nor look-away dowdy. All of which is to say that they’re a totally solid bet for most guys, especially those looking for their chinos not to make much of a statement. If I had to nominate a pair from this test as the best choice for the touch football game after your nephew’s high school graduation, the 770s are it. The 770s come in six colors—I’m partial to the Catskill Green. 

Fit

The J. Crew 770s are a pretty classic straight fit, with a slight taper as you get to the ankle—medium rise, single button closure with zipper fly, and slanted side pockets. This is a great fit for hacking around on the weekends, though its refusal to go very far in any one direction leaves something to be desired if you’re looking to dress it up. You certainly won’t look bad throwing a navy blazer over the top, but your fit won’t be particularly elevated, so it’s best not to ask much of these casual pants beyond casual duties. I’m sure that they’d look just dandy hemmed with no break, but given their relaxed vibe, I quite like them with the cuffed. 

Durability

These pants have held their shape well and I haven’t noticed any shrinkage or alteration with washing. They’re made with 1% elastane—the generic name for Lycra or Spandex—so they give a bit, and they’ve handled yard work nicely. I’ve had other pairs of J. Crew chinos in the past which have all held up well. 

Comfort 

No complaints here. The stretch in the fabric does give you a bit more mobility, though I don’t know that I really need it considering the standard straight fit. These pants are quite soft, probably the softest of the groups, so they earn a few extra points in this category.

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Incotex Four Season Slim Fit Cotton Blend Chinos

Buy Now $225.00

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Style

Incotex is a storied Italian brand, whose chinos have been coveted by the preppy set for decades. The look is classic and the fit is slim, the slimmest of the four pairs I tried. That said, style-wise they really perform and will have you feeling like you’re on the Riviera, even if you’re only in Raleigh.

Fit

When they say slim fit, they mean it. Of the four pants I tried, these are easily the slimmest, which in part lends them their elegance. Though it was quite a shift from weeks in the Acne chinos to a long stretch in these, I generally found the fit quite flattering and modern. No droopy seat, and a narrower ankle opening that looked best hitting just above the shoe tops. I strongly advise you to take to your tailor and have them hemmed with no break. 

In my view, one of the major drawbacks of very slim pants is that the outline of your keys and phone are obvious in your front pants pockets. They simply have no place to hide, which can ruin the pants’ nice line. The flat front looks wonderfully modern on these pants. Carry your phone and keys in a jacket pocket or bag. 

Durability

These Incotex chinos held up as well as any others that I tried, taking multiple washings and trips to the dump in stride. I should note that they’re made of the thinnest material of any of the four pairs I wore in this review. That’s no knock in and of itself, but as the temperature drops you’ll reach for them less and less. I go for them far more in the warmer months and are the first pair I’d pack for a sunny vacation. The fabric is Incotex’s Royal Batavia, a thin, flexible blend of 97% cotton and 3% elastane.

The finishing on all the buttons and buttonholes is top notch with these trousers, as it should be with their price of $375. There are two extra buttons sewn inside the pants as backups, and all the linings inside the pants and pockets are strong and durable. Perhaps most important to the longevity of the Incotex Four Seasons is that they come with enough material to let the waist out a good two inches—should you find yourself in need of a bit more room. 

Comfort 

Gents who want a little extra room in their trousers, especially in the crotch, seat, and thighs, should probably steer clear of the Four Seasons. As mentioned above, these pants are made with 3% elastane, and I certainly needed it when squatting down to tie my shoe or horse around with my kids. But with all that said, they are no more restricting than any other pair of truely slim fit trousers. If you like your pants a bit tight, then these are for you. And if you don’t, Incotex makes a more relaxed fit of the same model.

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