Just in time for golf season.

Check out Maide Golf, the new line of slimmer, cooler golf apparel for guys. I’m excited that my clothes will look good next time I hit the links…can’t say the same for game.

Freehand, a new hostel brand, has opened its first location in Miami at the former Indian Creek Hotel. The concept is a partnership between the Sydel Group, the developer behind the Ace New York & Palm Springs properties and Yucaipa Companies. Created for a new generation of urban travelers, Freehand will incorporate innovative design, a local food and beverage experience, and a comfortable community atmosphere, all offered at an affordable price.

The interior design was done by Roman & Williams, who have done killer work for the Ace among other.

Sydel and Yucaipa have plans to open at least ten more locations within the next few years.

I love my hometown, but it hasn’t been a hot spot for cool fashion brands in a while. Cool car companies, sure (Yes, Ford, GM and Chrysler are cool). However, one new company is about to change all of that. Shinola, a new brand that takes its name from an old brand of shoe polish known mainly for a popular mid-century phrase “You don’t know shit from Shinola”, decided to set up shop in Detroit and make it their permanent headquarters. After a few years of R&D, Shinola is finally ready to start selling its line of American made watches, bicycles, leather goods and journals. And I can already tell they’re going to do a damn fine job at it…Now you know shit from Shinola.

Image from Shinola

Image from Shinola

I’ve found the perfect shirt! I’ve been looking for a new blue oxford shirt for a while, my previous version was never quite right.

I received my new oxford from the guys at Lumina, a Raleigh, NC based company that prides itself on being American made. The shirt is the perfect color blue. It’s crisp enough to be dressed up with a sport coat, but not too crisp that it can’t be dressed down with shorts or jeans. It has a modern, tapered fit with high arm holes and subtle oxford stripe detailing in the collar and cuff.

Best of all though is the size and fit. With most American brands I always find myself too big for a small and too thin for a medium. Lumina offers the perfect solution…half sizes. I will absolutely be stocking up.

Image from New Raleigh

Flipping through the new issue of Monocle I came across an article about the newly opened Oyster Inn on Waiheke Island in New Zealand. Similar to Ruschmeyer’s in Montauk, the owners put thought into every element. I love places like this.

White isn’t a color that usually conveys warmth, some don’t even consider it a color at all. When most people see a stark white room their first instinct is to paint. However, check out these examples of how white walls (and even floor) can be more powerful than any other color in the spectrum. Never underestimate the power of white.

Inspired by the old world utilitarian ideal of making something that is “built to last,” Izola and Aesthetic Movement have curated a collection of whimsical objects with a masculine sense of antiquity.

Made with great care and attention to detail, this series of functional every day staples is designed to be the perfect gifts for men. The products include flasks, soaps, candles, laundry bags, bamboo toothbrushes, handkerchiefs, shoe brushes, shower rings, ceramics and shower curtains.

My previous post regarding candles wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t mention the new Easy Rider candle, a Collaboration between The Motley and JOYA.

The scent, developed by JOYA and hand poured at their Brooklyn studio, was inspired by a trip The Motley took up the California coast, with notes of Siam Citron, Orange Flower, Saddle Leather, Birch Tar and Woodsmoke. The artwork was designed by Caleb Owen Everitt, an Austin based Designer/Art Director with clients ranging from J.Crew to Deus Ex Machina.

A true coast-to-coast collaboration…and a perfect stocking stuffer.

The Scottish are drinkers….but beer? Not so much, they’re known for the hard stuff.

since 2003, Edinburgh, Scotland based Innis & Gunn has been brewing oaked beers matured in Bourbon barrels. Discovered by accident when the founders, who originally set out to produce a Scotch whiskey with ale flavors, realized the previously discarded beer used to soak the barrels was like nothing they tasted before. The company has since expanded into a full range of beers.

Innis & Gunn received some criticism when they produced a beer with 18.2% alcohol volume, they responded by producing a line of beers with up to 55% alcohol volume…nice work lads.

Image from Flickr

Technically Fall has been here for a few weeks, but it hasn’t felt like it in NYC until this evening. The cardigan came out, which means fall cocktails are officially appropriate.

Recipe:

1.5 oz. Bourbon
.5 oz. maple syrup
.5 oz. fresh lemon juice
shake with ice in cocktail shaker.
Serve in cocktail glass