A roundup of the Strategist's style columnist's recommendations for basic but essential clothes (and other products) that will do the job while still flexing your sense of style
Photo: Courtesy Retailers In fielding all the reader questions for our resident Cool Guy Chris Black week after week, we’ve noticed that a lot of folks continue to ask for his sage advice about basic but essential clothes that will do the job while still flexing your sense of style. So instead of asking him to repeat himself, we combed his columns to date to compile this Chris-approved list of 25 basics he swears by, from white T-shirts to jeans to deodorant to socks to backpack .
From $10 Buy at Amazon Buy $9 Buy at Walmart Buy Pro Club Men’s Comfort Cotton Short Sleeve T-Shirt A “THICC neck,” as Chris likes to call it, gives a white tee a bit of a sturdier, more put-together look. As for how to wear white tees, he says, “they look good under a hooded sweatshirt, a cardigan, or even a suit.”
From $25 Buy at L.L.Bean Buy Boat and Tote, Open-Top Chris famously loathes backpacks, writing an emphatic “hell no” when asked if an adult should ever carry one. Instead, he says “the simple canvas tote bag is the answer,” and “no one can top the LL Bean Boat and Tote.” From $23 Buy at Amazon Buy From $23 Buy at Amazon Buy Dickies Men’s Original 874 Work Pant When he’s not wearing jeans, “blue Dickies are my go-to pant,” writes Chris, adding that “even though they are made for actual work, they can be dressed up easily with a little tailoring.”
$35 Buy at Saks Fifth Avenue Buy $35 Buy at Nordstrom Buy Aesop Spray Deodorant This spray-on deodorant is Chris’s “little secret.” He says it “smells incredible and mixes well with almost everything.” $140 Buy at Brooks Brothers Buy Brooks Brothers Regent Fit Oxford Sport Shirt “If you want to go a step up from Uniqlo, you cannot go wrong with Brooks Brothers,” writes Chris. He goes for the brand’s Regent fit, which is “heavy-duty and cut a little slimmer.”
$120 at Barneys New York Buy Birkenstocks Birkenstock Boston Suede From $69 From $69 Chris has been wearing Bostons ever since he got a free pair while “working at an Atlanta footwear institution called Abbadabba’s,” way back when he was “19, smoking Parliament Lights, and living in a house with four dudes.” Of his preferred style, he says: “They are comfortable and sort of ugly, in the best way possible.
From $5 at Amazon Buy From $5 at Amazon Buy Gym shorts Nike Flex Stride 5” Running Short $45 Chris notes that his favorite workout shorts — and shirt — are made from “basic sweat-wicking materials.” $29 at Peel Buy White sneakers Vans Authentic Sneaker From $62 From $62 “The only all-white sneakers I genuinely stand behind,” writes Chris.
From $109 at Amazon Buy $135 at Zappos Buy Dress shoe G.H. Bass & Co. Men's Larson Weejuns Penny Loafer From $110 From $110 If an occasion calls for footwear more formal than the above, Chris says to “pull out the Bass Weejuns .” $31 at Amazon Buy $31 at Dermstore Buy Rain jacket Patagonia Torrentshell Jacket $129 Like moisturizers, Chris has a collection of rain jackets but calls this Patagonia style a “hard-wearing classic.”
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