obey

Sock Jocks

May 11, 2011

There are more than 75,000 nerve endings in your feet, a fact many sock-makers don't pay proper attention to. We've tried everything. Paul Smith, Happy Socks, Brioni, BOSS, Etro, Corgi, Ecco, Caufield Preparatory, Obey, Thomas Pink. You name it, we've tried it. If price is no object then hands down Nudie Jeans makes our favorite socks. Yeah, even better than Paul Smith or current J.Crew favorite Corgi. They're made in Nudie's homeland of Sweden and are stylish, soft, thick, don't pill, and are worth every krona.

However, if you can't or don't want to spend $25 on a pair of socks we believe we've discovered big value from the nearly 200 year-old Scottish brand Pringle. Asos.com, which has lately been claiming an increasingly large portion of the brainpower we devote to staring at endless arrays of miniaturized backpacks and outerwear, sells 3-packs of Pringle argyle socks* in either cotton or bamboo — apologies to the pandas for wearing your lunch on our feet — for right around 15 bucks. At only $5 or $6 a pair, we've decided to fill up a whole drawer with them.

*Two of the three pair are argyle. The other one is solid color.

Ask the MB: OBEY x Generic Surplus Plimsoll Boat Shoe

March 23, 2011

Q: Hey guys: Love the website, and a couple of times it's stopped me from making a fashion mistake - I appreciate it. Anyway, I saw these on Gear Patrol and wondered what you thought. They're not crocs or thongs, and I thought the blue ones would look good with some white jeans. I will defer to your expertise though.
--David

A: Obey and Generic Surplus are both brands we like, but this plimsoll-boat shoe fusion (top) has us imagining comical sunburn patterns we'd just as soon avoid. We say: Women alone should bear the risk of skin-exposing mesh (bottom).

If you want a navy boat shoe, there is always Sperry, of course, but we also like the Oak Street Bootmakers version, made from Horween Chromexcel and handcrafted and handstitched in the USA.

As for navy plimsolls, Lyle and Scott's version hail from the island where the word was invented, and we also really like Superga's take on them.

Finally, we applaud your choice of white jeans. Here in the upper midwest we're just weeks away from being able to wear them, and tomorrow we'll list a few of our favorites.

Ask the MB: Good Shorts and Footwear to Match

April 30, 2010

Q: With summer upon us how about some advice on appropriate shorts for the hot months. And which footwear to combine with them. Thanks.
--Jim

As our recent post on Dorts suggest, it's much easier to find awful shorts this season than good ones. We almost think the Obama Administration has enlisted the world's shorts designers in an ingenious propaganda campaign. If someone pays $288 for Odyn Vovk's seamed balloon shorts (top), or $365 for Chronicles of Never's oversized parachute shorts, or $231 for Tim Hamilton's apparent bid to corner the market on black-tie Mormon underwear, then the recession must be officially over.

But there are some good shorts out there, or at least one pair. We love the color, texture, and inseam length of these Obey Whalers, and we're pretty sure our tailor will be happy to excise the overly wordy logo tag for a six-pack of Schlitz. $58. (They fit true to size.)

We will address the footwear part of your question next week.