Joe over at Dappered asked me to compile a list of my five favorite material “things”.
I was excited about this post as it broke away a bit from my normal writing style.
Literally within hours of him asking me for it I had completed the task.
But then after I wrote out my list – I popped over and checked out my friends who had done this before like Brett McKay, Andrew Snavely, and Grant Harris.
Turns out I should have covered more clothing items as that’s what Joe’s site focuses on!
So I rewrote the list – but I still wanted to salvage some of the non-clothing items that didn’t make his cut. Because these really are my favorite pieces of gears – and in a way they help define my personal style of function first, looks a close second.
Here are my 5 favorite things that I use the heck out of and have gotten more than my money’s worth from…..and that didn’t make Joe’s list:)!
Nikon 18-200mm Telephoto Zoom Lens
A really smart photographer told me to not worry so much about the camera body – instead focus on buying good glass. At the time I was shooting with Canon – but getting fed up with having to change lenses multiple times a day and carry a backpack of equipment I decided to find the best all in one lens I could afford. That led me to the Nikon 18-200mm.
That month I sold my Canon equipment on eBay (about 10K in lenses and 2 dSLR bodies) and for a fraction of that bought the Nikon 18-200 and a basic Nikon camera body. Sure – I gave up some “shooting power” – but now I always have my camera, never change the lens, and always get the shot. And most the pictures you see on my websites – to include A Tailored Suit – were shot with this lens.
REI Running ShortsI was a track & cross country runner in both high school and college. To this day I try to get out and run at least a few times a week in addition to lifting weights at the gym.
These shorts are the pair I look for at 4AM when I crawl out of bed. Perhaps its their silky feel even after 200 washes or the pocket with zipper which perfectly houses my MP3 player. In any case – I wear them 90% of the time despite owning 3 perfectly good other pairs of gym shorts.
This was a Christmas gift from my friends Brett & Kate McKay. Easily one of the most useful gifts I’ve received in the last decade.
Seriously – this heavy duty leather briefcase accompanies almost every time I step out of my office to travel with my laptop. It looks great when I wear a sports jacket and shirt, raw denim, and Lucchese western boots – it’s rugged built always draws at least one compliment from a stranger.
The great Navin R Johnson said “I had wealth, power, and the love of a beautiful woman. Now I only have two things: my friends, and my thermos.” Well – I don’t have the power or wealth yet, but I do have good friends, the love of a beautiful woman, and a great thermos.
As a coffee and tea drinker – a good thermos just makes sense. I use it daily so I don’t have to travel to the kitchen to reheat my tea – and when on the road I save a few bucks and avoid the risk of bad road brew.
Back in early 2010 I was having about 8 business meetings a week via Skype and had ambitions to start podcasting about men’s style. I realized very quickly the microphone built into my computer wasn’t going to cut it.
I bought the Blue Yeti when it first came out and was won over immediately by its ease of use and quality output via USB. To date I have used it to record over 1000 crystal clear audio recordings in support of my videos and podcasting efforts at Real Men Real Style.
And funny enough – look at the Blue Yeti review on Amazon and you’ll see one of my very first online videos EVER!
Alright – now back to posting about men’s style:)
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