The Choosy Beggar

Some guys reserve flip-flops for the water. Others keep them on from April to September. It’s best to find a middle ground based on your work setting, and the degree to which your toes resemble eagles’ talons. For what it’s worth, there is an increasingly vocal constituency calling for men to take the footwear highroad in the warmer months. But, for better or worse, all Saturday, Old Navy is selling flip-flops for $1.

Old Navy – 150 W 34th St between 6th & 7th – 212-594-0049 – Map
Old Navy – 503 Broadway between Spring & Broome – 212-226-0838 – Map
Old Navy – 610 Ave at 18th – 212-645-0663 – Map

Until the end of next week, Prada is taking 45% off everything except luggage and top-shelf shoes. There’s still plenty of lesser shoes and spring/summer ’08, a store clerk tells us.

BEWARE: Even on sale, Prada suits and blazers are a SHIT investment:

Simply put, the proper way to construct a suit is by stitching the “canvas” to the outer fabric. Prada glues these pieces together, which leads to a stiff jacket, and in due time irreparable bubbling up of the fabric from the canvas. If you want to see bubbling for yourself, ask to see a Prada jacket at any resale store in the city. It’s not pretty.

Prada – 841 Madison Ave between 69th & 70th – 212-327-4200 – Map
Prada – 724 5th Ave at 56th – 212-664-0010 – Map
Prada Soho – 575 Broadway at Prince – 212-334-8888 – Map

Trusty Will over at A Suitable Wardrobe tells us what passes these days for a suitable wardrobe, and just how much you should be prepared to spend on one:

I frequently advise clients to budget the acquisition of four articles of tailored clothing and two pairs of shoes each year, plus 25%-33% for accessories. The client’s total budget determines how much can be spent on each item. So, for example, a bit more than $25,000 annually buys bespoke from Savile Row or Naples. Half that amount buys Hong Kong bespoke and MTO shoes, or $8,000 buys good quality ready to wear (call it Brooks Brothers and Alden).

Obviously the words “sale,” “resale,” and “Barney’s-Warehouse-Sale” are not part of Will’s vocabulary. Not that we begrudge him that.

[A Suitable Wardrobe]

In case you missed it, The Wall Street Journal recently subjected suits across a range of price-points to a vigorous quality test. [Click images to read the fine print]

Key takeaway: Donald Trump’s name is worth dick.

And the “Nays” have it: Deep-V T’s have officially been ruled out-of-bounds.

[h(y)r]