This is Nick Hilton. He’s someone who the real menswear people all know and respect. They also like him because he’s a pretty nice guy. If you are interested in style, clothing, and dressing well, then Nick is a good person to meet. He has an interesting story, which he details in his book A Tailor-Made Man. At one point, Nick’s family had one of the world's largest American-made tailored clothing brands. Fun fact: His father gave Ralph Lauren (who worked for Norman Hilton) the seed money to start Polo. This is just one of the many interesting stories surrounding the Hilton family, which Nick chronicles so well in his book.

A friend recommended A Tailor-Made Man to me, but Nick reached out to me before I could read it. We met via Zoom, and we spoke for over an hour. I was intrigued with Nick, his family, and his history in menswear. I also liked that Nick has serious opinions about dressing and doesn’t shy away from sharing them.

I’ve always been fascinated by the history of things we use in our everyday lives. That’s a big part of what has driven my point of view with ACL through the years. I arrived in New York after many of these apparel manufacturers were gone, but I still could extract some of the stories about the golden years of U.S.-made clothing. I love to hear stories about the prime days of American-made suits when hundreds of thousands were made in Brooklyn and all over the Northeast. Having guests like Nick on the podcast to tell some of these stories is important to me. If you read his book, you’ll understand that era even better. Until then, I hope you enjoy our conversation.

Below are two ads from the Norman Hilton natural shoulder glory days.

The ACL Podcast is meant to be a companion to the newsletter. You can listen in the Substack App, on Apple Podcasts or via Spotify directly if you prefer that. If you like this story, please consider subscribing and sending it to a friend. As always, I appreciate your support.

Big thanks to Al James for lending me his music. The song is Hard Working Dogs by Dolorean.

One of the great joys in life is finding a hobby which involves travel. To play tennis in Italy, go fly fishing in Argentina or play golf in South East England (as I am doing this week) is a wonderful prism in which to meet people and see the world.

Over the past several years I’ve traveled with The Fliers Club to incredible places that I would have not likely experienced. The discovery of this group has been such an inspiration for me that I wanted to talk to Founder Eric Stepanian about his perspective on travel and golf. Most importantly I wanted to talk about how they have built such an amazing community.

Happiness in golf was easy to find, but it was harder to find people who share the same values around the game. Some might not realize just how nuanced golf can be or how it can open up space in your life for happiness via competition, camaraderie and travel. No one has taught me more about the possibilities in golf than Eric.

We chat about travel, life, etiquette, merch, and celebrating the ancillary benefits of golf. Hope you enjoy our conversation.

The ACL Podcast is meant to be an add-on to the newsletter. You can listen in the Substack App, on Apple Podcasts or via Spotify directly if you prefer that. If you like this story please consider subscribing and sending to a friend. As always I appreciate your support.

Big thanks to Al James for lending me his music. The song is: Hard Working Dogs by Dolorean.

Kevin McLaughlin is the owner of the beloved New England heritage brand Quaker Marine and the co-founder of J.McLaughlin. He’s a no nonsense New Yorker with an intimate knowledge of the nuts-and-bolts of making clothes. I would have a hard time finding someone more involved in the history of garment manufacturing in New York. It’s a delight to be able to chat and learn from him.

When I meet someone like Kevin, my mind starts to race with questions. He’s seen a lot when it comes to making clothes and manufacturing in America. Every year the footprint of New York clothing-makers continues to shrink as factories close. Even in my short time working in the business things have continued to get noticeably smaller. Conversations with guys like Kevin help to preserve some of the history of the garment industry and give it a place in the dialog of today. These stories are but a small tribute to the hard working people of the trade, past and present. I hope you enjoy our conversation.

The ACL Podcast is meant to be an add-on to the newsletter. You can listen in the Substack App, on Apple Podcasts or via Spotify directly if you prefer that. If you like this story please consider subscribing and sending to a friend. As always I appreciate your support.

Big thanks to Al James for lending me his music. The song is: Hard Working Dogs by Dolorean.

Historically there is perhaps no contribution to the game of golf and the Masters Tournament as overlooked as the hardworking, predominantly Black local caddies of Augusta National Golf Club. In a recent update to his book, The Legendary Caddies of Augusta National, Ward Clayton gives a voice to these incredible people and their long overlooked contributions to America’s most prestigious golf club and most famous golf tournament.

Following a rule change in 1982, the Masters Tournament was the last of the major championships to allow outside caddies. This meant that players could then bring their own full-time outside caddie, and most players did. Prior to the 1983 Masters every player competing in the invitational tournament used a local caddie who worked at Augusta National Golf Club each season. The majority of the caddie corps was Black and mostly from a nearby community called Sand Hills. These men were highly skilled at navigating the topography of Augusta. No one knew that golf course as well as they did.

The acquired expertise of a course as demanding as Augusta National is often learned and perfected over decades. This understanding of the wind, topography and contours of the course was truly an art form. The knowledge was passed down from man-to-man thru generations. Ward’s book rightfully celebrates these often overlooked men who spent their lives guiding some of the best players and most powerful people in the world around the green hills of Augusta National Golf Club.

There are few as knowledgeable about the Masters Tournament and golf than Clayton. He is an accomplished sportswriter, author and editorial contributor for Masters.com. In 2019 his book about the Augusta National caddies was the inspiration for the film *Loopers: The Caddie’s Long Walk*, which he also helped to produce.

In the book Ward tells the story of caddie (and Atlanta Bus Driver) Walter “Cricket” Pritchett who caddied for Charles Coody during his 1971 Masters win. That story and the explanation for his towel (as pictured above) is in our conversation. I hope you enjoy our chat.

The ACL Podcast is meant to be an add-on to the newsletter. You can listen in the Substack App, on Apple Podcasts or via Spotify directly if you prefer that. If you like this story please consider subscribing and sending to a friend. As always I appreciate your support.

Big thanks to Al James for lending me his music. The song is: Hard Working Dogs by Dolorean.

Mark McNairy played a big role in the initial inspiration for starting ACL. I met him in 2005 when he was the creative director at J. Press. At his core he’s a product guy, and he introduced me to so many interesting people, brands and American manufacturers. The first factories I visited in Maine and New York were with him (one of which was the Bentley Cravats factory in Chelsea which we discuss briefly) and the first time I went to Japan was with him.

Mark has design instincts that I have never seen in other people. He has an incredible ability to quickly see something interesting and create a design with a totally unique point of view. He does this better than anyone I have worked with over the years. I also find Mark to be hilarious with an extremely dry sense of humor. We hit it off from the start and I still consider him one of my favorite people of all time.

Mark is designing a new collection called McNairy & Co. and is always looking for new projects and design partnerships. As I said, he loves product and always wants to be creating new things with his unique vision. I hope you enjoy our conversation.

The ACL Podcast is meant to be an add-on to the newsletter. You can listen in the Substack App, on Apple Podcasts or via Spotify directly if you prefer that. If you like this story please consider subscribing and sending to a friend. As always I appreciate your support.

Big thanks to Al James for lending me his music. The song is: Hard Working Dogs by Dolorean.

It feels near universal that PGA TOUR pro golfer Keith Mitchell is the best dressed man in the game. In some ways, we hold him up as proof that performance clothing isn’t as important as some may think. Even if you aren’t into golf his point of view is worth considering. Going beyond his appreciation for classic menswear, Keith has earned a reputation for holding good design in high regard, a trait which explains his appreciation for Mizuno irons and fine watches. This focus on aesthetics combined with his talent on the golf course which places him at the center of the cool-guy Venn diagram. Keith is the rare case of an aesthete athlete. He’s someone who has done the on-course clothing thing differently, and done it to great success. In a sea of sameness he separates himself in all of the best ways. To say it’s a breath of fresh air would be an understatement.

I wanted to dive deeper into his personal style, approach to golf and just talk about so many other things. We sat down at the Brentwood Country Mart (which was fun but also potentially too busy for the audio; we live and we learn) for a wide ranging discussion covering life on the PGA TOUR, non-performance fabrics, watches, flying Delta, our mutual appreciation of Sid Mashburn and of course high-twist wool trousers. I hope you enjoy our conversation.

The ACL Podcast is meant to be an add-on to the newsletter. You can listen in the Substack App, on Apple Podcasts or via Spotify directly if you prefer that. If you like this story please consider subscribing and sending to a friend. As always I appreciate your support.

Big thanks to Al James for lending me his music. The song is: Hard Working Dogs by Dolorean.

Cost and efficiency can’t be the only things that matter. Sometimes you need to take the meandering route. If one-click ordering ruled everything we do, then we would be neglected an experience like the one Jake Mueser provides at J Mueser.

In modern-day 2024 Jake doesn’t just make clothes, he becomes trusted advisor and confidant. Seeing him is akin to an executive health consultation. There might be some concerns with seeing the raw data, but trust that Jake be there with his expertise and keen eye to help you navigate any issues. Jake is like a highly sought after concierge doctor for your aesthetic soul. Like your good doctor, Jake has seen it all before.

With his easygoing ways and subtle suggestions he reminds you that your goals are aligned here. Jake is on your team, like the on-staff sports psychologist roaming the sidelines of a high stakes game helping us find our center. Jake is our guy and he’s vital to the success of our team. And by success I mean, looking good and feeling correct.

A visit to Jake on Christopher street is low-tech meets high touch in the best possible way. It’s an exercise in trust and beauty. What could be better? This week while he is working his way around Pitti Uomo in Florence, it seemed appropriate to share a conversation we had about style, tailoring and what it’s like to still do things in the traditions of the past. Hope you enjoy it.

Ghiaia is the best example of everything I could ever hope for in a brand. It’s the combination of three important attributes that make it special to me.

• It’s Artisanal in Nature.

• Independent

• Has a Distinct Voice and Point of View

Ghiaia is all of those things and much more. It follows Davide’s vision closely and is true to itself. He’s not trying to be anything he’s not. Ghiaia is an honest expression of what is in Davide’s mind and his heart. It’s an expression of what he wants to say to the world and what he wants to say to himself. Put simply, this is a special thing Davide is building.

I met the founder Davide Baroncini through our mutual friend Justin Chung, and from the first conversation I knew we were going to get along. Several years later I consider Davide a dear friend and also someone who inspires me deeply. His energy is wonderful and you can’t help but to want to be around him. Perhaps that’s why his stores are so great. He’s there making coffee and telling you about each item — excited about the smallest details. In a mad world of noise, Davide is a clear voice that sails deep into your soul. Yes it’s beautiful cashmere, but it’s also so much more.

Late last month Davide opened a new shop in San Marino. I thought this would be a great opportunity to go by to take photos and share the space with you all. We sat down in the space on a Sunday morning before the store officially opened to catch up and talk about everything happening at Ghiaia. It’s a beautiful shop, a great collection and he’s a wonderful man. I hope you enjoy our conversation.

Ghiaia

2557 Mission Street San Marino, CA 91108

The ACL Podcast is meant to be an add-on to the newsletter. You can listen in the Substack App, on Apple Podcasts or via Spotify directly if you prefer that. If you like this story please consider subscribing and sending to a friend. As always I appreciate your support.

Big thanks to Al James for lending me his music. The song is: Hard Working Dogs by Dolorean.

There really aren’t a lot of ways to reinvent a woven shirt. Somehow in 1999 Steven Alan found a way to do it. That was the year he created the Reverse Seam which would go on to sell tens of thousands of shirts. The innovation? To twist the placket and to reveal the outseam. It’s more than that though, Steven flipped the dress shirt to be a deliberately casual button-down. It’s not complicated, but the Reverse Seam was a important reinterpretation. It’s like going back in time two decades and popularizing the entire ridiculous idea for Untuckit. Only these shirts were for people who don’t hate themselves. (Sorry, I had to do it.) In all seriousness, a casual woven shirt was a great idea and that’s why Steven has sold so many of them and why Amy Larocca called it the perfect shirt, which I think sums things up fairly well.

My opinion is that Steven Alan is a legend. I’ve always loved his point of view and his Annex shop in Tribeca was my favorite shop in New York. His product was great, he brought in amazing brands from all over the world and there was always something great to discover. I mostly wear his other woven shirt, the Single Needle, since it’s a bit roomier and we collaborated to make some flap-pocket shirts way back when. They sold out in like 38 minutes. It was a bit of a dream collab for me because I love Steven’s general aesthetic.

Over the years Steven expanded the business to a point that became difficult to manage in a changing world. As wholesale and physical retail evolved Steven had to close all of his stores and the financial situation took him to the brink. He made some tough decisions to extract the company from the store leases and eventually he was able to recommit to a completely online only direct-to-consumer brand and web shop.

When the brand relaunched online Steven started making shirts in the garment center again and the Reverse Seam and the Single Needle have been resurrected. In a way the business has come full circle and Steven himself seems reinvigorated with the simplicity of it all. I’ve missed shopping at the Annex and seeing Steven in New York and was curious about the evolution of the brand. I reached out to Steven a little while back and we recorded a sort of impromptu podcast. Through our conversation we chart the early days of his stores and how Steven Alan has evolved through the years. Steven has had a huge impact of so much of what we see today. His brand is as relevant as ever, especially now that the Reverse Seam is back. Hope you enjoy our conversation.

The ACL Podcast is more of an add-on to the newsletter than a full fledged podcast. You can listen in Apple Podcasts or via Spotify directly if you prefer that to Substack. If you enjoy this edition, please consider subscribing and sending to a friend who you think would like this. I appreciate your support.

Thanks to Al James for lending me his music. The song is: Hard Working Dogs by Dolorean.

Last year I was reminded that it is easy to accumulate things, but difficult to get rid of them. I spent most of the year giving things to friends, donating to charity, selling on eBay and just generally pushing to divest. It was happening in every area of my life; my closet, electronics, bikes and as you well know, my extra car. If I wanted to just junk things it would have been easier, but it probably would have resulted in much more separation anxiety. If I sell something cheap on eBay or Offer Up I'm glad it went to a place where someone will use it. 

It's hard to get rid of things and it's equally as hard not to just keep bringing new things in. My wife likes to remind me of this anytime a box arrives. I've even started to do some awkward but necessary things. Friends with brands have sent clothes and I have thanked them and sheepishly sent them back. That seems offensive, but I just don't need any more pants. I probably never will. 

My big goal was go to get rid of 60% of my stuff. We moved several times in the past two years and seeing your possessions in boxes is alarming. When your stuff is out in the open you really get a sense of how unimportant most of it all is. That's what happened to me and the process has helped me think harder about the things I buy and if I really need it. Even if I haven't made it to 60% (yet; I've probably unloaded 30% of my overall footprint) I've learned a lot in the process. The one person I've really looked to for inspiration and guidance in this process is Sean Hotchkiss. He wrote this amazing essay for GQ about getting rid of all but a few essential possessions. It was sort of shocking and the article went pretty far and wide. He was the only person I actually knew who had just dramatically simplified his life when it comes to stuff. My curiosity piqued on Black Friday 2020 and we recorded a short pod about it. 

Since 2016 when Sean went super minimal and now the pendulum has swung back a bit for him and he seems to have found a happy medium. He's not living a fully minimal lifestyle now, but he's also not in the same overwhelmed place he started out. This was the state I am hoping to get to and I wanted to check in with Sean again to see what he has learned at this point. We spoke about our relationship with our possessions, the behavior that drives some of this consumption and we even talk a bit about mental health. Not everyone is going to identify with these issues and I certainly understand that I'm lucky that these are my problems. In no way would I overlook the fact that the world has a lot of problems and a lot of people have suffered tremendously in the past few years. The goal here is to try and become the best version of ourselves that we can be. An uncluttered home with a clear mind. Just don't look in my garage. There's still work to be done.

Hope you all enjoy our conversation.

The ACL Podcast is more of an add-on to the newsletter than a full fledged podcast. You can listen in Apple Podcasts or via Spotify directly if you prefer that to Substack. If you enjoy this edition, please consider subscribing and sending to a friend who you think would like this. I appreciate your support.

Thanks to Al James for lending me his music. The song is: Hard Working Dogs by Dolorean.

Over the past several years Huckberry has grown and evolved to be an important company in the gear/outdoor/clothing/home/ space for men. It’s everything we all want in a brand: humble, genuine and adventurous. And where else can you buy a cooler, an avocado vase and a therapy notebook — highly considered, well-made and unique things all in one place?

Every interaction I’ve had with Huckberry over the years has been positive and when I met co-founders a decade or so ago they struck me as nice, easy-going guys. Part of me thought maybe they are too nice — fake nice? They weren’t. Maybe that was just me having lived in NYC for too long? Maybe I had become cynical where I didn’t expect people to act that way unless they needed something. Fast forward to 2020 and we all reconnected and actually had a Zoom happy hour. I couldn’t believe that I was having a happy hour virtually for starters, but I was also surprised that the Huckberry guys were still as incredibly humble and nice as I remembered.

In between when I met them around 2012 and when we reconnected last year Huckberry has become incredibly successful and beloved by its customers. It has quietly grown to be a significant business that has a huge 3rd party brand offering (I bought my Ooni from Huckberry) and also has a few of its own in-brands. Huckberry has become an important retailer and expert storyteller. I admire how Andy and Richard have done what they have and forged their own path with Huckberry. If you read the founders story you can’t help but to walk away inspired and impressed.

We have a nice conversation about how Andy and Richard built the business, about hustle culture, FJs, what they look for when making a hire and so much more. I hope you enjoy our conversation.

The ACL Podcast is more of an add-on to the newsletter than a full fledged podcast. You can listen in Apple Podcasts or via Spotify directly if you prefer that to Substack. If you enjoy this edition, please consider subscribing and sending to a friend who you think would like this. I appreciate your support.

Thanks to Al James for lending me his music. The song is: Hard Working Dogs by Dolorean.

“What if I hate Los Angeles? Why should I read this book.” That’s the big question for Rosecrans. It’s something we speak about in the podcast but it is worth pointing out again here. If you love L.A. this is a good book for you. If you hate it — there’s likely something for you too. If you are interested in the human stories that bring a place to life then you will enjoy it.

All of this thinking about Los Angeles makes me revisit the ongoing N.Y. vs L.A. debate. So much is said about these two cities but it doesn’t seem like many people truly understand either place all that well — myself included. I’ve got a connection to each city, but I’m not really from either and don’t think I’ll ever consider myself a New Yorker or an Angeleno. I only think I know them well enough to know that I’ve only scratched the surface. The book reinforces this theory.

One fact I heard during the pandemic about the size of L.A. surprised me. If Los Angeles County was a state it would rank 8th in terms of population. That statistic helped illustrate in my mind just how big L.A. is and how it is often too easily distilled down to one industry or one frequently visited part of town. Everything Now helps to open up these places, and to help us all better understand the people who give them life. The book is unlike what one might expect from a story about a city, no less a story about L.A., but that is one of the reasons it’s so enjoyable. It’s unexpected in a lot of ways, and like L.A., it’s not as easy to characterize as you might think.

Hope you enjoy our conversation. Some show notes are below.

0:52  Coffee: Mudd 2.0 from How Long Gone.

4:20  One Morning in Maine & Time of Wonder.

5:30  Rosecrans’ newsletter: Meditations in an Emergency.

6:55 The book is called: Everything Now.

9:27 Los Angeles has the second greatest urban density in a metropolitan area in the U.S. behind New York City.

10:33  New York Times Book Review.

16:17  Betting on three horses to finish first, second and third in that exact order is called a trifecta.

16:58 Luck on HBO.

19:30 We looked it up and 30.2% of Los Angeles residents live alone.

35:40 Types of Adventures (or fun).

45:46 We looked it up. Los Angeles is second in diverse and endangered species in the U.S. next to Hawaii.

57:27  Explore DTLA. The Last Bookstore LA. Tacos at Sonoratown.

59:00  Our Malibu Beaches App.

Thanks to my summer associate Max Arden for fact checking and annotating this conversation.

The ACL Podcast is more of an add-on to the newsletter than a full fledged podcast. You can listen in Apple Podcasts or via Spotify directly if you prefer that to Substack. If you enjoy this edition, please consider subscribing and sending to a friend who you think would like this. I appreciate your support.

Thanks to Al James for lending me his music. The song is: Hard Working Dogs by Dolorean.

Sometimes I meet successful people and I want to talk to them about what they consider the keys to their success. Maybe it’s for me to try to figure out just where I went wrong. Is my lack of success tied to my inability to better respond to emails? Ha!

Jeff Raider is hugely successful but also just a regular guy. He’s a co-founder of both Warby Parker and Harry’s, two massive brands. The growth of those two businesses don’t seem to have changed him. Jeff is one of the most normal, kind and helpful people you will ever meet. He’s always willing to talk about opportunities or problems and there with advice if you ever need it. He is proof that being successful and nice aren’t mutually exclusive. I also don’t want to miss an opportunity to praise Jeff’s Harry’s co-founder Andy Katz-Mayfield — who is also an amazing person. It’s no wonder that they have built not only a solid brand, but a successful company filled with good people.

At this point Harry’s has a suite of different brands out in the world. There’s of course Flamingo, plus the cat food brand Cat Person and now a haircare line called Headquarters. Like Harry’s, all of these offshoot brands are lighthearted and irreverent. All of it is created around good design and quality.

So many companies talk about having a good culture but it is rarely true. At Harry’s it’s actually real and the reality does match the expectations. People love working there. Everyone I’ve encountered at Harry’s is smart and good to deal with. It’s refreshing to experience and it makes supporting Harry’s even more worthwhile. Listen to Jeff and you’ll know it’s not bullsh/t.

I like to hate on all things DTC, but the Harry’s universe is just different. Part of that is related to Jeff and Andy, and part of it goes back to the culture. I wanted to hear more about how Jeff sees the world so for the podcast we spoke about life, business, DTC and yes, inbox zero. Hope you like it.

The ACL Podcast is more of an add-on to the newsletter than a full fledged podcast. You can listen in Apple Podcasts or via Spotify directly if you prefer that to Substack. If you enjoy this edition, please consider subscribing and sending to a friend who you think would like this. I appreciate your support.

Thanks to Al James for lending me his music. The song is: Hard Working Dogs by Dolorean.

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Midwesterners like to celebrate commonality. It doesn’t matter if there are actual similarities or just those that are imagined. Michael Hainey and I never had to fabricate the connection or likeness. It was always apparent that we had much in common beyond the geography of where we grew up. His childhood in Chicago and midwestern roots are well documented in his brilliant book After Visiting Friends, which is one of the most beautiful stories you could ever read.

My time in New York is punctuated by the many great people that I met. Friends like Michael who inspire me to look better, be more creative and always stay humble. Currently Michael is the deputy editor at Air Mail (which I’ve been a subscriber of since week one) and a podcaster in his own right. Hope you enjoy our conversation!

One show note. This is the interview (subscription) with Bruce Springsteen Michael speaks about.

The ACL Podcast is more of an add-on to the newsletter than a full fledged podcast. You can listen in Apple Podcasts or via Spotify directly if you prefer that to Substack. If you enjoy this edition, please consider subscribing and sending to a friend who you think would like this. I appreciate your support.

Thanks to Al James for lending me his music. The song is: Hard Working Dogs by Dolorean.

As you may know, I’ve been back in the cycling game. It’s been a lot of fun and good exercise, but there have definitely been some sore nights. The last thing you want to do in those tender moments following a ride is wear anything made of technical fabric. This use case is exactly why Ralph Dunning created Foreign Rider. He calls it “post ride comfort” and if you have even been sore from a ride, workout or 36 holes of golf then you know you need exactly what Ralph is talking about.

With each new brand launch I can’t help but to wonder why it needs to exist. So much of what is created today has absolutely no purpose other than to give us online-shopping-induced dopamine hits and fill our homes with piles of cheap stuff. Foreign Rider is different. It solves a real problem and also promotes the concept of buying better things. “Own less, ride more.” That’s what Ralph says. I agree.

Foreign Rider actually launched in a small way in 2009 as a personal project for Ralph. Eventually he shifted focus back to his other bigger projects and FR went into hibernation until last year. More about Ralph’s history and FR’s perspectives about responsibility and simplicity is here.

Post ride comfort is the concept, but the product is much more versatile than that. What Ralph has created with Foreign Rider can have a specific purpose, but it also works into your everyday life so perfectly. As I have mentioned, this is the shirt I wear every time I travel. It’s a good shirt if the plane is blazing hot or freezing cold (the only two possible temperature settings for planes). It’s comfortable and it feels good next to the skin. The fit also happens to be excellent and it’s made in Canada from quality cotton.

I can say with first hand knowledge that there aren’t many people with higher standards for quality or with more integrity than Ralph. He’s the real deal when it comes to making great product. He also operates with a no bullsh/t approach that I love and respect. Foreign Rider is the perfect storm for people like me who who want to buy fewer better things.

Ralph Dunning is one of the people I most admire in business. He’s a great guy and I feel lucky to know him. That’s exactly why I wanted to interview him for the podcast. We sat down and talked about what he’s building with Foreign Rider and his other venture the Brand Unification Company. Hope you enjoy the conversation.

If you don’t want to listen through Substack, the ACL Podcast is available from Apple Podcasts or via Spotify (or your favorite podcast app). If you do see it in Apple please rate the podcast or leave a review. Unless you are just hate listening, in which case please save your one star review for someone else!

As someone fascinated with the origins of prep and American style, a conversation with Lisa Birnbach is always going to be something I find compelling. Like a lot of people who are intrigued by prep, I view it as an interested outsider who wants to understand how it became what it is today. Lisa helped to define the preppy lifestyle and also played a big part into pushing it into the mainstream culture with The Official Preppy Handbook. Preppy style really took hold after The Official Preppy Handbook was released. It’s interesting to think about prep in those early days, where it went and where it’s at today. Especially considering what has happened at J.Crew, Brooks Brothers and other big American brands recently.

In our chat Lisa talks about the origin story of the book, her interactions with the prep devotees and how Hamburg is the preppiest city in Europe. Hope you like it.

The ACL Podcast is more of an add-on to the newsletter than a full fledged podcast. You can listen in Spotify or on Apple Podcasts directly if you prefer that to Substack. If you enjoy this edition, please consider subscribing and sending to a friend who you think would like this. I appreciate your support.

Thanks to Al James for lending me his music: Hard Working Dogs by Dolorean.

Noah Kalina takes beautiful photos of beds, rivers, old factories, Zuckerbergs, motel rooms, this tree, chickens, bagels and many other interesting things. His wonderful eye and talent shine through in whatever big or small project he is doing. I love his photography, but it’s his newsletter that I find the most fun. Every edition delights me with his quirky adventures and wit.

If someone asked me to describe Noah Kalina’s newsletter the words might not come to me very easily. It’s sort of about photography, his life upstate, with plenty of random other things mixed in. He has an unconventional approach and an ability to make the mundane (like upstate deli coffee or DIY quarter car washes) interesting. In a sea of newsletters it stands out for its lightheartedness and ability to amuse its readers. If it were a physical thing it would be one of those beautiful little surprise gifts wrapped in ribbon that you don’t know what’s inside until you open it.

Noah also has a podcast with Adam Lisagor called All Consuming where they order all of the bland DTC things that are pushed on Instagram and review them. It’s a fun listen and the whole production is pretty down to the website design.

Noah is probably best known for his project Everyday where he took a photo of himself for exactly 20 years. At one point he made it into a video and it went viral. He was doing that before selfies were a thing and the fact that he could keep it going over two decades is incredible. Especially considering I can’t keep a journal for longer that two weeks. Noah has a habit of doing habitual things and I like that about him. I hope you enjoy our conversation.

The ACL Podcast is more of an add-on to the newsletter than a full fledged podcast. You can listen in Spotify or on Apple Podcasts directly if you prefer that to Substack. If you enjoy this edition, please consider subscribing and sending to a friend who you think would like this. I appreciate your support.

Thanks to Al James for lending me his music. The song is: Hard Working Dogs by Dolorean.

Tracksmith is interesting to me because of how it has managed to take inspiration from history —to embody the aesthetics of a heritage brand— while simultaneously being completely forward-looking and modern. I’ve seen a lot of brands try to do this and it almost never feels right. Tracksmith took the good parts of archival running and modernized it to create an inclusive, fun, New England-centric brand that seems to know itself (and its customer) very well.

I would guess that everyone wrote-off the brand initially when they considered it was going up against Nike and all of the massive companies that dominate athletic apparel. What was obvious to the Matt Taylor, who founded the brand in 2014 with Luke Scheybeler, was that there was an unrepresented group of runners who didn’t seem to connect with the big brands. That’s where Tracksmith’s boutique approach fit right in.

Matt Taylor ran track & field at Yale. He later worked on running for Puma. Scheybeler is also a Rapha co-founder and he helped both brands establish a strong initial visual and creative presence. Tracksmith pairs technical details with classic Ivy-inspired design elements in a way that’s easy to describe, but hard to actually execute. Beyond design, the focus of the product is highly functional for both the casual and elite runner.

Matt’s collegiate running experience and the brand’s New England roots have both shaped what Tracksmith is today from a design perspective. Tracksmith fills a void for amateur runners with a technical yet classic aesthetic.

It’s important to disclose that I do marketing consulting with Tracksmith. I want to be completely transparent about that and it’s not something I am trying to hide. Doing this story was my idea and no one at Tracksmith pushed for this even a little bit. I have been pressured by clients in the past to write stories and I have always politely declined. That’s not what I am about and if you look back at the partnerships I have done in the past I am extremely transparent about conflicts of interest. I work with Tracksmith for the same reason I did this story, because I like the brand and believe in the people there.

Tracksmith is a DTC brand that’s going for longevity and quality first. In that regard, it’s one of the exceptions to the rule when it comes to DTC companies. So many start-up brands solve no real problems and seem to only exist because of performance marketing. Matt talks about that a little bit in this interview with Colin Nagy on LeanLuxe.

The way Tracksmith’s product, image and core values align in such a cohesive way stands out to me. That’s why the brand has activated such a passionate community in the same way that Rapha does. That’s a massive accomplishment especially in the face of the competition that exists in running.

We recorded this chat in the fall and our conversation was wide ranging. We did cover a lot of important stuff like how to build a brand, sustainability in fashion and who makes the best pizza in New Haven. It’s all in there, I hope you enjoy.

The ACL Podcast is more of an add-on to the newsletter than a full fledged podcast. You can listen in Spotify or on Apple Podcasts directly if you prefer that to Substack. If you enjoy this edition, please consider subscribing and sending to a friend who you think would like this. I appreciate your support.

Thanks to Al James for lending me his music. The song is: Hard Working Dogs by Dolorean.

To me, it’s one of those situations where the person you want to get the big break gets it and you feel like a part of you won too. In the post-general-interest magazine era —where the publishing world is incredibly convoluted, I look at what Will is doing with GQ and it gives me hope. We need more good editorial in the world and less “content”. We need more people like Will and more of a focus on quality as the magazine advocates in the new issue. We need to be willing to accept the idea that hard decisions about our lives and to the fashion system need to be made if we are going to confront climate change. They are a fashion magazine advocating buying better but buying less. That’s a huge deal and any brand that has an issue with that is likely part of the problem.

As I said in the podcast, it’s cool to align with GQ on the concept of buy better, buy less. Despite all of the bad things that are happening in the world, I’m encouraged that some of the concepts I’ve been talking about since the early days of ACL are taking on a new form. It feels like the right time to be writing again and the perfect time to be talking to Will. I hope you enjoy our conversation.

Related links:

• GQ October The Quality List

• Vermont in The New York Times

• The Conscience of Silicon Valley

• ACL in FADER in 2009

• Buying for Value in GQ Style

• The GQ Shop

• The ACL Podcast is also available on Apple and Spotify.

Mickey Drexler is a product guy. He’s always feeling fabrics, talking about key items, and thinking about upcoming trends. He is obsessed with the details. Obviously he has excellent taste and is driven to keep pushing brands to new and better places. That’s why he is universally known as an incredible merchant.

We sat down to record this podcast in February, just before the pandemic really took hold, and he was as curious as ever. He’s a high energy guy and seems to always be moving a mile a minute. His pace and demeanor are very much a source of inspiration for me. I’m also a sucker for product people, so I suppose it makes sense that Mickey is someone that I really respect and look up to in the business.

The morning we recorded this in February Mickey and I met at the new Alex Mill store on Mercer. We were the first people to walk into the shop that morning. We went to the offices downstairs and we immediately start going through racks and looking at the clothes. Throughout most of my career meetings have involved looking at clothes and it felt normal to be going through racks with him. I’m not a merchant (and what do I really know?) but Mickey was asking me about sweaters and chore coats and overdyed wovens. He’s always probing and gathering intel on what’s cool. The Alex Mill collection seems to be a nice evolution of the stylish aesthetic that Mickey has championed for decades.

What’s happening at Alex Mill seems to be the culmination of everything Mickey has learned over the years. The collection is built around a classic core but has subtle design and playfulness that designer Somsack Sikhounmuong does so well. Things feel fresh and the brand seems free from any sort of preconceived notions of what it should be. Alex Mill has a restrained approach to opening physical retail (right now the 70 Mercer flagship is the only shop) and it is smartly emphasizing its own e-commerce channel. It feels different to me than other DTC brands— it’s much more product-focused, which makes sense considering who is running it. We spoke about this in the podcast, but this emphasis on the direct business helps Alex Mill price and position itself correctly.

I’ve been a fan since founder Alex Drexler started making woven shirts in 2012. The evolution of the Alex Mill from a tiny wholesale-focused business to more of what Mickey did with Madewell feels natural to me. I think the product is unique enough to differentiate the brand. The quality is good considering the price point and overall the spirit of the brand seems light. I get the sense that the people working on Alex Mill are making the clothes that they want to wear and doing things for the right reasons. Alex Mill 1.0 was great and the direction Mickey, Somsack, and Alex have collectively taken the brand in this evolution is impressive. It makes me happy to see a brand that makes good product and avoids falling into the hype and influencer pandemonium that has guided so many companies recently. There’s still a place for brands who make compelling product and Alex Mill is in the right place at the right time. This quote on the Alex Mill website says it all. “Nobody needs new clothes right now. But everyone needs the right clothes. So we make them.”

Programming Note

Mickey was the first person I thought of when I decided I wanted to record a few podcasts. He was the first email I sent, and he immediately replied with a yes. I was excited and a little bit nervous because I had no idea what I was doing, but I was on the hook with Mickey, so I had to just figure it out and move forward.

My plan is to publish podcasts when there are opportunities to talk to interesting people who I like. I want to try and remove the publishing constraints that might produce more “content” but at a lower quality. My goal is not to launch a full-scale podcast, but to add depth to the newsletter. Going forward these podcasts will be reserved for the paid subscribers. Thank you as always for the opportunity to tell these stories. If you have feedback or ideas for a future conversation, please reply to this email or comment.

A special thanks to Al James for allowing me to use his wonderful music.