This Saturday, Lily and I spent a few hours in the sweltering heat at the Brooklyn Flea in Fort Greene. We had fun perusing vintage garments and antique furniture, but spent most of our money on food and beverages.

My purchases:

Fresh JP’s on my feet for the springtime. Thanks Johan.

Last week, we released a special run of collaborative belts designed in conjunction with our good friends at Tanner Goods. The antique buckles we used were bought from an Army/Navy store near our office; above are a few others I found while sifting through their stash.

Lily entrusted me with the task of choosing a watch for her dad’s birthday this year. The challenges I faced with this selection were twofold: firstly, it had to be something that he’d like to wear, and secondly, it needed to be reasonably priced. Most of the watches I write about are not cheap, and frankly even if we had the money to buy my father-in-law a really nice Swiss or German timepiece, it might not be something that he’d be into.

My final selection was a Seiko SNZG15K1. Many are unfamiliar with the brand’s collections that are available outside of the US – the Spirit and 5 lines are relatively inexpensive and feature automatic movements. These watches are a far cry from the cheap Seikos that you might find in a drugstore… in short, they offer an incredible bang for the buck. I can’t think of another sub-$150 mechanical watch that I’d rather buy.

Aesthetically, this is perfect for my father-in-law, who prefers understated things that can take a beating. The watch has a 42mm high-contrast face which make for great readability, and the nylon strap is a nice touch. The tang buckle has a matte finish to match the casing, and there’s a leather accent sewn into the band for durability. My only complaint is that the movement does not allow for hand winding (thus, it must be worn daily to continue running). But that’s a small gripe on a watch that’s an excellent value.

I mentioned that these Seikos are not available anywhere in the US – your best bet on acquiring them is through a proxy like Roachman or on eBay. I’m not looking for a watch right now, but I’d certainly be excited to add a Seiko to the collection in the future. For now, though, I hope my father-in-law enjoys this timepiece as much as I did picking it out for him.

I am rough on eyeglasses. Four years ago, Johan and I were leaving a Roots concert in LA when a fight broke out in the crowd. Being the foolish inquisitive guy that I am, I leaned in to get a better look. I was struck by a stray right and my brand new glasses flew into a fast moving crowd that trampled them badly. I had them fixed but they were never the same. The Dior Homme frames pictured below were my next pair; they served me well for two years until I was putting on a crewneck last November and was too lazy to take them off first. The leg promptly snapped off.

I went sans eyeglasses for the last four months – I’ve always owned contact lenses, but they’ve been traditionally relegated to basketball/active duty, mostly because I found them to be uncomfortable. I got used to wearing them every day and so when I finally decided to spring for glasses again, I wondered whether I would even want to go back. The lure of being able to wake up and go without shoving contacts into my eyes was too strong, though. Let’s not forget the stylistic motivation either: glasses have been a part of my outfit (for better or worse) the past 20+ years. I had to get another pair, and so the search began. I ended up settling on a pair of Shuron frames, and am quite happy with them so far.

Shuron’s been manufacturing frames in the US for over 100 years, which I like. After contacting them, they sent over a few frames for me to try on… I liked the Freeway the best. While I wish the legs sported spring hinges, the frames only cost me $60 – I’ll deal.