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Iconic American bootmaker Nicks Boots branches out with new jackets

The work boot legend is keeping more than your feet warm

By Mark D McKee Jan 8, 2025 2:00 PM

Nicks Boots Patriot — Nicks Boots

For years, the legend of Nicks Boots has been growing exponentially. While they are known for their high-quality and durable boots, their legend grows in part due to disasters. Six of the twenty worst wildfires in the last decade have taken place in the American West, and Nicks Boots has been the choice of the men who fought them. The Hot Shot is the choice of the National Fire Protection Agency, which has adorned the feet of firefighters for years. They are also the choice for military, law enforcement, blue-collar workers, and men who love a rugged hobby boot. But they are not simply keeping your feet warm any longer. Launching Nicks Boots outerwear allows the company to keep you warm and dry whether you are in the field or escaping civilization for a weekend away.

Tough enough for work, stylish enough for play

Nicks Boots Leather Patriot — Nicks Boots

There isn’t a better companion to a rugged hobby boot or durable workboot than a coat to match it stylistically and in functionality. They offer three coats: The Patriot, The Patriot in leather, and The Ranchman. All three are part of a collaboration with Heat Straps, a company founded by two firefighter brothers. Just like the Hot Shot boot, if you want something tough and capable, get it from the people who spend their time needing to be capable in tough environments. With a statement like “They may not make them like they used to, but we do,” Heat Straps offers the perfect expertise for a made-in-America jacket to compliment the best made-in-America boots.

Nicks Boots Outerwear

Mark cut his teeth in the men’s style world when he sold suits first at box stores such as Men’s Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank… Read Full Bio

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Fashion & Style

The best casual watches for men (to upgrade your everyday style)

Work wear blues watch close up

Watches are more than a tool. They are more than an accessory. They are the kind of tool and accessory that make a statement. They are an expression. They are a statement. A man can look incredible: the right top, the right bottom, great shoes, great hat. The wrong watch can ruin a look, or even the whole essence. Here is the rub: the wrong watch can be subjective. For instance, most people will tell you that a Timex broken watch isn’t the right watch for a pinstripe power suit. However, it was my grandfather’s watch, and I wear it anytime I need him and his guidance. The point? That is never the wrong watch. Once you find a casual watch that works for you, it will be your everyday wear and will never be the wrong watch.

That is what I collected here: The best of the casual watches you can pick up today that will become your everyday wear.

Fashion & Style

Audemars Piguet launches pre-owned program to rival the titan of the second-hand watch market

Audemars Piguet

Rolex has dominated the watch world for nearly a century. The industry is a deep and complicated web of luxury houses and independent hopefuls. While brands like Patek Phillipe and Cartier vie for their place on the podium, Rolex holds a death grip on the chronophile’s aspirational collection checklist. But Audemars Piguet has decided to challenge them somewhere most other brands are deciding to ignore: the pre-owned market. Now, while something like the Royal Oak is an icon among enthusiasts, AP launching their own certified pre-owned marketplace to chase the reported $1 billion Rolex pie will certainly upset the market.

Like I said, it is a deep and complicated web, so I sat down with a horological expert and founder of WatchGuys, (317K on Instagram), Robertino Altieri, to have him walk me through what this means for watches and their passionate collectors.

Fashion & Style

Round two of Wrangler’s imogene + willie collab leans on America’s last big denim mill

Jeans, Pants, Belt

Wrangler and imogene + willie have released the second of three drops in their made-in-the-USA denim collaboration, and this one is built around fabric from America’s last large-scale denim mill.

Capsule No. 2 dropped Saturday, Oct. 24, and features Wrangler’s signature broken twill in jeans, jackets, and shirts. The fabric was developed with Mount Vernon Mills in Trion, Georgia, the last mill of its size still making denim in the US.