409: Turns out guys still like to smell good
And how Emilio Quezada Ibañez wears it.
Welcome to Magasin Menswear. In a dedicated bimonthly send, Louis Cheslaw surfaces choice products worth your consideration, explores larger conversations shoppers are—or should be—having, and taps a smart dresser to share how he wears it.
First up…
A sign of the season! I’ve been tipped off to two good candles recently: the sultry Brown from Hôtel Costes, and the “Pool” from (Troye Sivan’s) Tsu Lange Yor.
Sometimes I see nice things before they come out, then forget to notice later when they do. This Berner Kühl cardigan felt heirloom-quality in person and is here now. It’s also nice that, for a leading new designer, it’s under $300.
I noticed that Seya used Batoner’s production facilities for a new series this fall. Batoner—stocked at Mohawk and Lost & Found—doesn’t excite people as much as some other names, but I maintain that my two knits from them (a Sea Island crewneck, and a chunky “Driver’s Knit”) are two of the highest quality items I own.
Other new drops that have caught my attention include Merz b. Schwanen’s diamond-pattern thermal—which they took three years to get right—the new Studio Nicholson winter module (the blue cord jacket, specifically), and the shape of this Frame x The Society Archive shirt. Also Body of Work’s restock of its suede brown Mephistos, and the way this LWC wool zip hoodie buttons at the neck.
Londoners should get down to the Margaret Howell Sale Shop, where there are currently many discounted cashmere turtlenecks (to the annoyance of one senior MH staffer who, I overheard, feels that they should not have made it to the sale store.) Alternatively, if I were in L.A. this weekend, I would go try on old and new jeans at DLR and The Hidden Rivet. And if I were in Florence, I would go look at Giacomo Bacci’s shirts.
Consider wearing a room fragrance
It is difficult to write about fragrance. Unlike clothes, you can’t see smell through a screen. And because of how evocative scents can be—of memory, of places, of rooms, of relationships—one fragrance might mean nothing to me and everything to you.
But this power is also why they’re a worthwhile obsession. Even more so than old clothes, fragrances let you time travel: An ex once asked me to stop wearing one because it reminded her too much of a period we were both nostalgic for. Acqua di Gio instantly reminds me of being 16, rubbing scent sample pages of magazines onto my neck. Terre d’Hèrmes reminds me of being 19, and trying to appear more grown up at internships. Black Saffron instantly takes me back to my last year living in New York. One day, I imagine Rock the Myrrh—my current scent, which I buy in the travel size because the bottle is a fortune—will recall these first years living back in London again.
I’ve been curious, though—are other guys still wearing scents? As menswear has trended towards unassuming clothing, I can’t remember the last time I caught a whiff when I hugged a pal. Part of this is probably everyone’s correct fear that they’ll stink out a room if they spray too much—my friend Emilio, this month’s HHWI subject, still pulls a few shifts at Lovely Day, and says the whole restaurant immediately squirms when an overly enthusiastic sprayer walks in. (It’s often Le Labo’s Thé Noir 29, he reveals—the store is admittedly down the block.) When I went to Japan in May, our fanciest reservations sent emails ahead of time asking us not to wear any fragrance.
So, during last month’s survey on leather jackets, I threw in another question for the Magasin Menswear brain trust: Do you wear a scent? I was surprised that of almost 30 people, only two didn’t (one of whom complained of fragrance-onset headaches). Their responses are below; happy spritz sampling!
Comme des Garçons came up a lot. Hampus von Hausswolff used to wear Wonderwood and says his new scent doesn’t get half as many compliments; Eric Hardin says that Today Clothing sells “at least a bottle at day” of CDG fragrance, and that while he goes between Black and Black Pepper, Wonderoud is the best-seller “by a long shot.” (It’s on Nico Lazaro’s rotation, too.) Chris Maradiaga wears Concrete, and says a recent Uber driver was a Concrete fan, too: “The days where I forget to wear it,” he says, “are the days where I’m like, everything’s going wrong.”
While Aesop got a few nods—Hwyl specifically, then also Aurner and Marrakech Intense—Perfumer H seems to be the current cool kid. (Their Instagram bio is “Making Air Visible,” which rules; also, Highsnobiety ran a great recent profile on the brand). When he’s not wearing Dries’ Cannabis (“moody, sexy, always complimented”), Renato Balladares wears Perfumer H’s Leather, while Hampus has long worn Ink, but shouts out newer arrivals Salt and Moss, too. Keith Henry also endorses, even if he’s sticking with D.S. & Durga’s Radio Bombay. I personally think White Smoke is going to be the one for me.
Now for the newer discoveries: Nico says Tauer’s L’Air du Désert Marocain is “fiery, smoky, and strong, but without the usual heavier notes.” Hampus says Nitty Gritty has recently welcomed Regime des Fleurs (“Delicate smells that work on most people but don’t take over”), and Jeroen van der Gruiter tells me about To My Ships, which only launched last September, but comes from ex-Aesop people. All their scents are based on Homer’s Iliad. 👀🪽.
Nick Dierl (Tyler, the Creator’s publicist) wears Golf Le Fleur, Ethan Glenn wears Margin’s Warm Water, Carter Young wears Virtuous by ILK, and Keisuke Asano wears Dior’s Oud Rosewood. Daniel Brondt says Rita’s Car, by Saint Rita Parlor, “feels like being in your grandpa’s car, but is still vibrant and young.” (Also in the barbershop category, Andrew Livingston wears the “fresh, nostalgic” Musgo Real from Claus Porto.)
In winter, Kit Swann toggles between Jo Malone’s Whiskey & Cedarwood, and Sunspel’s Oak Wood, while Maachew Bentley likes Versace Blue Jeans, and Nikolaj Hansonn wears Nonfiction’s For Rest—a brand that was everywhere in Japan. Jabari Sandifer says Memo Paris’ Odéon is a favorite he’s received, but that he spends his own money on Parfums de Marly Althair. Larry Schlossman, meanwhile, admits that having been a gift-accepting big menswear name for a decade, he’s now “smelled it all.” He says that even though his gateway drug was Polo Blue (which Robert Bell still wears) the three that are front of mind for him today are Hermès’ H24, Creed’s Aventus, and the Horace x L’Etiquette Collab, which he says “smells like it should be three times the price.”
To close, two of my favorite answers: Hampus said that sometimes, when he’s feeling playful, he loves ERL’s Sunscreen, made in partnership with Comme, and which smells like coconut and Hawaiian Tropic: “Living in Scandinavia where it’s super cold outside, smelling like sunscreen in winter is kind of a nice contrast,” he explains. Another fun idea comes from Taylor Caruso, who wears the Cedar room spray from Japanese brand Kibn on his body. Until you can buy a house, why not smell like one?
How Emilio Quezada Ibañez wears it
Emilio Quezada Ibañez is best known for being one of the hosts of Dewy Dudes, a podcast where two straight guys nerd out on skincare. He’s also a pretty successful musician (as Mishegas) and a good friend. Given the beauty leanings of this send, I thought it was a good time to bring him in for a HHWI.
What’s the oldest thing you still wear?
So in 2017, I got this beautiful giant wool scarf (below) from Dries Van Noten for like $40, because my friend worked at Barney’s in Chicago. I almost sold it so many times, because it felt a little too much—it has brown, grey, black, yellow lines in it. But from being 24 then to 32 now, my style has changed, and this is the one thing that has persisted. Now it’s the one thing I could see myself wearing into my forties and fifties.
What do you have multiples of?
I have six Muji white T-shirts. They’re just the perfect weight for summer or winter, and I like that the texture is a little rough. Because I’m short, I even took them all to a tailor to get them hemmed.
What’s been a great new pickup?
There’s three things. First, I’d never owned a pair of brown leather shoes, but I’ve always worn a lot of black denim, and I love the mix of brown and black. So about six months ago at Ending Soon, I found these brown leather Prada loafers (above). And as soon as I bought them, every pair of pants that I hadn’t worn in a year or two all of a sudden made sense and looked good.
The second thing is this R.R.L lambskin jacket (below) I just got at The RealReal, when I went to drop off 15 things. It fits perfectly, and it’s the best for when I’m feeling lazy and want to just put on a hoodie and a jacket and call it a day. Like the Dries scarf, it’s kind of an older vibe, but I’ve gotten more gray hair since I last saw you, so I’m trying to dress for that.
Lastly, I’ve always really liked the way long-sleeve soccer jerseys fit. And the other week, I bought all of this Uniqlo HEATTECH. And the long-sleeves kind of have that fit. My girlfriend was like: You look older, but in a good way. I’ve been wearing them with a very subtly pleated trouser. Basically, Evan and I always talk about how we’re just trying to look like adults.
Anything up next?
I still really want a shirt from Camisas Manolo. Maybe I’ll be disappointed, but I just have a feeling that those would actually fit right.
Do you have any recs outside of clothing?
This one’s kind of basic, but Astier de Villate incense. There’s a store by Union Square in New York, Nickey Kehoe, that sells a lot of great homewares, I get it there. Then there’s this perfumer in L.A., Chris Rusak, who barely has any followers, but three years ago he made this patchouli, vetiver scent—it kind of smells like when you open a really old book. It’s my favorite, but he only made 50 or something. I DM him all the time, but he says he’ll never make it again. I’m learning to let it go.
Before I let you go, it feels wrong to have a beauty guy on here and not get some skincare advice. Give me a good and better option, for both face wash and moisturizer.
Ok, so for a good moisturizer, I love Dieux. The Instant Angel moisturizer works really well for most guys. But also, my aesthetician friend Gill Mils recently recommended this Korean moisturizer from a brand called Corthe. It’s great.
Then a cleanser—I actually always buy this iS Clinical Cleansing Complex, which is not that expensive. For better, it’s kind of impossible to get, but there’s this brand called Dermaviduals that I find only aestheticians nowadays have. If you can get your hands on that, that’s the best. But remember, cleanser’s only on your face for 30 seconds—everything else is going to do a lot more.
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I never wore fragrances much, but my wife bought me some from Xinu during our wedding weekend and I don't feel dressed w/out it: https://xinuperfumes.com/