Gen Z socks vs. Millennial socks vs. Zoomer socks. Lots of chatter about this lately and why we absolutely despise any viral trend that starts on TikTok like this, simply perpetuating virality for the sake of fame, we do thinks socks don’t get the love they deserve.

TLDR about the whole thing is that you can tell someone’s age by how they wear their socks with shorts. Millennial: ankle or no shows. Gen Z: half-calves.

The only real wrong way to wear socks is with sandals, but don’t tell your boy Biebs. However, since they look more like slippers than I guess it’s cool?

CLAE Footwear has been providing high quality casual footwear out of Los Angeles since 2021. Their shoes are minimal, understated, and come in a ton of color combos.

The brand has a deep commitment to leather sustainability, offering vegan alternatives and they’ve even developed the first shoe made out of cactus.

Our go-to’s are the Bradley in Deep Navy (above) but we’re eyeing a pair of the Zuma in Microchip Suede (they make a great alternative to the New Balance 991s), below. Both work great for a smart casual office or just around town. Just avoid the suede if you wear them around your kids as they’re a b*tch to keep clean.

For the second consecutive year, Stagg takes home top honors at the 2024 International Whisky competition. We have not doubt this is amazing bourbon (good luck finding it anywhere), but the thing about bourbon…or wine…or hell even golf balls, is that it’s all about preference. Everyone likes what they like and at the end of the day, the bourbon craze thrives off subjective ratings and limited supply to boost the hype. If you recall from our newsletter #5, we shared that 1792 12-Year was also the 2024 World’s Best Bourbon. So what is the world’s best bourbon, well that depends on you, my friend.

Forbes

Wayfarers are a classic and we feel they truly do live up to all the hype for the fact that they simply look good on any face type. But they had been getting stale, and even turning them into smart glasses with Meta just wasn’t the move.

But this new iteration with Saint Laurent is cool as hell. A deeper black and less glossy finish take JFK’s wayfarers and finally make them a quality remake. Will anyone spend the $495 price tag? It’s honestly tough to find quality shades less than $125 these days, unless you’re a dad like me who buys sunglasses at Whole Foods for $30 so their kids can scratch them guilt free.

YSL

Want to be like 2018 Jon Rahm? You know, before he became sponsored by Travis Matthew, went to LIV and started playing like garbage? Well do we have the shoe for you. Rahm was a big fan of the BOA system and always had a pair of the newest Adidas TOUR360 like the pair above. If you’ve never had ULTRABOOST golf shoes, your knees will thank you. And if you’ve never tried BOA instead of laces, image all the time you could be saving 🙂 But seriously they are lighter and more comfortable than traditional laces.

Shout-out to Dave of Firechaser Records for sending in this tasty nugget by Bruno Martini. It’s the perfect blend of vocals and well-produced house. Not too loud or fast, more of a relaxing listen after work or early in the evening. If trendy restaurant music was a vibe, this is it.