My Scandinavian Trip in Clothing
What I packed, wore, and bought on my trip to Copenhagen and Stockholm
First off, welcome to everyone who recently subscribed! My pal Brett wrote a really kind recommendation for Cool Material last week, which has been a great reminder of why I write this in the first place — clothing is one of my greatest passions and I love sharing my experiences with friends, new and old alike. In that spirit, I’m opening up this post to free subscribers to give everyone a taste of what to expect.
Ruby and I just got back from our yearly anniversary trip, this time to Copenhagen and Stockholm (with some brief layovers in Malmö and Lund in between). I was really lucky to have already made some connections in both cities, and had many friends provide their recommendations of things to do/see/eat and drink there. We also did our fair share of exploration on our own and discovered you really can’t go wrong in either city—all the food, drinks and experiences were above anything available in Los Angeles. The only real downside was the effect all that spending had on our bank accounts. When I was thinking of how to recap our trip for this newsletter, I realized I was, for maybe the first time in my life, really happy with how I packed and what I purchased. I somehow managed to fit everything into my Rimowa Classic Cabin (an investment purchase I made last year) thanks to some Marie Kondo-level packing precision, and used a tote bag I bought at Broadway & Sons as my airline-approved personal item to carry a few of my new purchases on the way back.
Here’s what I packed:
Ring Jacket Meister Double Breasted Suit (in a high-twist wool from Holland & Sherry)
I bought this on eBay a while back because I love Ring Jacket’s silhoutte and attention to detail. The high twist wool offers a bit higher performance than your average suiting fabic, ensuring it won’t wrinkle easily and will stay relatively dry in the light showers that seemed to come and go at random in Copenhagen. The trousers have a 2-inch cuff and sit with a half-break which lends a more traditional look.Vintage YSL Dress Shirt
I found this a few years back in a bag of my mother’s painting supplies. It may have been her’s or my dad’s back in the ‘80s but it’s mine now and one of my favorite shirts I own for both sentimental reasons and the featherweight lightness of the cloth.Orazio Luciano Sportcoat
A fawn with emerald green windowpane silk-wool blend, also from eBay. Again, the details are exactly what I want in a sportcoat - a rugged almost canvas-like texture that is still breathable, soft, and smooth to the touch, with subtley rich colors that lend a little flair to whatever I wear it with.visvim Sanjuro Benny Jacket
I wanted to make sure I packed something a little more casual, in case I felt like my tailored clothing was getting too stuffy. I rarely wear a sportcoat here in LA, but this actually ended up being my least-worn jacket on the trip. The couple of times I did wear it, it felt a little too Travis Bickle, which maybe just isn’t my vibe anymore.3sixteen Mac Coat
I’ve been eager to wear this since I bought it last summer. I love the raglan shoulder and military-inspired melamine buttons, and its made from fully water-repellent cotton. I covered mine in pins and stuffed the large interior pockets with the museum pamphlets and other trinkets we collected throughout our trip.
I also packed a handful of tees (vintage & new), some Pantherella navy merino dress socks, Shiro merino athletic socks, my vintage Wrangler cowboy cut denim, a black braided leather belt from Morjas, and a pair of black pebble grain loafers also from Morjas.
For accessories, I took my Observer Collection Papa passport wallet on its maiden voyage, along with my well-patinated Whisky wallet that Rob gave me when I first moved to LA (it hasn’t left my side since), a key holder from laperruque, some Tart Arnel replica sunnies from Etsy, and my usual jewelry and travel accoutrements.
About halfway through the trip, I realized I hadn’t packed enough socks (I’m used to being sockless in LA) and didn’t really want to keep wearing the same t-shirts I’d been sleeping in. The laundromat across the street from our hostel had a complicated token system and my foot had started bothering me—wearing loafers to walk everywhere was making it progressively worse. We took a couple of quick excursions, including one to the Fisketorvet mall in Copenhagen where I bought some classic gray New Balance 574s that I immediately changed into (they’re a model I wore religiously 11 years ago when I first worked in men’s fashion and was regularly making runs on foot with bolts of fabric in New York’s garment district), and relentingly bought a couple of socks and boxers at H&M. We also hit Uniqlo on our last balmy eve in Stockholm where I grabbed a gray lambswool sweater for the evening and some jewel tone colored socks—Uniqlo’s basics have long been a mainstay in my wardrobe.
As for preplanned shopping, I didn’t actually end up going to any of the shops I had on my original list of recommendations with the exception of Broadway & Sons—a shop I’ve been following for years. Their selection of vintage clothing hits all the sweet spots of international militaria, traditional American sportswear/westernwear, well-worn workwear, and plenty of denim—which, when worn together, is super versatile and exactly the sort of stuff I love to wear on a daily basis. The shop is run by two brothers, Nathaniel and Noam Asséraf, whose father founded it in 1982 after falling in love in Sweden. I love their style and the selection online so I knew I had to make it out to their shop while I was there. Sadly for me, they were both celebrating their dad’s birthday in Gothenburg when I visited the shop in Stockholm, but I still made away with a few solid pieces—a high school band hoodie from Russell Athletic, and a couple of Swedish army tunics that can be worn tucked or untucked. Tunics are a fun item for me because they look a little unexpected and have an antique charm about them. I also did some shopping in Copenhagen, picking up a dirt-cheap vintage French smock (if there’s anything I love more than a tunic, it’s a smock) in a dusty plaid broadcloth along with a strange olive leopard print vest (which I’ll probably only wear for a costume) at PRAG, a khaki button-down collar shirt by Oleg Cassini from Wasteland, and a beige striped broadcloth shirt from Samsøe Samsøe’s History (sample/outlet) store. All of these tops held me over through the last leg of our trip in lieu of the t-shirts I’d run out of.
The one thing I haven’t touched on yet is the everyday street style of people in Copenhagen and Stockholm. I found the style in Copenhagen was remarkably refined, with uniforms of oversized trench coats and big scarves layered over precise tailored clothing. In both Copenhagen and Stockholm, people also gravitated to outdoor gear like Arc’teryx, mixing it in a uniquely Scandinavian way with subdued color choices and the occasional statement piece - bold solid colored tops or outerwear. I think I took away from all the trench coats, and my own shopping experience on this trip, that beige was the one neutral tone I’d sort of overlooked in my own wardrobe. I’m very happy with the purchases I made, and feel a little more emboldened to try reincorporating more tailored clothing into my everday outfits and further embrace dressing like an old man after how well it served me on this trip.
