Stocking your house with quality barware, decorative items, bedding, and accessories can be a grind if you’re looking for something masculine without being desperately frontiersman or fratty.
A great retailer is like a record label at its peak. I’m not a big real-world shopper, but there are a handful of stores where I’d happily swing my wallet around blindfolded, taking home whatever falls off the rack.
Huchberry offers that kind of curation in a tidy online experience that features house brands alongside the best in rugged, but stylish third-party clothing and home goods. I’ve been covering gear and product since 2004, and when I first came across the printed catalog it seemed like a collection of items I’d been tracking, or had already purchased for myself; the site expands on those options with limited edition flash sales and expanded inventory. Which meant it was time to take a deeper look at what they offer.
THE AESTHETIC
Where I come from, a three-piece suit consists of your Carhartt one-piece, some Red Wing boots, and the right pair of Levis. I grew up working in a farm store selling power tools, and so even now when I need to dress up for an occasion, I expect a level of durability and accessibility no matter how classy the bourbon they’re pouring at the open bar. The palette is waxed canvas, merino wool, Horween leather, the hallmarks of heritage brand clothing.
LOOK FOR THE BIG NAMES…
Huckberry’s range is diverse, and occasionally fleeting—they might work with Billy Reid on an item or two, and when it’s gone, well, you’ve missed your chance. But dozens of larger brands join the fray, from Danner to Patagonia to Nau to Bang and Olufsen to Yeti to Topo Designs to Snow Peak. I’m a huge fan of the Danner Mountain Light, and checking prices recently showed their cost to keep up. The prices are always competitive with other retail sites, and the options are well-chosen. My favorite outside brand, by lightyears, is Taylor Stitch. Every guy needs a checkerboard shirt like this one.
BUILD YOUR BASE WITH HOUSE BRANDS
The dependable staples in the Huckberry line are its house brands, Flint and Tinder and Proof. Flint and Tinder stands out, with solid basics like a Supima cotton T-shirt and a cotton henley that I recommend. The Waxed Trucker Jacket is also a standout—it recalls Rick in the Walking Dead, the kind of thing that molds to your body the more you wear it—that looks better the older and more worn in it gets.
AND DON’T SLEEP ON THE CULT BRANDS
Ever heard of Give’R Gloves? I hadn’t, at least until I had the chance to hit the slopes of Jackson Hole with a pair. They’re modeled after the work gloves that Jackson locals would hit the hills with back in the day, and they’re banking on the natural preservative properties and waterproofing of leather and beeswax to confer durability and comfort on the slopes. Long story short, they kick ass—and they’re available on Huckberry along with a handful of killer cult brands.
CONSIDER YOUR FIT FACTOR
Online shopping’s Achilles Heel will always be fit, at least until we’re all 3-D laser-scanning our bodies for custom-printed clothing. I’m a medium in the T-shirt and a large in the Flint and Tinder henley, for example. It’s easy enough to return the gear for something new, but make sure you have accurate measurements and consult the sizing charts for each individual brand. I find boots to be a bigger issue than shirts and jackets, though the fact that I’m a “marge” (medium-large) always frustrates me.
BROWSE THE HOME GOODS SECTION
Stocking your house with quality barware, decorative items, bedding, and accessories can be a grind if you’re looking for something masculine without being desperately frontiersman or fratty. There are only so many reclaimed barnwood booze hutches and Ohio State-themed throw pillows one home can handle, after all. I love the options at Huckberry, from the simple, elegant pour-over set-ups to the Mountain Peaks rocks glasses (you REALLY start pondering each ascent as the brown stuff drains toward the base). The site is absolutely jammed with Woolrich throws, which makes any lackluster couch into an all-star piece. And the towels and robes offer that plush spa feel without feeling like you’ve just been forced through a couples massage with Reiki healing and a cucumber mask.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?
Huckberry stacks up nicely against the brick and mortar incumbents. Steven Alan’s men’s store is always stocked with strong options, as is Todd Snyder’s Madison Square location. And then there are the legion “outfitter” wannabes that offer up waxed canvas, Vibram-heeled dreams to urban guys who don’t know which side of an axe to point at a log. Thing is, I love everything about those stores, even if 99 percent of the guys shopping there will never take a grease pencil to a waterproof topography map of the White Mountain range. That spirit has taken root, and finding a retailer that channels the field-to-city ethos is worthwhile. Huckberry’s one of the best, and if you’re an online shopper and that kind of clothing is in your wheelhouse you ought to give them a try.
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