When you walk into Hammer Made (Level 1, South), you might meet Angelika Cegielski, the store Manager and 13-year men’s style veteran. Here’s the first tip of this post: ask her advice before you make your purchase. She knows what looks good.
Hammer Made is a Minnesota brand known for its high-quality, exclusive menswear created by Founder and CEO Jason Hammerberg. The Egyptian cotton that goes into their iconic shirts is sourced from Italy, and each style is designed with its own unique details. Even better, they only make 25 of each style, so you’re practically guaranteed not to run into someone wearing the same outfit.
My wardrobe needs an update, so I decided to talk with Angelika about what I should consider when I pick out my next shirts and accompanying accessories. Her first piece of advice:
“Shop for what you like, not the trend of the day.”
It’s tempting to fall into new trends but buy with the intention to build a collection that you can wear throughout the year. Play with classics that have a unique color mix or texture to bring variety to your assortment of light to dark suits or separates.
“Timeless, minimal and signature essentials that you wear highlight your unique style and self-expression,” Angelika said.
The first outfit we pulled featured bold stripes, which Angelika paired with floral-patterned tie of pinks, purples and blues. The tie should “tell the same color story” according to Angelika.
“Connect with a brand that speaks to you and a stylist who understands that brand inside and out.”
With Hammer Made and Angelika I had both of these points covered, so we moved to the next outfit. This time Angelika put me in a purple and white classic gingham shirt, which she matched with a popping orange, purple, white and navy bow tie. Again, the subtle purple of the tie meshed with the shirt while telling its own story.
A brief aside here: Hammer Made’s shirts are all a standard fit, a tailored athletic cut. For slimmer guys, go down a size and voila! If it still needs some adjustment, Hammer Made offers in-store tailoring to customize each shirt to your body.
“Details make the outfit.”
Finally, Angelika grabbed a pale teal shirt to show off some more Hammer Made accessories. For this outfit, she added a nice brown belt (Hammer Made belts cuts their belts to size when you purchase them) and a pair of “wing man” cufflinks. For an added detail, we shopped for pocket squares to add an accent to that blazer or suit jacket to polish off the look.
“Classic goes a long way.”
In the end, buying dress shirts is about finding styles you like, quality fabrics, cuts that fit your body, and the right ties and accessories to accentuate your look. Hammer Made works so well because it takes classic fashion cues and combines them with bold details so you can express yourself in your own unique way.
Check out Angelika and her team the next time your closet needs a refresher.
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