March Monthly Recommendations (Daily Use Special)

I'm a guy who likes stuff. You probably like stuff. Here's some of the stuff I like that I think you'll like. This time it's focused on some of the things I use every day. (Links in titles!)

RM Williams Boots

Completing the “what I wear basically every day” theme from the last few posts, most days of the week I wear some kind of RM Williams boot. These look great and are of outstanding quality but are also extremely expensive. I’m of the opinion that it’s better to buy most things second hand and if you can score a gently used pair for a good price it’s well worth the investment (I’d recommend checking The RealReal and Grailed, you might have some luck on ebay but the listings on there for these seem extremely torched or way overpriced). I know Chelsea boots are kind of a dead trend but I just like them a lot idc lol. As long as you don’t wear them with spray on jeans and like a hat that Raiden from Mortal Kombat would wear you’re steering clear of corntown.

Cold Teeth

I found Cold Teeth on ETSY a few years back when I was looking for a dagger necklace that wouldn’t make me look like an e-boy or a final fantasy character. In the years since I’ve gotten a lot of pieces from him and have gotten to know him a little (Shoutouts Cold Teeth!). Very nice guy, very cool designs and a product that feels impressive and solid for how relatively affordable it is. I truly think he could be charging double what he does easily without any issue. I wear the No Deal Ring, the aforementioned dagger pendant, and the barbed wire pendant daily, but there’s plenty of other sick things he has, the Scorpion ring is sick if youre into the big biker jewelry (I can appreciate it from afar but I look like Lucy Dacus so it aint for me) and he recently made an incredible bracelet that has one of the coolest link designs I’ve seen. The shop seems to be closed at the moment but give him a follow for when it opens back up (@cold.teeth).

Minnesota Leather Works Key Fob

I have used this since college and it’s holding up incredible. I did the hardcore guy thing of using a carabiner for years but during my dork ass Menswear phase I decided I needed something different and got one of these. I retired it for a few years while trying different types of clip on keychains but going back to this was a great choice. I normally just pull it near my back left pocket and leave my keys in there, which has completely eliminated the chance of losing my keys at a show or when walking around. For about $50 it’s on the pricier side but well worth it IMO. I keep a Pocket Samurai Knife on my fob which comes in handy way more than you’d think

People of Substance Tattoo Stick

I get tattooed pretty frequently and have experimented with several different aftercare products but this one is my favorite. It’s basically just a balm/wax that’s in a mini deodorant container that makes application very easy. I’ve noticed the tattoos I’ve healed with this have come out more crisp than the others. Be warned though since it is a wax there is a chance it’ll rub off on what you’re wearing. My general method with tattoo care now is cleaning with Dial Gold, applying this throughout the day for the first week or two, and then switching to Lubriderm scent free lotion at night or when it starts to itch. This may come from being a Shop Rat for a few years but it is absolutely nuts how many people don’t really take care of something that’ll literally be on your for the rest of your life like you just gotta be careful for like a month tops lol 

Dossier Cologne

I saw that “evil doesn’t die it reinvents itself” meme with the Panda Nike Dunk and Margiela Jazz Club cologne turning into an Adidas Samba and a Le Labo Santal 33 and decided I’d give the Le Labo a shot. Apparently that meme wasn’t kidding though because it was literally impossible to find a bottle, which is how I landed on a Dossier dupe. Dossier is one of those extremely millennial DTC brands that basically just exist because they make a legally distinct copy of another brand’s item but for significantly cheaper. I’ll be real and tell you that I think that that is kind of a corny brand ethos but at the same time I really don’t like the idea of spending $100+ on something I’ve never smelled. The upside of the whole “same but different” gimmick is that the packaging has to look so generic it could be mistaken for like, government rations. There is absolutely nothing of note to the packaging, which frankly I really like. I’ve gotten a lot of compliments on this cologne, which means I’ll probably try some others in the future. Be warned though the website interface is one of the most annoying, Tiktok brained shit I’ve ever seen. I half expected a window to start playing Family Guy clips at some point

Salt + Stone Deodorant

Kind of a clouty GRWM Tiktok ass rec but I’ve been using this natural deodorant for a few years with no real complaints. I’ll be real with you I just think the packaging looked cool and they smell nice. I’ve tried a few but my favorite is the Santal and Vetiver (I like sandalwood apparently), mostly because I prefer gel deodorants. Be warned though if you’ve been using regular antiperspirant you’re going to REEK for a few weeks while your body gets acclimated to not having aluminum in your pores or whatever is going on but just on principle of the fact that you’re wearing ANY deodorant puts you above 80% of all hardcore and metal fans ever.

Luke Vicious Totebag

Luke Vicious is a small independent designer/artist that does that whole goth-rapper-industrial-nu metal-vintage thing that’s been super popular for a couple years now. I think he started in making jewelry but has branched out into clothing and accessories outside of that. If you’re into super huge clothes he does some pretty solid ones at a relatively affordable price but that shit makes me look like a baseball umpire so I’ve just stuck with the totebags, which are the best on the market in my opinion. They fit a shitload of stuff and come in the only two colors I like (black and washed black) and crucially have a strap long enough to actually be worn over the shoulder by an adult, which for some reason is next to impossible to find. I’ve snuck an entire picnic’s worth of blankets and food into the movie theaters in one of these hoes hehe

Porter Yoshida Tanker

Everyone needs a side bag at some point, whether for travel or in my case for days when you’re wearing sweatpants and/or a jacket without pockets. If you’re dipping your toes in the water just go to Uniqlo, but if you want one that’s a bit more impressive in both construct and pedigree I’d suggest Porter Yoshida. There’s a pretty decent article by Highsnobiety (a rare feat in and of itself) on the history of the brand if you want to get more into it, but Porter Yoshida is like a quintessential If You Know, You Know type of cool guy brands, I’ve gotten like two complement on it ever and it was from a dude wearing Yoji at a Japanese bookstore, as opposed to the Supreme bag I used to wear, which mostly got comments from middle schoolers. I’d recommend buying these secondhand without question, since they go for astronomical prices new but like 1/5 of such used. I personally use the Tanker Shoulder bag, which has a great zipper and more space than you’d realistically ever need, I can hold my keys, phone, wallet, a multi tool, and a bottle of Lactaid in just one of the like 5 compartments it has. Avoid the waist bag unless youre extremely small. I got one without realizing that and wound up selling it to Lorde apparently lol.

Doing Some Kind of Physical Movement at Work

Nothing sucks more about having a desk job than feeling the actual physical deterioration of your body over an 8 hour period. I know a lot of physical laborers will scoff at it but it really does a number on you. I’ve never been super into working out or anything but I recently taken to doing little wall/stair push ups every time I take a break. I look ridiculous but my neck hurts less so whatever. Gonna look like Spongebob with the anchor arms by the end of the summer after my 30 stair pushups per bathroom break routine

Jcrew Heritage Hoodie

Way too much ink was wasted on the recent re-cloutification of J.Crew at the hands of Noah owner and noted Long Island Hardcore drop out Brendon Babenzien. Long story short J.Crew isn’t on top of the world like people were expecting, but at least it’s a more than viable option for most people looking for solid affordable clothing if that makes sense. I picked up this hoodie a few weeks ago while it was on one of J.Crew’s many sales and for the $60 spent the return on investment for this is off the charts (FYI at the time of this writing there’s a 40% off sale. Super heavyweight and with a spacious hood, which was exactly what I was looking for. I usually go up in hoodies and I’d recommend that heavily for this. It comes a little long but I just fold in the waist ribbing and it’s good to go. Think of me when you get punished by some guy in Weejuns who just learned about Jesus Piece from the Noah collab a few weeks ago lol

Hardcore

I’m always listening to hardcore and have for like almost half my life but for some reason every year during late winter/early spring I get REALLY into hardcore and starting jumping into random subgenres, movements, an labels more than I usually do (in a similar way every year during Summer I start doing a lot of metal deep dives). It’s kind of wild to see just how big hardcore is now; I recently was at a sold out 2000 cap venue for a hardcore show (Zulu, Scowl, Jesus Piece, Show me the Body), Turnstile is in a Taco Bell Commercial, it’s kind of incredible just how massive it’s become. I’ve said this before but I feel like within the last 10 or so years hardcore has finally surpassed metal for becoming the most exciting and culturally relevant form of extreme guitar music, even if statistically, numbers-wise, metal still blows it out of the water (the fact that the more exciting new metal bands to emerge are all mostly hardcore kids is the least surprising thing about that). Lots of bands are popping up and doing great and some of my friends bands have been skyrocketing in ways that seemed out of reach just a few years ago. I just feel like right now is probably the most excited I’ve been about the genre’s future as I’ve ever been. If you want to familiarize yourself a little better I’ve made a playlist of some of my favorite tracks from some of these newer bands (no bands I’m friends with though that’ll be its own eventual playlist).