Here’s What I Liked From Hanover, Chris Black’s New Basics Brand

This 100 percent cotton pique polo shirt made me nostalgic for the Ralph Lauren shirts I’d find in my dad’s closet as a kid: softened from decades of washing and drying with the reassuring heft of a garment that’s made to a higher standard than it needs to be. True to its description, it looks good tucked or untucked. And I especially appreciated how the collar still rests flatly against my upper chest when one or both buttons are unfastened, as I’m wont to wear it. At just under $100, it’s priced in line with what Todd Snyder charges for asimilar unfaded stylethat’s produced in Portugal.

Between its natural-looking fade, smallish hood, and metal grommets for a missing drawstring, this sweatshirt feels like something that could have been salvaged from a schoolyard lost and found in a good way. (Also available as acrewneck.) It’s much softer than the similarly priced and factory-fadedTrash Hoodiefrom Everybody.World, and I’ve been enjoying throwing it over my PJs first thing in the morning when I roll out of bed to make my coffee. Although it’s said to be made from a 20-ounce fabric, it’s about 200 grams lighter than the 13-ounce Trash Hoodie, so I’d guess it’s closer to a 12-ounce.

Black is known to prefer vintage tees to new ones, so it’s no surprise that his idealized version of a new T-shirt would come prewashed to a perfectly worn-in fade and texture. I wear a 38R jacket and found the large fit perfectly. The shoulder seams fell right at the outer edge of my shoulders and the hem right above my crotch — short enough to look neat untucked yet long enough to tuck if a look calls for it. Besides this charcoal fade, it comes in red, green, and blue. Blink and you’ll miss the tonal-matched embroideredHlogo on the bottom left.

I have no complaints about this nice black T-shirt, but for the same price, I’d go with the Sunwashed version every time because the more neutral-tone fade is easier to layer. I appreciate that it comes in white (and also blue and charcoal), but if I wanted a plain white T-shirt at this price, I would likely get theLady White Co LW101Tinstead.

I didn’t personally try this on, but I saw a woman wearing it at the Hanover launch party, and it looked great on her. It’s based on the Staple T-shirt.

It’s not that this isn’t a great tote; I just have to wonder whether everyone who snatched it up realized how big it was when they ordered it. At 15-by-18-by-5 inches, it’s about the same size as a large L.L.Bean Boat and Tote and can hold about a week’s worth of laundry — way too big for any kind of daily use. (It offers amini-totetoo, but no measurements are provided.) The canvas material is much less stiff than L.L.Bean’s, which makes it a bit more comfortable to carry. It also features a prominent American flag patch, which aligns with Hanover’s made-in-USA ethos but may give pause to some.

We are in the midst of a full-on denim-head revival, rivaling that of the Obama presidency, which is why I was excited to try these jeans made from deadstock Cone Mills denim, which ceased production in 2017. I got the lightwash fade in a size 30 and was impressed by their construction and material quality. The fade looks natural and credibly vintage — the subtly abraded hems and edges really sell it, and the suede brand patch with the belt pass-through has a luxuriously soft texture that should develop a nice patina over time. But the cut through the thighs was so slim that I could feel it constricting my circulation every time I sat down. Based on how these pants fit the models in the product photos, sizing up to a 32 would have likely helped achieve the more tapered fitI look for in a pair of jeans(see the made-in-USA vintage Levi’s 550s for reference), but that would definitely require a belt, since the 30 fit me well in the waist.