FAVORITE: Dog Days Of...Fall?

Right when I'm settling into a happy routine of sweaters, wool socks and layering, the temperature spikes up to the mid-80s. I shouldn't be surprised. It's just like you to do this, Midwest—every damn year. Ah, well. When summer is as fleeting as it is in the northern half of this region, you've gotta cherish every last day even if it comes in the middle of autumn.

And when you find a piano on an abandoned freight railroad track, what do you? You were going to say "take some senior pictures," right? Right. (You're all invited to my high school graduation in two years.) Thankfully, the talented Rob Culpepper was on hand and in the mood to shoot some medium format film on the Bloomingdale Trail, Chicago's undeveloped and still super-secret future answer to New York's High Line.

A note on the trousers: Dockers? Yeah, you read that right. Your dad's favorite brand has updated some of its offerings with more tapered silhouettes that look like like khakis but wear like jeans. They're called Alpha Khakis, and I've been wearing the hell out of 'em. Along with a second green pair, they've become fast favorites. 

It's still fall, right? I got hooked on yerba mate in Argentina and have it with me most days when it gets late in the year.

On Seth: Indian cotton button-down (sale $30, reg. $75) by J.Crew; "Alpha Khakis" in British khaki (sale $59, reg. $68) by Dockers; natural veg leather belt by Cause and Effect; thrifted loafers by Giorgio Brutini; "Weekender" watch ($25) by Timex with Horween leather strap ($95) by Buckshot Sonny's.

Oh, and if you're a Mizzou Tiger, you're headed into a special weekend. Cam and I will see you at Homecoming, suckers.

Photos by Rob Culpepper.

midweSTYLE: Bridge

REAL TALK: I rarely have a very good reason to wear a tie. Honestly, events that necessitate ties in my life are few and far between. I mean, outside of the occasional wedding or sorority formal, opportunities to appropriately don neckwear are fairly infrequent. That means that when I wear them, it's typically for no reason at all. I'm not going to the office, I'm just going to class. If Mizzou were a little more Ivy, that may be normal. But in a place where T-shirts and sweatpants reign supreme, I figure most people just assume I'm a professor.

Now, switching gears, the comment we tend to get most when it comes to buying from thrift stores or vintage resale shops goes something like this: "I just don't have the patience to sift through all the inevitable crap to find what I'm actually looking for." While thrifting often leaves you frustrated and empty handed, I think I've come to realize why I genuinely enjoy it to the degree that I do. The prices are obviously the biggest draw, yes, but there are secondary elements to the thrift store experience that make it something that is, while tedious at times, still very worth while. For me, I love that it harkens back to a time when United States manufacturing was still king, before outsourcing apparel construction became the new black. There's something strangely satisfying about putting on a piece of clothing whose tag reads, "Made in the U.S.A." You guys know what I'm talking about, right?

LASTLY: Sorry for going YouTube crazy. Also, we're a handful of followers short of four digits on Twitter. Lets do this, team.

On Cameron: Blue oxford (thrifted, $2) made in the U.S.A. by Arrow Brigade, 15.5 neck; striped tie (gift from a lovely woman) by Kincora Irish Tweeds; brass tie bar (thrifted, $2); woven belt (thrifted, $4); chinos (UO, sale $10) by Dockers, size 31; desert boots (Christmas gift '09) by Clarks, size 10; "Preston" eyeglasses (online, $95) by Warby Parker; rope bracelet (homemade).

Photography by Jarred Donalson

midweSTYLE: Proportions at play

We've been mixing it up a bit. And loving it. You know; playing with proportions, colors and fabrics.

Give some of these stylings a shot:

• Bright and LOUD. Try a subtle dark layer when your outfit is on the neutral or lighter side.
• Bold prints. Tame it or tone it with a less busy fabric or wash.
• Highs and lows. Roll your sleeve or throw cuff your chinos. A little detail never hurt.
• Bring an extra layer. You'd be surprised how a jacket/cardigan can pull your appearance together, especially when you're going from day to night.

On Cameron: Four-pocket "Trucker" denim jacket (eBay, $15) by Levi's; charcoal cardigan (thrifted, $20) by American Apparel; madras short-sleeve shirt (thrifted, $2) by Royal Knight; slim-fit chinos (Urban Outfitters, $10) by Dockers; black plimsolls (thrifted, $4); leather snap bracelet ($20) by Corter for Japan.

Photography by Nick Welch of Scout Photo

Thrifty Thursday: Rackin' it

Editor's Public Service Announcement: Just in case you didn't see Twitter or Facebook earlier this week, we did (finally) pick winners for the bow-tie challenge. Thanks for the reminders, questions and general cleverness about our tardiness. It would appear the interns really dropped the ball on this one. (We gave them one job—one job...). In any event, the lucky two were:

• Drew Jones Art
• mah5160

Congrats to the winners, and to the rest of you: Be sure and enter next time. We think the interns have learned their lesson. If pulling outhouse duty doesn't teach them, I don't know what will.

Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming:

There are a few places you're sure to find things cheap. Wal-Mart. McDonald's. On the apparel side of things, you'll get anything you find in a dumpster for free, garage sales almost always guarantee low prices, and thrift stores are nice for weakening the blow to your finances. But then there are times you're itching for something new, something that hasn't been washed and loved on by somebody else, something with price tags still attached—but price tags with small numbers on them. Enter Nordstrom Rack.

You see, there is no Nordstrom Rack in Kansas City (yet), so I had not encountered one until our recent wedding field trip to St. Louis. I'm not much of a planner, and I'm even less of a packer, so when time came to put together a bag to take to the Lou, I threw some underwear and toiletries in my Wanderer and grabbed some hanging shirts out of my closet in an effort to use as little energy as possible. And then I set off, without too many wedding appropriate items in tow. "I'll buy some in St. Louis," I thought. As you may have guessed, I'm also a procrastinator, so at about seven in the evening on the eve of the wedding day, I set out to find some shoes and some neckwear. Nordstrom Rack would have a moderately priced selection of both, I was told.

Granted, Nordstrom stocks a lot of things that I consider unwearable, for whatever reason. But, at the same time, the Rack had a nice array of Clarks, Top-Siders, and Florsheims, all at about half off. The tie collection was just as appealing and twice as cheap. I walked away with a pair of black suede Clarks desert boots for $50 and a $15 Rooster polka dot bow tie. Two items that will get a lot of wear. Two items that I avoided paying full price for. I think this is called winning.

Bow tie (Nordstrom Rack, $15) by Rooster; cotton oxford (thrifted, $3) by Arrow, medium; slim cotton chinos (Urban Outfitters, sale $10) by Dockers, size 31; leather belt (stolen from my father—thanks, dad); suede desert boots (Nordstrom Rack, $50) by Clarks, size 10.

Photography by Jarred Donalson.