About Via
Via means "by way of." Every guide here is a route that starts at the floor.
Most menswear advice starts at the collar and runs out of steam around the belt. We start at the other end. The shoes you choose decide how formal the rest can be, what the hem of your trousers has to do, and which colors of leather you'll be matching for the next ten years. So Via walks the route in order: footwear first, then the bench where it gets cared for, then everyday clothes, accessories, tailoring, and finally whole outfits for real occasions.
We write for men who'd rather buy fewer things and keep them longer. That means more about construction, fit, and repair than about what's new this season, and a lot of plain numbers: inches, dollars, wears.
How we choose products
Our Rack is short on purpose. Each pick has to be something an editor would buy with their own money, and each one lists a real limitation. Some links are affiliate links; the disclosure explains how that works and what it doesn't change.
The editors
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Footwear
Marcus Hale
Footwear Editor
Marcus managed the floor of a men’s shoe store for nine years and has measured more feet than he can count. He believes most men own too many mediocre shoes and too few good ones, and he will tell you which is which.
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Care & Repair
Walt Brennan
Care & Repair Editor
Walt grew up sweeping the floor of his father’s shoe-repair shop and still keeps a bench in his garage. He writes slowly, repairs everything, and has strong feelings about cheap shoe trees.
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Everyday
Danny Reyes
Everyday Editor
Danny writes about the clothes you wear when nobody is grading you. He has worn the same pair of raw jeans for three years and keeps a spreadsheet of what he actually reaches for each morning.
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Accessories
Theo Lindqvist
Accessories Editor
Theo trained as an industrial designer and cares about proportion, materials, and weight in grams. He owns fewer accessories than anyone on staff and can defend every one of them.
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Tailoring
Julian Okafor
Tailoring Editor
Julian spent four years as an apprentice in an alterations shop before he wrote a word about clothes. He thinks in quarter inches, distrusts trends, and is happiest explaining why a jacket looks wrong.
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Field Guides
Sam Whitaker
Field Guides Editor
Sam has packed for weddings in three time zones, interviews in July, and funerals on short notice. The Field Guides start where the occasion starts: what the day asks of you, from the shoes up.
Get in touch
Corrections, questions, a cobbler we should know about: [email protected] or the contact page.