American Trench CEO Jacob Hurwitz Shares His Fashion Favorites

His style: A big mix of tailored corporate, denim, streetwear and retro socks. I’m a middle-aged dad, so I get dadcore vibes even when I don’t try for them.

His fashion roots: My first job out of college was at Mitchell & Ness, which was blowing up with its authentic MLB, NBA and NFL reproduction jerseys. Then I taught math at a prep school, wore a tie and read GQ. I started with mall fashion—J.Crew and Banana Republic—and graduated to smaller brands. By 2009, I was ready to start a business. Inspired by a trench coat from a street seller in London, I teamed up with an old friend, David Neill, to make classic men’s outerwear in the United States. American Trench was born.

Indispensable wardrobe item: A beautiful piece of outerwear or tailored clothing that fits you well—and you’re excited to wear.

Favorite places to shop: Franklin & Poe in Fishtown. Owner Andrew Li carries some of my favorite brands, like Freenote Cloth. I also love Rikumo in Ardmore.

His fashion icon: Kurt Cobain. I don’t actively try to dress like him, but I admire the creative force that radiated from his being—both in music and fashion.

Thoughts on aging: With age comes wisdom. I don’t have the same energy level I did as a younger man, but I try to do things smarter now.

Indispensable accessory: A mechanical wristwatch, new or vintage. Nothing is sexier than having a machine on your wrist that isn’t tied to a battery. Lately I’ve been wearing a dive watch from the Swiss brand Zodiac, one of the three brands of commercially available dive watches in 1953, along with Rolex and Blancpain.

Grooming tip every man can appreciate: A straight razor from the Canadian brand Henson Shaving. It’s old-school, it works, the replacement blades are 10 cents each, and everything is metal and fully recyclable.

Fashion No-no: Entire outfits of athleisure, synthetic stretch materials with a perfunctory minimalist label somewhere on it. I think cotton sweatpants have much more to say than black polyester stretchy pants.

Visit americantrench.com.

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