The best

My tastes are simple: I am easily satisfied with the best. —Winston Churchill

Much has been written in the last couple of years about the merits of, essentially, buying the best stuff you can afford. I’m a huge proponent of this approach, and in fact, have practiced it my entire life, even before I realized it or had any disposable income to speak of. I’ve always had this uneasy, incomplete feeling if I knew — even if it was just a hunch — that there was something better out there for task x, my build, my aesthetics, my circumstances, etc.

It’s not about brands for me, and really never has been — it’s about the intersection of my hyper-particular stylistic preferences, quality, and means. Popular brands often are at that intersection (e.g., Porsche, A. Lange & Sohne, etc.), but that’s not always the case, and in fact many times it’s the complete opposite. For example, the best plain t-shirts I’ve found (for my build and style) are from Quiksilver. They’re $20. I’ve bought a hundred of them and wear them nearly every day. On the other hand, some of the ugliest, most expensive shoes I’ve ever seen come from shoe-only fashion brands, like these $1000 monstrosities from Buscemi. As the saying goes, there’s no accounting for taste.

To be clear, this also isn’t about stuff. It’s about taking enjoyment and having pride in the things you own. I get great pleasure out of all of my possessions (if that stops being the case, I sell it), and part of that pleasure comes from knowing that there’s very likely nothing better in the entire world for me.

This ‘philosophy’ informs my approach to nearly everything. It’s the reason I drive a German sports car (though I may go Uber-only soon), wear German and Swiss-made mechanical watches, eat McDonald’s french fries, wear German or Japanese eyeglasses, use Hard Graft everything, wear Abercrombie & Fitch cargo shorts etc. They’re the best…for me.

I collect nothing, and in fact my minimalist sensibilities make me sweat at the thought of collecting anything. It’s just not in my nature. I’m quite happy to know that I’m able to pack everything I own (and love) into a coupe.

An awesome site where folks daily lay out their favorite products for task x is Kevin Kelly’s Cool Tools.