Free Stuff

I'm going to begin this post with a little disclaimer. Lately, I feel like there's been an awful lot of promotion going on around here, and my own feelings about it are mixed. Last year, as I'm sure you know, I started an online business selling my kind of second hand clothing and accessories. What began as something to do on the side has thankfully grown into more than that. One side effect of this is more promotion, shameless or otherwise, here on the blog. I try to keep it to a minimum, but simply put, stuff sells better when I tell people about it.

I've also been getting more and more offers of free goods from companies who want me to review them here. I know this seems like so much empty shilling, and maybe it is. However, I accept only a very thin selection of all the offers that come my way, and at that only ones I truly feel may be of interest to my readers. Forgive me if this seems distasteful, but I work hard at this, and I see no real problem in occasionally reaping the benefits. I assure you my reviews are always honest. Henceforth, any post dealing with review of free goods will be titled simply "Free Stuff".

photo: Hudson Sutler

Hudson Sutler is a company offering a good simple basic that anyone could use: classic duffel bags, available in a variety of colors, in two sizes. Each one is made in USA. When they offered me one to try, I opted for the 'Sconset weekend (larger) duffel. With my family and I heading to Maine for our annual vacation next week, the timing couldn't be better. And Maine is perhaps the only place besides Massachusetts where we call "Pink" "Nantucket Red" and no one bats an eye at a grown man making liberal use of the color. Good thing, because this bag is big, it's a lot of said color, however you might call it. Hudson Sutler suggests it for a  2-4 night trip, but at 20 inches wide and 12 inches in diameter at the round sides, I see no reason why my entire weeks kit won't fit in it.

photo: Hudson Sutler



It's rendered in extremely heavy 18 ounce canvas and finished with thick plastic zippers, sturdy handles and strap, and navy stitching. Inside, the lining is navy anchor print. Who ever heard of lining in a duffel bag? Not me. Aren't those things supposed to be for the gym? I ain't taking this to no gym. At $120 for the bigger (weekend) size and $95 for the smaller (commuter) size, prices are admittedly what I would call steep. But this bag is tough, and I think I'll have it for a while. I'll let you know how it fared when we get back in town. If it really is as good as they say, chances are there will be a blog post next August about a trip to Maine with this bag in it. We'll see.

p.s. round two of our excellent necktie windfall is available in the Shop. Special thanks to Put This On for featuring our first batch last week.

p.p.s. Damn, this whole post is about selling stuff and getting free stuff. Yikes.