Today’s post is dedicated to the “dapper fella” and how to make him come to life while supporting small, local businesses.
Since being with Mitch for a little over three years I think he has taking a likin’ to my shopping small habits. Not to say that he wasn’t interested in supporting small or local before, because he was, but I think it’s escalated a lot faster since we’ve been together. Mitch has always been into indie and local restaurants, coffee shops, musicians/bands, etc. and upon us dating we’ve broadened each other’s horizons to different local and small things in our lives – it’s pretty cool and awesome.
To this day, Mitch and I are always finding new places to go or local brands to check out that we think each other would be interested in (or for us both to enjoy).
The most recent one of these “shares” from me to Mitch was this new local shop that opened up called ULAH. It’s just over the state line on the Kansas side in the Woodside Village shops in Westwood, KS. This dapper and elevated men’s retail stop is the perfect destination for casual and professional men seeking a modern style for his body, home and life. I can not explain to you how amazing this place is. Everything – from the moment you step in with upbeat lounge music, to the moment you are leaving, with a friendly smile and handshake – is a great experience. This is not just another high-end men’s clothing store – it is SO much more.
I apologize in advance for the not so great photos of the store as they are from my Instagram Story and really do not do the space justice.
This shop is filled with impeccably selected clothing from a range of brands and needs (casual, professional, activewear), carefully selected accessories for face, body and style (soap, watches, bracelets, cologne, phone cases, etc.), and artfully chosen home goods (rugs, lamps, tables, candles, etc.). ULAH also offers personal styling or home styling consulting services – which you will discover quickly how much you need this just after stepping foot into this gorgeous storefront. 😉
Owned by two wonderful men, Joey and Buck, these two go out of their way to make your time in the store a true experience, not just shopping. Mitch and I were greeted with the utmost joy and were offered a drink of choice including coffee, tea, soda, water or a beer – how cool! Throughout our time perusing the racks, both Joey and Buck took time to introduce themselves and explain the shop. And, they were far from the typical “salesy” retail person, which was so refreshing. They helped Mitch get a fitting room started and even gave us some feedback on what things to try on or look at.
Now, I know what you’re thinking, “Isn’t this like any other clothing store?” NO. I promise you, it is not. This store is carefully curated and designed with genuine care and passion – it’s all in the details.
Along with their storefront of brands these gentlemen choose to carry, they also work specifically with other Kansas City local makers to produce unique items for their brand, called the ULAH Collective. From socks and soap to candles and bags, ULAH has brought attention to every detail to craft a unique experience and unique and thoughtful finds. I love their statement behind this, as it perfectly captures everything I feel about this city and the local maker community.
Long story short on ULAH, everyone deserves to go have this great shopping experience, meet these two great guys with such thoughtful missions + goods, and grab something stunning for any man (or woman) to enjoy. Mitch ended up walking away with a new button up shirt (shown below). As you can see, even the packaging has care and precision behind it.
Speaking of getting dressed, Mitch is never complete without a pair of nice patterned socks. For almost every special occasion/holiday where I give Mitch a gift there is bound to be a pair of stylish socks from Sock 101 – who is located in the KC suburb of Lee’s Summit. Side note: I just learned upon writing this post that they are now The School of Sock – rebrand! (My advertising geek side is coming out)
The great thing about this local brand is that they are carried at so many stores, they have so many styles (men and women) and they also have a monthly subscription. I’m convinced Mitch needs this, but I don’t think I’ve convinced him yet. 🙂
Here’s part of his collection that I could find in his massive sock drawer.
With a range of colors and styles, he is set for any occasion. These socks are also high-quality for a great price. It took over two years of highly worn socks for Mitch to finally get a teeny tiny hole in the toe. I’d say that’s impressive, especially for the reasonable price tag!
Now, with a good style locked down, socks included, I’ll move into some local finds to help your guy stay smelling and looking fresh. Over the month of December there was a month-long holiday pop-up shop called the Handmade Holidays that was curated by Hand & Land. It featured several different artists and local goodies and was a great way to help people shop small for the holidays.
There was one “booth” from B.E. Nurtured who creates handmade and small batch natural body care products. There was a range of soaps, salts, body butters and more. I loved the perfumes and the scar cream – I wish I would have snagged them at the time, but luckily you can buy online!
Although I didn’t get anything for myself, I did get something for Mitch. This subtle, with a hint of “man”, scented body and room spray. Packed with essential oils for a non-toxic scent, this is the perfect spray to give a light and casual fragrance for anyone.
This is a great natural alternative to typical colognes and Mitch has even started to replace his with this. Plus, it doubles as a room spray!
For grooming, Mitch uses Wild Wash Soap Co.’s exfoliating face soap and smoothing beard balm, which I reviewed! Both are natural and locally made and are staples in Mitch’s “getting ready” routine.
There are multiple options of men’s grooming goods that are natural, handmade and local too. A few that I can think of are KC Beard Balms, 1740 Beard Balm and KC Beard Co. All have different styles and products. I think it’s great how many options there are just in this city and widens the door for shopping small, local and natural in this category.
Dressed. Smelling nice. Groomed. Now we’ve got to make sure his most valuable accessories are stylish. Among the different local leather makers around town (I haven’t tried them all), Mitch and I both absolutely love the products from Sandlot Goods.
The design of everything this KC-based brand creates is stunning and of the highest quality. Now, when it comes to high-quality leather goods, you get what you pay for. I don’t mind the price point on their products because making leather goods isn’t cheap, especially when they are this nice! Mitch has the largest sized billfold wallet, matching slim wallet and keychain – all in the matching tan color.
As you can see, these wear down beautifully and are the perfect pieces to really tie up a nice look. The quality is unbelievable as these three products have been through a lot and come out gorgeous still.
Sandlot Good items are found at many places around town, but I got all three of Mitch’s pieces at local shop Westside Storey.
I think I could own one of everything from them. They have laptop sleeves, notebooks, mousepads, coasters and more. I am personally dying for a bag from them. I know it will withstand the test of time and be just a great as it was the day I got it.
We are almost finished with the look! But last and most certainly not least, no dapper fella is complete without some sort of “hipster” notebook to take along with him. For Mitch, he has a weird and obnoxious obsession with notebooks. We literally have a file cabinet drawer filled with notebooks. It’s intense.
The most recent notebook Mitch has clung to is this little guy from the one and only Hammerpress, a Kansas City staple. He actually picked this up from Hand & Land too – supporting two businesses in one! 😉
Now, this may seem optional to many of you, but if you have a guy that is anything like Mitch who loves to write, sketch or just forgets everything (I swear it’s a guy thing), then you will definitely need to have this little addition to complete his look.
Next up on the list, Mitch has his eyes (and wallet) set on getting a custom-tailored suit from Houndstooth and some new high-quality jeans from Baldwin – so those will be coming in the near future.
Welp, there you have it guys – hopefully you’ve made it through and came out with a handsomely dapper man who looks great and supports small biz. Which I will say with [slight] bias that Mitch fits the bill perfectly. 😉
What small shops do you all support for the men in your life?
