Kent Wang Solid Stick Umbrella

Made in Italy from a solid stick of wood—a steaming process that takes months—this handcrafted umbrella is both strong and flexible, and can even be used as a cane. It’s available in your choice of three different types of wood and a variety of different polyester canopies. While chestnut offers a classic wood finish, tiger hickory features a marbled look. Whangee, meanwhile, is part of the bamboo family and features a notched texture around the handle.

It’s said that necessity is the mother invention. So it was in 2007 when Kent Wang, frustrated with the lack of hand-sewn pocket squares in brick-and-mortar stores, started an online haberdashery. His business of two employees has since thrived thanks to its online-only model, which allows the company to focus not on maintaining a storefront but on producing quality menswear. Among the tenets of the Kent Wang philosophy are honesty, simplicity, straightforward pricing, low margins, and no visible branding. Is it any wonder he’s earned nods from some of America’s biggest men’s style magazines?