When we met with Mike Maher of Taylor Stitch earlier this week to discuss this weekend’s first Man Up pop-up menswear market, we were immediately sold on the ethos behind the event.

“I like to know where everything I buy comes from. When I purchase things, I purchase for them for the long haul,” explained Maher, who runs San Francisco custom men’s shirt company Taylor Stitch with co-founder Barrett Purdum and Michael Armenta and, with Purdum, is one of five guys behind the Durable Goods Concern, the entity responsible for conceiving of Man Up and making it happen in a mere 25 days.

As readers surely know, we’re big believers in conscious consumerism, buying local and putting the dollars we have (which often aren’t as plentiful as we’d like) into apparel and products that are not only made to last longer than a season, but also hail from companies whose principals and practices we believe in.

And then there are aesthetic concerns to consider. Who doesn’t appreciate a well-dressed man? Barring that, the benefits of cruising around looking like the male equivalent of Debbie Dumptruck are elusive at best.

Putting it plainly, Maher says, “It doesn’t pay to walk out the door looking like a slob.”

If you concur (and even if you don’t), we recommend making a dapper dash to the Man Up this weekend for dude-friendly shopping made easier through the promise of free buzz-inducing beverages, live art and vendors such as AB Fits, Union Made Goods, Xetum, Taylor Stitch, Marine Layer, Cordarounds, Room 4 Vintage, Sui Generis and many others. There’s also a contest you can enter to win a free $220 pair of raw selvage denim jeans.

More upcoming fashion and shopping events…

And a few pics of the Durable Goods Concern fellas (Michael Maher, Michael Armenta, Jeremy Smith, Barrett Purdum and David Mongan) horsing around in SF: