best bets

Best Bet: Sketchy Characters

Though menswear designer Richard Haines has worked at Calvin Klein, Bill Blass, and Perry Ellis over the years, he’s best known for his true-to-life fashion illustrations, which have earned him a devoted following on his blog, What I Saw Today. Like a colored-pencil-and-watercolor-wielding Sartorialist (whom, coincidentally, he has also caught in action), Haines faithfully sketches his daily observations of New York street style. This week, though, you won’t have to stumble across him by luck to fulfill a fashion blogger fantasy — for $50, he’ll sketch a black-and-white eleven-by-fourteen portrait from a photo or in person at his studio. Now you just have to decide what to wear …

Richard Haines eleven-by-fourteen-inch portrait, $50 (cash or PayPal), at What I Saw Today.

Best Bet: Sketchy Characters