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Nice hike to Blackstar Canyon Falls in Socal. Wearing Ooe Yofukuten SOA03 and Blundstones and a Papa Nui A3 cap in their Amoskeag denim

Me: Stepladder Ranch / The Vanishing West / Tezomeya / Duke / Word of Mouth / The Flat Head Dog: The Real McCoy’s

American Optical, Sugar Cane, RRL, Coronado Leather, LVC, Padmore & Barnes

Butcher Products top At Last & Co Lot. 161 (looking slimmer than IRL in this shot) Carmina wingtips

Got up this morning and Leonard had made a new friend ..made some coffee WH 506 drying on the line after it's annual wash ..rode up to Burbage ..stopped for a drink, wearing Odd Future Vans ..rode to The Surprise View ..this is where Porsche drivers plummet to their deaths.. y'know, not paying attention, singing along to Maroon 5 on the radio.. just picked the wife up from her bi-monthly session of lip fillers and anal bleaching, rushing to get to the golf club for a Cinzano.. when all of a suden "Surprise!" and you're off the cliff.. and here's you thinking Sheffield's only contribution to society was steel and synth-pop ..it's actually just over the border in Derbyshire but that doesn't quite fit my narative. ..can you spot the chalked out routes? .. Empty Rubicon can came in handy / Keeping Britain Tidy ..Rode through Hathersage to Hope and stopped to drink my coffee at The Adventure Cafe.. my bike was far too cool and aloof to mix with the others. ..lovely oak gate on the way to Edale Edale ..in the foothills of Kinder Scout ..up the back of Mam Tor ..down t'other side ..broken road 😍 ..home pottery in Castleton selling hand made ceramics ..Lady Cannings on the way home ..and when i got home after a 5.5hr ride feeling absolutely exhaused, my wonderful offspring had bought me a big bottle of Lychee Mogu Mogu ..the worlds greatest non-alchoholic drink

Bump Denime 10th Anniversary 1937s... tip off from my pal @beautiful_FrEaK... I need to wear these more...

Post polish RW merchants I got in 2017.

One more for the road. 4 absolutely sun filled days in the Lake District. All the rain gear was a waste in packing. We’re maybe not as hearty as Julian and the overnight backpackers but first real vacation (just us) since our son was born during the pandemic. Perfect trip, lots mostly mellow day miles with some amazing scenery and great food in the evening. Sad to leave. despite being a photographer really didn’t take many pictures, more just enjoyed being outside. But my wife did take some at the top of a little hill. If I have anything from my other camera to share when I get home I will, but I prefer bad weather for landscapes! Jeans will def need their 2nd wash upon return. I think a darning repair is imminent, so they may drop out of rotation until I get it sorted 😣

SCSC 1945 tux... 'before' and 'after' 30C machine wash, line dry

Posting these here for posterity sake (good light currently)... Feels like the brand has gone downhill since Toshikiyo-san passing & their majority stakes bought by LVMH, pissing off Jon also definitely bad move on Kiro's part. Recently had a chance to visit their Sapporo outlet & there is nothing compelling anymore, really feels like they are stagnant creatively now....very sad...

I can always help locally here in Japan.

xx-011's

Everybody has 14 months time to do the same

Tender shades / The Vanishing West ‘47 506xx / Power Wear x Motor Psyclone / new from Duke / contest jeans / old TFH kicks

!!!

I'm still an avid collector of records. I don't know how many thousands I have at this point. Everything from 1950s Rockabilly 45s to blues and jazz 78rpms from the 1920s-1940s, and tons of LPs (10inch and 12inch) covering various 'vintage genres'. I've never been much of an organizer so finding anything specific can be a challenge. The only segment of the collection I'm still intimately familiar with is a section of about 600 LPs that I shipped from England when I decided that the US would be my permanent home. I suppose the fact that those 600 LPs were so intensely and voraciously devoured during my formative years means that they're permanently seared upon my consciousness. But frankly at this pint in my life this huge collection feels like a bit of an albatross. Sometimes I'm tempted to get rid of the lot. Then I start imagining myself ten years from now, spending more time at home and getting back into actually listening to, rather than just accumulating records. Then I wonder if I'm trying to recapture something from my youth that in reality has gone never to return? I remember being so fascinated by my parents' record player, one of those wood console type things that always seemed to be on the fritz, and the handful of cool looking albums that my dad would play (Marty Robbins Gunfighter Ballads comes to mind). One Christmas they got me a small player of my own. Best present ever...The sheer magic of intently absorbing those particular musical sounds that fascinated me. I truly had the bug. I started accumulating and never stopped. Now I'm left wondering if I've lost the capacity to sit through a side of an LP and enjoy it. So many available distractions... Lift the needle off while I listen to 30 seconds of something else on youtube...Maybe it's not just kids whose attention spans are being 'evolved' by technology?

FW wwii type 1 FW 1922 jeans

Some cool Orrizonti era Type 1 and Type 2 jackets for decent to good prices in somewhat reasonable sizes, including some extremely cropped Type 2's. Some of these are pre-1997 too without Orrizonti printed on the tag. DENIME 旧ドゥニーム 90s デニムジャケット ジージャン 2ndタイプ 507 オリゾンティ 濃紺 M （w-8420706） item details | JDirectItems Auction | One Map by FROM JAPAN DENIME 旧ドゥニーム　オリゾンティ　506XX 1st 44 　検）ウェアハウス　コナーズ　TCB　フルカウント　マッコイズ　506　507　557　501 item details | JDirectItems Auction | One Map by FROM JAPAN Old DENIME Denim 507XX 2nd 44 Skin Patch One Wash Degree Super Beautiful Inspection Warehouse Connors TCB Full Count 506 577 501 item details | JDirectItems Auction | One Map by FROM JAPAN Old DENIME Denime 507XX 2nd XL Paper Patch Unused Inspection Warehouse Connors TCB Full Count McCoys 506 577 501 item details | JDirectItems Auction | One Map by FROM JAPAN There's a well worn, but good condition size 44 Orrizonti-era DNM 101j too for ca. $100 USD 旧DENIME ドゥニーム 101-Jタイプ 44　オリゾンティ 検）ウェアハウス　コナーズ　TCB　フルカウント　マッコイズ　506　577　501 item details | JDirectItems Auction | One Map by FROM JAPAN (I went to close an old tab on my desktop and got sucked into a jacket wormhole, as evidenced by this post and my Sugar Cane M series one).

Huuuuuge congratulations dude!! This has to be THE shot of the contest?!

Some pics of my 50s as I mentioned them in the Denim Blunders thread and realised I hadn't shared before.

Down in Cornwall for the weekend: Tender, orSlow, Gustin

SCSC '45 jeans and jacket, '42 jeans, FW sweatshirt and War Denim book thrown in ftw!

Fuck! 😉 NB: From this point forward all fades will be ‘Dad fades’ .

Track day... for him, not me 😉 Although I think I'm more knackered than Junior MJF9 with all the adrenaline...

Wish me luck…

Still my favourite pair - XX-013

I feel like enough people probably have pairs from Rockets now and that there is enough chatter about them in the Unknown Japanese Brands thread that they can get their own thread. There is also limited information on the brand that I could easily find, so it would be nice to have it documented as best as possible here. Most of the information below comes from their website and some chatting with Kato-san. Rockets have been around since 1994 (which is actually longer than Warehouse, the last of the Osaka 5) and were founded by Yasunobu Kato. However, it's unclear to me if they have been producing denim since the beginning. They've historically offered a 1937 cut (0003xx model) a WW2 cut (this s0001xx model), a 1947 (0002xx model), and a 1966 cut (SB-100). Kato-san can also customize a pair for you to cover some of the transitional early war models. WW2 models are offered with either olive HBT or chambray pocket bags. There are also several models of WW2 era jackets with various details, including with and without pocket flaps, although I do not know much about these since the sleeves are too short for me. The primary claim to fame and specialty of Rockets has been their WW2 models and their denim which is known for its heavy lap fades and whiskers. The phrase "Tiger Moustache" on their patches refers to the way in which these whiskers resemble those on a tiger. Kato-san has spent years analyzing vintage fabric from the era to best replicate it, matching the yarn count of the era. It's unclear where the denim is milled. According to the owner Kato-san, the yarns used in the denim have been dyed more than 12 times, so the denim is very dark and will be slow to fade compared to Warehouse or new Denime. After a wash, the denim is a very dark blue that is almost grey/black in appearance with a gritty and coarse handfeel. It creases easily and quickly gets some electric blue highlights, so I can see how these jeans get such pronounced whiskering. In talking with Kato-san, the 1937 model uses the same denim as the WW2 models sold by Rockets. I'm not sure about the 1947 model (although I would guess that it's also the same) and I'm very unclear what is used for the 1966 model (not sure if I've even seen a photo of a pair). Four types of cotton thread are used to sew the garments: No. 30, No. 20, No. 8, and No. 6. The waist is seen with thick No. 6 and No. 8 threads, while the selvedge is sewn with No. 6 thread, consistent with Kato-san's vintage models. The hem is wrapped in four pieces as was typical for vintage pairs prior to the 1960's. Threads are dyed orange and yellow based on estimates for the era. The dyes used on the threads are also selected for low fastness, so they will fade along with the denim. Rockets models also come with a red rayon tab labelled "Venus". The tab is designed to twist significantly after washing. Rockets also owns 3 Union Special sewing machines Rockets have also taken a lot of care to reproduce the style and character of buttons and rivets and buttons of the era. Laurel donut top buttons are used for the WW2 pairs, while iron body buttons are used on the 1937 and 1947 models. WW2 models with chambray pocket bags seem to use iron body buttons for the rest of the fly, while donut buttons are used for the fly of the HBT versions. All buttons are iron and are designed to rust. Front pocket rivets were designed to have a diameter of 10 mm, consistent with vintage rivets. According to the Rockets site, most front rivets used by other brands are 9 mm in diameter. Two types of front rivets are used - copper and iron plated. Hidden rivets are a non-standard shape to capture the shape of those seen on War models. Rockets hand stamps their hidden rivets into the desired shape and then hand engraves them. Rockets offers several versions of their models. There is a standard version where all hardware is new. There is also a "Craft" version, where you can select to use already oxidized hardware. Rockets also offers a "Tailor Made" line of models that are more expensive than their standard "Factory Made" models. Taylor Made models are about 15,000 yen more expensive. The 1937 model seems to be sold as Taylor Made with a claim of being sewn on a vintage machine. I chatted with Kato-san, but I wasn't quite able to learn what this meant in terms of final product, so I just went with a standard model for myself. I will try to add some more details and edit as I have time and learn more. I will also try to locate and cross-post some of the stray pairs found in the WW2 and Unknown Japanese Brands threads here too as I find the time

Such a great fit, well done @julian-wolf!

My next door neighbour (who was born in Hackney) gave my son some 80s / 90s era vintage footy shirts a few months ago.. he's not really into football but he does like the attention.. he was walking through the park wearing a purple Tottenham Hotspur shirt from the 90s with a pair of baggy Levi's and some Jordans.. a runner ran past and shouted "Up the Spurs" to him. I'll tell ya' what, Spotify / apple et al.. have completely ruined the 'album' as an artform, my kid has had a pair of fancy headphones perma stuck to his head for the last year or so.. before that it was airpods.. he's never not listening to music.. evn when we're playing tennis, he's wearing headphones I hear a tune he's playing by whoever and say.. "Have you listened to any of their albums" "No, just this song and maybe one other" "I've got all their albums on CD.. check out such n' such album.. it's incredible" "Are all the songs as good as this one" "Well no, that's probably the standout track of the album, but it's a body of work by that artist, evn the track listing will have been carefully considered" .. "So it's 10 tracks and 9 of them are not as good as this one" "Yes that's correct, a couple of them could even be shite but that's not the point" .. "So then Dad.. with all the incredible music in the world, you want me to spend time listening to music which isn't as good as the music i'm listening to now, just because it's on an album?" "Yes exactly"

Have fun for the 22501xx scooby 😉

It seems we've had a recent and very much welcome expansion to our group of online denim-misfits.. @okimoto @Lorcan @Well27 @TripicalMidbooster @LoneWolfWelding and others.. (a belated welcome to the forum) but i can't help but wonder.. this doesn't seem like your first rodeo, have y'all come here from other denim fora or have or just been lurking for the last decade?

wow….J47A-E?! It’s like they finally pulled their head out of their ass for a second

Follow up on these

It’s on the steeper side but just want to point out if you missed it that OA is releasing a black pair with S+S. Their’s is a black / white weft. That’s the biggest difference with black denim is it’s more common to see black / black, but they do fade differently than the black / white. I think I tend to prefer the faded black/white examples I’ve seen a bit better, but haven’t done that myself (yet). I’ve hoarded a few black pairs over the years (TCB, FW, SC, FullCount) - out of these I like the sugar cane and the Freewheelers RB the best but they’re all basically unworn so take it for what it’s worth. I don’t really find black jeans harder to fade than indigo. Just like some indigo is quicker than others, same with black sulphur dyes. I also don’t really find them less versatile, but I guess that sort of depends on the person and what else they like to wear. If I’m not wearing a denim jacket I like a lot of neutral or monochrome tops most of the time - greys, beiges, whites, blacks. Black jeans go with that stuff - just maybe not so amazingly with blue denim, but I’ve seen it work too depending on the stage of wear. Sort of a less recommended brand here but Indigofera’s gunpowder denim I like and is more easily available.

Brazed a mini velo cargo bike frame today, not the whole thing today, but closing in on it. mini velo means 20” wheels front and back

I've got the Birmingham Half Marathon tomorrow and today was the Kids mini marathon event at Alexander Stadium. My youngest first running event. Obviously in a Darth Vader onesie cuz its May the 4th..

Took awhile but finally received the Pherrows items. Solid stuff! The 451 is quite ww2 era, contrast color thread archs ( think they used to paint the arcs during ww2 to save thread), herringbone pockets ++ This is 34x34. Very straight fit not much taper. Waist 43.5cm Inseam 84-85 Front rise: 30cm Back rise 35.5-36cm Leg opening: 24cm Good space in thighs.

Some post shrink pictures: All in all I’d say the wash brought out a lot of hairiness, they shrunk more than I thought, and are considerably less wide (or should I say more well proportioned?) than other wide jeans I have, but I really love the fit, and the excellent leg twist. Pre vs post wash measurements: Waist: 44 cm to 40cm F. Rise: 36 cm to 34 cm Thigh (including back panel): 37 cm to 34 cm Hem: 25 cm to 24 cm Inseam: 89 cm to 81 cm And now, to wear!

Here are some progress images of my ‘super denim collectibles’ 1946. I’ve never had 2 of the same pair to really to a side by side like this before, and kind of cool to see (IMO, of course). The worn pair is a sz 33” (up one from my usual size) and unworn 32”. I’ve been wearing since roughly the beginning of 2024 pretty much everyday for the first 8 months and after that wearing M-F and rotating different pairs on the weekend. I think I’ve washed 5 or 6 times - when I’ve felt like it. This is typically the kind of fade I like, and the stage when I would stop wearing and start to break in a new pair, but I plan on keeping these going. I really like them.

Busy weekend so far. Thursday night (basically Friday night cos of the holiday) my band played a benefit gig for a homie of our who got hit with some sever emergency medical expenses. Haven't rocked a gig since December so that felt good. Then spent Friday (Saturday) and today (second Saturday) working on the bathroom at the new place with my dad. Got the old wall ripped out and lucky for us the pocket door frame fit perfectly into the void left by the wall. Got the frame installed, got a temporary floor where the shower used to be, and got the header installed above the door. Also borrowed a family friend's truck to get some of the bigger furniture out of my girlfriend's apartment. The Big Move is next weekend and then I'll finish up the bathroom at some point.

Modified Tender 473 Sack Shirt Starts to lose colour very lovely

Fob Factory F198. I can’t find much information on these at all but I think they’re pre-2006. They were in a musty one-wash condition when I bought them and I’ve just given them another 40°C wash and will get them hemmed soon.

Ordered when it was released but thanks to a held up in German customs for over 3 weeks, it arrived together with the jeans. 1945 jacket

This is my latest work, a briefcase/folio. This somehow has less pieces of leather than @Duke Mantee's bag - but with big pieces like this it's easier to have one piece of leather than having to do more long stitch lines. Especially when you're dumb like me and decided to use 2.7mm irons for a bag. Learned lots, got better at perlage (setting rivets and making them look not shit) and decided I like French stitching clams.

I was waiting for the cash point/ATM at the Post Office on the High Road and heard some odd noises behind me. I turned around and saw this.

RRL, made in USA, 14.5 Cone denim Reversed yoke, also higher coin pocket and the side stitching is also longer

Evolution of my hi back denim trousers pair. Bad lighting, but it has been cloudy and foggy for the past week or so. Not much to do about it.

Flat head engineers, before treatment.. getting a little bit beat up, lol.. Interesting how grey / washed out the inside shafts of both boots are, think it’s from being pressed against motorcycle engines, but not sure..

wasn’t digging the wh “gentle taper” on the 220A so i got a shameless gusset inserted and ended up w a slight flare but i’m into it

UES indigo polos