r2

i'd strongly resist the urge.. not sure where you live but a glimpse of the hoards of 13 yr old german tourists snapping them up in london every weekend would be enough to put you off..

no doubting the quality, but the style is well suspect.. imho.

i'm all for breaking in a pair of dry jeans and i agree that they can look fantastic. but its a long process and contrary to what some people have said, its not always worth it for everyone. for several reasons:

1) if you happen to really dislike the very dark, uniform look of dry denim you are stuck with it every single time you go out wearing them, for a long time. it's not always comfortable going out in an item that you don't really like the look of that much.

a few years ago i wouldn't have cared, i'd have just worn the shit out of them every day and in 6 months loved them. you try doing that when you have a job that means you can only wear them a few hours a week - it takes years to wear a pair of dry denims into a nice worn look. years!!

if you like the dark indigo look, you're set. you can rotate and have a worn and new look on the go..

i have also seen many pairs that are so hard wearing that the entire crotch has worn through before the rest is even half way decent. that would really be a shame.

2) distressed jeans are deservedly hated because manufacturers insult our intelligence by placing the most ridiculous fading on them. naturally, they look shit. but once in a while you find a diamond in the rough - a great pair where the fading is very subtle. to me, this is just a little helping hand - it means you can wear them wihtout hating their appearance whilst they eventually get nicely faded. i have several pairs that are 4 years old and have faded beautifully - the very slight pre-distress they came with has been taken over by natural fading and they look great. if i had a digital camera i'd show you.

nothing to do with rebelliousness. i guess if anything - wearing a uniform dark denim feels too much like the bloody suit i've been wearing all week and putting on my battered old jeans makes me feel the opposite. if i had the time to get to that point quickly with dry denims, i'd choose them every time.

3) most people think distressed is shit because its not usually selvage. and if you're into denim, you're most likely into selvage. personally i'm not. no apologies for it - we all like different things. i like watches and i have several vintage watches with complicated movements. but like selvage, some of this quality is on the inside and not superficially apparent. so what's the point? well, its just something you get to know about and begin to aprpeciate. i have this with watches and other stuff, but not with selvage - i couldn't care. for me, its about cut, fit, colour.

I think the whole “look†thing is always interesting. Time’s I’ve been out thinking I looked like sh*t, unshaven and just no effort, girlfriend’s have later told me that’s what they liked. Other times, you’re clean shaven, nice shirt and you get the same response. Sometimes the opposite. Every time you try and second guess what other people will like, it fucks up, so I say always best to dress for yourself – in what you’re comfortable in.

having said that amanda, if I had to say what I liked to see girls in.. I can’t help always coming back to the same thing. In summertime, nothing better than a pair of something like those replays that juxtaposed posted, with a nice vest top – black, green, any colour will do. Looks confident and sexy. I know that isn’t the height of fashion and its got nothing to do with labels.. but the clothes shouldn’t hide the woman underneath. Less is more. Especially in summer!

I wouldn’t give a shit about the French girls, from my experience most of them are in training from the age of 15 to look and be like their mothers..

you're right..

i was in there and asked - no go, then called them last week and they said they don't, double checked again now and they said no.

but i just checked their brand directory on the net and they do have them - its listed as AG Jeans.. no offence to the people who work on the shop floor, but they don't exactly help by not knowing what the hell's going on..

thanks for your help

thanks mate.. tried them, apparently not. nor liberty or harvey nicks.. perhaps they're actually crap and i'm the only one who likes them.

ringring do you know anywhere that sells them in london? i'd never really like to buy online. don't think i saw them in selfridges or liberty

thanks

seriously expensive, but worth checking out. think they're bringing out a cheaper range, but no idea when.

http://www.olivergoldsmith.com/

particularly if you like your stuff with a history. stones manage to look cool in anything, but if its good enough for them..

does anyone know a place which stocks these in london?

thanks

believe. things come round quick. wait and see kiddo.

if you're going to start a thread like this, you could at least put your own age in there

29. i'll be 30 on monday. can't work out yet if i'm happy or unhappy about that.

i figure most people on here are 14-24 which makes me like some old fuck. although i never thought i'd be saying that.

i'm all for splashing out.. but not 200$ / 1.7 oz. particularly for that one..! each to his own though.

vetiver. by guerlain or l'artisan. if you don't like smelling like a woman or like a kid who's come out a sweet shop and you don't like that synthetic smell designer fragrances have - this is the one for you.

how much would you charge to wear some in for me??!

can you post one after first wash - would like to see how they come out. i reckon pretty damn fine.

one other thing - do you or anyone else for that matter - deliberately by a longer size to give you room to shrink so you can wash them on a 60' wash to get maximum contrast/fade? assuming one doesn't like the large turn up look

Edited by r2 on May 25, 2005 at 04:51 AM

thanks mate

nothing special i'm afraid, not vintage or selvage, just a plain old pair of levis they stopped making 2 years ago. i've looked at ebay, but just wondered if there were any websites you knew of - companies which hold old stock. can't find anything on google.

appreciated.

ta

i was in selfridges this weekend - i can't think of one label that hasn't been mentioned here that i didn't see. except perhaps apc (maybe they did, not sure) which liberty stock.

well put - i like your style.

lacoste was the same - loads of stuff gets redefined. but things take time to get rehabilitated - umbro still needs some time in the doghouse for a few years!

in any case, i think you got certain liberties not being in the uk. same with most things - ask a german what they think of birkenstocks.

either way - enjoy your umbro, its how you rock shit, as you say.

limited runs are only necessary where quality aside, an item relies on overt labelling or branding which makes it immediately identifiable as being something unique. This is no longer sustainable when its not unique and you start to see it on every street corner. it becomes something which everyone knows and which almost everyone owns. immediately, no one wants it.

items which rely on quality of material, cut and are much more subtle, containing no outward evidence of origin - well, in theory you can produce as many as you like. even then, some clients will still want something which no one else owns.

if you keep small, your product range is flexible you can be much more dynamic, keep more control.. for that reason alone i'd keep it small. sounds like you enjoy what you do, day-to-day.

as for apc - they're a good exmaple - dry jeans / selvage are very popular on this board and most people enjoy the fact that not many others have them. personally, they're not my thing, but even if they were - i can't move right now without seeing someone in a pair of dry jeans. every second guy is wearing them.

in 2 years, when people go off dry jeans, apc will still be sought after whatever line it brings out, because it didn't plaster everyone's butt in a massive symbol which everyone grew to hate.

but really, with respect, its down to you. do whatever will achieve what you want, whether thats making more money, keeping a nice niche brand, whatever you need.

i'm shocked. that is not meant as a dig to anyone who likes this stuff - each to his own. but umbro is the cheapest, shittest stuff you would be able to find in the UK.

whitetrash anth is spot on - pikey is an understatement - on this one, there is no ironic cool.. its just plain crap. i strongly urge you to resist the temptation to buy it..

Edited by r2 on May 18, 2005 at 01:41 AM

personally, i couldn't give a shit if they're owned by burger king

but i would like a pair of these - bottom left.

http://newton.cocolog-nifty.com/newton/prps/index.html

ringring, do you know if selfridges or liberty stock them?[

funny you mention that - i did something even more shameful (may as well get it all off my chest) - i paid an unemployed mate of mine to wear a pair for 6 months.. worked out quite well.

thanks for the tips, i'll take a look.

if anyone is thinking of speeding up the wearing process (not on quality jeans, but a pair i wasn't much keen on anyway) - i have used a pumice stone followed by a hot wash, and repeated this process, 5 or 6 times. worked perfectly. much better than sandpaper.

i'm with you tyrol. i hate the dry look. i only bought my nudies dry to get the benefit in a years time. truth is, 3 months in, i shamefully gave up and sold them - 3 months and not a mark on them - when you can't wear them every day, its too damn hard. if you get a pair with enough distress so you're happy to wear them out all the time - and then you don't wash them, you can still get very good wear and it looks natural enough.

pre-washed is better for me, but as everyone says, the manufacturers are clueless - massive bleach marks across the knees and backs of legs look like shit.

finding a good pre-washed look is the holy grail for me - i think you dry jeans fiends have it easy. there's loads to choose from. pre-washed, there's nothing, they mostly suck.

anyone know of a quality / pre-wash distress make?

long shot i know, but anyone know any good websites or shops to track down music. Its not rare vinyl or any shit like that - so i don't hold out much hope.. but any ideas would be appreciated.

looking for a sasha IX album - doubt it was sold in the shops much at the time..

ta