PeterParker

Nice makeup. Don't see too many pairs with no toe box.  Also don't typically see White's with flat brown laces.  Did those come from the factory? Is that the toffee dress leather? Also don't see that leather too often on White's.

Good call on the Bounty Hunters.  They look so much more robust than the Semi Dress!

What's the difference between Stevenson's regular denim and "L" denim? 

*edit* found the answer: the L denim is a lighter 12oz denim, compared to their regular 14oz denim.

And is the only difference between the RXX and OSX models a factory one-wash?

On that note...these new Dry Bones jeans aren't that tapered, the percentage of taper from the knee down isn't any more aggressive than many other classic fit straight leg jeans.

On this note, is it possible for SE to present full length shots of the jeans (either full frontal, or folded in half) to show the full cut through the leg?

As you have alluded to, two jeans with the same measurements can fit quite differently, so the measurements don't always tell the full story.  Hate to use a cliche, but a picture is worth a thousand numbers.

...when you pack raw denim from your collection whenever you visit a city with an operational Union Special, so you can get them hemmed and ready to wear 5 years later.

(so far I've hit up Take5 HK, RHD in Adelaide, SENY, BiG)

The denim looks amazing!

Too bad that I can't do taper and/leg opening below 8"...

I share these sentiments.

Seems like most SE collabs and exclusives (e.g. Roy) of late have a taper with leg openings skirting around 8" and less (for a waist 31 to 32).  I wish more of the collabs were around 8.1-8.3" (raw), with a straight cut or less aggressive taper (shouldn't have slept on those SExFHxRJB's!)

The denim that Kiya gets his hands on for some of these collabs is so fantastic that it's a shame it is only produced in one cut.

kiya, out of curiosity, how do you decide the cuts for each of your collaborations?  I can't imagine it's easy to pick only one, and surely it takes a bit of work for each of the producers to make new patterns for each collab.

From my visit to SENY and talking with Thomas, I was under the impression that RJB has changed its flagship denim significantly.  Formerly it was quite smooth with a soft hand.

I was told that the SExFHxRJB collab was the first run of the new flagship denim, which has a much coarser and abrasive feel; since the release of that jean, RJB is now using the same denim for their standard models.  The only new stock that I was able to handle at SENY was the 103BSP, which indeed was made from the same denim.  The 105 and 106BSP were crafted from the former denim.  Based on the difference in texture, I'd expect the new denim to produce higher contrast fades, quicker.

However, perhaps I misunderstood and this only applies to the RJB jeans produced for SE.

Kyle, can you please clarify this matter?  I'm very curious about the new denim, and would love to see the 105 or 106 cuts done with the same denim.

I think fresco was referring to the heel counter (the leather that wraps around the heel), rather than the heel on the sole.

This also tends to be an area where my boots get scuffed and worn, and I don't really know what causes either.

What are the chukka/desert boots, far right top picture?

 

As it happens, I'm in the market for a pair for a summer holiday and while this is most probably the wrong forum if anyone got suggestion then that's cool. Single leather or rubber sole, broad round toe box is what I need and preferably blake stitched.

Ron Rider makes some nice chukka's, with what I believe to be blake-stitch construction.  Worth having a look.

Maybe it's just the angle of the last picture, but it looks like the left and right boots are on different lasts.  Left looks more like semidress last and right looks like swing last?

Burgus Plus Lot 780 @ ~28 months, lost track of washes

Worn pretty hard and washed more frequently in the last 6 months during winemaking vintage, so there's noticeable change from the last update.

Bonus shot of the family (WH700J,SExSC06,BP780)

Burgus Plus Lot 780 @ ~28 months, lost track of washes

Worn pretty hard and washed more frequently in the last 6 months during winemaking vintage, so there's noticeable change from the last update.

SExSC06 @ ~9 months, numerous washes

SExSC06 @ ~9 months, numerous washes

I remember seeing those on eBay. Seemed kinda dodgy with the errant stitching on the right boot, but if you can look past that they're gorgeous boots.

Just noticed the crease on your 3109 too. Did you soak those in the washer as well?

Hate to be a naysayer, but it definitely detracts from the aesthetics of jeans; it's an artifact among fades yielded over time.

Brutal crease from the washing machine. Otherwise, looking good.

Wow. My bad. I kept on seeing a '2' on the lot number (i.e. reading 2011) instead of a '3'. I had to stare at it for a good 30 seconds before I could resolve that it was actually a 3.

Man that patch...

Yeah, I'm still scratching my head about that one. Looks to be a stamping error. I wonder how many pairs were affected. Maybe 50 years from now that pair will be highly collectible...

Good to see the guys at Kapital having some fun at work:

http://kapital-global.jp/kapital-union-special-hemming-masters/

I wonder when this is going down at Self Edge...

fresco, life is ironic; 5 years ago when I got into the superdenim scene, I worked an office job which had no real need for hard wearing denim and boots. It's almost as if I adapted my lifestyle to suit my wardrobe. It's so much more satisfying putting my jeans and boots to work than sitting at a computer all day. Even when I purchased my Bounty Hunters last year it was more a of fashion decision, I did not foresee their practical application.

Without a doubt one of the best purchases I've ever made - and I'm already thinking of how to make up my next pair. I see now why one would choose different leathers for different parts of the boot. In my case, a harder-wearing vamp leather less prone to drying out would be ideal.

The past few months have not been kind to the White's - from the dry and dusty vineyards to the soaking wet winery floor, the Bounty Hunters have had the snot kicked out of them.

Harsh reality is that I needed these on my feet day after day, so keeping them dry was not always possible. Finally had a few days off so I stuffed them with paper towels and rice to draw out as much moisture as possible.

The vamp really takes a soaking and a beating, unlike the uppers which have the protection of some hardy denim; texture feels like sandpaper from having the moisture drawn out. The counter, upper, and tongue are developing a nice patina, however. Leather is Distressed Smooth, for those who are curious. Leather laces have been swapped out for nylon ones, as the leather ones get crusty pretty fast in these conditions.

Brushed clean, wiped with a damp cloth, left to dry, and coated liberally with Baker's leather protector like last time (i.e. no glamorous photos).

Hopefully when vintage is over I can give these a good cleaning and get some of the lustre and patina to show. But for now, it's back to work for tomorrow.

At dinner tonight, the waiter brought my girlfriend her Pinot Noir and instead of putting it on the table in front of her he poured it all over my RJB 105s

At least it was Pinot Noir and not Merlot!

That's right, my 001s are higher rise, even though they're tagged 1" smaller. Why not indulge in a bit of LHT action?

Indeed. I do think my next denim purchase will be LHT, more along the Leepro line than something like the 001, however.

Anybody have the scoop on when SDA will be doing another Leepro?

I believe that some rivets are half steel, half copper; i.e. the exterior female half is copper for aesthetics, and the interior male half is steel to lower production costs. Not sure what vintage that detail comes from, but I quite like the look of rusty rivets on an aged pair of jeans. Strike Gold features such rivets on their standard 11XX denim.

Obviously in the context of the modern Japanese-made denim, half steel rivets are not used to save cost!