HoustonChris

To clarify, I understand that the collab is unsinged and unsanforized- after all, it was right there in the description of the jeans. Kiya then helpfully explained the terms for yo_mj 2 posts above mine. My question was more general in nature, as in "Why would jeans ever be calendered?", since the Wikipedia entry states that the effect doesn't last very long, especially if the fabric gets wet. Re-reading, I concede that I could have been a bit more clear about that. My bad.

Since I thought I might be straying a little too far off topic, I tried to bring my post back around with the second part about the pockets. Thanks for the picture of the SExDBxS09, by the way, Cents.

OK, I understand why denim would be singed, but what's the point of calendering, especially on STF? Just to make the denim sort of shiny before the first soak? That seems useless.

I love the pocket bags on these, btw. Hickory stripe is always good. Can we get a shot of the "military grade green rear pocket linings"?

Nice first post robosco, lurkers take note. Pics are a bit big, but well documented post, and they fit you great. A+.

QFT.

10char

phive- just so you know i'm a "all around hater" lol...i'm gonna give Morse some shit!

Morse- this is waywt denim version. i believe there is a dog version somewhere. also, how am i to guess what brand of awesome denim you are wearing if you only show me your ankles? shall i start a denim ankle version for you?

haha, the dog shot is supplemental shooter! You know how you pimp out your cute son in waywt/jdt shots?? I'm doing the same, but all I have is cute dogs.. +I have no camera (timer) out here in the sticks. let me pass on this one please kind sir;)

Busted!

10 char

denimjunky- correct, it's the waxy tan from the 178 model. I requested it instead of the dark brown.

wgmds- pretty sure the Arch Ease requires a higher heel. Anything lower than about 1.25 inches probably won't work. You can't get the foot alignment without it. Don't worry about the height, you'll get used to it. I'm 6' also and I routinely wear boots with 1.5 to 1.75 inch heels. Nobody really notices, and once you get used to the feel, neither do you.

And since a couple of you asked, here are a couple of wear pics of the William Lennon boots. I'll try to get some better shots later this week when I get home and have better light and more space. Color is most accurate in the last 2 shots.

Oh yeah- thanks for the positive comments and rep!

Just found pictures of smokejumper made in shark leather (brown and black).

Anyone got some info about shark leather? Is it durable?

I kinda like the looks (but maybe it will go better combined with some dress leather or calf), but never tried it.

Shark is tough, durable leather. It typically has that ridged, sort of wrinkly look, but I've seen it looking smoother than the SJs in your pic. To the touch, it's not rough or abrasive, it just feels textured. It's reasonably soft and thick, so it doesn't take a lot of effort to break in and it doesn't need backing from another layer of leather, like water buffalo. It's fairly elastic, too. It will stretch more than most other leathers, but only in one direction, which is why pieces are always aligned in a specific way on a pair of boots (notice how the grain on the vamps and heel cup is horizontal and on the uppers it's vertical).

Personally, I like shark. It's one of my favorite leathers. Oh, and wgmds is right- it gets used a lot in cowboy boots.

guys who got the elemental jeans

any updates on the fading?

Anything out there for the element models? Fit pics, detail shots, evo...Still thinking about picking up the wind model in NY next weekend.

No real fading to report, but I'm not very hard on jeans. I'm also rotating 3 or more pairs, so I've only got a couple of weeks of actual wear. But since there don't seem to be many pics circulating, here are a couple of detail shots I took recently:

Gold element buttons

Starting to get a little evo around the edges of the top button

Hidden rivet back and a closeup of the weave

Gold and silver selvedge; color accuracy is pretty good- the weft is a bright green

Close up, the colored weft shows through faintly; at a distance, they just look dark.

Anyone know where to get some high quality bandanas? I'm a construction worker so I always carry one in my back pocket but the cheap ones I get feel like sand paper and last about a month....

The Hill-Side seems to get a lot of love around here. Sold in lots of shops, too:

http://www.thehill-side.com/

OK, I meant to post a couple of days ago, but then SuFu disappeared and my weekend got really busy. So, apologies to everyone. Now, on the the business at hand- more info about my William Lennon boots.

I've had the 78PTC boots in the waxy tan leather for about a month now. Delivery came about 5 weeks after I placed my order, which is right what the website said it would be. I had to pony up an extra 29.95 pounds for international shipping. Interestingly, the boots were mailed in 2 separate boxes, one boot per box, and arrived on 2 different days. I read somewhere on the web that, due to a quirk in UK shipping rates, this method is actually cheaper than sending the pair in a single box. According to the stamps, William Lennon paid 14.95 per box for shipping, so the company made a whopping 5 pence off me through the exorbitant additional charge.

As for sizing, I don't know how these compare to Alden, Clark, Crockett & Jones, Red Wing, Tricker's, Viberg, Wesco, White's or Wolverine, since I've never owned any of those brands (I know, it's crazy). That said, I'm pretty consistently a size 11 (US) in everything else I own, so I ordered the equivalent size 10 (UK). The boots are big by about 1/2 a size, so I just tossed a pair of insoles in them and now they fit fine. Straight out of the box (well, technically, boxes), they were comfortable. Lots of wiggle room in the toe and a good snug fit through the heel and ankle. No problems whatsoever with chafing or blisters. Due to the massive triple leather sole, these have been slow to break in. I swear, I think it took about a week before I even got them to flex at the ball of the foot.

Overall quality is pretty good. The leather looks good- consistent grain, no blemishes or scarring, good color depth and clarity, etc. They smell great; I love that fresh leather aroma. Stitching is generally good, as well. Soles are, as I said, triple leather and are stitched and brass nailed. The boots are heavy. I haven't weighed them, but I wouldn't be surprised if they're 4+ pounds. They're a bit bulkier than they appear on the website; in fact, I was worried that they'd be Frankenstein-ish. However, when I tried them on, my wife commented, “oh, those don't look as large as I thought they would.†Which is sort of good, I guess... I have received 2-3 compliments on them, which, considering how I dress, is remarkable.

And finally, after all the boring words, here are the slightly less boring pics:

Lighting in this room is terrible, so the color is a bit off, as is the white balance. Damn hotel CFLs.

i'm just gonna keep on beatle's coaster contest for now i guess!

This is the best contest to come along in a while- who's up for coaster sliding?

I know I have sinned, father.

Btw, the dress leather brown is really dark. The chrome excel is a lot lighter.

I prefer them darker....

Haha, no sin there, dude. I was more interested in your impressions once you get them. I have these:

There's not much info out there on William Lennon boots, so it will be nice to get someone else's perspective on them.

denimjunky- Those are lovely. I especially like the all brass eyelets. The leather's not really that dark, though, right? I would have thought they were black without the description.

By the way, didn't you just order a pair of boots from William Lennon?

brownmetallic- That's dedication; pics before even lacing them up and trying them on! Great shot of the sole, too. I love the brass screw construction.

xchen- Fabulous captoes. I really like that color.

Love this thread...

As I recall, trade in elephant hide is highly regulated and is governed by the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES). Typically hides come from animals that died of natural causes, but sometimes from animals that were culled for sustainability reasons; most often rogue bulls.

I picked up a pair of elephant boots a few years ago and did some research on the sourcing before I bought.

You also might want to try emailing Taavi at Nordic Denim House- he's the distributor for Momotaro for Europe and Russia and seems to have a pretty close relationship with the company. I've asked him a couple of questions in the past and he's been helpful and quick with his responses.

It's a shade lighter in real life. Almost looks like a chemical reaction deep in the leather, I can't rub it off or anything.

Would Saddle Soap help for sure? Or is it a "try and see if it works" method?

I think you're definitely in the "try and see if it works" category. Usually treatment products darken leather, not lighten it. I've never seen boots do that before. I sorta like it, though. I say do the exact same thing to the other boot to get them to match and just consider them custom.

Absolute worst case scenario is just to buy another pair. Clarks DBs are, what, $80 or so?

I'm actually glad my thighs won't fit in these. That means I don't have to trust my weak will to hold me back. I don't have any LHT jeans and these would be such a nice addition to my denim stack...

Great pics! How about some details on these- you know, time worn, washes, the usual...

I want to get a pair of Wolverine 1000 Mile BAD but the only thing holding me back is the leather sole......I have never own a pair of shoes/boots with leather sole in my life, For some reason, the leather sole gives me a impression that they would wear out very quickly, so i just wondering how they hold up compare to the usual rubber sole in general? please school me, will rep.

Leather soles will generally wear out more quickly than rubber, especially if you get them wet and do a lot of walking on concrete, like the average city sidewalk. Rubber soles are usually lighter, more flexible, more comfortable, provide better traction and last longer. Leather soles generally provide a more elegant, dressy appearance and on a good pair of shoes or boots, like the 1000 Miles, can be replaced when they wear out. One way to get the benefits of both is to go to a decent shoe repair place and have them apply a rubber half sole (generally called a "sole saver" or "topy"). It's basically just a thin rubber layer that gets attached to the bottom of the sole and provides traction and durability without changing the appearance. Usually costs about 20 bucks and very worth it.

The denim on the butt area is becoming very soft because of the biking I'm doing to class. It would be a good idea to give my jeans frequent washes to strengthen the denim right?

Also, where can I purchase Thunder Soap?

Technically, I don't think washing "strengthens" the denim, per se. More like it gets rid of the dust, dirt, sweat and other detritus that collects in the fibers and grinds them apart at an almost microscopic level. But to answer your basic question, yeah, washing regularly should prolong the life of your jeans, at the expense of super contrasty fades.

I think Blue In Green has some Thunder soap; I know Alex3000 just bought some; you could pm him to check, or you could email Gordon at BiG.

I am getting annoyed by how some of my jeans are very constricting in the balls area.

its like when I sit down my boxers and everything will be going up against my package and it's very uncomfortable.

I am thinking of picking up new jeans, but what factors should i consider if i want to get this resolved?

the front or back rise? size larger?

I'm with Paul T on this one- seems like thigh measurements matter more than rise. If anything, it seems like a longer front rise just means more fabric bunched up around my junk when I'm sitting.

Raleigh Denim is a great story! Very small operation in Raleigh, North Carolina (husband/wife/14 employees). Everything made by hand with Cone Mills denim. Sold mostly in Barneys and small boutiques. I've asked them if you can buy directly. Will post back with an answer.

Last I heard, you can only buy direct if you go to their factory. They don't keep much inventory on hand, since their production is so low; mostly a few odds and ends of discontinued models. They are planning to open a shop, now that they've moved to a new location (at least that's the rumor I heard).

Check here for some additional info:

http://www.superfuture.com/supertalk/showthread.php?t=157482&highlight=raleigh

Almost forgot-

Medine- the Stronghold hickory stripes are fantastic.

Yeah, 0905sp, to be exact. Posted a fit pic about a week ago, I think. I really like the denim; nice weight, really soft and Momos are dark.

Random macro shot-

Color's off, but they are fuzzy.

Really more of a "what were your jeans doing this weekend", but I'm just getting around to downloading the photos...

Anyway, as other parents can attest, around 2-3 years of age, your child starts getting invited to a seemingly endless number of birthday parties. It's gotten to the point where we have a couple of extra presents just lying around for the party we will inevitably forget about until the very last minute. I swear, we go to a party every single weekend. Our current record is 3 in a day. Obligatory cake pic:

Not very good, but I deferred prime position to the dozen or so other parents taking pics. My kid wasn't at the table, so I didn't care. You can't really tell, but the cake toppers are Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker, complete with lightsabers that actually light up. It amazes me that Star Wars and Legos are still just as cool for small boys as they were when I was a small boy...

Then we went out to find a suitable pumpkin for holiday decorations. HoustonBenjamin is a complete camera whore.

We then tried out a new place for barbecue. It's been my experience with bbq that the quality of the food goes up as the appearance of the building goes down. Thus, ramshackle dump=awesome food. Respectable building=crap food. This place was very clean and pretty.

The brisket sucked, and if you can't do decent brisket in Texas, you don't deserve to be a bbq joint. Sausage and cheese grits were pretty good, to be fair, though.

Finally, we convinced our child to try on the jeans we bought for him a while back- Gap selvedge denim. Aside from the awful predistressed finish, not too bad. Again, HoustonBenjamin is a complete camera whore.

^I bought the laces from the Madison Alden shop in NYC when I was in town...They sell them for $6 (waxed as well as non-waxed) and I was told they could also ship them out if you call the shop...

got my new waxed cotton laces from the alden store on madison ave NYC. $7 includes shipping. totally worth it.

thanks whoever it was that posted about getting waxed laces there!

Nice boots, too.

I'd say they turned out really well. As far as I'm concerned, the length is perfect. How do they feel?