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Cold Summer

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Everything posted by Cold Summer

  1. I'm sure this has been brought up at some point before, but... anybody ever hand-paint arcs/anything else on their jeans?! I love the painted arcs on my Flat Head 3003xx, and I could see myself wanting to re-paint/touch them up as they wear away. What kind of paint do you use? Any particular techniques? My wife has a Cricut so it seems like it'd be easy to make a stencil/template at home and just paint that, but I wondered if any of y'all have done something like this recently.
  2. @AlientoyWorkmachineI basically spent my childhood in Texas but moved to north Georgia when I was eleven, and I've been here ever since, excepting the several years I spent in Japan. So this probably explains why I'm not necessarily/especially what one might consider "Texan" in his behavior/outlook (though I am a big fan of the western style, so I guess there's that?) Living here for a long time, I suppose I tend to identify more at this point with some aspect of the local culture. Economic decay and opioid addiction, amongst other things, has really taken a toll on the South, what lower-class people really need are good blue-collar jobs and a sense of purpose, and unfortunately there's less to go around than before. So... I guess that means we gotta make the Toyo Enterprises equivalent for Dixie in Alabama, or something like that?!
  3. The Dixie/Southeastern perspective is more complex than the popular caricature of angry rednecks shooting at stuff. There's definitely some truth to the stereotype, but it's more nuanced than you might expect. I'll try my best to give some kind of insight. I'm originally from Houston, TX, very different mid/southwestern culture that probably has more in common with Ohio than Alabama. And where I live in Georgia is right on the border of Dixie culture and Appalachia, which is itself a very distinct culture which nevertheless has some overlap with Dixie. I'm much more at home in Appalachian culture and identify much more strongly with it. Appalachia is characterized by cultural things like bluegrass music and the seemingly-contradictory fiercely independent and self sufficient, yet intricately intertwined community and family life. Appalachia is Scots-Irish, which goes a long way toward explaining this sort of cultural character. Dixie on the other hand is really encapsulated by things like college football mania, where your allegiance to the University of Alabama or Auburn and so on is a sort of tribal identity, and there's this very stratified, almost pseudo-aristocratic social environment imported from England and still ensconced in the cultural unconscious. And the gun-totin' rednecks... are at the bottom of that hierarchy. The (white) people at the bottom can be hostile toward blacks, for instance, because they might feel threatened by the only ones lower on the totem pole than them who might snatch what little honor and pride they have for themselves. And between being on the losing end of the Civil War and bearing the brunt of Reconstruction, the Great Depression, and more, there are generations of grievances and bitterness about things, and a wariness toward outsiders who can come across as carpetbaggers showing up to take what little scraps they proudly cling to as their own. Dixie people, especially those on the poorer and rural end of things, often feel like they're been under attack for over 150 years. And that is why it could be hard to convince Dixie locals to let you pick through their abandoned buildings. As much as I'd love to collect cool vintage loot, I definitely sympathize with where reticent locals are coming from, even if I don't necessarily agree.
  4. Not sure what the best place to post this is, but I saw this cool video about hunting for vintage clothing in the southeast US. I live in this region and it's always something I've wondered about, so it was fascinating getting a bit of insight into this question. Long story short, there is probably quite a bit of vintage loot hidden away in closed stores and buildings, but compared to abandoned farm houses in Idaho or California there's a much greater risk of a pissed-off owner or neighbor shooting you for trespassing. On the other hand, I'm only about three hours away from JR's Western World, so, uh, maybe I should take a trip there sometime?!
  5. That's interesting. I've sold dozens of things on Grailed since 2015 or so and I can't remember ever getting any scam/phishing inquiries like that.
  6. Wesco Mister Lou, the newer version made from Maryam veg tanned horsehide! My favorite shoes by far. The stitching is not as clean as a Japanese brand like John Lofgren, but the fit, profile, materials, style, etc. is perfect for me.
  7. Flat Head 3003xx. Also, video fit version on Instagram. Absurdly rare and special dead stock pair from the pre-lawsuit era of TFH, made between 2004-2007. Flat Head's WWII model, with olive herringbone pocket bags, no coin pocket rivets, painted arcs, red tab, regular rise, straight leg. I got this pair about a year ago off Buyee and finally got around to washing these, and I'm in love. Easily the best fitting TFH pair I've worn. A very unique and special pair.
  8. What kind of joke-ass business says "lol, yeah we get too many emails so we just don't bother replying to them"? Totally unprofessional. Hopefully you can get at least some of your money back.
  9. Been a while since I posted an update in this thread. Here's where we're at: Active Flat Head 3005, 32 - Q4 2021-Present. 11~12 months. Main pair at the moment. These will probably need repairs in a few months. Flat Head 3005XXX, 32 - Q3 2018-Present. About 2 years of wear. Repaired by Indigo Proof in 2021. These might have another month or two of wear before needing knee, rear end, hem repairs. Warehouse 800xx, 31 - Q4 2020 - Present. ~10 months. Repaired by Indigo Proof at 9 months of wear. I wear these sometimes, will probably be my main pair again in the future. Flat Head 7002W Shirt, 40 - Q2 2015 - Present. 1.5~2 years of wear. Elbows repaired by Indigo Proof in 2017. Flat Head 6002W denim jacket, 44 - Q3 2023 - Present. This jacket showed very light signs of wear when I bought it from Japan, I've since added 4~6 months of wear. Inactive Warehouse 1001xx, 31 - Q3 2021 - Present. ~12 months. My "summer jeans," perfect for the warm months. These have various points of damage and need repairs. Will get worn a lot more in the future, after repair. Retired Samurai S710xx, 31 - Q3 2012-2021. 12+ months. I occasionally still wear these, but they're functionally retired. Flat Head 3009, 32 Q4 2012 - Q3 2013. Unknown wears, probably at least 1.5 years. Retired, used for repair scraps. Flat Head 1001, 32 Q3 2013 - Q4 2014. 9~10 months. On display at Rivet & Hide. 3Sixteen ST-120x, 31 - 2015 - 2018. 540 wears. On display at Guilty Party. 3Sixteen RH15, 30 - 2017 - Q2 2018. 366 wears. Various points of damage, and too tight. Full Count 1108, 31 - Q1 2019 - Q3 2021. 13 months. On display at Guilty Party. Stashed Away Flat Head 3003xx, 32 - Dead stock, pre-Levis lawsuit model with painted arcs, red tab. Flat Head 1005, 32 - 16 oz Exceed denim, production from before 2013. Flat Head 3005-AI, 32 - Dead stock, natural indigo mix denim. Analysis I'm mostly wearing older pairs and attempting to put further wear and fading into them, and doubt I'm going to start on a new pair in the next year or so. In 2025, both pairs of TFH 3005s will hit the point where they need critical repairs, and I'll probably get at least one of them fixed and keep wearing. I'm planning to get the Warehouse 1001xx fixed and continue to put wear into them. My 6002W Type II is my main denim top, but I still wear the 7002W shirt one or two times a week. In spring 2025, it'll be the tenth anniversary of my purchase of this shirt, and I'll do a big photo dump/feature on it around then.
  10. My favorite band Gleemer has a tight new album out today. Their sound is a terrific blend of 90s American alt rock, dream pop, and slowcore. Here's a video for one of their new songs. (My profile picture is the cover of their 2015 classic "Moving Away," in case you wondered.) Also, music video by Soft Blue Shimmer, my other favorite band and another dream pop/shoegaze inspired group, produced by Gleemer's frontman Corey Coffman, who is a prolific and talented producer. I feel like ethereal indie rock goes well with the denim nerd lifestyle, but I'm pretty sure that's just me and @youngofthesoonest.
  11. If I'm starting on a fresh pair of unsanforized jeans, I usually turn them inside out, give them a hot wash in the machine, with soap, low spin to get out excess water, and then hang dry. Between the water temperature, agitation, and soap, I find that this gets all the "natural" shrinkage out at once. It's also extremely simple and convenient. Like others have said, there will be less shrinkage with a cold wash, or with just soaking in cold or hot water in a bucket, bath tub, etc., but there will be additional shrinkage that comes out with future washes until it reaches the fully "natural" shrunk state, and it's better to get it all out of the way at once. For one, if your jeans are going to end up too small for you, you should find out right away rather than after you've already put time and effort into them, but it's also pretty annoying if your jeans shrink further, and your creases no longer line up with the fades you already put into your jeans. If you tumble dry, you can get additional shrinkage beyond that which would occur with just a wash + hang dry routine, which can be handy if you've hot washed and they're still a little big. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother. Some people like what tumble drying does to the patch, stitching, and texture of the denim, but I don't.
  12. I've always liked the look of SDA's jeans, but they're one of the brands with cuts that just absolutely seem like they wouldn't work for me. Hopefully you have better luck! My Warehouse 800xx and 1001xx are the best fitting pairs I've found, for my very western body shape (tall and slim.) The Buzz Rickson 1930s chinos fit even better, and the Sugar Cane 1955 look like they have a similar fit based on posted measurements. So any of those might be worth a look. Big problem with Warehouse is the short inseam, but I was fortunate to get the Self Edge versions that are longer.
  13. I find it surprising that we rarely see any unsanforized denim with broken twill unless it's a rare Wrangler-specific repro. Leg twist doesn't bother me much but I'm sure I'd enjoy something like a broken twill version of WH Banner denim.
  14. There's not actually any denim in this photo, but it's too good not to share. From Traces Of Texas on FB/IG. I especially like the hats and outerwear.
  15. I got an iPhone 6S when it came out in fall 2015, and used one all the way until fall 2021. Then I got an iPhone SE, which is pretty much the same form factor as the 6S, just with newer hardware inside. It's still going strong so I suspect I'll keep using it until something catastrophic happens or it's no longer supported. I've never felt like I needed a bigger phone with tons of cameras or other features. I feel like a bigger, fancier phone would just tempt me to use it more, which isn't really appealing since I waste enough time on the phone as-is.
  16. Interesting discussion on the hemming. My FC 1108s did have a nice, narrow hem width. Ditto for my WH 1001xx, maybe my favorite narrow hem ever. However, the hem on my WH 800xx was different, and maybe the thickest width of any of the Japanese repro jeans I've had. It's similar to the hem on my TFH 3005, etc. But the TFH denim and WH 800xx denim is 14.5 oz, so I think the heavier weight is probably why the hem is a bit thicker on those. In other words, if you like that really clean, narrow hem, 14 oz or lighter denim is more likely to have it. Being quite a tall fellow myself, I almost never need my jeans hemmed. The only pair that really needed it were my Samura S710xx. I wore the factory hem for probably about 4-6 months, before I had them hemmed at a Flat Head Dessert Hills Market store in Ueda, Nagano in 2013. To my surprise, this new hem had a ton of roping, even though the denim had long since fully shrunk before that. This made me wonder if there was something about that particular 43200G machine (or maybe just the inexperience of my coworker, who was working at the store that day and operated the machine, clearly having a hard time hemming the 19 oz denim.)
  17. That's right, the D11... jeans are the Zimbabwe cotton denim which is completely different from the 3000-series. I haven't handled this denim personally, but it seems nice. I like that Flat Head only has a couple of great denim fabrics, as opposed to other prominent brands that constantly churn out new, and in my opinion rather gimmicky, denim. TFH used to make 12, 16, 18, 19, and 20 oz denim, plus some others (anybody else remember the Kevlar blend denim?!) but most of them were just slight variations on the usual 14.5 oz fabric with heavier weights, and maybe slight changes to the weave. They all looked like TFH denim, for better or worse. This rather conservative approach to their denim may have contributed to the decline of TFH's prominence in the international denim fan community, but when your core denim is as good as Flat Head's, I really don't think it's a problem. It has a refinement I find lacking in a lot of trendier brands' exaggerated fabrics. Actually, I now quite like the old 5000-series fabric TFH used to make in their 2000s heyday, similar to the 14.5 with a strong vertical fade, but slightly lighter weight at 14 oz and lighter color with fewer dips than the 14.5. I wouldn't mind if they brought that one back.
  18. Not sure. I've seen that phrase "doshaburi" on Flat Head's social media but I think it's some sort of slogan rather than a description of any objective aspect of their jeans. I've seen some people say that Flat Head's 14.5 oz. denim has changed, but I haven't handled any TFH jeans from the reorganized/revived version of TFH so I actually don't know how it differs from the "old" denim, if at all. I'd have to defer with somebody with hands-on experience. I really regret popularizing the terminology of calling it the "Pioneer" denim way back when. Before <10 years ago everyone called it "3XXX", which I found to be an eyesore and disliked (Plus, how do you even say that? "three ex-ex-ex"?) Long ago on TFH's site (and other retailer sites in Japan), the 3000-series jeans were called the "Pioneer" series, to differentiate from the "Frontier" series consisting of the F310, F380, and a couple more obscure models like the F370 and F350. But it's not even a good descriptor since both the "Pioneer" and "Frontier" lines actually used the same denim, and TFH stopped using Pioneer/Frontier terminology a long time ago, AND many TFH jeans that didn't even start with the "3" used that denim, too. Nowadays, I just call the 14.5 oz their usual/signature denim, for whatever that's worth. Kind of an off-topic rant, but something that's been on my mind lately.
  19. I'm pretty sure those are almost the same and just minor seasonal tweaks/variations, since things like thread color can vary. TFH has been using the "FN" prefix for everything since they reorganized a few years ago. "XXX" connotes the overseas version of their jeans which has the F-stitch rather than the "Levis"-esque arcs on the JDM 3000 series jeans. For instance, I have two pairs of 3005s, one a 3005XXX bought from Self Edge, the other 3005s a JDM model from 2014. They have different stitch colors and patches, but the denim and cut are the same. It's hard to compare from those two pics because the lighting and such is totally different. They have the exact same patch, it just looks different due to the light, and it's hard for me to say if the denim is different. That being said, I've never seen the "FN-3005 N1 XXX" before so I'm not sure what exactly "N1" indicates, whether it's an actual difference or just a slight, seasonal variation of the product name.
  20. Here’s my other pair of 3005, my main jeans at the moment. I think these have been worn about ten months. Washed three times.
  21. My 1001s, from back in 2014: And a grail-level pair of 1005s I photographed at TFH headquarters back in 2013:
  22. Posted an update of my 3005XXX jeans in the Evo thread, check it out. I also started wearing the 1005s I got about a year ago. Compared to my 3005s in the same tag size 32, these are slightly more relaxed, which I like. After a warm wash with other denim laundry, the inseam shrank from almost 38" down to 35", making these quite pleasantly long with some modest stacking for some Dad Fit vibes overall. This is the first pair I've begun wearing since I stopped cuffing my jeans and putting wallets or other stuff in the back pockets, so it'll be nice to see a little different evo on these compared to my past pairs. Very comfy jeans from day one, thanks to the fit. Back in 2013-14 I wore the 1001, so I have some familiarity with the 16 oz denim. It's imperceptibly heavier than TFH's usual 14.5, but it feels like a slightly looser/stretchier weave, and has a slightly rougher hand. In my experience with the 1001, I felt that this 16 oz denim aged much faster than the 14.5 oz, which is one of the slower-fading fabrics out there unless you're wearing your jeans super tight like in SuFu's late 2000s heyday. I got great fades out of my 1001 despite a fairly frequent washing schedule of every other month. With this pair, I'll probably hold off as long as I can before the first wash for some rather different evo. Otherwise, the main things that stand out with this pair is that the back pockets are larger than other TFH jeans, giving a slightly different impression; and the front pocket openings are also larger, making this the easiest TFH pair for me to fit my hands into. Unlike my second pair of 3005s, these don't have the double poly-cotton/cotton stitching on the front pocket openings and back pocket edges, so we'll see how long that stitching lasts. For what it's worth, in the nine months of wear I put into my 1001s, the back pocket edge stitching didn't break at all.
  23. Flat Head 3005XXX. Worn since August 2018. I lost track of wear time, but I think they’re around 20 months of actual wear. Easily my most worn jeans ever, and washed countless times. I wore these jeans the most over the past summer. I stopped cuffing them and wearing a wallet in the back pocket in this same time. Still tons of life left in these. The hem, knees, and rear end/back rise seam all need or will soon need repairs. The jeans were previously repaired at Indigo Proof in 2020 or so, where the front pocket openings were expanded, the pocket bags replaced with deeper ones, back pocket stitching repaired, and cuff tears repaired. It's been quite impressive that I managed to wear these for so long without the knees blowing out, though they're pretty close now.
  24. Nailed it. One of the interesting things that's happened as I've become aware of all this, is how much it feels like our whole Left vs. Right dichotomy is a bit contrived and involves a lot narrative-manipulation on both sides. Eventually you (or, well, me) come to the conclusion that the "free market" and corporations are bad, international finance is bad, government is bad, and the whole thing is just this big mess that can't be tidily distilled down into a prepackaged political position. This results in me feeling like I'm the most extremist maniac of anybody I know, while also paradoxically being able to sympathize with the average person's position regardless of where they fall on the spectrum. It's a bit of a strange and lonely place to be. Oh, I'm talking more about on the level of the auto industry and its moves, more than a push directly on consumers.
  25. I think a lot of people feel this way and that's why the average car age in the US is at an all-time high. 90s and 2000s cars were generally well made and reliable so I think that's also a big part of why so many are still on the road in the US. Exactly. Driving and maintaining an old car is better for the environment than building a new electric car. And when you consider that the electricity that powers the EV battery is often generated by methods that aren't great for the environment either, the whole battery-powered car push really does just seem like kicking the can down the road, at best. If people decide an EV is best for their use case that's fine, but the whole societal push to impose them on everybody smacks of ulterior motives. Forget time travel and hoverboards, the technology from Back To The Future I most want is the "Mister Fusion" car-reactor that turns trash into energy! What a great concept. Maybe any kind of reactor-powered car is a pipe dream but I find it more compelling than battery-powered cars. The thing that really struck me as crazy when I drove my dad's truck is that it's got this absurdly huge blind spot in the front, the super-tall fenders, big wheels, and ride height all contribute to a massive zone where you just can't see anything in front of you. In my wagon I can easily see anything in any direction, down to the height of a toddler, but in big tall cars the visibility plain sucks. My CR-V fares somewhat better, but it's still not great.
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