chicote

Not to go too heavy handed into this, but you’re absolutely right — that idea is foundational to our whole economic system. The whole principle of an “employee” is somebody who produces something (shoes, coffees, tattoos) for their employer, and who in return receives something (a wage). But the workings of the system require that the employee’s wage be overall less valuable than the labor they provide for their employer — the difference between the value an employee produces and the money they actually earn is, to the employer, the basis of “profit”. Foundational economists working in early capitalism understood that the easiest way to maximize profit was to maximize the number of employees an individual employer has, because each new employee is a new source of profit. And as employers obviously prefer employees willing to do the same amount of work for the lowest wage, this formed the basis for the formation of multinational corporations, leading to the modern trend of “offshoring” jobs from Europe and the US to parts of the world where standard wages are far lower. Because this all began in a time when the world’s economic systems were not yet interconnected, it gave rise to the myth that businesses have the capacity for endless growth, and therefore that their profits could increase endlessly, year after year, as their markets expanded around the world. This is the basis for the principle that profit-driven businesses will always tend towards becoming monopolies. It’s also the driving myth behind the stock market, which forces companies to find ways to earn higher and higher profits every year in order to attract investors — an investor, themselves, being a mini-employer of a sort. The alternatives to this business model are more commonly found in small businesses, but not always. The tattoo industry, at least in my experience, has trended more towards “collectives”, where each artist pays a flat rate for rent and supplies each month, and keeps all the rest of the money they earn in the shop. (This is compared to a more traditional model, where 30-50% of each artist’s earnings go to the shop owner, who ends up making far more than any of their employees before doing a single tattoo of their own.) And on a larger scale, we can look at cooperative corporations like Mondragón of Spain, which employs almost 80,000 people, yet pays the highest-earning worker no more than 6 times the salary of the lowest-earning ones. There is a lot to learn from these examples, and though they’re difficult to implement when in direct competition with huge multinational corporations, like your post mentions, I think the ethical position that cooperatives advance and the standard of living they provide are really worth supporting and adopting in larger sectors of the global economy.

Update on my 132s, they have been washed four times now i believe and worn close to four months. Got bitten by a german shepherd a couple days ago, fortunately not hurt badly but the dog did tear a good hole in the left thigh. You can see how little the indigo has faded compared to the fresh hem scrap i patched it with. In the mountains of Veracruz, super beautiful and not too hot this time of year! Riding south this morning:

Or have a tailor make the pockets a little longer! I don’t blame repro makers for not catering specifically to the phone industry… it would be kind of antithetical to the whole idea imo. and phone sizes are getting out of hand anyway! but that’s another topic

I always wondered this about chainstitch history — people talk about chainstitching not existing (in the denim world) until the late 1930s, yet chainstitch machines, of both single- and double- needle varieties, have been produced since the 1850s. Union Special first produced the 43200G in 1939, but it had other industrial chainstitch machines in the 1920s, and perhaps it or other brands did even earlier. So if the technology existed almost 100 years prior, why did people only start hemming with chainstitches in the mid 20th century? And why use such an inefficient (from a thread-use perspective) stitch in the middle of WWII rationing?

I have a pair of 470s that i cut into shorts after a year or so of wear.. they faded slower than most of my indigo jeans but only by a bit.

For those interested (perhaps particularly those in Europe & the UK who aren’t familiar with the development of US automobile culture), this is a great video explaining the reasons why our vehicles are getting bigger and more dangerous year after year.. Just like everything else in this finance-driven society, decisions about what products we are offered are determined by multinational, multi-industry corporate monopolies and the governments they control through lobbying and cronyism, NOT by individual consumers. There are so many reasons why our perfect small environmentally friendly vehicles will never come to bear under this system, and it’s the same reason why our electoral choices are usually limited to two or a handful of politicians who are entirely oblivious to the needs and antagonistic to the desires of the average person. I think if people were given an informed choice, we would choose to have robust public transportation systems, safe and thoughtfully designed communities, localized food systems, affordable healthcare, well-made clothing, and so on, but sadly we have been down this path for a long time already. The incentives driving companies like Shein and Forever 21 to shove billions of disposable garments down our throats are the same ones pushing enormous new trucks and ridiculously expensive EVs that barely anyone can afford to buy outright. It has absolutely nothing to do with consumer choice.

@cultpop 0217 do u have any photos of ur whole boot collection??? I’ve seen so many great ones come thru this thread over the years I’ve lost track of how many you have / maybe you have moved some on too?? anyway would love to see if you feel like sharing!

In a beautiful canyon in west Texas a few days ago. Merino shirt / Duke belt / Tender / Truman boots

Wow that weft colour is really cool

I think the tezo tees are pretty hard wearing actually… the fabric is thicker than my whitesville or Stevenson tees, on par with a vintage hanes heavy maybe. I’ve had a few for almost a year and have no signs of seams or fabric wearing thru. but I haven’t had them long enough to see them start to fall apart so maybe it happens quick. still think u should give em a try double 0!!

thanks yall! @julian-wolf i was always rly taken by the back pockets on this brand steel feather, a European denim maker that was around last decade sometime… they had the selvedge seam running down the middle of the pocket in this same manner. maybe a little over the top on a pair of regular jeans but I feel these are different enough that it works ok. thanks for the kind words!

I just finished rebuilding & modifying my 2000 Kawasaki W650 that I’ve had for a few years… it was a lot of work and money put into it, and I’m really proud of the result. I rebuilt and upgraded the front and rear suspension, adding 1” of length to the rear shocks and balancing it out with a 1” raised custom triple clamp. Rewired the whole bike with a Motogadget solid state control unit and an Ignitech ignition, and mounted a motogadget gauge into the original headlight housing. Cut and rebuilt the fenders, built a custom battery box, replaced the stock CV carbs with Keihin CR Special flat-slides, wired new controls for the handlebars, and replaced pretty much all the other consumable parts on the bike. I was planning on riding this bike to South America but haven’t really gotten to test it enough to really know how it will do on long off-road trails, at altitude, etc., so am taking my old dr650 instead. But I can’t wait to take this out riding again whenever im back in the states!

I got a new pair of size 2 132s a few months back, and after much careful deliberation decided they’re going to be the only pair of jeans im bringing with me to south america. Funnily enough, I brought my first 132s (also size 2) along to Ecuador almost 10 years ago, and though the fabric was great for the work I was doing, I always felt like I was swimming in them. I’m still within 5 pounds of what I weighed then, but somehow this new pair feels much better, almost an ideal cut for the style I like to wear now. But I ended up doing a few modifications for the trip: First, I added suspender buttons.. I made some leather suspenders earlier in the year and wore them exclusively with these pants, mainly cause the waist was still too big. Debating on keeping the buttons on because the waist issue was solved more recently. A couple months back, I darted the waist, about 2cm on each side. Not professional at all, lol, but it did make a huge difference in the fit and allows me to wear them without suspenders or a belt. Then I made some belt loops to replace the ones I removed in order to fit the suspender buttons. Then today, I decided I’d give them a hem, and use the leftover material to add a proper back pocket for my wallet. The drivers’ pockets are great and very comfortable to use, but their size and location further down my thigh, as opposed to against my butt, makes them much looser and less secure, so I’d rather not keep anything valuable in them. This new pocket is just a cut from the hem scrap hand stitched and “riveted” with some Chicago screws (wish I had copper ones to match!). Here’s the final product all together: I’m excited to wear these in on this trip; they’ll be tucked into motorcycle boots a lot so will hopefully get some interesting fades. Thanks for looking!

Turmeric is amazing! If you’re consuming it for its health benefits, it’s recommended to add a bit of black pepper alongside it. The polyphenols curcumin (from turmeric) and piperine (from peppercorns) taken together greatly increase the former’s bioavailability, meaning it’ll be much more readily absorbed by the body. One of my favorite coffee additives is a masala (spice blend) i had while in India years ago. I came across it in the wonderful cookbook Masala by Anita Jaisinghani - highly highly recommended as a cookbook but also an introduction to Indian spices, their traditional and Ayurvedic uses, and the culinary and cultural histories of the subcontinent. Anyway, it’s as follows: Coffee Masala (adapted from Anita Jaisinghani) 4 cinnamon sticks 2 tablespoons black peppercorns 2 tablespoons green cardamom pods 2 star anise pods 1/2 teaspoon whole cloves Ground turmeric, to taste (I recommend 2-3 teaspoons to start, turmeric has a very strong flavor by weight) Roast all spices, except turmeric, on a baking sheet in a 300 degree F oven (150 C) until fragrant, 3-4 minutes. Let cool about 20 minutes, then grind in a spice mill or mortar and pestle to a powder. Add turmeric as desired. Mix into coffee grounds before brewing. Makes a great latte as well!

I really like that fit on you personally, and the denim will continue to shrink all round over time (not sure how much with this particular fabric but I assume a good bit). A slightly higher cuff (or small hem) can make a big difference in the drape as well, especially when the fabric’s broken in a bit more. I think one or two cuff turns, with no break, really helps give structure to the leg on these wider cuts.

I want to let you all know that the amount of time you spend publicly agonizing over sizing will be factored into your scores at the end of the contest... let that be some encouragement for those of you who consider it an easy choice...

Just a word of caution - i had some quoddy mocs (high tops w a crepe sole) that had basically zero structure in the heel cup, and led to the sole slipping to the outside of my heel and screwing up my walking posture for years after. i was 19 so not rly paying attention to those things at the time, but i would definitely not do it over again if i could! Hopefully their newer models have a bit more structure.

I’ve just started wearing my 2nd pair of 40s also!! I forgot how much i love the fit, every other pair’s front rise feels inadequate in comparison. Looking forward to seeing how urs turn out scooby!

Found this t shirt washed up on the beach while at the San Juan islands a couple months ago… the sun bleached an amazing pattern onto it! worn with Duke belt and Stevensons

Hey everyone! leaving for south america in the next few weeks so going thru my closet a bit, selling a lot of shirts, jackets (sz 36) and pants (29-30). Let me know if you want any closer photos, just wanted to get a couple quick ones to not stuff up the thread. Happy to take any reasonable offers. Thank you! Freewheelers Union Special Overalls, 30x34 - bought these new and wore them a couple of times to work, but never really found the stripe pattern worked for me. Inseam hemmed to 30". Beautiful details including one-piece fly, painted suspender buttons and lined cinch. $140 Waist 77cm Front Rise 33cm Back Rise 38cm Thigh 31cm Knee 24cm Hem 21.5cm Inseam 76cm Denime Wego/McCoys era jeans, W30 - i got these from roomtemplacroix a couple of years ago and never wore them, doesn't look like he did either. Nice, tightly woven denim that i'd guess at around 14oz, and a 60's-ish cut. There might be more info about them online but I'm not sure where to find it. $90 Waist 72cm Front Rise 28cm Back Rise 34cm Thigh 29cm Knee 23cm Hem 19.5cm Inseam 77cm Belafonte Herringbone Twill Linen/Cotton Workshirt sz 36 - bought this new a couple of years ago, wore maybe a dozen times and then washed and put away. This fabric is lovely, 62% cotton, 38% linen, really soft and dense, feels almost like brushed flannel, but I have a pair of pants in the same material and decided I need to keep one or the other lol. $150 Length 70cm Shoulder 41cm Sleeve length 62cm Chest 50cm Stevenson Overall Mechanic's Workshirt sz 36 - really lovely shirt featuring an indigo-dyed herringbone twill with contrasting indigo-dyed collar and cuffs. Just not planning on bringing it with me on the bike, so it's gonna go. Worn only a handful of times, still looks new and only slightly faded. $100 Length 67cm Shoulder 42cm Sleeve length 60cm Chest 46.5cm

I’ve rly been missing a contest, was sad the TCB one fell thru.. the direction we’re going with this one sounds great!!

Too faded?! Those are perfect! But there is definitely a tipping point around that area for everyone. Great job with those!

That’s amazing!! Great work!

Picked these up for $30 this week, I’m really happy with them! Can’t tell how much they’ve faded but they don’t seem too worn.

I have a pair of 132d size 2 and had to dart the waist to get them to fit me without a belt… the waist was at least 31” before taking it in. I’d expect the same model in size 4 to be far too large to wear, especially if you normally take a size 1. For reference, i am a 29-30 in all other brands.