DhaDha

I used to think Roy wasn't interesting until i copped a pair, but you have to be a specific kind of denim nerd to really be into his stuff. Neat sewing details, clean and tidy aesthetic, as oppose to Japanese extravaganza a la samurai gold plated button and silver selvedge accent, must be your cup of tea. Regarding his Cone, i have handled a lot of run of the mill cone, and LVC Cones, and a pair of Roy i have. LVC Cones are a step or two above standard sanforized cone and Roy's Cone is a head and shoulder above LVC Cones. Very characterful in a subtle way. No, they won't have high contract flaking fades like Japanese denim, but i think they have their own characters and charms.  However, if you look back to his RoyXCone denim, you see they can provide relatively high contract fades too, and his latest black seed denim should deliver similarly (I'm wanting a pair in the face of a change in my dress code dismissing jeans from my vernacular wardrobe).

 

And allow me to digress back to my earlier point regarding named denim houses. Like i said, Viapana and few others denim tailors are based here in Bangkok, and he has a killer Nihon Menpu 40400 denim I could have commissioned easily. Now Viapana is an experienced denim tailor who knows his stuff and can churn out quality stuff with all the right detailings. But given the choice I would still plunge for  original Sugar Cane SC40400, it wouldn't be a contest. There are lots of places who can make details-corrected bespoke/MTM denim yet a lot of us wouldn't go for them (notice the disdain for 3x1 orLevi's bespoke program amongst denimheads this side of the web). and yet, i bet that if Samurai/SDA/Momo/PBJ/FH starts offering MTM/Bespoke cut in their denim with all the correct detailing many of us would jump at the opportunity, given that distance/communication aren't a factor.     

 

I'm not suggesting we are brandwhore, at least not to the extent that hypebeaster and fashion victim arctypes are. we are brand-oriented insofar as the brand we are into uphold the values we ourselves uphold, and for most of us these are craftsmanship, materials. vintage detailings, more classical/heritage aesthetic, community, and a level of transparency in garment production and supply chains. Most, if not all the brands we like fit the bills, and that is why some made in china (red cloud/ sauce zhen, etc.), Indonesian (old blues/sage/sagara) and other non-japanese asian brands can easily be accepted in this side of menswear than in other subset: they uphold these value to the point of fetishize-ing them.

 

Moreover, it is the narrative different denim houses spin to us the consumers. The japanese has a very specific image they portray, and specific lores that go with their products. Most of us buy into them. American products present a different narrative, and so does one man brand, and on and on. Roy presents his in a particular, specific fashion, and you either like it or you don't,just like some of us don't like Iron Heart or Samurai. The problem with unknown private denim operation, even if they offer MTM/bespoke service, and much like the situation with classical/formal tailoring too, is that they do not offer the same kind of values and narrative proposition we can buy into and play along, or do but they do not suit our preference.

 

After all, we wear the cloths we wish to be seen in and be transformed into a crafted identity of our own choosing, and the easiest way to achieve that and present it to the world at large is to buy into a pre-existing narratives of the brands we support, even if only a limited subset of population can ever hope to understand us and play along in our game of playing a part in the social structures. 

indeed, perfect fit!

yeah, from what i garnered, Savile Row bespoke usually goes for £3-5K, but if you go for very very fine and expensive fabric price could go up more. one day....a man can dream. 

 

I actually just bought Ralph Lauren Black Label suit. They are actually, again from what i garnered on style forum and the likes, good quality suits, mid-high market, and high-end for Purple Label line, so is Tom Ford. RLBL/RLPL suitings are made by Caruso, a very respectable Italian house, in Italy. They do charge a lot for their suit though, and the consensus seems to be that they are value on discount, and not worth it at MSRP (a price no sane person pays). i got mine NWT about 65% off tag price from good old eBay. 

 

There's an interesting point though, and this steer this thread towards all thing denim blunders, reflections and general nonsense. apba1166 just mentioned how you could go to tailor and get a suit made with the same fabric as high end branded stuff for 1/3 the price, and they might be better too (more suited to your need). Well with denim you could get all sort of fabrics, even the supposedly rare natural indigo dyed ones (sugar cane *wink wink*) and get those made into jeans for a lot lower prices. And yet, we still buy a lot of the branded stuff. granted, most of our beloved brand got exclusive fabric you can't get anywhere else, but all else being equal i would wager that people would still buy the branded stuff, even if they can customise a MTO denim whatever way they like. I for one would rather get sugar cane 40400, if i could find a raw pair in my size, than go to a tailor who has a 40400 denim (i know 1 or 2 here) and get them made into jeans, even with all the blinks blinks i can think of. i'm still struggling to find out why that is. authenticity? originality? love for brand? why do you guys think that is?

of course. There are tons of them here where i live (Bangkok), and most of them can do a custom suit for cheap (3-400 bucks). But really, while dollar to dollar local bespoke might provide better value than OTR suits, ultimately you get what you pay for. Cheaper tailors will cut corner somewhere, some visible, some none. Things like full canvassing, handiworks, etc still cost money no matter where you go, and top tailor in Bangkok still command about 1-2000 USD. 

 

And while i will never get OTR suit for 4-5,000 (Attolini, Brioni, Oxxford, Tom Ford, etc) i still think there's still something to be had from top end bespoke from Savil Row or Neapolitan Houses. House style, impeccable materials and fits, all play into it. But then those cost like $5,000-10,000.  

yeah, thanks for the responses. i guess there's no helping it. on the plus side i will probably be able to afford more jeans.....that i can't wear more than 8 days a months. oh the irony haha. 

 

I'm actually interested in exploring other subset of menswear as well, especially tailoring and bespoke. i've been reading blogs like permanent style, parisian gentleman, the shoe snob and whatnot. while they are miles away from where we are at superdenim, i find a lot of emphasis on similar topics: fit, material, construction, the fact that well made garments look better and last longer, etc etc. each subset has their own charm and nooks and crannies to explore, to be sure. 

 

problem with tailoring is, well, price. you could get top-tier denim from sammy, momo, FH and the rest for $300-350, or even natural indigo jawnz for $8-900 max. shirt, etc. cost similarly so you're looking at $600. top tier RTW suit goes somewhere around $3-4000. tailoring is more expensive, more difficult to wear, difficult to maintain, and not as rugged. and we are not even talking about bespoke joint too.

 

beside, it's not as fun. when you see tailoring meet-up, it is always well dressed men&women sipping champagne in some classy setting, whereas all the parties i see you guy getting up too to be filled with beer and good laugh. the ambient is totally different. there's no sense of community where you go, oh XX-san is releasing new fit in new fabric, all made by himself and he's throwing a competition, or Roy making quirky patch for his next jeans and Kiya let us in on the brewing magic. you can't go to various denim blog and ogle at faded pairs, or looking at raw denim and thinking how they will fade. all these don't exist anywhere else in the menswear world, that's a given.

 

damn, i'm gona miss the days where i can wear my jeans all the time. for the past 4 years i thought these days would never end. alas, no party never ends. 

urgh guys, i've arrived to the point where my life/work situation no longer permit me to be cladded in denim 365 days a year. i'm changing work place into a more conservative environment (corporate banking) and when i asked my boss if i could still wear jeans and sports jacket i was told to get a new wardrobe and suits (predictable, but worth a shot). how do you guys even balance work and denim wearing life? just wear them on weekend/casual friday, and abandon the glory of achieving sick fades and/or win DWC competition? the way things go, i'll probably have to drop out from DWC, and having less time to wear casual clothing and/or work/heritage/ametora wears i probably won't be as interested in the scene as much as now, which is rather strange considering for the past few years i've worn nothing but. 

 

any of you work in the bizness world and balance out your denim/amekaji fix with wearing suit and tie? do you feel like you want to change job and work in retails or denim mills just so you could fades your jeans? 

Thanks chicote!

 

the first pic was a charcoal making site in a small village north of thailand. i don't know what exactly was going on but presumably they were clearing some space for charcoal kiln (they were making them from bamboo). 

i haven't posted photographs of what i have been through in a while. it will be too heavy a post string to started from where i left off so i'll just post december stuff. Nothing much really. things were more interesting in the few months i haven't posted anything, with me hosting 2 photo exhibition at local art venues here in Bangkok and went on a few work-related field trips (power plants inspections again) in Thailand. 

 

but here's december. photo from various places in Thailand (i really haven't left the country in a long while). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

cont. 

 

i don't really put anything in my pack pockets (or fronts), but the arcs start to wear off now. 

 

 

 

here's hoping the chain stitches do not unravel any further

 

 

hardwares starting to acquire patina and/or rusting

 

 

 

hidden rivets starting to rust

 

 

buttons back starting to show some brass

 

 

additional home repairs. chain stitch started to break in a few places, and pack pocket will need stitch reinforcement soon

 

 

 

looking forward to the rest of the competition. with 2/3 of the way to go, if i could continue to wear them down they are sure to look nice by the end of it. 

great roping on those max!

 

happy new year everyone!

 

here's my red cloud 25 oz at exactly 7 months (210 wears). i gave them another soak here and the denim's really starting to shine.

 

 

 

 

 

details

 

pooling

 

 

very regular weave

 

 

honeycombs

 

 

 

deerskin patch ages nicely

 

yes i agree, totally a handsome pair of jeans right there!

Happy New Year Guys!

 

for the last few months of last year I was contemplating picking up a pair of boots in red/burgundy colourway. Lofgren's Donkey Puncher and Flat Head's Medallion Work Boots being the top contenders, with Julian Bowery being a close third. They were all available in Thailand and share similar profiles and price point. Problem was they all retailed about $8-900 here in Thailand, which made the decision to cop them not too easy, and i couldn't really decide which one. 

 

Then a few days ago Pronto came out with a pretty aggressive White's Deal, with final price being 20-30% cheaper than if i were to order directly from White's themselves or Baker's (White's retails here about 30-40% more expensive than in the States owing to TAX/VAT/profit making imperative). Having touched them all in shops, while of course Japanese-made boots are more impeccably made than White's, the value proposition of White's now became unmatched by any other pairs I was considering. At almost half price cheaper, it was a no brainer. Speaking of which, even if White's aren't as well made aesthetically, they feel like they could take more of a beating than either Lofgren or FH. Well they are real work boots as opposes to fashion boots, so no surprise there.

 

Since these Bounty Hunter were custom ordered by Pronto, I don't know the exact configuration. They are in Smooth Red Dog leather, single sole, roll top, cap toe with single celastic toe box, vibram 269 sole, antique hook and eyelet. These are 8D, which fits me perfectly. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now that i have White's i know what they are all about. Make all my other boots (red wings/oak street/dry bones) and italian/english dress shoe look insubstantial by comparison. my next boots purchase will now be a tough decision, with wanting more White's on the one hand and wanting to try out Wesco/Viberg/etc. on the other. 

i love FH 7001. mine's coming along nicely. shame yours don't fit you anymore. 

not trying to break a good streak here but there was a thread dedicated to personal grails just a few months back where people were doing exactly just this, what happened to that thread? 

 

on another note, how do people feel about 'retiring' a pair of jeans just after they reached a point where they are beginning to look like the kind of distressed designer jeans some particular subset of people shove $300+ for? i always find it kind of weird that the jeans get retired right where they are presumably, at least in the popular perception, at their most aesthetical. sometimes it seems most people in raw denim community just wear jeans to get sick fades, and to wear the most pair as possible,  and not to wear jeans with sick fades.

damn those are beautiful shoes Crat!

real talk man... Dhadha if you grow an extra 2 inches over the holidays holla at cha boy

haha, don't hold your breath though, i haven't gained weight in the past few years. 

pudaspriest's sammy is probably the most advanced super heavyweight pair at the moment. kudos to him. the rest of us must catch up!

As if guys from Clutch just crashed Petti Uomo and DGAF. swagged out. 

 

not general nonsense but i just wanted to post a photo for you guys.  just roll them cuffs and don't care what people think of you!!

 

both goes on my cop list. soon. 

Damn what's the denim on these? could you give more details?

 

 

sample

1 years+ of wear | 2 washes

 

Details :

 

 

 

 

http://andewhall.bigcartel.com/new-sr13

 

damn, these look good. 

i agree. button down oxford shirts are ace. simple, clean and classic. button up all the way only works if you layer it with jacket/sportscoat imo, otherwise it looks too contrived. 

Where do you live?  I live in Florida in the US and we just had a record breaking week with the high being 90 on Monday this week.  I can only hope Winter strikes back as hard as Summer has hit us.

 

Bangkok, Thailand. it's usually 28-35 on a bad day, and during summer it could get up to 38 (degree Celsius, i don't know Fahrenheit), but it is really the humidity that's the killer. it makes wearing heavy weight denim feels very much  like a portable sauna. 

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/nov/15/tattoos-are-my-personal-art-collection-they-say-im-brave-not-rebellious?CMP=fb_gu

 

Look at the jeans she's wearing!