dwilson123

Cool belt I dig it

Bunch of Flat Head.

Hopefully not I need to buy short sleeve shirts for summer!

?Huh? - I meant The Real McCoy's Buco J-100 cafe racer jacket is a close 2nd/tie to TFH brown leather jacket. I do like some of the detailing of TFH's jackets, like the side belts and curved rear yoke. But there's a lot to said for the simplicity of the Buco J-100. 

My bad I thought you meant the TFH Buco inspired jacket

http://www.selfedge.com/the-flat-head?product_id=1413

Haha I think the TFH's buco has way more attitude than the cafe racer

That Flat Head brown horsehide jacket is pretty much my dream leather jacket, if only it were made in a 46 or 48. 

Yeah its beautiful.  A TFH horsehide jacket is on my list of what I want someday but will probably never be able to bring myself to spend that much.  The cafe racer is beautiful as well but that brown one is more my style.

How much is the proxy going to save you? $20 after paying their fees?  To me it seems beneficial (and convenient) as a customer to be able to contact RMC, IH, or any other brand and order any item in their catalog and have it shipped straight to me at an amount a bit higher than the current exchange, but lower than where the current US retail is.  

Savings depends on quantity of the purchase and exchange rates and all that.  If the Yen takes another nose dive and suddenly trades at like 1USD=200YEN it would be impossible for the web shop to constantly try to keep up with what a "fair" price should be for overseas customers.

Then this leads me into the other issue where now you're asking the brand manufacturer to be a store as well.  Places like the stores on Rakuten, SE and the like exist for a reason.  Brands don't want to have to keep all this inventory themselves they want to sell bulk orders to other retailers.  But in this model they'd be forced to keep a sizable quantity of every item they're producing on-hand.  I doubt they'd be too keen on doing that simply to appease Western retailers.

Either way like Kiya said if a brand really wants to be international it can't make it so it is drasitically cheaper buying it on Rakuten.  It makes no sense in the long run that a pair of IH jeans are $150 cheaper on Vari compared to SE.  So I get why IH is doing it I'm just saying that it isn't for me.  Luckily IH is pretty far away from being one of my favorite brands (though I do like the items I have) but it sets a tone that I'd be upset to see if TFH follows and pulls all Rakuten items.

Seems like putting off the inevitable, that at some point a retail store won't matter.  To me the logical end will be a brand web store, and how much you pay depends on where the item is being shipped to.

 

I'll use my favorite brand of Warehouse as an example.  You log into the site, and want to buy a pair of model 800. They're currently 20,250 yen (roughly $178 as of today).  With the idea I have above, they'd ship to the US, but the US price would be something like $240 (not $178).  They'll go to the UK for 160 British Pounds (not 122). And if people want to run a retail store, they'll charge the same amount as the brand web store would for their particular country, and they're not allowed to ship to anyone outside their country.  This benefits everyone involved.  Brand controls the price, a store in the US wouldn't have to worry about competing with retailers in Japan and a weak yen, and consumers will have access to a brand's entire line without a retailer having to stock items there's minimal market for.  

I feel like that would just encourage proxies way more.  So in the end the customer still gets the short end because instead of being able to just conveniently buy items I have to go through the process of finding a proxy.

I really like the tight neck hole on flathead THC t shirts, and am looking for something a little cheaper this summer/spring. Anyone with experiences on LadyWhiteCo tees and their neck tightness, and if they retain their shape over washes? 

Like Kiya said TSG's neck hole is super, super tight.  To the point that I find it a tad annoying because it messes up my usual shower routine of doing my hair prior to putting on my t-shirt.  When I'm wearing a TSG shirt that day I have to make sure the shirt is on before I style my hair or I'll have to re-do it because the neck hole is smaller than my head.

-edit-

Missed the part about cheapness.  Sorry I'm not sure of inexpensive shirts with a tight neck.

Hasn't it been always hard to get the full IH range from Japan? I used a proxy to order from rebirth & craft a few times, as T Shirts etc. weren't available from rakuten. IMO they just did what other brands try now - you have a strong western market with "exclusive retailers" and yet denimio or rakuten is available for a fracture of the price. IH simply anticipated that and seperated the markets.

Yeah you could rarely find their workshirts and the variety they have at SE/IHUK but you could get some basics like their yearly flannels, jeans and t-shirts via Rakuten.  Only a handful of shops stocked their stuff.  I've been getting less and less interested in IH in general so this move to shut out Rakuten (a practice I already don't like very much) just makes it easier for me to jump ship on the brand.

Also I saw a thread in passing on /r/rawdenim saying that Iron Heart won't be available through Rakuten?  I didn't really delve deeper to confirm.  Anyone hear about that?  If so I guess I'm probably done with Iron Heart.

As for ONI it was a brand I was super interested in when I first started getting into Japanese denim.  The stars just never aligned for me to get a pair when they were exclusive to BiG.  Anymore they feel like they've just sold out and have gone all-in on just making whacky fabrics to appeal to novice denim fans just getting into Japanese raw.  It is easy to justify spending a ton of cash on a pair of pants when you are getting this fabric you'd never see in a department store so I get the appeal.  But with the mediocre construction and mediocre quality and the gaudyness of the denim I've pretty much lost all interest in the brand completely.  Now that they're in bed with Denimio so heavily the original appeal of the brand of being secret and exclusive is 100% gone which was originally a driving force behind them.  Now they're just another Japanese denim brand putting out mediocre products so everyone on reddit can jerk off their siq slubz.

I also agree with Ben where I get this odd feeling where Denimio is just trying to cash in on the Japanese raw denim craze.  Everything about them feels forced and not genuine.  I will grant they do have outstanding prices and customer service.

As we're having this discussion over at the IHF and I think it apllies to other brands as well: What's your opinion on limited stuff (and the possibility of remaking it)? It seems like there are the collectors that value some items more because they're rare. They strongly oppose a remake of those items. I, on the other hand, would prefer the approach of a full broad range of stuff, that's always available. Let's say like the core range of TFH or RMC. I'd also like to see some of the rare stuff being remade to have a wider choice.

 

While I think it's cool to own limited stuff I prefer being able to chosse to buy it whenever I have the funds and not just when the Special release becomes available. I also think that some items just land in collections and don't get the wear they deserve to become really beautiful. Sometimes I feel like the value of that stuff is just seen in the possession, not the use. And speaking of clothes, especially raw denim, that's a weird development IMO.

I admit I got nervous and jumped on my PBJ 24-005's from BiG because I was nervous I'd never see them again.  I know R&H did another run of 24oz PBJ denim but I believe those were weaved on different looms than the original PBJ 24's which were on the older PBJ looms known for their characteristic chatter.  But I could just be making shit up I honestly don't know.

I'm actually bummed I never jumped on TSG heavyweights they put out.  From what I understand TSG has no interest in doing another heavyweight run.

Echoing blueroute.  I have a pair of tagged 31 TSG 3109's and everything except for the waist fits great ... which fits more like a 33 or so.  So I wouldn't size up on TSG.

So The Flat Head wabash is really tempting me.

Trying to decide if a 44 WR would work or should I look into the 48 I've seen at 2nd.

I know, those are kind of big size discrepancies. I only have one Flat Head shirt being the spring weight buffalo check flannel. It fits great in the chest and the shoulders, but the body is a bit too tapered for my beer belly.

I wish 2nd would just post some measurements. In an ideal world I think if a 46WR existed I would go for it.

Or should I just give up on finding a FH shirt that works for me? Leaning toward it.

The diamond & dots wabash?  I'd recommend sizing up.  My 38 TFH HNW-52W's (aka the Western heavy winter flannel) fit like a perfect glove @ 38 but my 38 TFH Wabash doesn't close well due to the chest so I generally have to leave it open.  So if you're between sizes I'd high recommend getting the bigger one.

I think that you can still shrink them by using a machine with hot water.

 

I wash by themselves in the hottest water my machine offers, on either a normal or heavy duty setting, but definitely never delicate. The spin cycle is on, and in fact the jeans are stuck to sides of the machine when I pull them out, that's how fast it spins.

 

I've never had any streaks on my denim, and I have a theory that that is only going to happen when you're washing stupidly heavy ounce denim that can't move, but is instead always creased thanks to it's thickness. Since Flat Head's denim is a normal 14.5 oz, I don't think it's a problem... Also why I recommend soaking the jeans before hand for like 5 minutes to make sure that they don't go into the washing machine with pre-set creases.

 

Note that my washing machine is a top loading with no agitator.

I've washed my jeans every time in my front-loader washing machine inside out on high heat, spin and with normal Tide detergent.  Regardless of the weight, length of wear or anything I've never gotten the fabled washing machine creases or streaks.

Maybe look into a looser weave denim like TSG 5XXX line or Oni's lighter weight stuff?  Sometimes weight isn't everything.  Like my PBJ 24oz are pretty wearable in the summer but my Iron Heart XHS are completely impossible to wear when it is hot.

Where was the sweater from?

Its just an SNS Stark.  A pretty common piece but it is by far my most complimented piece I own.

I'd say it's a medium weight. Little bit thicker than an a Flat Head THC shirt, but probably more breathable.

I'm wearing a 38 in all shirts in the picture. I'm 5'7" like 145 lbs. I wear a 40 in THC shirts. This shirt fits similarly to other FH block check flannels.

Thanks.  Sounds like we're pretty similar dimensions I'm just a hair taller.  I'm having issues pulling the trigger since the long sleeve winter flannels are the same price as the short sleeved summer ones which seems a bit odd.

In regards to people not knowing about these brands, how much they cost, or even about raw denim in general: has anyone ever been approached or asked about their jeans? I'm curious how an interaction like that would go and how the person reacted to learning about how much can actually go into a pair of jeans.

Only once.  It was when I first got my PBJ's and my aunt liked the leaf on the back pocket and wanted to get some for my cousin.  After I told her you can either buy them from BiG or import them she was out.

The latest was my wife's parents I was wearing a $300 sweater for Christmas because her grandmother wanted to buy the same thing so I was kind of cornered since she wanted me to show her where to buy it on google

Same with the wallet lanyard, I just like how it looks. I don't think people understand it as me "flashing expensive accessories", same as with 99% of people having no idea what my jeans cost.

Aye if I was concerned with people knowing how much my clothes cost I wouldn't wear brands that hardly anyone knows what they are and let alone how much they cost.

And my lanyard is just a really simply and getting quite old leather strip lanyard from Kicking Mule Workshop.  It just has brass hardware and is maybe a foot long.  It isn't braided and it doesn't have tassles and beads on it but I do think those lanyards are pretty cool.

Hell, I've even seen a few middle-aged ladies in Japan rocking little lanyards. Maybe this stuff is going the way of the aunties.

I'm so hipster I take my fashion notes from Japanese retirement homes

I second that, man. Although I sold all my long wallet gear just because after I moved back to the US from Japan it kinda became irrelevant, now I just use my FH card case as my wallet and use pretty much only cards. I'm still kinda tempted to buy some new Redmoon gear when I start wearing my S0500xx daily, though.

Yeah functionally I have no need for the long wallet.  I just really like the way it looks.  I haven't paid for anything with actual cash in years so it is a bit funny I have this giant wallet only to pull out a credit card.

And that black cordovan wallet of yours was sick.  I was actually a bit bummed I bought my TSG long wallet maybe a month or so before you listed yours because I would have snatched that up immediately.

I haven't followed but does TFH always do that charcoal trim on the zip cardigan?  I really like that accent.

Haha yeah, and I guess you can notice that all over the world. I live in a mid-size city in Bavaria, and it's always 1 year behind in fashion compared to Munich, not even to speak of Berlin. I don't notice stuff like that but my wife likes to comment on these things, like she can't do some new trend because you can't even buy it in stores here yet, or sometimes she'll get comments from weirded out colleagues when one year later they'll wear the very same thing.

Yeah obviously since I'm posting on a clothing related forum I'm usually a bit more recent than most of the people around here.  Its really funny when my wife says something about this new direction I'm taking my wardrobe and then a few years later you see it everywhere.  Like when we first started dating and I was explaining raw denim to her.  Then you see people cuffing selvage everywhere.  Then I got big into the MiUSA kick for a bit and then that is catching on pretty heavily.  I really need long wallets and leather wallet keepers to come into mainstream so I can be right about that one as well!