ColonelAngus

On 6/3/2023 at 7:30 AM, Hopethisoneisnttaken said:

Anybody else here experiences the “if it’s not Japanese than I’m not buying it” syndrome? Even if I know the quality is there, even if I know the western body design will fit my body better, it still doesn’t matter and I keep thinking “if it was Japanese it was probably better”. I know I’m obviously wrong, it’s just a voice in my head that keep popping. 

I used to think this way until I actually owned several Japanese brands that were underwhelming. I think it depends on the specific garment you’re buying/wearing and how much you’re abusing that item of clothing. Some Japanese brands are worse than others but social media hype keeps them alive. I tend to give jeans a pass because those will disintegrate over time regardless. 

21 hours ago, buler said:

Have you owned any Darn Tough socks?  Saying they "don't hold a candle" seems a bit strong. I have over 20 pair of Darn Tough and have owned some for 8-10 years. No holes, no problems. They make everything from over the calf snowboarding socks to thin no shows. I wear them year round from 90+ to below zero weather. If someone asks for a sock recommendation, I have no hesitation to recommend them. GoBros.com routinely has them on 25% off sales if anyone is interested in trying them.

I’m a huge fan of Darn Tough for the quality but also their rock solid guarantee. I also like Smartwool. The only brand I don’t get is Anonymousism. Quite possibly the worst brand ever. I had two pairs that I bought 8 yrs ago and those got holes in them within 6 months. For a Japanese brand their quality sucks

4 hours ago, jake431 said:

I've had the same problem. I think I've had mine for 4 years now. I do have some fades happening, but honestly, if I knew it was gonna stay so almost but not quite black, I'd probably have just gone for a black IH type3.

My first world problem is that I simply don’t wear mine enough as it’s relegated to Fall/Spring. I think washing it would definitely bring out the fades but I’m taking the wabi sabi approach. 
 

I also have the 21oz type III and that doesn’t get worn at all because I can’t get the damned buttons fastened lol

Still trying to get evo on my IH overdyed type III. This doesn’t give up the fades easily, despite having it for awhile 

Do any of you know of any US companies that can re-sole work boots? I have a pair of moc toe/wedge sole boots and would like to have lug soles put on for better traction. What are my options?

Denim pet peeve: jeans with small front pockets. I’ve put an old pair of denim in rotation from United Stock Dry Goods and the front pockets really suck, as in they have no depth. I don’t know if this was a cost saving measure or just poorly thought out. Pretty much all my other jeans have decently deep pockets. Any of you experience this? 

I’d also like to add that my interest in denim was piqued when I kept seeing pics of selvedge. I thought it looked kinda unique and cool and started researching brands. Nowadays my interest isn’t nearly as pronounced as before. I haven’t bought new denim in awhile and I’m making the effort to wear all the cheap jeans I bought years ago. 

8 hours ago, oomslokop said:

i modified this question from another hobby's forum:

what's the one pair of jeans that sealed your love of jeans? share a comment or a pic! 

My first real pair were the SL-120 shadow selvedge from 3sixteen in 2014. Still have them and they’re beat to hell and in dire need of repair. Haven’t looked back since 

On 3/2/2023 at 3:12 AM, Double 0 Soul said:

I still remember the exact moment of getting this album home from Warp.. i think i'd heard mention of A Tribe Called Quest on a Jungle Brothers track but back in 1990 i knew nothing of their music.. i put the needle on the record and for the first 40 seconds I thought.. Oh No!.. what the flip have i bought here?.. then the bass kicks and faith was restored.

 

I was fortunate enough to have seen ATCQ open for the Beastie Boys back when Hello Nasty came out (‘98 or ‘99?). Great show 

Indigo Proof appears to be highly regarded, so if you don’t mind waiting I’d go that route. Otherwise, not sure if SE has a wait period nor do I know the extent of their repair services. Best to reach out to Kiya about that 

Think I’m gonna jump on these when they’re available. The ones that came out in Fall ‘22 didn’t do anything for me, so I’m glad there are color variants I like this time. 

2 hours ago, Talan said:

Did I accuse anyone of anything? I was merely expressing the opinion that it is insensitive to serve meat and alcohol in a restaurant that positions itself as a traditional Indian restaurant. It's equally insensitive to serve pork or non-halal food in a Muslim restaurant. Or serve non-kosher in traditional Jewish restaurant. If someone wants to mix everything in the world, that's fine with me. It' makes no sense to demand sensitivity from anyone and everyone. All is fine.
 

You’re not one of these woke ideologues that had to undergo sensitivity training are you? 

Heavy Shartillery

Who makes a decent pair of thermal bottoms that don’t disintegrate? The issue I have is that every pair I buy the back of the calf area always wears through because of friction and I wind up with holes. Is this inevitable regardless of brand, or does someone out there make tough as nails thermal bottoms that are bomb proof?

4 hours ago, indigoeagle said:

For many Japanese manufacturers the domestic market is already quite sufficient.
When I was in Japan many years ago, a Japanese friend had told me that.
We can see, how quickly Freewheelers or Warehouse items are sold out. The CSF fan festival with big queues of people, all wearing jeans and jeans jackets shows similarly, how sought after these brands are.
Also brands like Cushman, Jelado and others are not that widely available outside Japan.
I think, the international market is nice additional revenue, but not of large importance. But it might have changed in recent years.

I can imagine, that it's a difficult decision.
With many businesses.
Do I want to expand? Internationally? New product categories? Not only raw denim, but distressed/washed denim?
It can pay off, but it can also causes organizational challenges or alienate the original customer segment.

I think Covid really hurt some of these companies, especially those without large international reach. I’d argue that a lot of these companies would have gone under without their international customers 

I don’t know what it is about Freenote but I just don’t like them. Although, I do like the Wells jacket they put out recently 

I need sizing advice on Air Jordan 1’s. I wear a size 10 New Balance 574 and size 10 in Onitsuka Tiger. Would I also wear a 10 in the Jordan’s?

Some denim companies have done quite well scaling internationally for sure. But we’ve also seen inflation run amok on goods and services. At some point prices will continue to go up, especially when you look at Japan’s aging work force with not many to replace them. It’s just like blue collar labor in America. Those jobs are in high demand and pay well but the pool of labor to replace them at retirement is quite low.
 

I just think if denim companies reach a point where they’re charging $400 or $500 for jeans then consumers are going to stop buying, or at the very least scale back on spending. There are still brands charging $250 or less, so there’s still a market out there. My two cents, which is worthless 

2 hours ago, Talan said:

On the other hand, there will always be people who will readily buy a product just because it has moved into a higher price category. 

True, but I’m assuming that pool of consumers is dwindling. I understand that companies will do what they have to to stay afloat but it could also backfire and not give them the financial boost they need. It’s hard enough to get consumers to dish out $200+ for denim let alone $300+.  

2 hours ago, Double 0 Soul said:

I'm not making a comparrison here!

It's already happened for me and a lot of other traditional crafts people besides.. when i finished my 6yr apprenticeship as a master pattern maker, i was the youngest fully time served master pattern maker in Sheffield.. i still am and i'm pushing 50!.. all the skills i've amassed over my lifetime.. all the knowledge i've acquired from my predecessors will die with me, the difference being my skills don't reflect my declining culture.. a lot of other folks who've studied crafts.. roof thatchers ect still have an application for their skills in the modern world but all my skills based around traditional pattern making techniques, wood carving and such have become redundant as my industry has been taken over by computerised robots.

That massive corebox, i posted in the other thread would have taken me 240hrs to carve two halves by hand, each section accurately carved out and built like a 3D jigsaw puzzle flowing through one section to the other, all done using a spoke shave and carving gouges.. nowadays that would be made from a solid block of modelboard carved out by robotic arm following a computer program in 1/10th of the time.

In 20yrs time there will still be peple making traditional NA jewelry.. sadly nobody will be making traditional pattern equipment.. as we move into the next phase of AI reliant humanity.. the wealthy will own the AI but without a basic universal income we will have no money to buy the crap these robots churn out so at least i'll be a person of leisure.. which is really all i've ever wanted

I think you’re shorting yourself, especially if you’ve got woodcarving/woodworking skills. I agree that automation is slowly killing those types of jobs but I think it’s about finding your own niche and promoting your skillset versus relying on some company to take advantage of it. I’ve seen people on IG who have lucrative businesses making furniture out of reclaimed wood, which I think is pretty cool. 

When it comes to ‘cultural appropriation’, especially in the fashion sense, it all boils down to intent. 99.9% of the time I don’t care how someone chooses to dress, wear their hair or whatever.
 

Back in the 1990’s everyone I knew had dreads. I never subscribed to that look because I knew there was a cultural/religious reasoning behind it, yet the ones who had them were mostly white hipsters.
 

With that said, my personal disdain for dreads as a fashionable look is pointless. I also don’t think people that have dreads are doing so out of disrespect or to caricature another culture. They do it because they like the look. I also think nowadays everyone is looking for something to be offended by. 

1 hour ago, Double 0 Soul said:

I have no clue who he is.. but if he causes gaping holes in the arse of my jawnz.. then yes!

He’s a character from the tv show Seinfeld. There’s an episode where he carries a gargantuan wallet around his back pocket

8 minutes ago, Double 0 Soul said:

2009 I used to go to the boozer with a short SDA wallet in my back pocket.. (no wallet jewelry, i wasn't a complete twat) ..it was that fat, i would struggle to take it out of my pocket at the bar.. pulling and twisting my hips for leverage.. remind me how cool we were again.. i forget?!

You had the George Costanza wallet 

2 hours ago, Broark said:

Sincerely hope this look doesn't make a resurgence. Also the Native American imagery is still fairly prevalent in a lot of Japanese brands, always thought it was very strange.

It’s not that strange to me. Japan has always had a penchant for Western style/fashion or non-Japanese trends. This is why when you go to Japan you’ll often see people who dye their hair blonde, wear blue contacts, get afros, etc. I think it’s because when you’re living in a homogeneous society you tend to embrace culture that’s different from yours. In Japan everyone looks and behaves the same and there are social norms in place that expect everyone to conform. All of a sudden non-Japanese culture starts to look appealing. I don’t believe Japanese people dress a certain way to disrespect anyone. They do it as a form of flattery, even if us Westerners think they’re being culturally insensitive.