bloom

^I really like the pink details on that one. If the fabric feels like when you were a kid, and assuming you’re at least 40 years old, that bodes very well. Wear it in good health, @vIGGiou riou

This sounds very good, thanks! While I have seen and tried some things from BBJ that I didn’t like all that much (mainly because for years I kept confusing them with Pure Blue Japan and one other producer, and thus got a bit disappointed), they’ve also made some really lovely things. Soft, gauzy shirt-jackets, one old flannel etc. In both cases the hand of the fabric was what appealed to me, which is pretty crucial in the case of a scarf. Finding one can be tricky though…

Excellent suggestions from both, thanks! Never heard of Hillside before. Of course Tender makes some good ones, I should have known. I like the idea of making my own, just make a little folded hem and try not to stitch myself up in the process. Wonder how long it would take to soften.

Anyone know where to find a decent indigo scarf? There were some beautiful ones made with African indigo a few years back, I seem to recall, and, I think, very nice ones from some American outfit that I would never buy jeans from. But can’t seem to find any now. Vintage would certainly be of interest, too.

Well I for one would like to thank the two previous posters for going public in birks and socks. Not only do I find it stylish, and strongly correlated to an attitude of solidarity and healthy politics, but it also contributes to less foot and back problems for the wearer, thus reducing the future strain placed on the public health system.

It’s been both fun and educational following your struggles, @MJF9. Bonus points for bringing a launderette into the experiment. I’ve recently subjected a pair of jeans to similar punishment (no launderette, though), and arrived at approximately the same conclusion. I’m my case the waist did shrink to a somewhat more appropriate size, but stretched out again quickly. I lost like half a cm from hem to knee, where I didn’t need or want any shrink, and where it stretched out unevenly. Also didn’t do the hand of the fabric, or the proportions in leg or top block any favours, even though it’s hard to say exactly where the changes in measurements occurred. The one place it didn’t change at all, was the seat/peak of back rise, i.e. the only part of the pants I was looking to shrink (to reduce unbecoming protuberance of fabric, remniniscent of part of a ducks anatomy). So I basically just reduced a pair of Japanese denim to a decent pair of dad washed Gap-jeans, that don’t fit all too well in the back.

Ha! This is the first time that meme has made any sense to me. 711s are really nice, if only the rise (most of all the back rise) had been a bit higher. The rest is so perfect in a slightly off-kilter way, probably due to being based on a children’s model. But I feel like someone’s chopped off an inch between my thighs and my waist, and they give me permanent light wedgie, so I end up not using them much. Except slightly sagged, with an untucked shirt over, in summer. Love how the cut + fabric sort of drapes to give a slight flare effect, least they do on my pair of AA711s.

This sounds pretty good to me. Which isn’t helping. Tell me more about stitches popping and blow outs and slipping on a banana peel while wearing these, it could save me like $200.

An educated guess from you is as good as the shipping forecast. My list of 66 type models to try is outgrowing my life expectancy, plus I’m worried I’ll outgrow the mid/low rises and slim fits faster than I can fade them. Time is ruthless. Given how much I like the high rise of the sc66s, maybe I should give the 221 a chance. Man, you people are like highly specialized enablers, whatever happened to financial responsibility and having just one good pair of jeans? I have no blame in this.

Thanks @Jeef1, thanks @southofnonorth, that pretty much solves the sizing question for me. Thanks @beautiful_FrEaK! Now that you mentioned it, I see that some of my jeans do have those little metal thingies, while others don’t. Also the patches are indeed made of different materials. Having absorbed this information and let it sit in my head for a while, I don’t think these details will affect my well-being much unless I decide to start eating my jeans. I guess fit and the denim itself are what I care about. The 220s look really good on all of you guys, so maybe I’ll wait and hope they’re re-stocked. but what’s this about a pair of 66s? Anyone know how much they will differ from the 221s? From the images and measurements, I got the impression that the 221s are not all that dissimilar to, say, SC66. Historically I’ve loved 66-types, despite having a hard time finding one with enough room in the thighs but without too much diaper-inducing leeway in the back rise and seat. Tough balancing act.

^those look great, and way older than they are (you started on them just a few months back, right?). ^^^fit is very good, MJF9, I reckon those will break in perfectly. has anyone come to terms with their own pair enough to comment on sizing compared to, say, WH1001X, or SC1966? Or Resolute 714, for that matter. Want to try a pair, but can’t make sense of the sizing charts (way varied, and reported shrinkage also seems to vary a lot). also, thoughts on choosing the 221 vs the 220? Leaning towards the 221, as the 220 seems closer to what I’ve already got going. Main criteria though, is to get as quickly as possible to something similar to those soft 501s of my childhood. Or to something out of Two lane blacktop, which probably amounts to the same thing.

I have no idea who that is. Is he rather private, a bit paranoid and has almost zero online presence? (but the jeans definitely came from you, and I remember it was a pleasure dealing with you. Thanks, mate! Btw, I think you pull off the Hayashi-look very well).

For reference, here’s a pair of the AA710s in size W34L33, that I bought some years ago from a German guy who was into cosplaying a Japanese gentleman half his size. Looser in the waist and slightly higher rise, but they actually fit pretty much the same as the blue w32s above. So yoga is still out of the question. Ah, that doesn’t sound good. With the 710s I find it’s mainly the lower thighs and especially around the knees that are limiting. Perhaps the thread should be renamed to “ankle freezers, ball crushers and knee tremblers”. Though I have a feeling at least one of these terms has a double meaning that I don’t fully grasp.

Thanks! I'll find use for both. The 710s are good with a shirt, and I can wash them whenever. Gave the 714s a 60'wash to get the shrink out, didn't seem to do all that much except take an inch out of the inseam. Playing with the idea of wearing them for trips in the woods + handywork for a month or two, and not washing them too much, see if it gets any interesting results at all. Not sure I want to prioritize them for a long time, though, been wanting to try either a Freewheeler 661 (I think), a Warehouse of the kind used in the competition you had recently, or a TCB of some kind, and live in them for a while. Just to see what my life looks like. Ah, so you're the one running up bills in my name, making inappropriate jokes during meetings and generally ruining my reputation. Always did suspect it wasn't really me doing all that.

«The horror! The horror!»

Actually pulled out the remaining résolûtes last week, to compare denim with the new 714. Turns out six months of little/no serious exercise, lots of stress and forgetting to eat has shrunk my thighs. Wouldn’t recommend it, probably took a few years off of my total life expectancy, but at least the skinny Japanese jeans fit me better. Still snug around the knees and thighs. Here’s a pair of 710 W32L34. Seemed to remember I gave up on these after two uncomfortable weeks, but they have a bit of wear. The box of expensive jeans reminded me why I gave up on this interest for quite some time - I’m world champion of mis-sizing, and the few pairs I almost got right were more or less sabotaged by hemming. And I don’t even care for the hunt, or have OCD, I just wanted decent jeans like the old Levi’s hand-me-downs I wore as a kid. Too much fuss. On the other hand, it now reminds me why I bothered in the first place. Specifically for this pair, the denim is just really, really nice. In a completely unspectacular way, I mean, just nice.

With Resolute, after dealing with a few pairs of 710s and even more pairs of AA710 (or whatever their code were), I’ve come to think of the numbers on the tag more like haikus than numbers corresponding to actual measurements. I’m usually a 31, but a 32-34 in the 710s, and a 32 in 711 (though back rise is a bit voracious). Not sure what I should choose in 712, if I ever decide to try those as well. However, the 714s are almost like normal jeans, i.e. 31” almost equals thirty-one inches, with regards to waist. So my w32s are very generous. They’ll work fine, but I would’ve gone for a W31L34 if I were to order again. Comfy, and lots of cuffing possible. Denim loosened up a lot after wash, the back rise not a problem at all. Waist band slightly sloppy, could easily slip a bottle of barolo or a Walkman down my trouser leg without unbuttoning.

^oh man, those photos remind me of Penelope Fitzgerald's "Offshore". Did you manage to stay off the cannons? Not sure I could've.

Btw, the pictures above are definitely of quilts from Gee's bend. The bottom one is by Annie Mae Young.

That sounds pretty great. If you should happen to still have it, I hope you'll consider posting a photo of it. Big fan of quilts and textiles myself, the women in my family made them too, up until the late 80s (around the time I showed up). So I grew up with quilted blankets, bedcovers, one on the wall...but was too late to pick it up myself, unfortunately. They weren't made of denim, though, and unsurprisingly not anywhere near the level of what was made in Gee's bend, aesthetically. Still hard to get hold of good books on the subject (rare, expensive, oop), but the online resources seem to have gotten a lot better since I first learnt of their existence: https://www.soulsgrowndeep.org/gees-bend-quiltmakers

Photo above came to mind after seeing Mr. Uncle Frank post his freshly cleaned TCB in the other thread. Working my way slowly through this thread from the beginning, both out of interest and to avoid too much repetition. Not sure I’ll succeed. But these popped up early on. Anyone know whether these are quilts from Gee’s Bend?

I did, actually, received them today. First experience buying from Bears, and it was great. Fast and neat and discreet. I like this model, I think. Finally enough space in the thighs without sizing way up. I got a 32/36, so up one from my WH1001 (though I could probably take a 32 in those), and SC66 (very comfortable). Still a bit close in the back rise, but not like the 711s, which creep up beyond the borders of my comfort zone. Giving them a 40’ wash now. As was stated by someone above, the length does not quite correspond what it says on the tag. The “36” is actually closer to 33” (before hit wash). Personally I quite like the ankle freezer look, as I wear a lot of blazers etc for work, and could have gone with L34 (which would probably mean an actual 31). but since I’ve managed to hem all my other favorite jeans on the shorter side, underestimating further shrinkage, this time I wanted something I can cuff for once.

Didn't know about Tender co until recently, when I saw a photo here of some hippie looking dashing in what I learned was a "900 jacket", apparently while selling vegetables at a farmer's market. Went in search of said jacket, but no luck. I did however find an indigo cotton sweater, something I've been after for a long time. Turns out it's the same as pictured a few posts above. Just want to say it's one of the most beautiful and unusual garments I've handled. Also probably the nicest commercial transaction I've ever had.

That jacket looks really good. Which version is it? Had it long? Also like the way you matched the color of t-shirt and shoes. Always good to know which pair of legs goes with which upper body. Easy to get mixed up, specially in crowded tubes, and I personally hate getting home with the wrong torso.