ATWM

I had a general awareness of CSF just early enough to probably acquire some in reasonable time if I wanted it, but the old splash page on the website of some try hard chain smoking denim head and the rumblings about the proprietor was enough to put me off. Even moreso at that point, the brand image would speak to me more loudly than an especially well fading denim. But that still remains. That Denimseeker thing was the cherry on top, as noted, I couldn’t fathom how he even thought he had particular rights to those photos which were no doubt owned by the photographer or perhaps a company that they had been signed over to, but photographs don’t just transmutate into IP of whoever comes into possession of them. It was the most entitled shit I’d seen in awhile. And all directed at someone who had intentions that by all accounts looked pretty innocent and passion driven. None of this necessarily applies to Slash from what I’ve seen, I can understand a motivation to limit purchases to in person (maybe not as justification to command a super high price, this is where I get a little skeptical). That said, I’ve got a really hard time giving my money to someone who conducts themselves as an ass on the internet (this goes well beyond denim). I can’t know how they are in person, maybe they’re different at heart, but when all I’ve got to go on is how they present themselves I will take it at face value.

Yea, for me there's a certain sort of internet marketing that really does this as well. I think I've said before I have a lot of sympathy for the grind that is the one person/small business trying to use social media to generate interest and a living - and the sort of pressures that puts on a business and compromises it may demand (not maybe in denim, but in ethos). But just to needle a bit here - being obsessive about patterns and having an uncompromising view of what a good repro is feels hardly unique in this corner, right? I mean, there are other makers with this sort of ethos, even if they land on something a little different - we've long ago concluded there is no *one true repro* for a given year even. But it's like 1) if this dude only wants people who can buy it in person, well alright. I can't do that. Respect to that demand, if it's got to do with him trying to ensure the fit is such and such or people really love it and will have a higher chance of beating it up, or connect to it more given the onus that is put on them for showing up Or 2) if this is a way to generate internet interest and demand for a limited production item and ultimately charge a premium due to said demand then yea, no interest there either. The forum has a few examples of makers who have gotten a big following for their unique craftsmanship and then seemingly crumbled under their own hype, or started running a business in a way that is pretty askew from the sort of historical association that denim conjures. Admittedly, I do think my level of scrutinization of some things is a degree less - well, and maybe scrutinization of other things a degree higher ha. I can understand the best fitting jacket out of a bunch. The little differences in length or width here or there, on the sleeve or down the back or across the shoulder - it can really make all the difference if you've got a few to compare, but that's usually more a combination of the person + maker rather than either alone. That said, I think I'm still not convinced that the hard to getness of it isn't the main thing. Which is fine. Only going off internet pictures and measurements etc. Perhaps one day I get to handle a pair in person and change my mind, but I doubt it. All of that said, this forum is way better obsessing about details than forums about photography equipment. Those places have almost been enough to make me disown my profession! So many words wasted on so little of what makes great photography - but I'll digress and keep it OT here.

I’ve admittedly still got a thing or two to learn about the corners of the repro denim world, but help enlighten me - what’s the unique appeal of Slash? Usually I can squint and see it - a particular detail combined with a particular fabric or pattern etc. So far’s I can tell with Slash it just seems to be the hard to get ness of it. I’m sure I’m missing something - does the fabric look that special? The patterns just a little unique? The sewing a (different) personal touch than other one/two person makers?

Ask any honest dermatologist - needing sunscreen, esp obsessive coverage with high spf reapplied all the time isn’ universal. They’ve just taken the measure that pale skinned people with skin cancer in their lineage need to take and made that public health guidance for everyone because they figure the public can’t parse the nuances. The reality is that the risk profile is different (less) for someone with darker skin and a history of not really burning and no skin cancer in their family, for example. That’s not me though, so I try to be decent enough protection - preferably thru clothes and hats tho.

I’m at the (Lake Michigan) beach a fair amount in summer. As I am right now. Usually a hooded sun shirt and trunks during the day, but the wind coming off the lake often means jeans aren’t a bad idea morning and evening. But guys - for me this linen denim thing is a revelation for me. I got Ues ww2 pair last year, but also de bonne facture made a weave (not selvedge, sorry) and put it in some baggy denim denim trousers that I love - dare say the fabric seems a better quality than what Ues spun up. Less picks, less loom chatter, better color. Both are winners though. Since I’m generally preferring pants even in warmer weather this is the best jean solution I’ve found for warmer days. Once it’s past 85* tho I really have to assess what I’m gonna be doing outside, shorts might still win.

I suppose it was Simo's blood sweat and tears that caused the rust that I got on that first soak!

Rust for me showed up on the first soak and has only gotten marginally more pronounced since then through multiple washes. The water where I am is hard, but not super hard.

^ yea - I’m way less enthused about shoe buying over the internet in general. A good fit is a lot less open to interpretation than with jeans.

Good t shirt

To add - I wear both 38 and 40 in Freewheelers jackets - mostly 40, my 38 is a t shirt only fit. And 38 in a sweatshirt for a trimmer fit. I find one wash freewheelers to be the most comprehensive one wash out there - as in, it shrinks very marginally and I take the one wash measurements to heart. I don't try to factor in shrinkage beyond the one wash measurements with my sizing - hasn't steered me wrong.

De Bonne Facture, WMJ, Clae

Slowly trying to pare down things. Interest check here - I’ve got a pair of black TCB 30’s that were released a couple of years ago. Size 31, hemmed to 31 by TCB. They’re unworn/only tried on. Bought for about $200. Open to offers. Can send more info/measurements if anyone is curious.

It’s been hot as hell where I’m at too and in years past I would have soldiered on in denim but this year, no. I just…don’t need to be intentionally uncomfortable. My cares are gone ha. Mostly wearing cheap old shorts that have stuck in my closet for 10 years or more, but my Ues linen WW2 pair has gotten some time too.

^ Fully support that plan! Sort of lamenting that my Tender stuff isn’t getting enough love these days. For me it’s more a winter brand as I’m all knits and jackets and jeans. Haven’t found shirts that suit me, but that might change once I can try stuff on.

I can’t do those shoes at all, ever really. @Maynard Friedman gets to it for me from an aesthetic perspective. @Double 0 Soul gets it from a wear perspective. Though I’m not personally a fan of chucks beat up or not. I still have some skate shoes hanging around for comfort and function, but don’t much wear beyond the house. Honestly I feel like beat up Birkenstocks are better, but this is why in the end I favor more traditional leather boots and shoes for the most part. Don’t run as much as I used to since I’m on my bike so much but my actual runners are Merrell zero drop trail shoes. I haven’t run in anything padded in a good 15 years now and have felt better for it. Those shoes are ugly as hell (thankfully not as bad as the “toe” shoes) but they last ages because there’s no padding to get shot, it’s just whenever I wear through the sole to my actual foot that I need a new pair. Others pull off these traditional bulky runners, I can dig the look, but I’ve never felt like it suited me. .

^ I’ve not had a mismatch but I have had FC size 29s come up laughably loose in the waist and 31s needing to stretch - both 0105 so theoretically the same cuts but different denims.

Is that getting jettisoned?

We have a few of their sweatshirts in our house. Like them very much. I say “we” because my wife wears them as much as I do.

@rodeo bill Nice! We’ve got a pollinator garden - our milkweed this year has really taken off. But my favorite is our baptisia - (aka wild indigo / false indigo) - could be a good one for your backyard if you get full sun. It has historically been used by Natives for dye even, but is a lot lower yield than the more common indigo dye plants. You also may find you can harvest enough black walnuts in your neighborhood for a batch!

Yea - I’d put the radio hosts in the category of the very successful few that can live like others in solid white collar positions. That’s really a top spot to land. So yea, the top end of even not great jobs can be good. The people that make the majority of the content that media is comprised of…different story. I know a BBC documentarian in London actually - who has been struggling like hell to even get a mortgage - and is approaching mid life crisis age. Even 20-30 years ago when it was better, it was still a highly stratified profession. A few at the top okay, most…let’s say you have to be an idealist. Anyways, I still go on my longer rides in cheap old volcom twill shorts. Can’t do the Lycra! That said…when I did a marathon I wore surf shorts so I’ve never been into the “proper gear” so to speak. Unless it’s corduroy or denim!

Wait wait wait. Gonna do a quick and stupid nitpick here but media? Sure, a few execs have some cash. Really, really successful journalists might live like an average physician. But media is largely a profession for people eking by in studio apartments. I could try and pull out my old invoices and pay stubs for the Guardian or the Times of London to prove my point ha. You could sub in tech, perhaps?

If you’re really curious about it, forget all of the internet research rabbit holes and just go into a bike shop and just spend some time riding a few. So many of the shit you pay for to make your bike nicer is stuff that might give a racer a marginal benefit but is sort of a distraction. If you ever get to the point where you actually have opinions about components and geometry and all that stuff, you’d have already logged quite a few miles and noted what you want to change. I recently purchased my first new bike in nearly 20 years, but before that I had and quite enjoyed a rather cheapish ($450 new in 2007) trek single speed. It was an aluminum frame, cheap components, nothing special by any means. I rode it everywhere for just about everything except total off-road stuff. Took it on 50 mile rides even - not fast but enjoyable. I’m still not very knowledgeable about bikes but it doesn’t stop me from riding 30-60 miles a week just for regular life stuf (this doesn’t count going on a ride for the sake of it, which I occasionally also do). Bottom line - it’s worthwhile if you ride it often, no matter what it is. FWIW - I bought a “bikepacking” bike, https://www.wildebikes.com/products/supertramp which is really just sort of a cruiser/mountainbike thing. It’s just the most comfortable for carrying crap really and deals deftly with the often crappy roads we have here - and then for a gravel ride it’s no problem. It’s absolutely a touch slower than my old single speed - which I still use as well - but that’s not the point.

^ It’s actually not as bad as you think. I’d rather go ride 30-50k on a bike in sweltering weather than walk the golf course. The breeze from bike riding helps. Of all the outdoor stuff I’ve done in sweltering heat riding a bike is lower on the list of miserable ones, short of surfing or being out on the water. Now, I’m not in Texas, but we get heat waves up here and I did spend 5 years in central North Carolina.

Wasn’t this already posted? I’m pretty sure I can’t afford to even check out the home page. I remember one time I looked at it and almost got charged for silently wondering about the return policy. I feel like I’m probably also too unclean to peruse the selection.

^ I wonder how much is the denim itself versus the roping. Mentioning because I just noticed that where I cuff is starting to blow out (in addition to back of the legs) and there’s no stitching there. No doubt the roping might exacerbate but it will be interesting to see if you can get your pair to even reach 18 months…