ATWM

It was my first FW piece and while I don’t have that many overall, I’m not sure anything has topped it. I’d probably buy a backup if they ever ran it back.

S516xx. Probably gonna get a wash soon. Can’t remember the last time it had one, maybe even 2023. I have a lot of jackets so none of them develop too quickly but this gets a lot of use in the colder months. It’s a really soft denim these days but started out quite stiff. My favorite part so far is probably the puckering on the hem.

I enjoy these discussions @Double 0 Soul @Cold Summer As for me, to be honest I’m actually uncomfortable with how much stuff I’ve bought over the last few years - much of it fantastic Sufu stuff. Some not, but just as nice. I keep telling myself I’ve stocked up and can just enjoy it all for the next decade plus. (Not uncommon!) I’ve liked clothes for as long as I can remember long time but was always totally hamstrung by finances - including growing up. Originally got into raw denim loving the idea of a really long lasting pair that you made your own, and my first pair was just that - I bought some Raleighs - a very stiff and unique chevron blue/black denim that were about ~$300 magically at a local Nordstrom Rack discount store in Raleigh, NC for $50 and wore them for a few years in rotation with a few cheap 511’s I already had and wanted nothing more. When that pair started to end its life and I decided to see what else was out there that might be a better pattern was when trouble started. After denim I’d say my primary interest was in indigo itself and natural dyes over, say, nice t shirts or workwear or Americana or mod subculture (happily writing in a Muji t shirt). I was at a pretty slow pace until the pandemic hit when I had more time to learn and my work of going out into the world and photographing was very limited. It was a covid rabbit hole of sorts. Then about a year or two after that my son had some life altering health shit happen at a very young age and while it clarified that nothing else much mattered, it also had the weird effect of me giving myself permission to just go nuts for awhile, especially after he returned to good health (which still seems miraculous to me - and is by no means future guaranteed). My son’s health episode traumatized everyone close to him, and we have a good amount of family nearby. So it didn’t help that my wife essentially became a bit (but only a bit) supportive of this weird retail therapy. I’ve always had a bit of a collector bug but it’s always been tempered by time, and my preference to just be outside doing shit - which is harder both during the pandemic and also in some phases of parenting. It’s never been as bad as some people I know, and I always told myself I was limiting it to photobooks - which is still my best, but still not great collection. But really I did start to collect some clothes along the way - specifically jackets followed by jeans. I’ve hardly sold anything I’ve picked up (aside from some fullcount pieces) and I really do enjoy what I’ve got, but partially joined the contest just to encourage slowing down. I really love the stuff that I’ve got and just try to wear it the best I can. Not sure I’ll ever go totally no buy. Being more realistic, at best I really want to get back to my old pace which was usually only a pair and a jacket a year or so. The one sort of exception is that I really do like getting stuff from the really small brands and makers - especially like Tender or Ooe, or now WMJ or Duke too. It feels not so different than buying the books my friends write or photograph (except even better, really because they see more of the money), or buying their art. I want these people to continue to be able to survive from their unique talents, but it’s also objectively some of the best versions of the stuff that I’ve seen. Even Seichiiro at Hoosier is a great salesman and I’ve enjoyed transacting with him - we’ve talked about all sorts of non denim things on one occasion I put in an order to him and he returned and bought one of my small edition photography books, which my friend then saw in his shop while visiting Kyoto. Stuff like that is super fun, and has little to do with denim but wouldn’t have happened without it. I’m sure in 15-20 years or so, if my son doesn’t find my collection interesting (he probably won’t), I will move on from some of the items, and if I have my druthers, it really won’t be much more than I’ve got now and hopefully most of it has some more character at that point. Probably a nice story at most haha.

@bartlebyyphonicsi also got the 611, but did not really size up, and would concur with what you’re saying. They're quite a wearable pair in any situation. Tender is a different beast that I love for different reasons but I do probably prefer this top block, and I also like these more than TCB, which I have the 20s and then 30s of in black - I just feel like they wear on my frame better right out the gate, difference is again subtle but substantial.

Getting some signs, w Tender and RW. Probably well behind a few of you at this point but it’s been something like a real winter thus far.

@Double 0 Soul Thanks. The buttoned up one was actually a Tri-P coat, similar but a little different.I have that one in a size down, and have a shorter variant, I throw it on all the time as an extra morning layer for when I bike my kid to school. I picked up my wife a ring coat a while back too - we’re in deep over here. I’m really more of a sucker for coats and jackets than jeans in the end - the Kapital ones I love because I actually find them to be quite convenient due to their volume. Great for comfortably layering where I’m at. Bonus is that while military inspired they’re not military repro, which I never felt like I could/wanted to pull off.

I love that damn thing, this winter I’ve worn it about as much as jeans. Especially with the liner it’s like a sleeping bag wherever I go. Not for everyone I know, but for me, I went too long without it.

My kettlebells and rowing erg in our studio apartment saved my mind in the early months of the pandemic. Especially as where I lived at that time was not great for walking/running - which I did also do. Thankfully where I’m at now is better for getting outside, so I mix it up. Unless I’m sick I need to do something 5-6 days a week to feel okay and hope to until I keel over.

Anyone have some weathered and worn Achilles Heel (indigo garment dyed) denim at this point? I wouldn’t expect much in the way of defined fades but still curious how it all washes out over time. I’ve got a pretty worn Woad pair that reveals a nice lighter, almost dusty blue,, but I’d love to see how much darker (or not) the indigo stays over time.

@Alec Leamas hard to tell from photos alone, but I don’t think it’s the WW2 denim. Reason being my WW2 tailor jacket was described by celluloid as having the WW2 denim, and it looks to be both darker and a bit more irregular than what I’m seeing here. However, I will say that the stuff is stiff and crunchy. Additionally, I gave my jacket a second wash (hot) to get any more shrink out and got almost nothing on the 2nd go, which was unexpected for warehouse denim.

Listen up people.. I'm making a list of past sufu trends Did you jump onboard or not../ how fking sufu actually are you? My inclination is probably not much but we’ll see. I was pretty much too broke to spend more than 30$ on jeans from TJ Maxx up until around 2016 when I had a decent year and also visited Raleigh Denim for the first time for a job - that was a year after I visited the Horween Tannery in Chicago. Those two things coalescing led to me appreciating and spending more on clothes. But I am nowhere close to an OG - I saw a lot of these trends in Chicago at that time and let’s say most just didn’t appeal to me from a purely aesthetic perspective. Size down craze.. No Slept in jeans.. Not in my Sufu days. A few times during some backpacking trips, and only out of necessity. Diors.. No Fancy wallet.. No Engineer boots.. Emphatic no, lol Ocean wash.. No Resolute washing / fit having previously not.. I just wash when stuff feels like it needs it and really don’t think too hard about how it turns out? Never washing.. Not really, I’ve gone maybe 4 months at best Coffee wash.. No Slubby or streaky.. I did own some PBJ’s for a time. And SC Edo AI’s I still own. Heavy oz denimz.. Those PBJ’s were 18 oz. I think 18oz is considered heavy so yes. Joined a contest.. Just this year! Joined a tour.. No APC.. No Fancy washing detergent.. No Worn denim while raw.. No..though upon further reflection probably yes with a sanforized pair once. Paid for an expensive repair.. No Wallet jewelry.. No Numerous pairs of very expensive boots.. What is Very Expensive? I have a few pairs of what I think are nice leather boots, but nothing I paid more than $400 for - so, not on par with what seems to be the norm? Numerous pairs of identical jeans.. Nothing identical, the closest is the same pair in 2 different sizes. Other close calls for sure - same cuts in different denims etc. Numerous fancy leather belts.. No. Native American Japanese jewelry.. No Jacket suitable for the Arctic.. Not Sufu approved, but I live in Michigan, so yea I have a heavy parka. It’s from Everlane. Unreadable Japanese language magazines.. No Dressed like a sailor.. No Dressed like a miner.. No Dressed like an urban lumberjack.. No, I don’t think so. Have you ever seen me in a flannel? Mill repro.. No Dressed like a railway worker.. No Stacked.. No Starch..No Freezer.. No Fancy socks.. Nothing Sufu, but I swear by wool, esp mohair socks. Again, this is more me being in Michigan, not a Sufu thing. Handmade English shoes.. No Whites Semi Dress.. No Discharge print.. No Own less than 10% of the clothing you bought since joining.. No Photo of jeans in bathtub.. No, they’ve always gone in a utility sink. Wore jeans wet..No. Damp, yes. £2000 leather jacket..No Numerous repro denim jackets all from same era.. Absolutely yes Bought jeans nobody else owned.. On Sufu, sure. The world? Probably not. Barf / Man stain / Shit oneself in jeans.. no Colored weft denim: I’ve had both black weft and garment dyed jeans Attended a meet up? No

Inis Meáin, Freewheelers s516xx, Tender, WMJ 611, Red Wing

So even a portion of an arc looks like a problem now. I really dislike the law firm the old jeans maker has become.

I could go for something a bit oversized perhaps, but I’m not on IG and the prices of stuff I’m doubtful. I’ll keep a lazy eye on the this thread though.

Style being a forever subjective assessment means proving its existence will always be an impossibility. We are just bickering about tastes here. Aesthetic value is of course only opinion. Some possibly more widely agreed upon, but no less opinions and judgments and only that. What I will say about your offer of proof is that just imagine if the imprints of the W were missing. Everything can always be a smidge better, this is just one way here. I suppose we should move this over to nonsense though.

I'd sooner go to bat for the notion that Lee and Wrangler designs/detailed jeans should be left in the dustbins of history but we've all got our limiting opinions that won't find much common ground here. To be even further contrarian, I'd say bottom button is trickier than the top. I hold both of these views strongly for myself but lightly enough for others.

Why they feel the need to do this is a question for their therapist. But there is no rule. I’ve seen every iteration look fantastic and also look terrible, and it’s usually not primarily to do with what buttons have been done up or not.

Hahah I had been eyeing that pair, but did not do so with the aggression as you did- staying true to not buying (so far!) with wmj contest. But when it’s done I am going to revisit. I love the balmacan I was gifted and generally really like what I see from them. Glad to see you got them! Now…how are you gonna beat them up with all your other obligations?

Sounds unfortunately familiar. My wife usually escapes it because her immune system is almost bulletproof. This last round tho, influenza A followed 2 or days later by influenza B - had all three of us laid out for the same time - so that was a first - third round of viruses since the new year - madness!! Preschool is hardcore.

^ not sure I’ve ever agreed with anything more than the above statement.

I see jpy 84480 / usd760

Inis Meain/Kapital/Ooe Yofukuten/WMJ 611’s, Red Wing

Layers season here, for sure. Inis Meain/Kapital/Ooe Yofukuten/WMJ 611’s, Red Wing Slow start for me, been laid up with all the winter viruses lately!

^ you got a separate care routine for your hems? 😃

Late to this but happy birthdays to you both!