Denim Blunders, Reflections and General Nonsense.

[Flash]

only ever seen 3 pairs 

 

Samurai USA's ... one of the guys that works in The Bureau here in belfast has a really nicely faded pair , must have had a good 3 or 4 years year on them 

 

Samurai 5000vx ... just some fella walking in town , was really shocked when i seen them 

 

Iron Heart ??? ... seen this older gent in a cafe when i was my wife , he was sitting beside us and i was tempted to comment on the jeans but i really didnt want to be weird 

[itsbenhere]

I'm really waiting for someone to stop me and talk to me about my stuff, if any of you are around la/ucla and see a guy decked out in flat head and rjb holler! Still blows my mind that someone willing to pay crazy prices for super obscure jeans that require so much dedication, wouldn't be excited to see someone else from the .0001% that likes the same thing.

[beautiful_FrEaK]

one minor pet peeve of mine regarding IG is when someone makes a point to post pics of brands that are US made and then is seeing wearing a pair of Grant Stone/Made in China/Alden knock offs. I get it, GS is a cheaper alternative to Alden but just barely. I thought the whole point for some of these guys who are into heritage brands was to promote American companies that they like who make stuff here as opposed to being made from the tears of 10 yo children.

 

Saw those Grantstones a lot lately on IG. Never knew they were made in China. All models?

[mlwdp]

It's cool to compliment a man on his shirt or shoes such as where he got it from, etc. but it's too weird to compliment another man on his jeans (IMO). They can take it that you're hitting on them or looking at more than their "jeans", similar to how you would compliment a woman on her jeans to focus on her body.

If another man complimented me on my jeans unless he's my tailor or the salesman selling me the jeans, I probably would be weirded out. I love denim as much as the next person but I'm not complimenting a man on his denim.

That's just my opinion though.

Edited November 6, 2016 by mlwdp

[itsbenhere]

Now, if I'm looking at a guy wearing some Levi's bought at Macy's and I'm like "DAM! Lookin real sexy in those jeans........... mmm...." yeah that's pretty fuckin weird.

 

But to me, "Hey man! Nice jeans, I love Iron Heart. I've actually been wearing these Flat Heads for 2 years straight, check out how cool they've faded" and that dude is still like "Uhhhh ok...." then that's probably just indicative of a class difference.

 

Maybe he was whistlin' by La Brea, bought some jeans at Self Edge for $400 and didn't think anything of it. I could never do that; if I'm buying jeans for a couple hundred dollars, you bet your ass I must really fucking like them and have done a lot of research. I'd imagine that's the case for most people at a "normal" socioeconomic class.

[ironheartfan123]

you just need to work on your raw denim pickup game

[nycsurfer530]

Working in retail in soho I see some nice jeans relatively often and most times when I see jeans I recognize and unprovoked tell them "nice full counts" they usually looked weirded out that I knew what their jeans were.

[itsbenhere]

Hmm, guess I just may be the weird one then 

[nycsurfer530]

Count me as a weird one too. I'm always open and excited about talking about denim.

[ColonelAngus]

It's cool to compliment a man on his shirt or shoes such as where he got it from, etc. but it's too weird to compliment another man on his jeans (IMO). They can take it that you're hitting on them or looking at more than their "jeans", similar to how you would compliment a woman on her jeans to focus on her body.

If another man complimented me on my jeans unless he's my tailor or the salesman selling me the jeans, I probably would be weirded out. I love denim as much as the next person but I'm not complimenting a man on his denim.

That's just my opinion though.

I disagree. I think it depends on how your comment comes off. If you came up to a guy and said, 'hey, are those PBJ's?' he might answer you and not be weirded out. The only time I might comment on anyone's jeans is if I recognize the arcs but that's about it. TSG, PBJ, IH, Full Count all have distinct arcs that only denim nerds would know.

[Iron Horse]

I generally don't say anything in public to random dudes about their choice in jeans, though at one point or another I've seen it all on the street. I have no problem talking if people want to approach me though; that goes back to high school/college even, when I'd wear a lot of metal shirts. People would compliment my shirts at shows, in class, etc. and it never weirded me out. I figure that's why you wear this stuff.

 

The denimhead scene is kind of interesting though; I've met a lot of cool, down to earth people, but I've also run across some really snobbish people. Multiple times in Japan I've seen people recognize what I was wearing and look me up and down with a kind of "who does this guy think he is" look. That happens here in Taiwan sometimes, too. Rude shit like that. I guess it makes sense though; if you're into denim as a form of competitive shopping to see who looks the absolute coolest at all times, then everyone else is a threat.

 

Anyway, that's why generally I don't start conversations in public with people about this sort of thing. 

[aho]

Used to work retail 6+ years ago and would frequently get Samurais, Sugarcane, LVC, APC etc come in to the shop (J.Crew in Chicago....). I'd always mention something, and generally people were first surprised, but then love to open up and talk denim since it's such a rare thing to come across other enthusiasts. Since it's gotten more mainstream, however, you have people buying them just to buy something expensive, without truly being denim heads, as well as the Unbranded/Naked and Famous types that are into it, but not as willing to drop the $$$. That said, if anyone were to ever call me out on something I was wearing, I'd be completely open to talking

[Jeef1]

I've seen a lot of Japanese denim on people around the Bay Area. Someone randomly asked me about my jeans once and it wasn't weird... I did see the guy that models for all the Self Edge photos once and I kinda wanted to say hi, but I just let him be.

[mikecch]

The denimhead scene is kind of interesting though; I've met a lot of cool, down to earth people, but I've also run across some really snobbish people. Multiple times in Japan I've seen people recognize what I was wearing and look me up and down with a kind of "who does this guy think he is" look. That happens here in Taiwan sometimes, too. Rude shit like that. I guess it makes sense though; if you're into denim as a form of competitive shopping to see who looks the absolute coolest at all times, then everyone else is a threat.

 

That's disappointing, but I must admit I was a bit like this when I first started wearing specialised denim.

 

I'm always up for a chat. But to be honest outside of the local specialist stores and some of their customers, I haven't really seen people rocking cool denim here in Melbourne. It's still a really niche thing here in Australia, and many hobbyists are guys who have migrated from Asia.

[d-rew12]

A few months back I was in an arcade and was talking to my brother who was playing DDR. As I was walking away some dude stopped me and told me "Nice Samurai's! How many months?". I never get people asking me about my denim and my Samurai's are pretty damn faded and really hard to tell they're Samurai's (at least I think) and the arcade was dark too. I was caught so off guard It took me a little bit to figure out what he had just asked since it didn't register. So I guess I was the awkward one haha. But talked to the dude a but which was cool. I was just kind of shocked he recognized them (and pretty happy haha). Dude's got one hell of an eye. 

[serotonin flood]

Ah thanks for the clarification all, I totally know what look you guys are talking about now.  I've been wearing raw's for like 7 years now but never really cared too much about other articles of clothes or really went for a "style" until this year.  Any chance on 50s-60s casualwear being the next hot thing?    That's what I fell in love with and have been going for lately although I have been really wanting a nice flannel lately though.  Think that'll be my next purchase. 

As far as encounters with other denimheads, I've never had an ecounter in the wild.  If someone said something to me though I would be happy to talk with them as I only have a few friends IRL who I can sort of talk about clothes with because they are into vintage stuff too.

Edited November 7, 2016 by serotonin flood

[orchestrion]

I started reading this forum when I was pretty young so I spent most of my time wearing 501 STFs since I couldn't really afford a pair of Samurais, etc. at the time. I wear mostly Left Field jeans now which I don't think are as recognizable as some other brands. I've seen a few people around my city with the "RgT look" a lot have been describing but hey, everyone has their own taste. My tastes are different but it's cool to see people buying quality made clothing and supporting crafts. That said, I was given an RgT canvas work shirt by some very thoughtful former coworkers and I keep it in my work locker and wear it nearly every day.

The only strangers my age I've talked to about their jeans have seemed pretty weirded out so I don't do it too much anymore.

[TheIntelligentHoodwinker]

I see surprisingly little in London. Lots of people in Evisu, LVC, Nudie, APC but it's rare to see the lesser spotted brands outside of the shops that sell them. 

 

Seen Samurai in the wild once - when I worked at a fashion company a few years back.

Seen Full Count in the wild once - a guy outside Moorgate tube station.

Seen Iron Heart in the wild twice - both times in Brixon.

Seen Flathead in the wild once - in Soho.

[Flash]

A few years back I was in Hong Kong with my wife and we were going up Victoria Peak , seen a guy standing in line with some skull 5000xx ( think that's the model , was the 50's fit anyway ) , we were waiting in line to get on the tram and when passing I said " cool jeans , Skulls ? " all I got in return was a thumbs up and a weird look ... lol

Edited November 7, 2016 by Flash

[beautiful_FrEaK]

Phew…seeing some Nudies quite often but most of the time distressed and non-selvedge.

 

Saw an Asian guy in Berlin many years ago wearing a nicely faded pair of selvedge Jeans (couldn’t spot the brand). Even saw a dude wearing selvedge jeans in my new home town but couldn’t see the brand. And I’m not the person to approach a complete stranger while I’m shopping.

 

IIRC, my biggest catch was a pair of Full Count worn by an younger Japanese dude while I was on vacation near Neuschwanstein castle.

 

Oh and a guy in Hamburg with lots of faded jeans which he let me try on…(gross you think but it’s only MaxPower)

Edited November 8, 2016 by beautiful_FrEaK

[edmond]

I lobe how they wear teur stuff here japan low waist even with a high rise jeans and comfy and a good inseam

[Megatron1505]

On the whole IG thing, I'm not bothered what brands people wear, that's their individual taste, but the obviously curated "look" is fake as fook.

I like seeing people who wear what they like and enjoy it, whether I personally care for the brand or not.

[oomslokop]

i was at the tate a year ago when a man stopped me at one of the stairs and said, "oomslokop?"

 

he recognized me from my apparently super rare rising sun pike jacket.

 

hello @peregrino!

Edited November 7, 2016 by oomslokop

[ColonelAngus]

Saw those Grantstones a lot lately on IG. Never knew they were made in China. All models?

 

as far as I know they're all MiC.

[ColonelAngus]

Multiple times in Japan I've seen people recognize what I was wearing and look me up and down with a kind of "who does this guy think he is" look. That happens here in Taiwan sometimes, too. Rude shit like that. I guess it makes sense though; if you're into denim as a form of competitive shopping to see who looks the absolute coolest at all times, then everyone else is a threat.

 

 

this doesn't surprise me. I've encountered this as well when I lived in Japan, but you also see this here among the streetwear crowd. it's definitely rude as hell. whenever i'd get those looks it reminded me of the vibe you'd get in high school. nowadays I don't give a f*ck. The best way to counter the up and down look is to do it right back at them.

[Broark]

Surprisingly I've seen quite a few people wearing brands that I'm interested in where I live. Despite no one selling any of the brands locally.

Hell, just yesterday I met a guy wearing a Good Art HLYWD club ring. I asked him about it and showed him my Model 10 bracelet and he told me it's his wedding ring, and his wife had a really cool rosette ring with a few diamonds in it and he shops at SEPDX sometimes.

I've seen Fullcount, RJB, Flat Head, IH, Samurai, Mister Freedom, PBJ, Stevenson just off the top of my head. And I'm the kind of guy who will say something, I'm pretty outgoing so when I see something that niche I have to bring it up and most of the time people are pretty surprised and cool to talk about it.

Overall the scene is pretty cool, and I'm glad that I'm still interested in it because it's lead to meet a lot of really awesome people.

Just from sufu I've had the chance to meet Kiya, mpukas and vjforlife along with a few guys from IHF.

[denihilist]

Hey Broark, did you hear that Traveller Denim is closing down?  

[Broark]

Hey Broark, did you hear that Traveller Denim is closing down?  

 

Yeah I heard they kind of just shut things down almost overnight, leaving orders unfulfilled.

Not sure if people were screwed out of money or what, but that operation always made me scratch my head a bit.

Never checked it out in person, but the pairs I saw people wear seemingly weren't that great.

[denihilist]

I knew the guy that was funding it...I think they just over-extended themselves.  But yeah, I never got a pair either because I wasn't that impressed with them.  I know they were selling a bunch of their deadstock denim...I wonder about the machines...

[Broark]

I just couldn't stand the leather belt loop thing or the wonky looking triple stitching on the yoke.

I'm sure someone will hop on those machines...

Edited November 7, 2016 by Broark