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Denim Blunders, Reflections and General Nonsense.


cmboland

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35 minutes ago, itsbenhere said:

For reasons I can't articulate, I really don't feel the draw to post anymore (or even buy new things), but I'm still a huge denim fan...

I'm sad the crotch on these rjb is starting to go though :'( I don't want to send these away for months to indigo proof!

 

I'm in the same boat, I am pretty happy with most things i have now. I will need some new jeans soon so i will probably get active with posting a bit more when I'm searching for the next pair. i do have $47 worth of points at denimio....

Those RJBs are killer, still super jelly that you managed to snag those from SE 

I did get a great pair of RRL Julian engineer boots, new, in my size that i should probably toss up a mini review about. 

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8 hours ago, Cold Summer said:

I'm curious if Thailand has passed peak Raw Denim. Sometimes I'll check on SelvedgeForum, and it seems way less active than a few years ago. I sense that raw denim is kind of a trend that had a very hot moment, but has cooled down a bit since then. I could be wrong though.

I've noticed that Thailand has a pretty big group of track bike/fixie riders as well. SEA seems to have pockets of absolutely manic people spending huge $$$ on items. Some of the bikes they post just whipping around on the streets (*not on a velodrome) are around $8k-$12...I am scared riding my expensive road bike around in sydney, let alone my track bike without any brakes in the city 

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Ben, those RJBs look great! I'm impressed by how faded they are, seems like you just got them recently (though I guess it's been quite a few months now.) I feel your pain though, seems like I've been waiting on my FH denim shirt to get back from Indigo Proof forever now.

I go through phases where I'm more or less active with my posting. I don't see myself buying much for a while (probably until fall) aside form T-shirts, etc.

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1 hour ago, Max Power said:

... RW Moc Toes Vibergs and fancy japanese socks with rolled up slim straight selvage jeans...

ftfy - guilty as charged!

On the other hand I just can't stay interested in a feed full of denim macros or pics of fades. I prefer to see how denim and other garments are combined to make a coherent and wearable whole.

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4 hours ago, Max Power said:

Might just be instagram, but RW Moc Toes and fancy japanese socks with rolled up slim selvage jeans are really overdone right now. (But to be honest I think that the Moc Toes are the only Red Wings that look good to me these days).

I noticed that too. I like RW moc toes as well but I can't really fathom paying full price for a pair.

I think more than anything i've grown tired of the same feeds of some random guy laying his clothes out in a grid, or comments left by IG users that all employ use of the phrase, 'nice kit.' Again, IG has opened me up to many cool brands and I do think it has its positives but I slowly grew tired of it and seeing the same repetitive stuff everyday. Before I closed my account I started following vinyl junkies/record collectors, which I found more interesting.

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3 hours ago, mrman said:

ftfy - guilty as charged!

On the other hand I just can't stay interested in a feed full of denim macros or pics of fades. I prefer to see how denim and other garments are combined to make a coherent and wearable whole.

Denim macros, fades and clothing combos have their place on IG. I tended to lose interest in the ones that had sh*tty quality pics, or the ones of users posting the most mundane feeds like, "hey, look, I just got a delivery from SOP," or some fanboy dressed head to toe in RgT.

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I see no mention of photos picturing guys adjusting their sloppy, uneven and tremendously high water cuffs. Of course boots are RW moctoes, jeans are Shockoe Atelier Slim Kojimas (cuffed to narrow the hem) and socks are Chup. But first coffee! So the first pic in the morning is a cardboard coffee cup between the RW moctoes. On sundays it's a mason jar full of coffee, deliciously adorned by a leather strip to not burn the hands, probably the most practical coffee cup ever invented.

Al that said, I still love Red Wing. I've only had two pairs, and both have served me very well over the years. I wouldn't buy RW at retail simply because it's easy to get them either discounted or second hand, but seen how much I've used them I could completely justify retail price as well.

 

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4 hours ago, Max Power said:

Might just be instagram, but RW Moc Toes and fancy japanese socks with rolled up slim selvage jeans are really overdone right now. (But to be honest I think that the Moc Toes are the only Red Wings that look good to me these days).

I take an almost perverse pleasure in doing this...

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Edited by mikecch
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Mike, it looks good when you do it because you have actual class. :P I don't mind this when it's part of a pose to show off what socks you're wearing with your shoes (like in your pics), but the insane high cuffs a lot of these IG guys are wearing is just way over the top.

What is the deal with this Shockoe Atelier brand? Aside from having a clunky word salad name, I don't get these guys - I never even heard of them before 2-3 months ago and now they'll all over the place with tons of IG guys posing exactly like in the brand's fit pics (legs very close together, pointing straight forward.) What do they bring to the table that's any different from established brands like 3Sixteen or RGT?

I was tired of Red Wing for a long time, but I recently started wearing my 8112 Iron Rangers again after "restoring" them and putting some new laces on them, they look great.

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17 minutes ago, Cold Summer said:

What is the deal with this Shockoe Atelier brand? Aside from having a clunky word salad name, I don't get these guys - I never even heard of them before 2-3 months ago and now they'll all over the place with tons of IG guys posing exactly like in the brand's fit pics (legs very close together, pointing straight forward.) What do they bring to the table that's any different from established brands like 3Sixteen or RGT?

 

I only know they're a brand from Virginia. I've known about them for a couple of years but they started popping up all over IG in recent months. I'm guessing they're trying to capture more market share and have offered freebies to any IG user with a large following. I'm sure they have nice denim fabrics but I could never get on board with their fits and I honestly didn't see what made them stand out over other established brands. I've tried putting myself in the shoes of other IG users and pondered the question, "would I pimp a brand if they offered me freebies?" That's a tough call because on the one hand, I try to give newer brands a chance but, on the other hand, i'm very nitpicky about the clothing I wear and don't think I could represent a brand if I didn't like what they were doing, whether that be the jeans they make or the look of their shirts and jackets.

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I don't mind a sock shot if it's not a super skinny jean rolled up to specifically show of the socks or a casual adjust of the cuff... who actually adjusts their cuffs that much!!

On Redwing I like them , great boots for the money. ... except the Moc toe! Just don't like them and the skinnier the jean the worse they look.

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7 hours ago, Cold Summer said:

Mike, it looks good when you do it because you have actual class. :P I don't mind this when it's part of a pose to show off what socks you're wearing with your shoes (like in your pics), but the insane high cuffs a lot of these IG guys are wearing is just way over the top.

What is the deal with this Shockoe Atelier brand? 

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Hey there ~

 

TBH, as I continued to wear denim during the Aussie summer, I've grown more fond of the high water style of cuffing. No one here does it, but neither does anybody wear Nick's Boots or Anonymousism/Chup socks. Not in real life I've seen anyway, not even the dudes who sell them. 

 

The main reason for doing strange and new things on IG and my blog is to keep the hobby fresh for me. Always trying new ideas and such. Self amusement is the entire reason for me wearing denim, and I suspect some of you feel the same? 

 

Even though some of the photos on IG are very obviously posed, especially ridiculous ones like people throwing their boots, etc, it has helped me learn more about framing, angles and posing garments, which has made my blogging better (IMO anyway). 

 

With Shockoe, like many brands on IG, sponsorship and promotion through brand ambassadors is a key point in advertising. I get the sense that a lot of these guys are well to do in real life anyway, having fancy photography equipments and spare time to take lifestyle photos - they probably don't actually care about the monetary worth of the free stuff, it's more the sense of feeling important and the recognition among peers. I deal with the issue of freebies, shop discounts and product-for-review issues almost constantly for my blog - what I have learnt so far is that it is not as black and white as I first thought it would be. I'm lucky enough not to care about $300 or whatever for free denims or leathers, but the recognition and relationship that could be established are often worth the effort. Also there is the aspect of promoting people and brands we can identify with, and perhaps some people really dig Shockoe or Red Wing? It's hard to say, I'm just guessing here. 

 

With regards to Tanuki, yeah, part of their initial marketing strategy was to promote their pants via denim blogs. At the moment there seems to be no more of that, and they are relying on their dealers outside Japan to do PR - Blue Owl, Godspeed, etc. Tanuki is quite popular on reddit - the threads get quite a lot of traffic and click through on my blog for Tanuki is higher than, say, Osaka 5 stuff. They have released 2 new fabrics and 2 new cuts recently, and more collabs are planned. 

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@mikecch

I have the opposite assumption about most denim IG users, and that is they're average joes using their iphones to take pics. Of course, some of the more well known users may be well to do, but I've never found that to be relevant.

It's more about authenticity for me. Don't get me wrong, a lot of IG users genuinely love denim, boots, etc., but I get annoyed when someone tries to rep a brand only because they got free shwag and not because it's well made, hand made, ethically made or a brand they really love. I've made a lot of purchases in the last 2-3 yrs and it took some trial and error to figure out which brands worked for me and which ones sucked. I know this is subjective so take my comments with a grain of salt

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@ColonelAngus

Yeah, no doubt there are some folks who will take freebies regardless of whether they are genuinely interested in the product or not. 

I do suspect Shockoe or RgT, etc are more than adequate as far as 'authenticity' goes for the vast majority of people. 

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7 hours ago, ColonelAngus said:

but I get annoyed when someone tries to rep a brand only because they got free shwag and not because it's well made, hand made, ethically made or a brand they really love

Well said, my thoughts exactly. It would be nice that the guys promoting stuff would point out that they have not paid themselves for it but that the items are freebies. This kind of transparency would be the right way to do it. Ain't gonna happen but...

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20 hours ago, volvo240thebest said:

But first coffee! So the first pic in the morning is a cardboard coffee cup between the RW moctoes. On sundays it's a mason jar full of coffee, deliciously adorned by a leather strip to not burn the hands, probably the most practical coffee cup ever invented.

Haha. Yes. A Pendleton blanket folded over a white Eames chair in the background.

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7 hours ago, mrman said:

Well said, my thoughts exactly. It would be nice that the guys promoting stuff would point out that they have not paid themselves for it but that the items are freebies. This kind of transparency would be the right way to do it. Ain't gonna happen but...

well you never know. Channels on youtube started stating what is promotional content or what is sponsored. Maybe if there is enough pressure, same thing will start happening on instagram

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On 3/22/2017 at 8:06 AM, volvo240thebest said:

I see no mention of photos picturing guys adjusting their sloppy, uneven and tremendously high water cuffs. Of course boots are RW moctoes, jeans are Shockoe Atelier Slim Kojimas (cuffed to narrow the hem) and socks are Chup. But first coffee! So the first pic in the morning is a cardboard coffee cup between the RW moctoes. On sundays it's a mason jar full of coffee, deliciously adorned by a leather strip to not burn the hands, probably the most practical coffee cup ever invented.

Al that said, I still love Red Wing. I've only had two pairs, and both have served me very well over the years. I wouldn't buy RW at retail simply because it's easy to get them either discounted or second hand, but seen how much I've used them I could completely justify retail price as well.

 

IHave you looked into Brother Bridge?  They make moc toe boots.

 

Edited by mlwdp
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I'm not a fan of Red Wing at all, personally. The pairs I've seen in person were not too impressive quality-wise. Plus, they're everywhere.

 

I'm going to sound like a douche-tacular, snobbish prick when I say this, but I don't care because it's really how I feel: To me, Red Wing is just 'baby's first pair of boots.' I've seen too many dudes in Gustin jeans and Red Wing boots bragging about how amazing they are because they don't know any better. They're good enough to get the job done, but if you're paying full price, you may as well by Wescos or Whites. 

 

I generally associate people who espouse the greatness of Red Wings with the people who praise Gustin and N&F. They just haven't been enlightened yet. It actually pains me when I see a really good pair of jeans worn with them. It's not just the mediocre quality and played out nature of them, it's also the fact that they're just all plain ugly.

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On 3/22/2017 at 1:22 AM, Max Power said:

... (But to be honest I think that the Moc Toes are the only Red Wings that look good to me these days).

 

On 3/22/2017 at 6:06 AM, volvo240thebest said:

...Al that said, I still love Red Wing. I've only had two pairs, and both have served me very well over the years. I wouldn't buy RW at retail simply because it's easy to get them either discounted or second hand, but seen how much I've used them I could completely justify retail price as well.

 

 

On 3/22/2017 at 6:28 AM, Cold Summer said:

...I was tired of Red Wing for a long time, but I recently started wearing my 8112 Iron Rangers again after "restoring" them and putting some new laces on them, they look great.

I've come around to appreciate RW more in the last couple of years. I'm a little down on them because they make so many models of cheap work boots, and some stuff in made overseas, but at the end of the day, they have to make products that customers want. They are one of the oldest boot/shoe makers, and even in today's climate of heritage, hand made goods, they can't survive on that alone. I think they have the ability to make boots every bit as good as the PNW makers, it's just not their main focus. I actually like that their boots aren't as heavy and beefy as the PNW boots. From my own experience, they're better than their competitors. 

 

I think their best model, and one that doesn't get any love around here, is the Beckman Round, formerly known as the Gentleman Traveler . I had a pair some years ago, in Dark Cherry Featherstone, but before I knew how I like my shoes sized. That's a great color - dark and not too red. I had a 9.5, thought they were too big. Exchanged them for an 8.5 'cuz RW told me they run 1/2 big, and they were too small. Tried to wear them in for nearly a year before ebay'ing them. Now I'd get a 9.5 again. I like to get another pair, and they now make a couple colors in EE, Black and Cigar. They're every bit as good as any other high-end boot I own/owned, and better than some. 

 

Here's another RW boot that's appealing to me, but it seems it was recently removed from their on-line catalog - the 899. IIRC, $279USD. Same #8 last as Beckman, IR. One piece heel counter-back stay. Full Vibram lug sole (yuck). The welt looks like it's plastic/composite (yuck). Made to order only, wide sizes availble. I hope they didn't discontinue it altogether. This boot would look fantastic with a full lower rebuild by Role Club, Baker's, etc. 

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edit: Red Wing did confirm to me that they have discontinued the 899. Too bad... a truly unique boot in their line up. 

 

One model I CAN'T STAND is the Iron Ranger. The combination of the toe cap on the #8 last with it's up turned toe makes it look like a clown shoe to me. That, along with the angled top and composite sole. Who's the fella here that can't stand the Wolverine 1000 Mile? That's how I feel about the IR. Sorry, Kyle ;). I'm on the fence about their moc toe boots. I'm really not a fan of white wedge soles - at all. Role Club did a rebuild of an 877 8" moc toe, and HOLY COW are they gorgeous! Completely transformed the boot. 

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Edited by mpukas
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eh I like red wings, you can find them all over the place on sale very easily and for the prices I have paid I find them to be a very good deal with acceptable quality. I beat the shit out of my boots at work and I don't feel bad doing it knowing they are "only" red wings. I keep wanting to buy a more expensive pair of boots but every time I am ready to buy I come across a cheap pair of red wings and and up getting those instead. For me personally I am not sure it is worth the ~$200-300 price difference to pick up something that is better. 

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