Denim Blunders, Reflections and General Nonsense.

[Max Power]

Random note: I am awaiting the infamous UES 400T by @volvo240thebest as experimental pair to make Shorts out of them. Since they're bigger than my pair I thought it made sense to put them to use, not sure how much I'll like the result though. But I look forward wearing some UES denim again. Just Need to decide wether to do a normal hem or chainstitched one. As I might roll the hem I guess it doesn't matter much...

Edited May 2, 2017 by Max Power

[Maynard Friedman]

I look forward to that Max. I currently have one pair of denim shorts, some 13-yr old Edwin Waynesvilles I cut down a few years ago when the knees wore out.

I simply cut them and roll them up, they have no hem at all but I did have to invisibly stitch the two selvedge hem sides on the outer seams to stop the thread from unravelling and the outer leg panels from separating. The hems fray after a wash but I simply cut the loose weft pieces off.

There is no way I'd pay £20 for a chainstitch gem for a pair of shorts on an old pair of jeans. Additionally, I prefer the chopped/unfinished or rolled hem on denim shorts, I think any kind of stitched hem looks unnecessarily formal.

[Iron Horse]

Keep cutting those hems and you'll end up with some show-stopping Daisy Dukes one day, too.

Edited May 2, 2017 by Iron Horse

[Max Power]

I was thinking of this [/img]

[oomslokop]

@Iron Horse is that a big arsE on the red tab?

[Iron Horse]

39 minutes ago, oomslokop said:

@Iron Horse is that a big arsE on the red tab?

That and nice "arcs".

Edited May 2, 2017 by Iron Horse

[garden gnomes in space]

Does Maynard know you were taking creeper shots of him?

[Iron Horse]

A gentleman doesn't creep and tell.

[DoitsuJin]

Hi all, first post in a long while.

does anybody remember doublevolante? I had the chance to visit Okinawa yesterday and finally got around to ordering a pair. Had some small talk with K-san and he says that WH is probably the most popular domestic brand in the raw denim game at the moment, pbj the most popular internationally (FYI this is based on his talks with clients and not based on actual numbers)

[oomslokop]

yes, i'm still following his blog (he's making the 3rd denimba/ridge jeans at the moment) and intermittently wearing the sda champloo jeans that he made. i like them, it's not as "perfect" as i thought it was gonna be, there are kinks in the stitching that make the whole jeans feel human/soulful. and they do show almost all the kuniyoshi trademarks that @mizanation showed in his legendary thread many moons ago. don't forget to show us pics when you've got yours.

[DoitsuJin]

On 5/3/2017 at 3:59 PM, oomslokop said:

yes, i'm still following his blog (he's making the 3rd denimba/ridge jeans at the moment) and intermittently wearing the sda champloo jeans that he made. i like them, it's not as "perfect" as i thought it was gonna be, there are kinks in the stitching that make the whole jeans feel human/soulful. and they do show almost all the kuniyoshi trademarks that @mizanation showed in his legendary thread many moons ago. don't forget to show us pics when you've got yours.

very nice! forgot about the sda order he fulfilled, should've asked him some questions about it... oh well.

 

and will do on the finished product. he estimated about 3 months so it will be some time. i should bump the old miz thread on that occasion...

 

[FreeCharlesManson]

finally getting around to assembling my album of new denim i got when i was in japan, with pre/post measurements, didn't take man photos around the city and stores wasn't about to go full tourist. I was in Tokyo for a week and i got to see most of the places i wanted to but i did miss some, like the samurai store and the PBJ store. it was a really cool place very easy to get around once i knew where i was

[1fookntitefd]

Can someone explain to me the appeal of spending $300+ on a pair of chinos?

I can understand how a pair of $300+ pair of ironheart, flathead, etc... jeans are better/nicer than a $50-$100 pair that you would find at Macys because construction is higher quality, denim is heavier, and because the personalized fading makes wearing more fun. But how is a pair of $300 chinos "better" or "more worth it" than a pair of khakis that you can pick up at Banana Republic?

[ColonelAngus]

3 minutes ago, 1fookntitefd said:

Can someone explain to me the appeal of spending $300+ on a pair of chinos?

I can understand how a pair of $300+ pair of ironheart, flathead, etc... jeans are better/nicer than a $50-$100 pair that you would find at Macys because construction is higher quality, denim is heavier, and because the personalized fading makes wearing more fun. But how is a pair of $300 chinos "better" or "more worth it" than a pair of khakis that you can pick up at Banana Republic?

I'm sure the construction/materials, like denim, makes them worth more. But the whole value thing is subjective. I wouldn't spend $300 for chinos but might drop $200 for a pair. 

[Max Power]

My samurai chinos are made of 15 oz silver selvage super stubby fabric that feels like denim. That sets them apart from normal chinos (maybe even doesn't make them real chinos) but when you see and feel them you'll know why the are on par with jeans, quality and price wise. 

[SuperJackle]

I've been struggling with this as well. I recently picked up the 3sixteen chinos from someone on grailed for a substantial discount. The fabric is really nice and hefty at 12oz left hand twill. The pocket bag material is the same sturdy twill found on their newer jeans. I really like the fit too. All that being said, I'm not sure they'd be "worth" the full msrp price, especially because it's something I'll rotate and thus wont get as much wear as a pair of denim. Still, they're much better construction and fabric wise than most of the chinos I've handled from the other similar American brands. 

[FreeCharlesManson]

12 hours ago, Max Power said:

My samurai chinos are made of 15 oz silver selvage super stubby fabric that feels like denim. That sets them apart from normal chinos (maybe even doesn't make them real chinos) but when you see and feel them you'll know why the are on par with jeans, quality and price wise. 

i think it just needs to be cut like chino's to be chino's. i don't think the fabric matters, aren't most chino's some flavour of cotton twill fabric like denim?

[mikecch]

Yeah, I'm a little bit confused by the conversation. Chinos can be made with twill or plain weaves, whatever fabric we want really. Just a different style of pants from dungarees. Can be just as well made, with the same materials - makes sense the cost would be similar. 

 

[youngofthesoonest]

I think the confusion is that chino is technically the cloth and trousers is the style of pant but since most trousers are made of chino cloth, everyone just calla them chinos. There are denim trousers, canvas trousers, etc. While it doesn't fade like denim, a nicely made chino cloth still does age and patina. I think the same argument for why you buy a pair of nicely made jeans as opposed to a pair of cheaply made pair from whatever department store can be applied towards chinos/non-indigo dyed pants/shirts/clothing. Whether it's worth it is definitely a subjective question. For me, the fabric that a brand like banana republic or dockers uses looks very processed, cheap and does not age well with wear. Also, for the most part, their clothing is not very well made so it's worth it to me (even though I do get the Gap Corporate discount through my wife which makes things rather cheap) to get a pair of chinos that has the same level of construction that I'm used to in all my other clothes as well have a fabric that ages well with wear. 

[1fookntitefd]

^ interesting. Are there any threads that show how high quality chinos age/evo?

[youngofthesoonest]

15 minutes ago, 1fookntitefd said:

^ interesting. Are there any threads that show how high quality chinos age/evo?

Here's a pretty good example: Stevenson Hilts. 

[1fookntitefd]

^ thanks. I now see a pair of Stevenson chinos in my life in the near future ha ha 

[mikecch]

We had the Left Field chino contest thread a few years back too - OOAK double indigo duck canvas from Cone.

[HGS]

13 hours ago, 1fookntitefd said:

^ interesting. Are there any threads that show how high quality chinos age/evo?

These look great.  Duck canvas so they fade more similarly to a pair of jeans as opposed to a traditional pair of chinos (albeit with the interesting texture of canvas). 

https://www.heddels.com/2014/08/fade-friday-left-field-indigo-canvas-chino-1-year-0-washes/

There is another more recent example on the last page of the left field thread.

[Max Power]

Random announcement, but one that makes me happy: sold my IH 101 J with very mixed feelings and second thoughts, but used the Money for this Indigofera Blanket that I was eying for years. Glad I found one in Finland now. And it means I will one day have to get my a lighter Lee Repro jacket or a nice Type III, but not in heavy denim.

[Max Power]

Here it is...i love that thing. Comes handy in may haha.

[nycsurfer530]

Not really denim related but I've gotten super into classical music composition and composed my first piece. It's a string quartet and on the denim side I was wearing my TCB 50s while composing   here's a link to it. They string quartet performing was sight reading so it's a little off but I think they did a great job. 

 

[Iron Horse]

Excellent piece surfer; it conjures up images of mansion garden parties in the '80s, white seersucker suits, dobermans and all. 

[bartlebyyphonics]

Non-denim related

A past example of

trolling the future...

William Carlos William c.1917

 

 

 

 

[Max Power]

Just in case you missed it - there's a nice interview with fellow @volvo240thebest here:

I always log in to superdenim directly, so I almost missed it.