Denim Blunders, Reflections and General Nonsense.

[goodrain]

5 hours ago, AlientoyWorkmachine said:

Just check who he's giving random trash votes to when making the most of benign of comments haha. He's got plenty of spare condo space in his head to rent for free.

I think hate is a little strong for what I feel because that implies a level of care I can't be bothered with - but I've found more to be turned off by in regards the public voices for a few US retailers of the stuff to never feel like shopping from those spots - as opposed to denim brands themselves. Sort of a bummer because I'd prefer to pay a little more to shop here for certain things but not at the expense of helping an...ummm...less than agreeable person build a business, not like they'd need my help. But your social media brand/internet presence is basically your public persona for those who will never be able to speak to probably much more chilled and nice sales associate. 

When I first checked the One Piece of Rock/CSF website back in like..2017 or so the front page was enough for me to feel barfy but certainly don't feel like I've missed out on having that first impression now. Not a fan of FC and WH Ranch for similar reasons having nothing to do with the actual pants. My most controversial take around here probably is that I am not really into what TCB is doing. Sometimes I want to like it more and I respect them for sure but don't see myself ever buying a piece. 

But I generally focus on the stuff that I actively am into and just sort of forget about the rest. There are still so many cool artisans and designers making enough cool stuff that the energy feels better spent focusing on the great than everything that isn't.  

I think the most interesting thing is that my opinions are shaped by so many things before I even get to the denim/fit itself. Probably a function of not living near any major retailers ever and going by internet for most of this most of the time. 

Cool story, bro. I don't like you just like you don't like me. But I don't need to sound all righteous about it. I'll just tell you straight up. You think you are cool by saying hot phrases like ":rent free in head" but if you got my name in your mouth then I am in your head, son.

[goodrain]

@shredwin_206 how did you go from wearing ROYS to work to now disliking ROYs?

[shredwin_206]

@goodrain had an email interaction with him where he was a complete a**hole. He then proceeded to call me the terminator and that he’d never sell me a pair of jeans…he’s a bit mental. I get why he stopped making jeans. 

[goodrain]

Understood. A lot of creative geniuses are crazy in their own ways I guess. He has been pretty nice the times I have interacted with him but I think there is also a bit of a quirky "no soup for you" side to him that you probably ran into.

Edited May 8, 2022 by goodrain

[JohnM]

I've owned a bunch of Roy jeans over the years and got to know him a little (we had coffee together in Oakland years ago).  I can't remember exactly what prompted this, but Roy laid some truth on me, letting me know that my incessant questions and (or) price inquiries were annoying as hell.  He said something like, 'John, you may think retailers like you because they're nice to your face, but they don't.  No one is making a lot of money in this business -- show some respect.'

It wasn't fun hearing this and Roy is direct like a laser.  I was tempted to be defensive and react in anger, but I've learned that this gets me nowhere and I learn nothing.  So I engaged him further and we sort of got past it.  He admitted that he has his faults and is not an easy guy to get along with.  My relationship with Roy, such as it is, is somewhere between difficult and non-existent.  But I do respect the guy -- honest, direct, creative, and not without insight.

[Geeman]

Interesting that this discussion has a bit of  common thread that TCB although liked, their products aren't working for people? 

[JohnM]

^ Like others, I really like the people at TCB.  Ryo, in particular, is a fantastic guy, who will go to great lengths to be sure you're happy and satisfied with their products and service.

I also really like the 40s jeans and jacket.  The jacket runs small but the fit and proportions are spot on.

A simple TCB product that I use everyday is the newspaper bag -- beautifully made, the right size, and easy to carry.  So good, I bought two.

To top it off, TCB pricing is lower than many of its competitors.

[Geeman]

I agree,  Ryo is great to deal with, prices are good etc. Just sounds like some of their products are not quite dialled in yet

[beautiful_FrEaK]

1 hour ago, Geeman said:

Interesting that this discussion has a bit of  common thread that TCB although liked, their products aren't working for people? 

Yep, same for me. I kinda like them but the cuts don't feel right on me

[Double 0 Soul]

Agreed, i don't follow the brand but i looked at their 507 some years ago and it was around 3-4" longer in the body to where i would expect a typ2 repro to sit, seems like a pretty basic thing to get right or at least close.. unless of course they've modernised the cut, in which case i wouldn't be interested anyhow

[Double 0 Soul]

4 hours ago, shredwin_206 said:

@goodrain had an email interaction with him where he was a complete a**hole. He then proceeded to call me the terminator

Ha genius (all the better for missing out the I) Never saw the appeal of Roy's.. the hype offended my sensibilities (not his fault) but i'd certainly  buy his memoirs

[oomslokop]

funny, ryo = good egg, cuts dont work, no buy

roy = total cunt, no matter the cuts, no matter the cuntiness, buy buy buy

ryo sd change his name to roy for better tcb everyday

 

[Maynard Friedman]

Even if TCB cuts were exactly the same as Roy’s (but with a red tab) or CSF for that matter (with de rigeur wonky stitching) and hand delivered on a silk cushion by Ryo, they still wouldn’t appeal to many folk around here. They’d be too cheap, too easy to obtain and therefore lack the ‘je ne sais quoi’ of other, more ‘exclusive’ brands.

[Double 0 Soul]

[goodrain]

I get that their tops/jackets were always a bit off and led to sizing frustrations, but I thought a lot of people liked their jeans (50's jeans, 20s and WW2 contest jeans)

[Duke Mantee]

2 hours ago, Maynard Friedman said:

Even if TCB cuts were exactly the same as Roy’s (but with a red tab) or CSF for that matter (with de rigeur wonky stitching) and hand delivered on a silk cushion by Ryo, they still wouldn’t appeal to many folk around here. They’d be too cheap, too easy to obtain and therefore lack the ‘je ne sais quoi’ of other, more ‘exclusive’ brands.

Is that really true? Seems the competition was a huge success 

[Maynard Friedman]

I think it was a relative success, given that competitions aren’t what they were a few years back. It’s worth remembering that many of the contestants were from Japan and not the Sufu-types we’re generally referring to. Plus the sizing/cut of the 40s jeans was highly questionable - I think you were a victim of that.

I believe that TCB doesn’t have the hype/rarity cachet of some other brands and therefore loses out on the ‘snob’ appeal. 

[Geeman]

I don't think the 'exclusiveness' exists anymore,  here at least? We all know where you got it and how much it cost!

I think opinions are more biased to brands and fits

[Maynard Friedman]

I think it’s still important to some - and I include myself in that. It doesn’t have to be exclusiveness based on price, it can be due to age, rarity, general unpopularity, etc, as long as you like it yourself.

Or perhaps it’s just me, projecting! 

Edited May 8, 2022 by Maynard Friedman

[Lazerr]

As someone who came onto SuFu rather late, a lot of the pairs that I see on here are pretty unique and rare as compared to what you normally see on Reddit and other well known store's pages. I ended up trying a lot of brands that had fits that didn't work for me, but loved seeing different denim that had very noticeable differences from what I was normally wearing. Ended up giving some to my Dad, and now he pretty much only wears his Resolute 710's and TCB Slim 50's. I am pretty sad that I missed out on a few like the Warehouse 660 and other contest pairs that took place on SuFu though but having access to proxy sites like Zenmarket have really helped with scouring Yahoo Auctions for pairs that happened to be my size

 

[AlientoyWorkmachine]

8 hours ago, Maynard Friedman said:

Even if TCB cuts were exactly the same as Roy’s (but with a red tab) or CSF for that matter (with de rigeur wonky stitching) and hand delivered on a silk cushion by Ryo, they still wouldn’t appeal to many folk around here. They’d be too cheap, too easy to obtain and therefore lack the ‘je ne sais quoi’ of other, more ‘exclusive’ brands.

Eh, I mean, this may be true - but I've almost bought from them a number of times and I always bail because the measurements I get, even from multiple sources, always just seem a bit too weird to work on me. I don't love the way they go about marketing/brand image, and that admittedly does bring it down some for me - but it's no worse than some other brands who's stuff I own and wear a lot. The price is a plus! As I think it would be for most sane people, for real. A factory brand is a great thing IMO - it's the reason I was a big fan of Raleigh back in the day (I still respect them but the pants for the price ratio got way more out of wack). If I could actually try on some in a store in the US here and they worked I'd get them.

Paying more for nothing other than it being more expensive is still one of the biggest swindles of luxury fashion. At least in this segment you know production costs are a bit higher and labor standards are often a bit higher too, though I'm sure if I knew more there would be plenty to not be pleased with. Not really interested in rarity per se here, it's just the stuff I respond to the most tends to seem a little harder to find - but I never buy with value/resale or anything related like that in mind I just get it to wear. I mean - these are jeans - to 99.9% of people they're jeans. Trying to find something special from a brand/marketing angle (as opposed to something worn in that fits/looks great) is hilariously antithetical to what jeans are, to me.

Edited May 8, 2022 by AlientoyWorkmachine

[Cold Summer]

Interesting hearing people say they don't like TCB's cuts. Amongst other reasons, their 50s jeans appeal to me because they seem like they'd be a perfect straight fit for me - but hey, lots of different body types out there.

[redragon]

For all the discussion about TCB & Roy above....I think I will stick with Ooe Yofukuten for the rad repro style quality.

No drama, just enthusiastic pair of amazing couples still doing the best work out there.

[Coolguyzack]

I'm in the process of trying to gain mass, but I'm in an awkward pudgy stage. When looking at my denim, I'm ready to shed a tear knowing how they used to fit lol. Unfortunately it's a Uniqlo straight pair for me now until I land at a steady (hopefully sexy) weight... 

[beautiful_FrEaK]

21 hours ago, Maynard Friedman said:

They’d be too cheap, too easy to obtain and therefore lack the ‘je ne sais quoi’ of other, more ‘exclusive’ brands.

You think? I'm not sure. Of course, I can only speak for myself but somehow all jeans from Japan are pretty easy to get nowadays (exceptions may be CSF and BOT).

Nowadays, I often prefer to buy within Europe. Quick shipping and if something doesn't fit you can send it back more easily, also the prices are not always worse. The only exclusion from this are the deadstock Denime stuff I like to hunt&buy and I agree those are exclusive but that's not the reason I buy them, because: who cares besides me?!

Edit: or maybe I do like them because of that...get out of my head Maynard!

Edited May 9, 2022 by beautiful_FrEaK

[NilsLW]

This thread remind me of when the hosts of Top Gear try to think of a car they all agree on is a good car, and the only the only model they can agree on is the Ford Mondeo.
Personally I can't think of any brands that I hate, though I must say I never seize to be surprised by the ugly jeans favoured on the subreddit. Mostly tapered fits made out of gimmicky heavyweight and over-the-top slubby denim from brands like N&F, PBJ and Nudie.
Naked & Famous is offering this season a pair of slim taper jeans made out of, no joke, strawberry milk denim for 200$. Sounds exciting doesn't it...

[beautiful_FrEaK]

Some history about Sufu

https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/superfuture-internet-fashion/

[Duke Mantee]

That’s a good article 

[julian-wolf]

Went on a big hunt a while back for replacement bath towels, and ended up settling on a company called Towels By Gus. From what I gathered, they’re one of two or three companies still using the last remaining domestic (to the US) towel, and of the two or three they seemed the least frilly / decorated. Overall, I’ve been extremely happy with them.

Anyway, for anyone who might be in the market: looks like they’re having a pretty big sale right now on the remaining stock of their largest size towel (“bath sheet”, whatever that means). Go wild.

[Cold Summer]

A few years ago I got some towels from Bed Bath And Beyond from American Craft, which makes them in the USA. They've held up really well.