Denim Blunders, Reflections and General Nonsense.

[Iron Horse]

Putting them in the dryer is a big part, I think, of what Max is talking about. The heat from the dryer is what will really cause all that puckering we see on say Aho's WH pairs.

[volvo240thebest]

definitely the dryer plays a big role. I don't have a dryer and don't need one though, but I'm tempted to give my pair of TCB 50's a wash and dry in a laundromat just to see if it makes any difference on the puckering and roping.

[Cold Summer]

I like a pronounced roping effect, and the marbley texture of some of those repro fabrics, but I have always absolutely hated when jeans have that puckered/checkered look on the seams - even back way before I got into raw denim. It always looks to me like a combination "Fake Prewashed Awful Mall Jeans" and "Dad Jeans". One of the things I love about raw denim is that I basically never have to worry about that now.

[itsbenhere]

How can you avoid that though? I figure that the yoke on a pair of jeans will always show that puckering as long as it's unsanforized.

[Cold Summer]

Yeah, there will always be a bit of a bump to it - that's not really what I mean, rather the aggressive light/dark checkering, like this:

 

[setterman]

To continue a thought I wrote down in the Evolution of Jeans thread...has anybody ever successfully tried to give his Jeans a different character than he normally achieves? For some years I've come to like the marbling and vintage character of some Repro brands but I never got fades like that, even when I washed a lot (and thought this might help them to look a bit like aho's pairs).

When that didn't have any effect I switched to Warehouse, hoping that it was the denim that makes the difference. But so far I seem to end up with similar fading characterstics as always. I know that the same wearer will most likely creat similar Fadings, still it is a strange observation that the oh-so-important washing & wearing routine has little effect on the outcome.

 

(Maybe I should wash my Resolute right-side-out every week and use a dryer, this might push it).

 

You looking for something like this?  http://info.ware-house.co.jp/usedsample/24/

 

I think wearing slightly bigger (notice no signs of button strain at the waist of the above pair) and washing/drying more often may produce what you're looking for.  

[Iron Horse]

Yeah, there will always be a bit of a bump to it - that's not really what I mean, rather the aggressive light/dark checkering, like this:

 

 

 

I'd love to get "aggressive" with this broad, if you know what I mean.   

[Sugar Mountain]

You looking for something like this?  http://info.ware-house.co.jp/usedsample/24/

 

I think wearing slightly bigger (notice no signs of button strain at the waist of the above pair) and washing/drying more often may produce what you're looking for.  

 

How do you reckon sizing contributes to marbling Setterman?

 

It is interesting how most fading examples from Japan have no signs of strain at all on the waist band and many show a faded part to the side of the back belt loop where there is a small excess of material from being tightened with a belt. Guess everyone buys a little larger than actual waist size rather than the button-straining fits more commonplace in the West where the fly can barely button-up.

[Rightyow77]

just bought some 800 in a size 30 hemmed them high since I wanted a short cuff. Bigger than what I normally wear so we shall see.

[Iron Horse]

How do you reckon sizing contributes to marbling Setterman?

 

It is interesting how most fading examples from Japan have no signs of strain at all on the waist band and many show a faded part to the side of the back belt loop where there is a small excess of material from being tightened with a belt. Guess everyone buys a little larger than actual waist size rather than the button-straining fits more commonplace in the West where the fly can barely button-up.

 

I have to say, I'm also not a fan of a tight waist or sizing down. Better to be a little too big than a little too small.

[Cold Summer]

How do you reckon sizing contributes to marbling Setterman?

 

It is interesting how most fading examples from Japan have no signs of strain at all on the waist band and many show a faded part to the side of the back belt loop where there is a small excess of material from being tightened with a belt. Guess everyone buys a little larger than actual waist size rather than the button-straining fits more commonplace in the West where the fly can barely button-up.

 

At the expense of generalizing, from experience I can say that most of the guys buying this stuff in Japan are middle-aged and don't care about fit nearly as much as we do. But I never thought these guys wearing big repro jeans looked real great anyway, I've seen some really sloppy looking fits in Japan and in magazines there. Most Japanese men are very slim, and the loose/straight fits don't look very flattering on them even when sized right, compared to a slimmer fitting model (eg Flat Head 3001, PBJ XX-005, etc.)

 

Maybe I'm just crazy, but I'm an advocate of wearing your actual size, not sizing down to ball-buster size or going up for a Dad Jeans fit. 

[clt3]

I actually disagree with the way Japanese people wear their jeans. I feel like the reason it looks so sloppy is that they usually have a really long inseam which just pushes up the fabric and creates bunching that looks like bagginess. If these people are wearing sizes like 28 and 29, the sizing of straight cuts actually turn out to be slimmer than most people think when there is no break. 

[setterman]

How do you reckon sizing contributes to marbling Setterman?

 

 

I think a bigger jean that can be washed more often, and thrown in the dryer (and still able to buttoned up afterwards) might be more conducive to the look I think Max is after.   

 

I mentioned button strain because in the case of Max's 800s it appears they're stretching pretty good post wash.  He could probably size up from a 34 to a 36, use warm water and a hot dryer, and have the 36s post wash fit the way the 34s do when they're stretched a bit.  Will probably be too big for his liking after 20 wears, but then he could thrown them in the wash again.  Or, he could go with a different model that has a waist size that falls in between the size 34 and 36 800 (like a size 36 the new 1003SXX).      

Edited January 20, 2016 by setterman

[aho]

I prefer wearing jeans the way the cut was meant to be worn...There are plenty of options out there if you want jeggings, slim straight, regular, etc. that there's no point in trying to size down or up to make jeans fit in a way they're not meant to. Of course "style" and body type are major factors as well, but I do prefer the Japanese fit overall out of comfort and understanding that the cuts are 'vintage' in nature. Give it a few years and the looser/baggy trend will be back in vogue, I promise (Hedi Slimanne Dior was 2000-2007 people!). Sometimes I feel we obsess over getting a "perfect" fit, which is natural on a forum dedicated to jeans, but there's really no sense in over thinking it. I say find your own fit and wear whatever suits your needs and comfort because at the end of the day they're just jeans and that's all that matters.

[Cold Summer]

You raise an interesting point Aho, skinny fitting jeans for men started getting popular back in about 2007 and it's kind of amazing that almost a decade later this hasn't changed.

 

Sure, I rarely see the skin-tight, super stretchy sorts of jeans that were popular early on, but the vast majority of guys I know are wearing Levis 511 or something pretty close to that. 

 

Personally, I like slim tapered jeans for wearing with sneakers and dressier shoes, and a narrow straight fit for boots.

[Cucoo]

According to my wife skinny jeans on dudes haven't been fashionable for two or three years but as always men didn't get the memo

 

Around here, skin tight jeans are still super in with the "I "DJ" on weekends and sneak through office corridors avoiding eye contact during the week" hipster crowd. (Super specific because there's that one guy at my office)

 

Personally, I don't like strongly tapered jeans, I just don't like the silhouette.

[setterman]

Around here it's skinny jeans or douche jeans (Buckle) for the "fashionable" male.  What I don't get is 25 years later there are still guys sagging their jeans and have their entire ass hanging out in the breeze.

[dwilson123]

Its funny because you'd think with how global everything is these days with the internet and message boards and the like places wouldn't be so far behind the fashion times.  But Ohio is still at least 5 years late on many trends.  I remember I took a trip to CA and Hawaii when I was maybe 22.  So about 8 years ago.  Everyone, and I mean everyone, wore white rimmed sunglasses.  Then when I turned 25-26 I noticed almost everyone here in Ohio was wearing white rimmed sunglasses.  Skinny jeans are really just now fading out (and honestly never were a *big* thing here.)  What is more odd is if you go into the really rural farm areas (my wife is from there so we go there to visit her family) for whatever reason the Fall Out Boy emo scene kid fashion is still the go-to thing.  Which is insane because that was popular when I was in HS like 15 years ago.

[Cucoo]

Haha yeah, and I guess you can notice that all over the world. I live in a mid-size city in Bavaria, and it's always 1 year behind in fashion compared to Munich, not even to speak of Berlin. I don't notice stuff like that but my wife likes to comment on these things, like she can't do some new trend because you can't even buy it in stores here yet, or sometimes she'll get comments from weirded out colleagues when one year later they'll wear the very same thing.

[dwilson123]

Haha yeah, and I guess you can notice that all over the world. I live in a mid-size city in Bavaria, and it's always 1 year behind in fashion compared to Munich, not even to speak of Berlin. I don't notice stuff like that but my wife likes to comment on these things, like she can't do some new trend because you can't even buy it in stores here yet, or sometimes she'll get comments from weirded out colleagues when one year later they'll wear the very same thing.

 

Yeah obviously since I'm posting on a clothing related forum I'm usually a bit more recent than most of the people around here.  Its really funny when my wife says something about this new direction I'm taking my wardrobe and then a few years later you see it everywhere.  Like when we first started dating and I was explaining raw denim to her.  Then you see people cuffing selvage everywhere.  Then I got big into the MiUSA kick for a bit and then that is catching on pretty heavily.  I really need long wallets and leather wallet keepers to come into mainstream so I can be right about that one as well!

[beautiful_FrEaK]

^ Long wallets and leather straps are so 2009

[Cucoo]

Good thing fashion is cyclical

[aho]

Still waiting for the right time to bust out my raw flares! 

[kiya]

Still waiting for the right time to bust out my raw flares! 

 

 

Let me know when you're ready, i've got a few pairs of Flat Head 3007 jeans with arcs and tabs to sell when flares come back into style.

[Cold Summer]

I really need long wallets and leather wallet keepers to come into mainstream so I can be right about that one as well!

 

I second that, man. Although I sold all my long wallet gear just because after I moved back to the US from Japan it kinda became irrelevant, now I just use my FH card case as my wallet and use pretty much only cards. I'm still kinda tempted to buy some new Redmoon gear when I start wearing my S0500xx daily, though.

[oomslokop]

to me (and sometimes i wonder why this topic isn't brought up more often in denim forums) the fit of your jeans is a function of your overall style. if i were to describe my style, it would be something like "slackerbro" (as i described it once on denimbro), and within that style i can fit in several types of jeans fits, but not skinny jeans, not because i hate the aesthetic, but just because i haven't got the skinny legs and torso of joey ramone (or heidi slimane). if i did, maybe i would be stocking up on ih-777/555. i also like to sag my jeans a little, whether they're my sc hawaii or my dry bones red-d, because i just love that happy mondays "it's gotta be a loose fit" fit sans the terry toweling fishing hat. what i find sometimes mind-boggling is how some dudes would be stressing out on their jeans' fit as if it exists independently/separately from their whole outfit. but maybe i'm just old enough to come into the denim universe having already experimented with many different styles of dressing up/down (from '50s rockabilly to neon-raver) and come up with an amalgamation of all those different styles that i feel most comfortable with. 

[dwilson123]

I second that, man. Although I sold all my long wallet gear just because after I moved back to the US from Japan it kinda became irrelevant, now I just use my FH card case as my wallet and use pretty much only cards. I'm still kinda tempted to buy some new Redmoon gear when I start wearing my S0500xx daily, though.

 

Yeah functionally I have no need for the long wallet.  I just really like the way it looks.  I haven't paid for anything with actual cash in years so it is a bit funny I have this giant wallet only to pull out a credit card.

 

And that black cordovan wallet of yours was sick.  I was actually a bit bummed I bought my TSG long wallet maybe a month or so before you listed yours because I would have snatched that up immediately.

Edited January 21, 2016 by dwilson123

[Max Power]

Sorry, I've been absent for a few days. Thanks for the interesting discussion. Setterman exactly described what I thought as well - the way I size my jeans today for my usual washing routine probably wouldn't work when I chose to wash at 60°C everytime and used a dryer. So I am actually tempted to size up and try that route (but being a 35 makes it hard. 36 seems to be my current choice for a normal-comfortable fit, 38 is way too big). But I'm set for this year and maybe the next anyway.

Edited January 21, 2016 by Max Power

[Cucoo]

to me (and sometimes i wonder why this topic isn't brought up more often in denim forums) the fit of your jeans is a function of your overall style. if i were to describe my style, it would be something like "slackerbro" (as i described it once on denimbro), and within that style i can fit in several types of jeans fits, but not skinny jeans, not because i hate the aesthetic, but just because i haven't got the skinny legs and torso of joey ramone (or heidi slimane). if i did, maybe i would be stocking up on ih-777/555. i also like to sag my jeans a little, whether they're my sc hawaii or my dry bones red-d, because i just love that happy mondays "it's gotta be a loose fit" fit sans the terry toweling fishing hat. what i find sometimes mind-boggling is how some dudes would be stressing out on their jeans' fit as if it exists independently/separately from their whole outfit. but maybe i'm just old enough to come into the denim universe having already experimented with many different styles of dressing up/down (from '50s rockabilly to neon-raver) and come up with an amalgamation of all those different styles that i feel most comfortable with. 

 

I think at least part of the dudes stressing out about how others rate their fit is because they don't have a girlfriend or wife to ask "does this fit me / look ok" I get your point though. What's the point in impressing internet bros with how your jeans fit? First and foremost they have to be what YOU are looking for.

 

Talking about fashion and asking for opinions and pointers is very helpful if you're not sure about your style or looking for something new, of course.

[Flash]

The one and only time I asked the wife's approval on the fit of my jeans all I got was a sarcastic " does my bum look big in this " .... you guys opinions are much more constutive 😊