Denim Blunders, Reflections and General Nonsense.

[mlwdp]

[chicote]

Yup, just endless infantile posturing to other countries while bankrupting our own working classes to pay for unjustified, unpopular and unwinnable military incursions into countries that we often completely destroy, then use their people’s desperation and poverty as an excuse for why they shouldn’t be allowed to come live here… great system we got here! And zoomed out it makes the suffering we go through not being able to get fancy jeans feel so absurd in comparison to those at the barrel of a gun or a drone strike… yet it’s also crucial to remember they both emerge from the same root cause

[Maynard Friedman]

I was out walking my dog with my son and noticed that a man ahead of us had a big number 6 emblazoned on the back of his jacket with some smaller text above. I’m shortsighted so asked my son what it said. He replied “Osaka, but shouldn’t that be a 5 instead?”! 

[indigoeagle]

1 hour ago, Maynard Friedman said:

I was out walking my dog with my son and noticed that a man ahead of us had a big number 6 emblazoned on the back of his jacket with some smaller text above. I’m shortsighted so asked my son what it said. He replied “Osaka, but shouldn’t that be a 5 instead?”! 

Sounds promising

[beautiful_FrEaK]

I hope he kept his jacket super dry

[Lorcan]

Just FYI if anyone in the UK is planning on shipping something with EMS at the moment I would maybe use a different service if possible. Parcelforce and Royal Mail seem to be changing/amalgamating their tracking systems and it's causing issues. I assume its related to them being bought out by the Czech billionaire and restructuring.

I had a parcel where the tracking was dodgy and wasn't registering I had paid customs and they weren't trying to deliver it. Anyway eventually I managed to collect it from the depot (not necessarily being sure it was even going to be there). But only after waiting around outside because they were having a tea break and it was closed even though it was supposed to be open 😂. And then they brought me the wrong parcel which apparently had a code on the system related to mine. Anyway after much sifting through ("do you know how roughly how big your parcel is?" lol) they found the right one. 

There was a diminutive Asian lady there also expecting a parcel from Japan at the depot helping me drum on windows and raise someone to open up the customer service point who was absolutely raging at them. She'd had something similar happen, only as it transpired they had actually sent her parcel back to Japan even though she'd paid customs... yeah not amused.

Unfortunately I have another one with my Neat Style x Denim Bridge 1890s already on the way currently held up in Osaka so will see how that goes 😅

[mlwdp]

Been reading some horror stories on DHL Reddit about DHL not converting the yen correctly on shipments.  Be careful gents.

[Double 0 Soul]

@Lorcan .. almost word for word, this shit happened to me back in July, there was no customs fee but the parcel was high value so a real nail-biter. 
 

When they eventually found the package one of the staff said they’d had a lot of problems with EMS tracking recently (July) the inset barcode sticker had been peeled away and stuck to the end of the box.. for 3 days the tracking said out for delivery but it never arrived so I went to the depot. 

[Alec Leamas]

On 9/19/2025 at 3:04 PM, Lorcan said:

Just FYI if anyone in the UK is planning on shipping something with EMS at the moment I would maybe use a different service if possible. Parcelforce and Royal Mail seem to be changing/amalgamating their tracking systems and it's causing issues. I assume its related to them being bought out by the Czech billionaire and restructuring.

I had a parcel where the tracking was dodgy and wasn't registering I had paid customs and they weren't trying to deliver it. Anyway eventually I managed to collect it from the depot (not necessarily being sure it was even going to be there). But only after waiting around outside because they were having a tea break and it was closed even though it was supposed to be open 😂. And then they brought me the wrong parcel which apparently had a code on the system related to mine. Anyway after much sifting through ("do you know how roughly how big your parcel is?" lol) they found the right one. 

There was a diminutive Asian lady there also expecting a parcel from Japan at the depot helping me drum on windows and raise someone to open up the customer service point who was absolutely raging at them. She'd had something similar happen, only as it transpired they had actually sent her parcel back to Japan even though she'd paid customs... yeah not amused.

Unfortunately I have another one with my Neat Style x Denim Bridge 1890s already on the way currently held up in Osaka so will see how that goes 😅

I have also had this happen to me in varying degrees. I've noticed additional oddities like when they leave delivery depot to deliver that day, my tracking will suddenly tell me it's in like Heathrow or something. Thankfully, my local delivery depot is a short (ish) bike ride from my workplace in Leeds so I don't mind the odd lunchtime trip down there.

Also just surprised that you're in the UK....for some reason I thought you were US.

[Le Clown Bleu]

the more I wear these oni jeans the more I realise I don't really like them, i got them when i was new to it all and now i realise they are quite mediocre 

[julian-wolf]

^ Don’t worry, that’s a very common step in the process

Plenty of folks seem to get started with widely-available lower-end fashion brands like Nudie or N&F, then get pulled into the hype and get excited by louder, more out-there niche brands like ONI or Tanuki or PBJ, before circling in on the more nuanced, interesting options

For me, I think it was Gustin -> Sauce Zhan -> Big John RARE (which maybe occupied a similar space to your ONI) before I tried my first pair of Sugar Cane’s and got hooked

[Le Clown Bleu]

@julian-wolfi get that, they are currently relegated as my work trousers now as i might as well, letting go of two of my better pairs due to  them becoming to big and have to replace them with something new . so left with one pair of jeans i care for  (taiga takahashi)

 

[ATWM]

3 hours ago, Le Clown Bleu said:

the more I wear these oni jeans the more I realise I don't really like them, i got them when i was new to it all and now i realise they are quite mediocre 

I think the first pair I actually ordered from overseas was PBJ, and I still wish I had that money back. Gave them away on Reddit. I couldn't even bring myself to charge someone else for the patterning that they called jeans. 

Then went to Mister Freedom and Tender - both somewhat out there pairs, but ones that I still actually like, and designers I still like (moreso with Tender, but Mister Freedom has a few real hits). I also had some Gustins early in there but they were gifts, they were actually fine enough in some ways but again the patterning there is explicitly for beanpole dudes. 

After that, yea, I settled on the more or less typical stuff - though I still do like some funk here and there, but more in the design as opposed to lumpy denim. There's a reason vintage Levi's are the most emulated. 

[jkbrwn]

^ I so desperately want to buy everything MF manufactures but everything I’ve ever tried on is so dang slim. It’s just not a brand for me  

[Cold Summer]

My first pair of Japanese jeans were actually PBJs, the XX-011 jeans, when I lived in Japan in 2011. I actually still love the denim (and details) of those jeans, but the fit was very uncomfortable with a super low rise and taper that strangled my lower thighs. PBJ's classic fabrics like their original denim from the XX-003/005/013, the XX-011 left hand twill, and double indigo denim, are all pretty iconic IMO and not over engineered like Oni and other hype fabrics/brands.

I've come to a much greater appreciation of vintage style fabrics in recent years, with my Warehouse 1001xx and currently TCB Late S40s, but I'm still fond of the sort of second generation of Japanese denim, exemplified by stuff like Sugar Cane's Okinawa and Hawaii denim, Flat Head's 14.5 oz, Samurai's 15 oz Texas cotton denim, and the aforementioned PBJ ones. Those strike a nice balance between traditional and innovative elements.

I think that the longer you're in this hobby, the more you get over the overt/flashy tendencies that are appealing at first, like super high contrast fades, branding, and dramatic fabrics. Another thing for me is cuffing, I used to love the big cuff that shows off the selvedge but now I think the biggest "flex" of all is just wearing a properly hemmed (on the 43200G, of course...), polite looking straight legged pair, looking to all the world except denim enthusiasts like regular jeans. Selvedge denim is, in general, far more accessible and commonplace than it was when I got into all this back in 2009, so it's not really the intrinsic flex it once was.

[redragon]

10 hours ago, Le Clown Bleu said:

@julian-wolfi get that, they are currently relegated as my work trousers now as i might as well, letting go of two of my better pairs due to  them becoming to big and have to replace them with something new . so left with one pair of jeans i care for  (taiga takahashi)

 

How’s T.T?

The fabric looks somewhat flat (i guess the byproduct of Sanforization?)

its been on my radar for some time now, really like the whole presentation of the brand (gone too soon… 😔)

[Double 0 Soul]

4 hours ago, jkbrwn said:

^ I so desperately want to buy everything MF manufactures but everything I’ve ever tried on is so dang slim. It’s just not a brand for me  

Have you considered the Mister Freedom ® diet plan @jkbrwn .. each carefully curated meal is inspired by a Mister Freedom ® collection.. for breakfast it's sauerkraut and a ship's biscuit from the MFSC Naval Collection.. lunch is Pho noodle soup from the Frogsville Collection and for dinner it's Coq Au Vin and a nice bottle of Chateau Latour from Les Apaches.. you'll be able to shoehorn your skinny ass into a 2009 Mechanics shirt in no time!

[Lorcan]

19 hours ago, Alec Leamas said:

Also just surprised that you're in the UK....for some reason I thought you were US.

Hah well weaknesses for PNW boots, western belts, the Grateful Dead… probably not so typically British. Quite what the local youth in Hoodrich and Represent trackies think seeing the likes of me mosey on by who knows 😂

 

On T.T. I did have a look around the Kyoto store when I was there as I was passing by. I liked the look of the standard denim more than I expected. Although the pre-distressed stuff was pretty awful.
 

The floor of the store is completely covered with white pebbles and in some areas it’s raked into Zen garden style patterns. Unfortunately they didn’t put much thought in to how you reach the clothing in some places without treading on the ‘artistic’ bits of floor and I got chided by the store assistant for wandering into it trying to look at the leather jackets 😁

[Double 0 Soul]

I was walking up to the pub on Wednesday wearing an Engineered Garments down vest, one of the neighbours said.. “are you going swimming?” Me?  No.. why? 

“it looks like you’re wearing some kind of buoyancy aid” 

Edited September 26, 2025 by Double 0 Soul

[Lorcan]

Haha maybe your neighbour’s just a Back to the Future fan 😁

 

[Le Clown Bleu]

@redragon i quite like t.t though I'm limited to trousers and jeans due to my build. 

the brand for me is that perfect level of repo+ fashion forward experimentation , the denim is very very light weight  so far and its colour reminds me of the recent sugar cane boot cuts i used to have 
i have 4 items soon to be 5 from the brand

[PBTony]

18 hours ago, Cold Summer said:

My first pair of Japanese jeans were actually PBJs, the XX-011 jeans, when I lived in Japan in 2011. I actually still love the denim (and details) of those jeans, but the fit was very uncomfortable with a super low rise and taper that strangled my lower thighs. PBJ's classic fabrics like their original denim from the XX-003/005/013, the XX-011 left hand twill, and double indigo denim, are all pretty iconic IMO and not over engineered like Oni and other hype fabrics/brands.

I've come to a much greater appreciation of vintage style fabrics in recent years, with my Warehouse 1001xx and currently TCB Late S40s, but I'm still fond of the sort of second generation of Japanese denim, exemplified by stuff like Sugar Cane's Okinawa and Hawaii denim, Flat Head's 14.5 oz, Samurai's 15 oz Texas cotton denim, and the aforementioned PBJ ones. Those strike a nice balance between traditional and innovative elements.

I think that the longer you're in this hobby, the more you get over the overt/flashy tendencies that are appealing at first, like super high contrast fades, branding, and dramatic fabrics. Another thing for me is cuffing, I used to love the big cuff that shows off the selvedge but now I think the biggest "flex" of all is just wearing a properly hemmed (on the 43200G, of course...), polite looking straight legged pair, looking to all the world except denim enthusiasts like regular jeans. Selvedge denim is, in general, far more accessible and commonplace than it was when I got into all this back in 2009, so it's not really the intrinsic flex it once was.

For me even before I knew what selvedge even was i used to cuff my regular jeans. I think visually it breaks up the outfit a bit more and then with an actual selvedge cuff it looks even better especially as it starts to fade and you have some roping.

Also having the perfect length really depends on what footwear you have so cuffing takes the headache out of that.

I think with looser fits having them hemmed so there is no break at all can look a tad dorky and you either need a full break or a cuff. That's how I feel at least. Straight fits look great though with no cuff or break 

[Cold Summer]

For the longest time I resisted the idea of wearing a straight fit with no cuff, but I really changed my mind over the last few years from wearing jeans that look good like this. Lots of pics in the WAYWT thread where I have these kinds of fits going on. Getting the length just right can be tricky, and there is some break on my pairs - just not enough to be sloppy looking. It's a very different look and vibe from the more common Ivy-inspired/Yoshiyuki Hayashi style of very cropped jeans.

[Maynard Friedman]

[Double 0 Soul]

I had to take a detour en route to Tesco this morning because some dudes had shot some other dude in his car with automatic weapons..

They’ve just got no bloody consideration for other people.. 10 extra minutes it took me 

[Broark]

19 minutes ago, Double 0 Soul said:

They’ve just got no bloody consideration for other people..

Sort of tangentially related to your post and something I was just thinking about: has anyone else noticed an uptick in generally angry people in your day to day life?
Feels like it's been a growing thing since COVID, at least in Texas and the US in general. Drivers are more aggressive, fuses are shorter with basic public interactions.
I know the only thing I can control are my own reactions and general temperament, but boy is it exhausting!
I miss the times when people were more courteous and kind, but I guess it's a byproduct of the general state of things since then.

[ATWM]

1 hour ago, Broark said:

Sort of tangentially related to your post and something I was just thinking about: has anyone else noticed an uptick in generally angry people in your day to day life?
Feels like it's been a growing thing since COVID, at least in Texas and the US in general. Drivers are more aggressive, fuses are shorter with basic public interactions.
I know the only thing I can control are my own reactions and general temperament, but boy is it exhausting!
I miss the times when people were more courteous and kind, but I guess it's a byproduct of the general state of things since then.

I think the leader sets the tone and a lot of people feel an implicit license to act a dickhead with the examples we get from up top - no matter what one’s policy preferences. What I notice where I am is more a sense of general exhaustion more than anger. But I’ve heard that and I have seen some of it too. It’s funny though, when I lived in NC - and maybe it was just the city I lived in or something - I felt a more palpable anger during the first term. It was pretty stressful. Also, it made sense.

This is to say nothing of the increasing daily stresses many people are under due to … so many things.  

Driving is a pretty particular thing on its own - it stresses the body and mind in a unique way and people respond in antisocial ways more than they would without a metal box around them and there is pretty good information about this. But yea, def feels like the driving is more aggressive these days. 

Agree about the exhausting mess of it all. Probably one reason obsessing about something simple as pants is a reprieve. 

[Dr_Heech]

@Broark can't believe the Katy highway has 26 lanes!

You guys always have a place to crash here in the Cotswolds if ever you need a break 😁

[Maynard Friedman]

14 minutes ago, ATWM said:

I think the leader sets the tone and a lot of people feel an implicit license to act a dickhead with the examples we get from up top - no matter what one’s policy preferences.

We have the same anger/impatience issues here in the UK so I guess that must be Keir Starmer’s fault! 🤣

[ATWM]

3 minutes ago, Maynard Friedman said:

We have the same anger/impatience issues here in the UK so I guess that must be Keir Starmer’s fault! 🤣

In that case I just blame the internet. Ha.

Idk.

I was in the UK twice the past year or so and everyone was lovely, but that was from the lens of a traveler, which is usually rosier 😃