Denim Blunders, Reflections and General Nonsense.

[Cold Summer]

In the past I've owned some rare pairs from Flat Head, like pre-production prototypes of the 4002 and D109FXR jeans. However, neither of these fit me very well so I ended up giving them back to FH. 

 

I haven't owned any other pairs that were particularly rare/unusual, but these were particularly meaningful for me:

 

Samurai S710xx: I bought these back in summer 2012, making them my longest-owned high quality jeans by far. They've experienced a ton of stuff, like shoveling mountains of snow from in front of my first Japanese residence. Not wearing these a ton these days since I stopped wearing engineer boots and went back to slim tapered fits, but I'll never get rid of them.

 

Flat Head 1001: I wore these jeans for nine months of real wear time over the course of a year, making them my hardest-worn jeans yet. I traded them to Rivet And Hide because I got tired of wearing such a low rise, but they turned out really nice.

 

3Sixteen RH15: Rivet And Hide's collab with 3Sixteen is the best-fitting pair of jeans I've ever worn, the denim is left-hand twill, and feels really nice. Looking forward to wearing these jeans daily starting this fall.

[Chubacca]

I have some limited releases although I love and consider all my denim unique because how they fit slightly different and the experiences I've shared in them.  I'm changing my viewpoint of life and whichever I'm wearing is my favorite.  I had a interesting talk with someone about Bourbon and asked which was their all time favorite.  He said, which ever Bourbon is in front of me is my favorite.  It does make sense and I've been thinking about that mantra.  Not to be too critical on life and just enjoy it.   Enjoying the ride.

 

Naked and Famous - Elephant 1s - My true first pair of raw and heavyweight denim - Retired due to fit and too small.  Multiple international travels

Flathead 2015 - 20oz Limited Edition Denim.  My first contest pair and worn for the Heavy Weight Denim Championship 2.  Multiple international travels.   Semi Retired

Pronto x PBJ 2014 Collab - Orange weft Limited Edition - My main pair and worn when I moved to Nashville.  I learned swing dancing in these jeans.  I guess an ode to continue to learn and challenge yourself.  

Samurai 710 BKB -  First black raw denim jeans

[dwilson123]

I think the only pair of "rare" jeans I have are my PBJ 24-005's only because PBJ isn't making that 24oz fabric anymore.  I know they reissued with a different 24oz fabric which, to me, seemed far less interesting.  But the jeans are so worn they'd be worthless on a secondary market.

[VivaMarlon]

You guys should post pictures of the stuff you've got! Specially the nicely worn in pairs.

[Cold Summer]

So following up on my earlier T-shirt question, I found just what I was looking for with a retailer called Lone Flag's T-shirts. I'd never heard of these guys until I started seeing their slick 3Sixteen product pictures show up on Instagram, but it turns out they have high-quality made in USA T-shirts with a slim fit, wider neck, long length, and curved hem - just what I was looking for. Got this tee in white, black, and gray, couldn't be happier with the quality or super soft feel. And at $45 per shirt, I think these are a good price. 

[givemefive]

all right Cold Summer, I picked one up in a Large. Let's see how it is!

[Cold Summer]

I think you'll like it - it's amazing how hard it is to find something that's high quality but with a different fit from the boxy sort of fit most tees have. A tee like Flat Head's THC, for example, is an amazing quality T-shirt and looks great on the right people, but the fit is just silly on me. Good to know there's a nice option available now for taller slim dudes (or anyone who wants a longer tee with some nice, subtle style details. )

[Megatron1505]

Jumping in on this one, I don't own any rare denim in the wider sense, but I keep pairs that are personal to me. I have the prototype Iron Heart Mega Beatle Busters as they were the first jeans I had a hand in speccing, same with the 21/23oz DWC jeans. I also have the one and only pair of the jeans I designed with Sauce Zhan which I thought were great but then Zhan stopped talking to me 

 

I've never really been a collector, but the jeans I keep are because they have personal value to me. Recently I've been wanting to pick up a new pair of Samurai 710's as they were the first quality Japanese jeans I ever owned, nothing rare but that model will always be special to me.

 

The only thing I have which could be considered remotely rare is an Iron Heart IHSH-16 in mint condition, the original heavy chambray. That material is still the nicest chambray I have ever seen and it will probably never be seen again.

 

On the weight debate, I gotta say that I disagree with the thoughts that heavy jeans always produce thick high contrast fades, it all depends on your wash regimen. I wash my jeans regularly (the horror) so my jeans tend to fade softly, evenly and more vintage style.

[Max Power]

Fully agree on the SH16, I still feel sad about selling mine because it was too small. I wish it was made again.

 

Yes, for example 21 oz Samurais or the 634SR looked great with many wears & washes. Maybe it's just that so many new kids fall for heavy denim and the non washing regime that make their jeans look exaggerated.

[dwilson123]

My heavier jeans have by far more defined creases than my lighter weight jeans and those creases tend to persist through washes.  Therefore the wear gets less and less uniform since the creases set very solidly and tend to stay put.

[Cold Summer]

My style has been changing a lot recently.

 

I wore nothing but Japanese-inspired heritage styles for years, very influenced by a biker/50s aesthetic, the sort you often find in Japanese magazines like Lightning and Daytona Bros. I love how this style looks, but for a variety of reasons started to realize it didn't totally work for me - the proportions of the clothes were all off on my tall, thin frame (especially in terms of length), and it never seemed to suit me as well as I wanted it to.

 

Over the past year or two my style has been going through subtle shifts to something more streetwear-inspired, for lack of a better term. It's very close to 3sixteen's style that straddles the line between streetwear/heritage stuff, and more diverse and varied than what I wore before. I've cut my once-formidable flannel collection down to just three shirts, I've sold off my engineer boots and replaced them with narrower profile ones, and I've moved over to exclusively wearing slim tapered jeans. Most of this I've figured out just by taking pictures of my outfits and carefully analyzing what looks "off" about them.

 

One of the biggest changes was to embrace white and brown. I never wore many brown items before, but with my hair color, green eyes, and fair skin complexion, I started to realize that more basic colors (white, black, gray) punctuated by brown or green pieces look a lot more natural and well-suited to me than the black boots and more complex colors/patterns I'd been wearing for years.

 

This is the first year I can think of that I've actually enjoyed putting together warmer-weather outfits and looked forward to spring. Of course, raw denim is still a constant in all this, but I've found myself going way outside of the narrow aesthetic I focused on for years.

[Sugar Mountain]

I think it's important to feel comfortable in your clothes and with your personal style. Actually, I thought your Flat Head gear and Sams looked good on you, other than a few sleeves that ran too short, though I know it's much more about how everything feels on the wearer.

 

My own choices have been largely influenced over the past few years by living in hot and humid Hong Kong. It's near impossible to wear denim heavier than 14oz and though I love my boots, it really makes more sense to wear derby shoes or chukkas in this climate. Flannels are pretty much out and I've come to embrace short sleeve shirts after regarding them with suspicion for a long time (unless cut right, they can appear either security guard-ish or Mr Party Guy bowling shirt style). Likewise, looser cuts on jeans are a whole lot easier to get away with than tight and restrictive drainpipes. I'm also not averse to a chino or fatigue trouser now either. Shorts I still hate for the most part!

[Cold Summer]

It was really the sleeve and hem lengths that wore me down, I tried to live with it for years but just got tired of trying to make very nice garments that don't go well with my body type work. At this point I'd rather wear basics that fit me very well and then layer nicer stuff on top of that. 

 

I used to dislike short sleeve shirts too until I realized that it's the sleeve width which makes or breaks the shirt. A slim-fitting sleeve that leaves just enough room for mobility is essential, it's the big wide sleeves that create the unfortunate result you describe. But I'm sure you've noticed all this for yourself.

[itsbenhere]

I think I've almost desensitized myself to being amazed and impressed by even the best clothing out there since I've had so many nice flannels/tees/shirts and leather stuff. To be honest it's kind of nice not feeling like I *have* to have something, although I also think a lot of brands out there don't make stuff as cool as they used to (Dry Bones, Iron Heart, Mister Freedom...)

 

Then again, I just bought some Viberg Boondockers. We'll see how those make me feel!

Edited April 19, 2016 by itsbenhere

[alvin_cheong]

Hi Ben, how did you seize for the boondockers? Looking for boondockers too, but not sure on their sizing.

[itsbenhere]

I put virtually 0 research into sizing since I can return them. I'm a 9.5D US on a brannock scale and got an 8.5 in the 2045 last. I remember trying on the 2030 last in an 8.5 and it was murder on the tops of my feet and still a bit too long, the 2045 should be great though.

 

I'll let you know how it worked out when I actually get them!

[Sugar Mountain]

Yeah, the 2045 feels completely different than the 2030. There's plenty more width, obviously, and it is a much roomier last in the instep too. I hope you'll be happy with the Boondockers - I think they're superb and they've aged beautifully for me. 

 

Alvin - you can take the same size in Viberg as your Alden size.  

[aho]

I think I've almost desensitized myself to being amazed and impressed by even the best clothing out there since I've had so many nice flannels/tees/shirts and leather stuff. To be honest it's kind of nice not feeling like I *have* to have something, although I also think a lot of brands out there don't make stuff as cool as they used to (Dry Bones, Iron Heart, Mister Freedom...)

 

Then again, I just bought some Viberg Boondockers. We'll see how those make me feel!

 

 

Somewhat my frame of mind the past few years...Not that I've lost interest (it always comes in waves) but I've really dialed it down as I've grown older. Only things I wear really are a pair of jeans (Ooe fits me perfectly), variations on a striped t-shirt/long sleeve of some kind, Full Count Type 1, military type jacket (unlined M-1943 in spring/fall, or N-1 for colder weather), boots and a hat. Complete scrub but less money to spend and less to think about in the morning 

[alvin_cheong]

Yeah, the 2045 feels completely different than the 2030. There's plenty more width, obviously, and it is a much roomier last in the instep too. I hope you'll be happy with the Boondockers - I think they're superb and they've aged beautifully for me. 

 

Alvin - you can take the same size in Viberg as your Alden size.  

Noted with thanks. Only Rivet and hide has the 8.5 size in 2030 last. Where did you got those boondockers from?

[Sugar Mountain]

My Boondockers - and the ones Ben has copped - are on the 2045 last. There is stock on Viberg.com. Benny's Store in Hong Kong also have a Boondocker variant though I can't remember what last it's on.

[alvin_cheong]

Thanks SM...^^

[Cold Summer]

This is probably a really unpopular opinion, but I've never liked suede/roughout boots. I know this is a totally unfair characterization but they always look "cheap" to my eyes (in the same way as a pair of super light dad jeans with tons of gross seam checkering.) A nice smooth leather like Chromexcel, calfskin, horsehide, etc. just looks a lot sleeker to me, I guess. People routinely spend over $1000 on stuff like those Saint Laurent suede chelsea boots that look like something you'd buy from Topman for $40. 

 

I'm a little easier on stuff like desert boots and boondockers but it's still not really my style.

[Iron Horse]

I know what you mean; probably depends more on the leather. For example, the roughout that Chippewa uses on its 27911 gets a wonderful, nappy almost jerky-like texture. Here's coleslawyum's, for example (with an Okuyama resole)

 

 

With hard enough wear, even Red Wing 8268s or Wesco burlap can get a great texture; am curious to see how the new suede engineer offerings from Lofgren, Attractions, and Lone Wolf turn out. 

 

 

Edited April 19, 2016 by Iron Horse

[dwilson123]

I like roughout more than suede but I think both can look nice.  I like my suede dry bones boots.  Biggest issue is that the suede just eats up indigo so it looks really dirty really fast. 

[cmboland]

I definitely think my FHxNFxTY collabs are rare. Only 50 made and i somehow scooped a deadstock pair 4 years after they were released in my size. I didnt get the flasher with them and theyre about a year old now but probably 11 months wear. Just got back from repairs

[itsbenhere]

For me it's all about ignoring the aesthetics of the things it's similar to, and evaluating it in isolation. Sugar Mountain's look awesome, and these Clinch are the same leather and also look amazing.

For the most apart, a skull or big wallet chain usually looks looks so bad. But then you look at stud from bill wall or good art and they just get it so right imo. I think that about a lot of things! It's all in the execution

Edited April 19, 2016 by itsbenhere

[clt3]

The suede on those Wesco's look really nice. 

[Cold Summer]

I like the second ones Iron Horse. They remind me of Flat Head's deerskin roughout engineers, which I actually really like (especially with the contrast calfskin (?) lining inside the boot.)

 

I used to be obsessed with long wallets, and still quite like the design in a lot of cases (though I agree that I don't like over the top designs/chains.) What's changed for me is that living back in the US renders them superfluous since I don't use cash/coins much compared to living in Japan, so I've gone back to simpler wallets.

[dwilson123]

I like my long wallet because for the most part my style is fairly subtle and subdued except for my big ol cow and snake skin wallet.  If you try to keep everything so incredibly low-key and safe it just feels really, really boring.  Kind of like when you browse on reddit's fashion subs and almost everyone is dressed identically based on whichever sub you're on.

[Flash]

It really surprises me that more people with long wallets aren't posting waywt pics sporting back eyes , have none of you had an experience where someone tried to grab it ?

Edited April 19, 2016 by Flash