TENDER CO. - The Last Stop Contest Thread

[irual]

I have a type 125 achilles heel incoming

[lemmywinks]

thank you @Broark for making a decisoin after all the deliberation.

happened to pick up a pair of the 157 today, was excited to wear them but i'm happy to wait until the November 1 start date.

[Broark]

Of course @lemmywinks, good to see another pair of 157s in the group!
Which dye did you go with? So far I've seen brown hat, weld and rinsed floating around.

[Toegun]

Hi @Broark, happy to see a contest featuring Tender denim, I have a pair of rinsed 16oz 125 that I bought back in January 2023 and haven't touched. I think I got them because they were on sale for like £150 and thought what the hell another piece for the collection. Since then they've done nothing but collect dust so the contest would be a great reason to actually wear them. Might get them hemmed as they are mad long.

[chicote]

Omg i wanna join! Gonna start saving up for another pair of jeans, my 132ds are thrashed... can't wait 😛

[MJF9]

^ … and the winner is 😆

Would love to see your 132Ds now @chicote

[chicote]

Ayy great to hear from you !! I'll get some photos up in the next week or so.

 

edit: ok i'm in for sure -- deciding between a pair of 132d ochre dyed, or rinsed 122s; if anyone wants to weigh in on the new high-rise models i'd love to hear, but not sure i can rock them, and i'm really loving the driver's pockets over the traditional back pockets.

Edited September 24 by chicote

[Broark]

Glad to see we’re picking up steam here!
Any overarching preference on a November 1st or December 1st start date?

[julian-wolf]

Confirming choices: I’ll be doing an unofficial double entry w/ gray logwood Type 136 (size 3) and brown hat Type 905 (size 4)

Jacket just came in today from Boswell (first time ordering from them, would recommend) and I’m extremely pleased with it. Couldn’t help myself from trying it on today for a few hours, but planning to keep it on ice ‘til contest’s start to keep a clean comparison w/ the jeans

[ATWM]

Nov 1 pref for me. I’d do Oct 15. Let’s get it moving. 
I’m also planning to be wearing mine w a type 901 Achilles heel jacket. I’ve technically worn it a few times but it’s essentially new. 

[MJF9]

On jackets, I also have a new 905 brown hat in a roomy size 6 fit… size 5 sold out just as I was pulling the trigger so I can now layer… that’ll come along for the ride and much further to boot… 

@Broark 1st Nov… as long as everyone has their jeans

Edited September 25 by MJF9

[Broark]

Unless there are any objections then November 1st is it, topic updated.
Fitting start date as it's my birthday. 

[JDelage]

I should be getting my 132X in the next few days. Do I need to wait for a first wash? I want to wash & hot dry them before sending them off for hemming...

[julian-wolf]

^ Since so many folks are opting for pre-washed / -dyed versions anyway, it only seems fair that anyone who takes the unborn route should be able to shrink them ahead of time…

[Broark]

I don't see any issue with washing ahead of time either, go for it.

[srudy]

Was chatting with William and I want something that might look nice with my hemp wool 900, I’ve only worn it a couple times. Seems like a lot of us are doing suits! I’ve got the fresh 132, but thinking I might get type 132 black hole too. So hard to decide!

[JohnM]

^ Such a great pic and color combination.  That jacket is special.  And your jeans are not too long, as most of mine are!  I'm always afraid to hem them the correct length for fear of shrinkage.

[yung_flynn]

I think that I will probably join. I've been curious since trying on a pair a couple months ago, but it wasn't my size.

I would be undecided between 132 or 136. Similarly undecided on a standard denim or an overdyed pair. Might come down to what and where I can find in a size 2.

[heyson]

i’m thinking about switching my choice from the 128s to either 157, 132, or 136. they will most likely be my everyday working jean. the 128 don’t seem too slim, but with work i might want some more room.

 

@chicote you’re the only person i’ve seen with 128s. i’d be curious to hear your take.

plus im always snagging the bag pockets on my tenders. i can see me doing that a lot with the front pockets on the 128s as well

[chicote]

@heyson I wore my 128s for maybe a year before shelving them. At the time I loved them, but my taste shifted to higher rise jeans and I realized how truly low the front and back rise was on them. I don't have the measurements on hand but I'd call them, from memory, on the lower end of mid-rise both front and back. Still, the patch pockets were very cool, and i definitely got a lot of comments on the pair altogether -- crazy to think that was more than 10 years ago now! I'd say if you're okay with the rise measurements then go for it; they are a really unique pair that would be cool to see in the contest.

Edited September 26 by chicote

[heyson]

hey @chicote thanks for your feedback. 10 years ago is crazy! i was looking back through the thread and enjoyed seeing your alterations to the rise. still deliberating which piece i'll enter with, but i will make a decision soon!

 

[JDelage]

My 132X are here. Now to wash, dry, & get hemmed.

[lemmywinks]

On 9/24/2026 at 4:11 PM, Broark said:

Of course @lemmywinks, good to see another pair of 157s in the group!
Which dye did you go with? So far I've seen brown hat, weld and rinsed floating around.

I got the weld dyed. Really tempted to get the jacket as well.

[chicote]

Does anyone have a fit pic of their 157s? Or any good photos from a shop? I'm interested in them but would probably need a size 1 and am not even sure if those were produced -- maybe for some japanese shops...

[Broark]

6 hours ago, chicote said:

Or any good photos from a shop?

Pheb has some fit pics on their webshop here; as does AB Fits here; and Neighbour, alas no size 1 though.
Smallest I have seen is size 2, Today Clothing has both the rinsed and brown hat variants available in size 2.

[ATWM]

The denim I wanted the most was walnut dyed - but wasn’t available in any pattern/size that worked for me. 

Thankfully, we’ve got a large black walnut tree in our (very small) backyard that is having a bumper season. You know because you hear thumps on the roof at random times for about a month. Me and the little guy gathered some today, he wanted to dye his camp t shirt and old shredded jeans. We dye in a very lazy way - this stuff works so well no need to complicate it. 

.

Mostly his work here, not mine. 

Then we soak and stir, boil and stir. 

When it’s done boiling for awhile - 30 -60 minutes, we pour the dye out through an old t shirt (like a coffee filter) into another pot, dye still piping hot. 

Toss in what you want to dye. In this case the chopped off hems from my newly received 136’s, and his old jeans.

Formerly white t shirts drying on the rack. 

Tender denim drying on the rack. I will probably give it one more trip through the dye bath and then wash it a time or two. I’m on the fence about dyeing the jeans still - I like the regular look, but need to see it through to be sure. 

[chicote]

Nice work! Did you scour or mordant either piece before dyeing them? Curious to see how it'll turn out after a wash.

[ATWM]

1 hour ago, chicote said:

Nice work! Did you scour or mordant either piece before dyeing them? Curious to see how it'll turn out after a wash.

Nope - super lazy, like I said, ha. 

Walnuts do pretty well without any mordant, I’ve got stuff I’ve dyed 3 years ago been washed many times and while faded for sure, are still pretty rich in tone. 

These will definitely lose some of the depth after a wash, all were a pretty quick dye job in relative terms, but I was working on the time frame of a 6 year old wanting to see movement in the process. Will return for more time for some items probably. 

[julian-wolf]

Not sure if I've posted about it before elsewhere, but around a year ago I picked up a ~1909 treadle Singer for cheap on Marketplace. Since then we've mostly used it as a credenza, but over the past couple months I've gotten it back into working condition, and today I took it for its maiden voyage to hem the Type 136 that I'll be wearing for the contest. This is the third pair of Tender Co. pants that I've hemmed (previously, corduroy pleat-back trousers and flowerpot canvas trews), but the first time I've tried a true Tender-style hem—which I interpreted as a full 1" fold, then a 5/8" "double fold" over the first. I think they turned out great, but only time will tell.

 

 

Comparison to the original hems:

 

 

Seems like maybe photos are getting downsampled like crazy? Not sure why

[ATWM]

^pics look good to me though just on my phone atm. Nice job!