which jeans to take to tokyo, okinawa, and thailand?

[headtowall]

Hah!

...

...

if your mother only knew

ZING!(?...)

[tweeds]

birkies would do i think. good soles and open tops.

rememeber to check out playground boutique in bkk! let me know how good it is...maybe i'll plan a trip over sometime

[mizanation]

hmmm. birkies. now that's a suggestion. i hear it's too hot for jeans and shoes in thailand. is that true?

[Carl]

ZING!(?...)

Heh...i had that silly rahzel song stuck in my head.

Miz, i always poo-poo'd birks with jeans but then i tried it one day...its not really so bad.

[mizanation]

yeah, birks with jeans always reminded me of dirty-ass hippies that stunk bad.

but in 100+ degree weather, i think it could be the best option...

[Carl]

If you get a rolled up cuff going...shit doesnt look so bad

[adsurgo]

you should buy a bunch of thai fakes and put them on supermarket.

[tweeds]

hmmm. birkies. now that's a suggestion. i hear it's too hot for jeans and shoes in thailand. is that true?

i don't think so...but then i'm used to wearing fitting jeans and hi-top chucks in 32-35 degrees C weather with 70-90% humidity, so take what i say with a pinch of salt.

birkies are definitely good. they're pretty popular here, which means that a) they're more hypebeasty than nikes even and they have to be comfortable.

but i'm sure you won't suffocate with covered shoes and jeans...

[mizanation]

then, the question is. what are the best birks to buy?

[Demronick]

then, the question is. what are the best birks to buy?

arizona i would say

[xcoldricex]

missed this one. take one. i'd bring the bk's for the club/dressier occassions. and if you're going to try to get wear in those at any point this is the time to do it. plus you'll buy another pair in japan- i don't care if you're not planning to, you will.

it's too hot to wear anything in thailand. keep wearing your jeans, be a trooper.

[Dick Danger]

If you're gonna cover some ground in sandals I'd say get Chacos.

[poly800rock]

If you're gonna cover some ground in sandals I'd say get Chacos.

yeah, great sandals. but be ready for some bloody feet, they're a bitch to break in

[xcoldricex]

*big sigh*

What a ridiculous thread, and newbies get flamed for asking about shrinkage?

have a good safe trip. stop at Mikes in chiang mai.

ps. for footwear try some nike air 87 safaris, should last

you can complain when you're a junkie or have made some sort of big contribution to the board

[Blackplatano]

Wish I had that problem, miz.

[mizanation]

missed this one. take one. i'd bring the bk's for the club/dressier occassions. and if you're going to try to get wear in those at any point this is the time to do it. plus you'll buy another pair in japan- i don't care if you're not planning to, you will.

it's too hot to wear anything in thailand. keep wearing your jeans, be a trooper.

thanks, coldrice. wish you were still in japan, we could have partied in roppongi.

[mizanation]

If you're gonna cover some ground in sandals I'd say get Chacos.

yo! i just checked out the chacos website. the biocentric technology is crazy.

http://www.chacousa.com/faq/biomechanics.cfm?curloc=the_difference&subcat=biomechanics

[Dick Danger]

If you take a pair make sure you take a backup. Chacos have a pretty aggressive footbed, sometimes it can take a bit for your feet to adjust.

[CaptMomo]

imo, playground boutique isnt all its hyped out to be. can give it a miss seriously.

[mizanation]

thanks for the tip DD.

[denimdestroyedmylife]

you seem to have decided already, but i suggest taking whichever jeans are most comfortable. i am guessing that would be the sc47s?

and i have to object to the birkenstocks/crocs/sandals suggestion out of pure snobbery.

[dismalfuture]

If it were me, I'd base my decision on which order I am visiting places in. You could probably afford to wear a single pair of jeans if you were visiting Tokyo, then Okinawa, and then Thailand. In any other order, I might take one pair to wear in, one pair to keep clean as the 'going-out' pair/emergency pair should something go terribly wrong. but end up trying to focus on wearing the one pair as much as possible.

You will buy tons of shit on this trip though, I'd imagine, and I'm sure a denim fanatic like you will not leave Japan without buying a pair of jeans with the dollar so high up on the yen. That being the case, I'm sure you could get by without packing any extra jeans.

Whenever I travel Asia, (being that I live here already), I never take anything but underwear and socks. I usually end up having to buy cheap luggage to take all my new clothes home in at the end of the trip.

I think you're better off staying away from the sandals, too. Coming out of autumn on the east coast, your feet will probably get torn up if you slap on a pair of sandals, especially Birkenstocks. Don't wanna walk the jungles of Thailand with cuts all over your feet.

[mizanation]

ok, a pair of sandals for the beach, most likely chacos. i love their performance-based perspective on sandals. really want to see what they are all about in person.

a pair of boots for rugged terrain. quite possibly alden indy's. quite possibly frye's. would the alden indy's work with black jeans?

ddml, my sc47s are actually falling apart. that's another reason why i want to take my duckdiggers cuz they seem indestructable.

but everyone is right, i will probably break down and buy a pair of jeans while i'm over there.....

[coleslawyum]

Hey Miz, you can rock the indy's with the bk's. But it all depends on the belt and the top. Don't rock a black belt, thats for sure. You can rock a brown belt or any hue close to the aldens. Maybe you can rock a light colored top that stays in the earth tone family, like a cream or wine. These are all suggestions, of course. You might want to rock a purple sweater with a red polk-dotted tie for all I know.

[poly800rock]

i would not bring a pair of big boots over there miz.

[ang_kangkong]

Don't know if you're still taking votes miz, but I say take your own shit. Bring the jeans and jacket you made. Then update with pics. CMF homme's been getting all the publicity here.

[mizanation]

hey ang, my style has changed a lot since i made the jeans so i won't take those. those were when i was still rocking my jeans baggy.

the jacket is cool, but i still have to make changes to it for me to rock it (shortening it, adding buttons, overlock stitching on exposed seams, etc.) and at this point i'm too lazy to do it before the trip... however, i would love to rock a selvage collar in japan...

[poly800rock]

hey ang, my style has changed a lot since i made the jeans so i won't take those. those were when i was still rocking my jeans baggy.

the jacket is cool, but i still have to make changes to it for me to rock it (shortening it, adding buttons, overlock stitching on exposed seams, etc.) and at this point i'm too lazy to do it before the trip... however, i would love to rock a selvage collar in japan...

i don't know if you considered this yet miz, but DON'T BRING BIG BOOTS, if you get chacos, thats all you'll need. The rugged terrain in thailand isn't to the point you need boots. It's all jungle anyways and chacos will do fine, it did the trick for me, but again, i can not stress this enough, try and break them in before you leave, or else you WILL get blisters. they're a bitch to break in, but a dream when you do.

[mizanation]

thanks poly for the tip. i'll probably cop some chacos this weekend. they will be my house shoes for the next couple weeks.

[LeicaLad]

Miz,

Three recent threads have brought me out of 18+ months of lurker-dom to register: The beauty-as-they-age shoe thread, familyman’s review of the Buzz chinos, and this thread. THIS thread simply because your blog was the reason I started reading here those many ages ago. Your thread(s) on the Alden’s is now a permanent part of my brain.

SO, I’ve spent over 15+ years in Thailand and 10 in Burma (mostly NGO and public health sorta stuff). As much as I love denim and fabu leather, you’re facing a couple of big problems in your fashion travel choices. Most of my comments about about Thailand, as Japan & Taiwan will be different.

First, the heat. Denim is great for clubbing at night, but the daytime heat can be killer. You’ll soak your heavy denim in sweat before lunch. I’d be thinking of light chinos as a fallback to your jeans (which ever you choose).

Second: Those beautiful boots. Man, nothing more impractical. I say that as someone who has a savings account just for those shoes! First, you’ll be getting on and off airplanes. In the US, you’ll have to remove them. Asian airports usually don’t require you to remove your shoes.., EXCEPT that the steel shanks will set off alarms and so you’d better plan on pulling them on a regular basis. Hope you’re not late for a connecting flight.

Next, ALL of Asia presumes you’ll remove your shoes upon entering houses, temples or many other places. Particularly in Thailand, you’ll be going in and out of places on a regular basis that will make you suddenly quite unhappy with those beautiful shoes with all those laces. (And, did I mention the heat?)

AND, even most “jungle” trails in Thailand that any visitor will hit will be trails. Odds are that you’ll not be hacking any fresh trails into Myanmar or Laos. No real “boots” are required. Light, and I do mean light, hikers or sport shoes are, frankly, less stylish, but waaay more practical.

My suggestion is to realize that you’re on two different journeys, each with two parts. The first section is into cool, almost winter weather in Japan and Taiwan. The second is into the tropical heat of Thailand. (Which has three seasons: hot, hotter and hottist.)

Each of these is divided in two, which is day-time travel and evening clubbing. I'll address only Thailand, as I know it much better. The urban, evening clubbing is where being the syle maven counts. One set for this. The Other Part is as a traveler among people who haven’t a clue about various denims and hip footwear, and care even less. Covering long distances on foot in wet, tropical heat means dressing light for both body and feet. I'd be thinking Travel Smith, or Filson feather-weight shirts here.

ALL of this is without knowing your actual level of travel. Are we talking Oriental Hotel or WT backpacker hostels? (Okay, I’m pretty sure I know which end you’re leaning towards, but you get the idea.)

Some further details about your goals (besides weekend market hits for knock-off denim and such) will bring a bit more detailed suggestions.

You’ll enjoy regardless. Thailand is a very special country. (Not to diss your other destinations.) Hope this is a little bit helpful.

Cheers.