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denim bubble gonna burst?... check the article

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thedonger

thedonger

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Yet another "premium denim" article this time from the Washington Post (swiped from Style Forum). Features a contributor from Supertalk.

THE NEW BLUEBLOODS Beauty, Status and the Meaning of Jeans

The Tao of Denim: If It's Not Worn, You Have Nothing On

Look in the Mirror and Be Frayed. Very Frayed.

By Libby Copeland

Washington Post Staff Writer

Wednesday, August 17, 2005; Page C01

Second of two articles

At the new Denim Bar in Arlington, where the saleswomen are dressed like bartenders and you may get a free Yuengling if they like you, the owner says he sometimes turns customers away.

"You're just not ready to try on designer jeans," Mauro Farinelli tells them. Certain women try on pair after pair of premium denim and look great, but still complain. They're just not prepared, it seems, to be fabulous.

"We'll be here," Mauro tells them, hoping they'll come to their senses one day and allow him to fulfill their sartorial destiny.

No one would begrudge Mauro his noble cause. Premium denim is not just about beauty; it's about feeling entitled to be beautiful. It's about broadcasting your worth through the Swarovski crystals on your behind. Jeans have become diamonds, art, custom cars. Spend the rent money on a pair, by all means, but do not simply wear them. Know that you are wearing the Degas of denim.

Mauro, then, is an educator. He has studied tailoring and likes to talk about triple-stitching. His store is all dark wood and fine denim, some of it woven on decades-old looms, then blessed with hand-painted logos. Some jeans are so fancy they come in boxes or leather pouches. The most expensive are $645, though Mauro also sells "entry-level" jeans for $100.

Mauro has women who have followed him since his last gig, as a jeans specialist at Saks Fifth Avenue. They say he makes them look amazing. Mauro is equally loyal. He says of one customer, "She buys anything I tell her to buy."

Carolyn Lindsey, a lawyer, says: "I really wouldn't buy a pair of jeans from anyone else unless Mauro was there."

Amy Angelo, another lawyer: "I just completely trust his judgment."

Amy, 31, has jeans for all her moods. She has sexy jeans "that hug me in all the right places" and "Sunday-afternoon-party, not-too-sexy-but-dressier" jeans. She has a "comfortable pair," not to be confused with her "comfy bummy ones," which are designed to look dirty even when they're clean. "You feel like you look amazing but you're not really trying," she says of those.

Amy is willing to pay more to get cutting-edge jeans, jeans that other women don't have, because they make her feel "special." The most she's spent is $320, and she wouldn't take it past $350 unless she really, really loved them.

There are limits, she says: "There are so many other things to buy."

Denim was sober and utilitarian, a thing of the 19th century, a tough fabric for tough men, meant to be worn lots and worn down.

Now it is worn down by our own fussiness. It is washed, sandblasted, hand-sanded, treated with resin. Mauro owns jeans that came with the outline of a chewing-tobacco tin already etched into the back pocket, like ready-made manhood. He's wearing them when a tough-looking man comes out of a Denim Bar dressing room looking gleeful.

"They're hugging my buns!" the man says.

The buns are the anchor of the premium-denim world, and not just because a good pair of jeans will make them look fabulous. ("Like cherries," one fit model has said. "We don't want any muffin tops," Mauro says mysteriously.)

The backside of a pair of jeans broadcasts your status, and hard-core denimheads will instantly recognize the meaning of each obscure squiggle stitched into a back pocket. It's a tribal marking. It tells you if the owner is wearing a pair of 7 for All Mankind jeans, signaling that she may be mainstream, a girl who follows her friends. It tells you if she's wearing Paige jeans, suggesting she reads InStyle religiously and emulates Jennifer Aniston. O

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tangerine

tangerine

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Okay, I love jeans, but...

"They kind of show your soul, you know?"

What a load of shite. They show what physical activities you have undertaken while wearing your jeans, and what you carry in your pockets.

I would love to read a statement from anyone explaining how breaking in your own jeans shows your "soul."

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russellh

russellh

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These types of articles are always circulating around. I've seen these so many times. Some "top" writer knows what he/she is talking about! But the article about the Denim Bar is tight. But the whole denim "bubble" issue is just weak. I mean, anyone can read Instyle, Lucky, GQ, etc... and see some pair they want, and if they are hot, people will pay the price. But then when you go to say a "one off" brand that is just making clothing for the right reason, some will pay the price but there is most likely more quality. Denim will never "burst" like someone here stated. Everyone wheres them, so why would the price matter? If you want jeans, you will pay the price.

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Guest DenimBar1

Guest DenimBar1

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I never said the whole showing your soul thing that was the Nudie rep.

I don't think the denim bubble will burst per say. However as a retailer I can only go as high as the consumer will pay and I think that price is coming up pretty fast. The majority of people on this forum know a shit load more about fashion and denim then the average consumer. In saying that most of the people here understand the cost and profits margins that are in place to make a great product.

Premium denim isn't for everyone but will be around longer than all of us.

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tangerine

tangerine

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Quote:

I never said the whole showing your soul thing that was the Nudie rep.

I don't think the denim bubble will burst per say. However as a retailer I can only go as high as the consumer will pay and I think that price is coming up pretty fast. The majority of people on this forum know a shit load more about fashion and denim then the average consumer. In saying that most of the people here understand the cost and profits margins that are in place to make a great product.

Premium denim isn't for everyone but will be around longer than all of us.

--- Original message by DenimBar1 on Aug 19, 2005 04:01 PM

Oh, I know it wasn't you. I read the article. As has been mentioned, this topic has been covered repeatedly by various media outlets for at least the last year, including at least two where I am, in San Francisco. I always read to see what people are saying and predicting.

I thought I knew a lot about jeans before I came to this forum. This is as savvy a group as will ever be seen I am sure.

Anyway, I agree, denim is deep in the global consciousness and if the breadth of interest should diminish if, say, the Jennifer Anistons and Jude Laws decide to start wearing togas, the depth of interest among denim connoisseurs will always be around.

No offense intended!

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Guest DenimBar1

Guest DenimBar1

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Yah there's a story. The landlord in DC where i wanted to go was didn't believe in my partner and I or our concept. So we went to a place that liked are idea.

We aren't really in the burbs. I am right across the street from the pentagon and next to the pentagon city mall. I am almost literally a stones throw away from DC.

I like where we are at it's easy to get to from VA or DC and I am metro accessible.

So no worries about my location.

I think if I was in NYC I would kill it especially for Spring when I bring in Sugar cane , Buzz Rickson, Edwin , and some other kick ass Japanese denim Lines on top of the stuff I already carry.

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Guest DenimBar1

Guest DenimBar1

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I do ship in and out of the country and for FREE.

I have sold a lot of stuff to people that lurk or post here.

Thanks everyone.

Once my web site is up which could be forever it wil be much easier but if anyone needs anything you can email at [email protected]

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watchman

watchman

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i was there over the weekend getting nudies. i would have chilled and asked Mauro about what hes getting in and whatnot since he seems like a chill guy, but it was pouring rain and i was wearing my sugar canes, and that would have been bad for my white car seats. Its not really the suburbs either, the thing with DC is that it cant expand south since there is a river, so the burbs just get more urbanized. The pentagon area definitely feels urbanized, and is a 2 minute drive to DC.

and since now im inside, are you getting canes this spring mauro? what other new stuff will be getting stocked?

Edited by watchman on May 16, 2006 at 05:40 PM

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