Rising Sun & Co

[simon626]

i been to rising sun once like two months ago and they were talking mad shit about japanese denim brands (i.e. sugarcane, ironheart, flat head) and he couldn't believe that my sexih were 21oz lol i thought it was funny

wow, the same thing happened to me. He was talking SO MUCH shit about 21oz hahaha. The fat guy needs to reopen his mind and go read some forumzz

[simon626]

honestly, i haven't had such great experiences with Mike Hodis. Two out of three times i went into the store he wasn't very nice and seemed pestered by my presence. I guess me wearing a white tshirt, beat up vans, and worn out jeans didn't strike him as a potential customer. He was really annoyed when i asked him about denim weight and talked very lowly of 21oz denim. His arguing point was that 21oz denim had never been used in the history of denim and his shop's selling points was that they "made things the old way". I concurred that 21oz denim wasn't used for pants wayyy back when but he said that 21oz denim felt like a rug and was not comfortable to wear. I disagreed strongly with this statement and told him my IH301S were incredibly comfortable. I wasn't wearing them at the time though, and all hodis said to me was that they felt like a rug and i didn't know what i was talking about.

Another time i went into the store I was inquiring about whether Hodis had any plans to make a selvage denim messenger bag. He said no. I asked him if i could possibly buy 2 yards of denim fabric from him (since he's local) and make a messenger bag on my own. He said no, and that his denim was reserved for some very special stuff later on. Finally, i asked him how much he would charge to custom make a messenger bag. His reply- "such items are beneath me"

I honestly have no inclination to ever return to that store. Every experience has been awful except the sales girl that works in there is insanely cute. She's worth going to see. hahaha

[k449]

I stumbled on their blog several months back and since I know they do some MTO, I emailed them about getting something made. Not sure what they have their email up there for because after three emails no response. So I called up there and got some way young sounding girl. She was very nice, but she didn't seem to know anything about their fabrics/denim/sizes. She said she'd take a message because the guy that owns the place was out of town. Guess he must have lots of loot, because no one around there seems to give a damn about online or long distance business, or have much of a grasp of their product.. Hell of a business model. I'd be unemployed and my company would be broke as shit if we followed that model.

[oshen]

How much did they charge for a chainstitch hem?

I visited Rising Sun in Pasadena a couple days ago for a chainstitch hem.

[ringring]

honestly, i haven't had such great experiences with Mike Hodis. Two out of three times i went into the store he wasn't very nice and seemed pestered by my presence. I guess me wearing a white tshirt, beat up vans, and worn out jeans didn't strike him as a potential customer. He was really annoyed when i asked him about denim weight and talked very lowly of 21oz denim. His arguing point was that 21oz denim had never been used in the history of denim and his shop's selling points was that they "made things the old way". I concurred that 21oz denim wasn't used for pants wayyy back when but he said that 21oz denim felt like a rug and was not comfortable to wear. I disagreed strongly with this statement and told him my IH301S were incredibly comfortable. I wasn't wearing them at the time though, and all hodis said to me was that they felt like a rug and i didn't know what i was talking about.

Another time i went into the store I was inquiring about whether Hodis had any plans to make a selvage denim messenger bag. He said no. I asked him if i could possibly buy 2 yards of denim fabric from him (since he's local) and make a messenger bag on my own. He said no, and that his denim was reserved for some very special stuff later on. Finally, i asked him how much he would charge to custom make a messenger bag. His reply- "such items are beneath me"

I honestly have no inclination to ever return to that store. Every experience has been awful except the sales girl that works in there is insanely cute. She's worth going to see. hahaha

I'd like to balance this with my experience. When I dropped in, Mike was throughly charming, as was his wife and Zooey.

His jeans are also first class. Best of luck to him.

[TallyHo]

Another time i went into the store I was inquiring about whether Hodis had any plans to make a selvage denim messenger bag. He said no. I asked him if i could possibly buy 2 yards of denim fabric from him (since he's local) and make a messenger bag on my own. He said no, and that his denim was reserved for some very special stuff later on. Finally, i asked him how much he would charge to custom make a messenger bag. His reply- "such items are beneath me"

sounds like a pretty rad guy to me.

selvage denim messenger bag? really, dude?

[poly800rock]

wow, the same thing happened to me. He was talking SO MUCH shit about 21oz hahaha. The fat guy needs to reopen his mind and go read some forumzz

he's been great to me everytime i've ever been in there, been about a year though. i think rising sun's brand and image cater to a different crowd than say iron heart or flathead or samurai....it is what it is, don't look too far into it.

[marineabilly]

Ouch - I think you all just saved me a trip to Pasadena. Doesn't sound like a fun and friendly place.

Cheers!

[rnrswitch]

I'd like to balance this with my experience. When I dropped in, Mike was throughly charming, as was his wife and Zooey.

His jeans are also first class. Best of luck to him.

I agree with this here. Mike is very helpful and even gave me his cell phone number if I was going to be in town so that I could call if I was going to be at the shop. I do agree that the folks that actually work the shop are a little "ditzy," but Hodis is a good guy.

[rnrswitch]

Ouch - I think you all just saved me a trip to Pasadena. Doesn't sound like a fun and friendly place.

Cheers!

Dude you should totally go. Email risingsun, which will more than likely make its way to Mike. Tell him you are interested in the shop and for the most part he will meet you down there to show you around. He loves to talk denim, and I assume he like engineer boots as well.

The blacksmith jeans are a work of art. the detailing is beautiful. The back room with all the denim and sewing machines is also pretty nuts. I think if you go on a work day (M-F), then you might be able to catch the dudes sewing some jeans together.

[Snake]

How much did they charge for a chainstitch hem?

$20. I also had them hem a pair of Bootlegger Reunion green herringbone trouser. It was also $20. Did a really good job.

Zoey was there when i went. She was friendly and helpful.

[k449]

I really don't know what kind of place it is, other than it's been impossible to spend money there long distance.I guess I'll hurry up and wait. Obviously I thought his stuff looked great online, or I wouldn't have tried to hook up something from Upstate NY.

[mctaran]

i just found this aand i'm very excited about it. Seems great jeans!

[Paul T]

honestly, i haven't had such great experiences with Mike Hodis. Two out of three times i went into the store he wasn't very nice and seemed pestered by my presence. I guess me wearing a white tshirt, beat up vans, and worn out jeans didn't strike him as a potential customer. He was really annoyed when i asked him about denim weight and talked very lowly of 21oz denim. His arguing point was that 21oz denim had never been used in the history of denim and his shop's selling points was that they "made things the old way". I concurred that 21oz denim wasn't used for pants wayyy back when but he said that 21oz denim felt like a rug and was not comfortable to wear. I disagreed strongly with this statement...

Another time i went into the store I was inquiring about whether Hodis had any plans to make a selvage denim messenger bag. He said no. I asked him if i could possibly buy 2 yards of denim fabric from him (since he's local) and make a messenger bag on my own. He said no, and that his denim was reserved for some very special stuff later on. Finally, i asked him how much he would charge to custom make a messenger bag. His reply- "such items are beneath me"

I'm sorry you found him unfriendly. But I think I share his perspective. What he does is unique; why would he want to copy Ironheart jeans, or do a messenger bag like Ooe? Going in and talking about 21oz denim reminds me somewhat of boasting that your Marshall amp goes up to 11.

I say this only because I've not had time to look into RS&co much, and I"m pretty staggered by how sophisticated and subtle it is.

And $20 is pretty good for a hem job, compared to the undistinguished, and snooty (or mayeb dysfunctional?), one I had done in NYV>

[rnrswitch]

I'm sorry you found him unfriendly. But I think I share his perspective. What he does is unique; why would he want to copy Ironheart jeans, or do a messenger bag like Ooe? Going in and talking about 21oz denim reminds me somewhat of boasting that your Marshall amp goes up to 11.

I say this only because I've not had time to look into RS&co much, and I"m pretty staggered by how sophisticated and subtle it is,

My marshall amp goes to 12 chump.

The cool thing about his joint is that he (not he, but the dudes that he pays) will make you a pair of jeans with different denim. The blacksmiths come in a sanforized 12oz denim, but he was more than happy to make them in an unsanforized 13.5 to 14oz. He has got plenty of denim sitting in the back.

[commodorewheeler]

I visited Rising Sun on my lunch a few weeks ago; as it turned out, it was within walking distance of where I was working that day. The shop is pretty nice, almost reminds of a less cluttered version of how the Lucky Brand stores used to look. Mike was not there, the only person working in the front was Zoey the sales girl, and there was some middle-aged Latin guy working in the back who never came out.

I was impressed with the quality of the jeans, they are a little bit different from what I normally buy, but they looked and felt well made. As mentioned above, all of their jeans for sale were made from 12 oz. selvage denim, some organic, some not. I was told by Zoey that all of the jeans were completely made in-house, but the denim is not. IIRC, prices ranged from $280 to $450 for men's jeans, with the lower end being the more basic cuts and non-organic denim, and the higher end being the organic denim and the more creative styles with cinch-backs and other unique details.

I tried on two styles: the Slim in non-organic selvage denim ($280 IIRC), which is a slim cut with a slightly flared leg, and the Standard in organic selvage denim ($350 IIRC), which is your basic straight leg 5-pocket jean. Of the two, the Standard fit me better, though it ran about 2 sizes big for me (size down 2 if you are mail ordering). The Slim ran about 1 size big for me. There were 3 or 4 other men's styles that I did not try out.

They also carry women's jeans, though no women's styles that they had that day were selvage. The women's jeans looked really good on Zoey, though considering that I found her to be super hot, I'm pretty sure I would have thought that anything would look good on her.

The only real complaint that I had with my visit to the store was that there was no A/C, and it was 90+ out that day. They had fans going, but when it is that hot out, fans don't help a whole lot.

[commodorewheeler]

One thing I forgot to add, since it has been asked a few times in this thread: Zoey quoted me $20 for chainstitching.

[rnrswitch]

Latin dude in the back was probably making jeans. You should have asked if you could watch him work for a couple of seconds,minutes, hours.

[dawei69]

Pretty ironic how this brand keeps claiming how they use "period correct sanforized denim" and give shit to japanese labels that use the unsaforized real deal...

[rnrswitch]

Pretty ironic how this brand keeps claiming how they use "period correct sanforized denim" and give shit to japanese labels that use the unsaforized real deal...

They will use unsanforized denim if you want. They have that too. Also, they use period correct machinery, which I can't say for most japanese jeans factories that make many of the jeans we buy here on sufu.

[dawei69]

"period correct machinery" Seriousily bro?? their machines doesnt look like they are the so-called "turn of the century 1890-1920" -, from what i can see, they look more towards 1940-1970s...

but that's not important, how does that in anyway justify they are more "period correct"?

1890-1930 =most around 10oz

1930-1970 =most around 13.75oz

I dont see how 12oz fits... unless they are talking the average of the 10 and 13.75

[commodorewheeler]

Anybody know if their store hours have changed? The website says that they are open from 12-6 pm daily, but they were closed when I tried to stop by at about 2:50 pm today.

[poly800rock]

i know they have really long lunches, or at least last year before the blond chick left, she used to take off whenever.

[rnrswitch]

"period correct machinery" Seriousily bro?? their machines doesnt look like they are the so-called "turn of the century 1890-1920" -, from what i can see, they look more towards 1940-1970s...

but that's not important, how does that in anyway justify they are more "period correct"?

1890-1930 =most around 10oz

1930-1970 =most around 13.75oz

I dont see how 12oz fits... unless they are talking the average of the 10 and 13.75

Seriously bro.

Actually, I believe the 10oz you get for 1890-1930 is 10oz before shrinkage and after shrinkage, turns closer to 11.5 or 12oz assuming 10% shrinkage. There are also a few years in the 30s when 12.5oz denim was used for levis jeans.

But that wasn't my point. The point is that they can make your jeans right there, in the back, out of 13.75oz STF selvedge fabric.

I wasn't saying they are more period correct than say warehouse or some of the other repro manufacturers, but when comparing it to jeans made from 21oz denim in a factory in Japan (and sometimes these days china) using Juki machines, then they definitely take the "period correctness" title.

But I give it to you that the sanforized denim is lame.

[Paul T]

"period correct machinery" Seriousily bro?? their machines doesnt look like they are the so-called "turn of the century 1890-1920" -, from what i can see, they look more towards 1940-1970s...

but that's not important, how does that in anyway justify they are more "period correct"?

1890-1930 =most around 10oz

1930-1970 =most around 13.75oz

I dont see how 12oz fits... unless they are talking the average of the 10 and 13.75

Don't know where those figures come from

Most Levi's were 9oz until the 30s and 40s (the 501 increased to 10oz around 1922), 12 or 12.5 oz, can't remember, which, in the 50s. Heavier weights around 14oz didn't generally come in until the 1970s - bear in mind, of course, that once denim shrinks, or is sanforized, it effectively gains 10% in weight.

Don't know of any manufacturers producing 13.75 denim in the 30s.

Horses for courses of course, but some of RIsing Sun;s offerings - for instance - the vest, are terrific, there are many people in the industry staggered by them. Of course they're for pretty esoteric tastes.

Edit : I just remembered that pacioli put it much better than me in the posts around this page . It's well worth reading, an education. Some of the details like the selvage in the felled seam are simply beautiful. Other manufacturers, like SC and Warehouse, have amazing workmanship and sublte touches, but this is rarified stuff. It's this that is more relevant than the weight of the denim.

Sanforized denim was, of course, popular from the mid 20s onwards. I find the Japanese belief that the fabric somehow isn't 'historic' slightly bizarre. Because the very notion of 'authenticity' in this conversation is bizarre. Sanforized fabric gives a different kind of fade, kind of smoother, but it's a look that's been part of denim for 90 years!

I find it disappointing that some Japanese manufacturers avoid Sanforized fabric and also won't investigate fabrics like broken twill, because of a kind of misplaced historical fetishism; I'd rather see some fascinating interpretations of broken twill, than yet another 21oz STF fabric.

[rnrswitch]

Why you all on the "sanforized denim is cool tip?" Seems to run parallel to your leepro left hand twill movement? Are you turning into a Levis traitor? I don't believe it man. Not from you.

[rnrswitch]

Why did you have to post that link to the blacksmith discussions? Now I really am holding back on them.

[Paul T]

Just wait till you see photos of my l'h sanforized early lee repros, now in their glorious dotage, and see if you don't agree that there are many routes to nirvana.

Anyway, hold back, or you'll be turning into you-know-who.

[lance]

I also would like to see more use of broken twill denim. OOE's #44 is broken twill and it is unique - fantastic denim and it fades beautifully.

[LFC4ever]

Don't know where those figures come from

Most Levi's were 9oz until the 30s and 40s (the 501 increased to 10oz around 1922), 12 or 12.5 oz, can't remember, which, in the 50s. Heavier weights around 14oz didn't generally come in until the 1970s - bear in mind, of course, that once denim shrinks, or is sanforized, it effectively gains 10% in weight.

Don't know of any manufacturers producing 13.75 denim in the 30s.

Horses for courses of course, but some of RIsing Sun;s offerings - for instance - the vest, are terrific, there are many people in the industry staggered by them. Of course they're for pretty esoteric tastes.

Edit : I just remembered that pacioli put it much better than me in the posts around this page . It's well worth reading, an education. Some of the details like the selvage in the felled seam are simply beautiful. Other manufacturers, like SC and Warehouse, have amazing workmanship and sublte touches, but this is rarified stuff. It's this that is more relevant than the weight of the denim.

Sanforized denim was, of course, popular from the mid 20s onwards. I find the Japanese belief that the fabric somehow isn't 'historic' slightly bizarre. Because the very notion of 'authenticity' in this conversation is bizarre. Sanforized fabric gives a different kind of fade, kind of smoother, but it's a look that's been part of denim for 90 years!

I find it disappointing that some Japanese manufacturers avoid Sanforized fabric and also won't investigate fabrics like broken twill, because of a kind of misplaced historical fetishism; I'd rather see some fascinating interpretations of broken twill, than yet another 21oz STF fabric.

Indeed - I just got a pair of Denime ZXX - it's sanforised XX with a zip but doesn't seem to be popular like the Denime XX. Also own some 555 LVC ZXX's which again, are superb....