Selvage. What's in it for you.

[Seething Tortoise]

I was just thinking today, why do people buy selvage jeans.

Sure you get better quality amongst other things, but you'll be one of the only people who knows this. Showing off the selvage line or telling people is something that very few will notice or care about. Since most people wouldn't know the difference between selvage and my ass, all they'll see is another pair of jeans.

Typing this up sounded a lot better in my head, but I'm too tired to make a decent piece of writing. But the general jist:

- Selvage jeans may have higher quality and some other things, but you'll be the only person around who appreciates that.

[nairb49]

search for the "selvage denim" thread

nairb49

[Seething Tortoise]

Forgot about searching...my bad.

[johninger]

there is a certain amount of OCD in denim and sneaker collecting.

selvage is part of this

If loving denim is wrong i don't want to be right.

[cchen]

You can ask this question about any piece of clothing. Say, for example, a Paul Smith suit. Its not the highest quality, but its pretty damn good, and miles above what people find at places like Macys and Men's Warehouse. Like selvage, if you look inside a Paul Smith jacket, you'll see subtle details that make the garment very special. While these signs of quality aren't so obvious to the naked eye, for those who are in the know, you're in a rather exclusive club.

[Handlethevibe]

You should wear clothes cause you like them. Not to show it off.

[evisu 2000]

Quote:

You can ask this question about any piece of clothing. Say, for example, a Paul Smith suit. Its not the highest quality, but its pretty damn good, and miles above what people find at places like Macys and Men's Warehouse. Like selvage, if you look inside a Paul Smith jacket, you'll see subtle details that make the garment very special. While these signs of quality aren't so obvious to the naked eye, for those who are in the know, you're in a rather exclusive club.

--- Original message by cchen on Feb 12, 2006 05:47 PM

you make it sound like a pair of non selvage jeans with subtle detailing and styling doesn't exist. the whole 'in the know' and 'exclusive club' thing is kind of funny too. i don't really think any of that matters since in the end it's really about how you feel and look.

[johninger]

umustwearselvage

If loving denim is wrong i don't want to be right.

[rnrswitch]

Most of my jeans i wear are selvage, but some aren't. I like stiff unwashed, dry, heavy, denim. That usually means that they are selvage. I do turn up my cuffs, but this is because I like the look, not to show off the selvage line. I just think that sometimes production quality goes down as the "technology" involved increases. Jeans were made better 50 years ago, than they are now, just like automatic watches. I won't even buy a battery run watch. Maybe it's just nostalgia. Ahh I don't know... the redline gets me every time.

[kapay]

Quote:

Quote:

You can ask this question about any piece of clothing. Say, for example, a Paul Smith suit. Its not the highest quality, but its pretty damn good, and miles above what people find at places like Macys and Men's Warehouse. Like selvage, if you look inside a Paul Smith jacket, you'll see subtle details that make the garment very special. While these signs of quality aren't so obvious to the naked eye, for those who are in the know, you're in a rather exclusive club.

--- Original message by cchen on Feb 12, 2006 05:47 PM

you make it sound like a pair of non selvage jeans with subtle detailing and styling doesn't exist. the whole 'in the know' and 'exclusive club' thing is kind of funny too. i don't really think any of that matters since in the end it's really about how you feel and look.

--- Original message by mass on Feb 12, 2006 05:57 PM

If in the end it's about how you feel and look then there's a lot of factors that go into why people look and feel a certain way when wearing an article of clothing. Many people pride themselves on how much they spend, how little they spend, how well they match, even how much they "don't care" among many other things. Selvage, to many people, can make them feel like a million bucks and thereby look like a million bucks as well. So in the end... maybe it really is about selvage.

[evisu 2000]

Quote:

Quote:

Quote:

You can ask this question about any piece of clothing. Say, for example, a Paul Smith suit. Its not the highest quality, but its pretty damn good, and miles above what people find at places like Macys and Men's Warehouse. Like selvage, if you look inside a Paul Smith jacket, you'll see subtle details that make the garment very special. While these signs of quality aren't so obvious to the naked eye, for those who are in the know, you're in a rather exclusive club.

--- Original message by cchen on Feb 12, 2006 05:47 PM

you make it sound like a pair of non selvage jeans with subtle detailing and styling doesn't exist. the whole 'in the know' and 'exclusive club' thing is kind of funny too. i don't really think any of that matters since in the end it's really about how you feel and look.

--- Original message by mass on Feb 12, 2006 05:57 PM

If in the end it's about how you feel and look then there's a lot of factors that go into why people look and feel a certain way when wearing an article of clothing. Many people pride themselves on how much they spend, how little they spend, how well they match, even how much they "don't care" among many other things. Selvage, to many people, can make them feel like a million bucks and thereby look like a million bucks as well. So in the end... maybe it really is about selvage.

--- Original message by kapay on Feb 12, 2006 07:15 PM

well by feel i meant in a physical way.

[simonthediamond]

Exactly kapay! It's not always about how they look- it's about the feeling! If you know you wear quality stuff (or whatever preference you've got) and feel really, REALLY good about it, then I don't need any other reason for wearing it. As simple as that.

Interesting discussion!

[damnIam]

I have never seen a pair of "real selvage" jeans that were not of better than average quality. Some of the cuts I have seen sucked but the quality always seems to be there. Search the post where a pair of STF are next to a pair of "I think it was LVC selvage of some type". That is all the proof I need. Plus, I am a sucker for the "feeling" everyone is talking about as well. Finally, I just like old things and I like things that I own to last and become old.

[calatrava]

for me its an appreciation of a fine thing. but then again, the exclusivity of it and the general quality of it make it attractive.

oh to be young and self righteous

[350poundhotcakes]

for me, its just the quality. they have their own look to em, they wear better, they last longer, and i feel like if you wear em more, theyll look better than an equally worn pair of non-selvege. plus, owning them and wearing them just makes me feel better. I feel happy about my investment with my selvege pairs, so i dont much care about whether or not people notice.

BALDERDASH.

[Geowu]

there's also a traditional/retro thing, the first jeans had selvage, this continued for almost 100 years, then there's this cheap mass-production style.

[simonthediamond]

Quote:

there's also a traditional/retro thing, the first jeans had selvage, this continued for almost 100 years, then there's this cheap mass-production style.

--- Original message by Geowu on Feb 13, 2006 01:49 PM

Yeah you feel like youre a part of this. The heritage. Real craftmanship and all..

[Geowu]

the technology improved, so they were able to profit more using wide looms and faster production. as they thought the selvage made no difference, they quickly abandoned it, as well as other details you can find on big E Levis.