Roy. (expurgated edition)

[Broark]

Great looking pair of Roys right there!

I need to jump on the next pair of jeans he releases.

[reallypeacedoff]

THAT GOOD DKATZ!

[WilliamCutting]

I know there is no chance, but does anyone here have a pair of Ducks to part with? Size 29 or 30 will do the trick. Thanks.

[tigerpac]

fyi - they've still got a Portland shirt in XL at SFNY

[Markmont]

Got some Roy Ducks in a 34 if anyone is interested in snaggin' em. (the most recent ones) PM me.

[shoreman]

^ Last I checked the measurement table is no longer up on SE's online shop. Do you have them posted somewhere in a sales thread?

[UkeNo]

My Roy RS4's came to Brighton Beach today to witness some of the Storm surges and the tonnes of stones that been thrown up onto the Path.

[cool_hand]

Any news on the shirt?

[Broark]

Kiya said in the SE thread that it was going to be delayed to the 1st of February.

[kiya]

Any news on the shirt?

 

It's taken him longer than expected, he is able to make about 1.5 shirts a day maximum during a 8 hour work-day. We'll have these on February 1st (so delayed two weeks).

[Al6ert]

stumbled on this video...not sure if its been shared here so I am posting it. Again, I am completely in awe of this man!

Edited February 4, 2014 by Al6ert

[nutusufu]

Everytime I watch a ROY video I crave a pair. Beautiful jeans.

[sombrero]

Kiya, I hate to so quickly jump into "what's next" mode but...what's next?  A jean of some kind I'd assume.

[kiya]

Kiya, I hate to so quickly jump into "what's next" mode but...what's next?  A jean of some kind I'd assume.

 

Not sure, i believe Roy wants to do another shirt because his studio is set up for shirts right now.  I'll know more in the coming weeks.

[whackedout]

^ and I think he should keep on making shirts, the details are so awesome, too many denim/one manned operation makers out there now. But if he ever does come out with another denim I hope its close to a 66 cut. 

[itsbenhere]

I'm pretty certain that roy is not going to stop making jeans...

[whackedout]

Oh let me rephrase that, if he does make another cut I hope it's a 66 cut, I know he isn't going to stop making jeans but the way things are going now, ALOT of jeans are coming out thats being made by a single person. Doesn't hurt to see something new. I don't see many shirt makers out there. I know for a fact that if Roy does come out with a new denim,  it will sell out quickly. What I'm just trying to say is doesn't hurt to see more of Roys awesome ideas on a shirt.

Edited February 5, 2014 by whackedout

[tmadd]

Oh let me rephrase that, if he does make another cut I hope it's a 66 cut, I know he isn't going to stop making jeans but the way things are going now, ALOT of jeans are coming out thats being made by a single person. Doesn't hurt to see something new. I don't see many shirt makers out there. I know for a fact that if Roy does come out with a new denim,  it will sell out quickly. What I'm just trying to say is doesn't hurt to see more of Roys awesome ideas on a shirt.

 

I understand where you're going with this…and I'm pretty stoked to see any new shirts Roy might make, but unless there are some one man operations out there that I haven't heard of, or seen anything from, what you're making here, comparing Roy's jeans to any of the other one brands is a pretty egregious false equivalency.  

 

If the thing that was most impressive about Roy's jeans were that it was one person making them, then you'd have a case, but as someone who has never given a shit about the one man brand image, I'd say that has almost nothing to do with what makes Roy's jeans special.  What makes Roy's jeans special is how insanely good they are.  The sewing on Roy's jeans since at least the Special Fits (I'll admit that prior to these jeans releasing, I wasn't nearly as adept at analyzing  sewing on jeans as I am now) has been as good or better than anything else I've ever seen in terms of jeans.  When you combine that with his penchant for always finding ways to include interesting details in otherwise subtle designs, the fabrics he's gained access to, and his emerging interest in doing things that vary greatly from slight rehashes of the same general style (I'm banking on the CB-1 being indicative of a move towards not doing exclusively post-war levis influenced styles), you get a jeans maker that is 100% unrivaled.  

 

I don't say this as a dude who sells Roy, I say this as a dude who is frustrated that each time Roy releases a jean, I nearly have a collector vs minimalist existential breakdown.

[tigerpac]

His jeans are great but I think people give them extra credit because of the one man construction.  There are some great details, but lots of other brands also have great details that are on par imo.  The denim isn't as interesting as several competitors too.  Overall they're a great jean but a lot of the magic is the one-man construction.   

[sombrero]

Tigerpac, do you own a pair of Roy jeans?  Just curious as I have limited basis for comparison, but I do own a few pairs of other brands (Iron Hearts, Real McCoys, etc), and my SF-01s are in a different league.   And like tmadd so eloquently put it, its not the one-man schtick, its the sum of every tiny, obsessive detail implemented into the jean.  So yes, they are made by one guy, which is cool, but that one guy is Roy, whose unfiltered insanity makes wearing his stuff so much fun.  The details do take a while to fully take in.  I tried taking a few pictures of the unsanforized duck back and coin pockets...to limited success.

[sombrero]

The photos don't really doesn't do the jeans justice but the main point:

Roy doesn't need extra credit.

[Al6ert]

Tyler, I am just wondering if you've handled any Ande Whalls? If so, I'd love to hear your critique.

 

Obviously, I am a fan of both Roy and Ande's work. If full disclosure, I don't own any Roy (although that might change come this weekend) and what I have from Ande is from 2009 (see my Grail thread post). Funny you describe Roy's stuff this way, because it reminds me of how I'd talk about those AW Cougars.

 

I think we should start a trans-pacific fund to get these two in the same room and video tape their conversations. Would be super dope to see Ande in Roy's shop and Roy in Ande's shop?

 

Please don't neg me for comparing these two, I think that although similar, they supply a slightly different niche in the market.

Edited February 6, 2014 by Al6ert

[tmadd]

I have handled a good handful of Ande Whalls over the years, pretty much exclusively in the context of taking in repairs and hems at Self Edge, meaning I'm looking at heavily worn jeans, without any idea how old they are etc.  I'd say I have precious little to say in terms of anything I find lacking with the jeans from Ande…they are nice jeans, obviously well made, and very well worn before needing repair of any sort (in my limited experience, I've only ever seen the denim having given out, not any of the stitching).  Though the 1 man brand thing doesn't do anything for me on it's own, that doesn't mean I don't have a tremendous amount of respect for the skill exhibited by someone doing it…and Ande has been doing it for awhile, which I find even more admirable.   

 

What I'm talking about when I get over the moon about Roy has to do with the details that are totally insignificant to some, sitting on the edge of perceptibility:  The stitch count he's been sewing at on his jeans since at least the SF01 is absolutely mad, the uniform cleanliness along all edges and finish points in his jeans is second to none.  I've unboxed 3 production runs of his shirts, and 10 production runs of pants he's done, and I haven't found a stitch that looked anyway except exactly how it was supposed to.  I'm not saying there hasn't been one or two…I'm saying that I haven't seen them, and I usually do see that sort of thing.

 

My point is that amongst jeans being made, in the world right now, Roy's jeans stand on their own, amongst the best there are (and of course, preferences are always going to vary…my favorite jeans in the world are Sugar Cane 1947s for instance) without any extra credit or consideration for the fact that it's one man making the jeans instead of a team at a small factory.

[tigerpac]

I do own a pair (the 4th edition he did since selling through SE) and I also own his first chambray shirt and I'm of a different conclusion.  Having his name stitched on the inside pocket is nice (I know there are tons of little details, just picking a more apparent one) but I end up often reaching for other jeans.  Again its all personal preference so not trying to start a big back and fourth but my Roy's don't even stand on their own out of the 3 'nice' pairs I have! 

 

The detail work is great, which is why I do enjoy my Roys but the denim is so pedestrian compared to what some of the Japanese brands are using.  I know its a 'custom' cone mills denim, but it just doesn't have the same character and fading.

[readytoignite]

I love Roy

Roy loves me

#theend

[ironheartfan123]

other than the portland shirt, roy fits haven't worked out for me so far; i would've liked to try on the jeans he did with light-weight denim, but was not too keen on the "cinch-ette"

 

i also don't know what big bro means (is it a reference to denimbro?) and can't help but associate it with frat culture, which for me is a big negative

[youngofthesoonest]

up until now, roy's stuff has never fit me too well but the attention to detail always blows my mind. with the cb-1, the high stitch count, the use of supima cotton thread, placement and construction of the cinch, the raised bump on the edge of the back pockets that will get more wear than the rest of the pocket, and the fact that he chose the denim not because it was going to be a fast fading denim but because it was an interesting denim that isn't commonly seen on the market and had interesting history behind it. it's all pretty nuts on how well done it is. the big bro shirt has that same level of small details that are easy to miss that is super impressive.

 

in the end, it's all personal preference on whether or not those details and the work that goes into the product matters to you. i don't think people are into roy denim because he uses particularly fast fading denim. there are plenty of jeans on the marketplace that caters to that. The whole one man brand thing is something that gets people talking about him but i don't think that's what is keeping the conversation going.

[crease]

I just blew out my CB-1's and I currently live at least six hours from NYC. I don't have a car to travel to Self-Edge to drop them off to be repaired and I'm thankful that this is the most pressing issue in my life right now. It is agonizing though, knowing I'll have to wait until March to get them into the shop just so I can wait another 2-4 weeks to get them back. 

[readytoignite]

btw, gotta upload my puzzle piece... is there a repository going or is this like secret ninja shit?

[itsbenhere]

When Roy makes a cut that I think would work well for me, I'll definitely pick them up.  The SF01 might actually be that cut, but I am more than happy with my 3009s.  I love Roys because of how minimal they appear to be, while in reality there's so many little things going on that you really just don't see in other jeans.  I also love how tight the denim is and that it fades pretty subtly... in my opinion he makes a very particular product that might not be to everyone's liking, but it's just different enough to be a strong contender while avoiding kitschiness.