Tender Co. Denim

[satchelbmoore]

woad dyed coverall suits!

[rodeo bill]

yxa, excellent! thank you. do you know the william brown project? Matthew, the photographer who writes it, is a friend, and has an amazing capacity for finding weird things like this- I think you'd enjoy it...

Newly arrived this morning, and fresh up on the Trestle Shop is a black 'everest' dial watch.

the 2,4,6,8,10,12 dial configuration comes from a smith's 'everest' watch, which was apparently in fact the first watch up mt everest, rather than a rolex explorer, as rolex claim. the story goes that Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay made a pact at the top never to reveal who got there first. Norgay was wearing a Rolex, and rolex have a big advertising budget, so claimed that their watch was the first to the summit. Hilary was wearing a Smiths watch, and the much smaller English brand didn't have as much clout as rolex, and later went bust anyway, so it was relatively unpublicised. On his death bed, Hilary claimed/revealed that it was in fact him who got there first, making the Smith's Everest the official first-watch-to-the-top....

this tender watch, like the first model, has a deadstock 17 jewel swiss hand-wound movement, which has been cleaned, rebuilt, and cased in England. The dial pattern is entirely luminous (rather than just the hour markers, etc, which is normally the case)- this was a but tricky to achieve, but i think it's really nice how the finer details, like the train tracks, pop out in the dark.

[rodeo bill]

speaking of watches, I don't know if anyone here's all that into them, but here's my small collection, along with some glasses, on the oak bark leather tray that I use as a bedside table.

left-right 1943 longines, 1940s ulysse nardin, 1950s (I think) tudor, with British Rail 45 years service presentation engraving on the back, tender hands-on explorer, rolex datejust 1968, tokyu hands alarm clock

[rodeo bill]

i just got a lovely photo from mutiny dc, who have just received their first delivery of Tender, for SS13. anyone in the area should pop in- I've not been myself, but I've met the owners a few times now, and they're brilliant people, and have a very good brand selection.

[rodeo bill]

new sunglasses shape! same spec as the rounded style, made in England from cotton acetate, but with a flatter top and slightly sloped down nervous eyebrows:

unlike the first, rounder shape, which are cut from a slimmer sheet of acetate with fixed on nose-pieces, these frames are carved from a thicker sheet of acetate, so that the nose-pieces are the full thickness and the space round the cheekbones is cut away:

on the trestle shop this morning

[satchelbmoore]

god damnit. this is getting out of hand. how many pairs are there?

[rodeo bill]

^ feels like that sometimes! 2 styles, flat top and round top, they're basically pretty similar, but the slight difference in the slant of the 'eyebrow' makes a surprising amount of difference to how they wear. The new style feels a lot more classic/wearable, more wayfarer, and less corbusier. (just to be clear, in the tray photo a couple of posts above, only the heavy round frames top left are tender- the others are a cheapo chinese pair I picked up and B&L rayban)

[satchelbmoore]

i'm a believer in the flat top. how many of the flat tops were made?

*EDIT: order placed.

Edited February 12, 2013 by satchelbmoore

[bbcapone]

oh Will, I will blame you for my perpetual poverty, at least I'll look good. Can we get a close up of that fantastic Nardin? Also more info on the turtleshell colorway of your shades?

(please, please, please dont use real turtleshell)

[rodeo bill]

satchel- thank you so much I'm delighted you'll have a pair of these- they'll go out tomorrow. After the original sample (which I'm keeping for myself!) there were 4 pairs made, and now 2 pairs have gone. There will be another run in future, though, I'm sure. bbcapone, thank you also! I really appreciate all the support.

I'm calling the tortoiseshell colour 'mock turtle' in honour of Alice in Wonderland, and no it's certainly not real shell. I do have a pair of real shell glasses, which were my grandmother's- the straight side shape influenced these frames. They're incredibly light, and beautiful things- I don't have a problem with an old pair, but I definitely wouldn't condone using new real tortoiseshell these days. These tortoiseshell frames (as seen in the fader article above) are still a prototype, but should be arriving in the next couple of months.

off subject, perhaps, but I hope you'll all humour bbcapone and me.... here's my Ulysse Nardin:

I love the skeleton hands- I wonder if perhaps they were originally lume-filled?

[bbcapone]

Thanks Bill!

The movement looks beautiful. I don't know much about watches but you have inspired me to do alot of research over the past few months. Strangely, my friend down at the pawn shop has been a great resource.

The skeleton hands are really cool too. Did they even have lume-filled hands back then? I know that they fade out after a while.

Also, just put in my order for the logwoods on the trestle, I really appreciate it. They look like they will fade into a beautiful color.

[bbcapone]

Oh and:

Always nice to meet another Alice fan.

[rodeo bill]

just up this minute on lineage of influence is a very nice little preview of Tender ss13, which will be coming into the stores over the next few weeks:

Tender Spring/Summer 2013 cllection

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

tags:

Mens fashion, Tender

Here’s the latest Spring/Summer 2013 range from British label Tender. William Kroll’s brainchild continues to go from strength to strength, with a growing collection that has swollen to include accessories and homewares in addition to a core range of superb denim and leather pieces.

Edited February 13, 2013 by rodeo bill

[rodeo bill]

This season sees the introduction of two new dyes to the range – Wattle is a natural warm tan dye, made from Acacia trees, a thorny tree native to Australia, India, and China, and has been used for thousands of years to tan leather and dye fabrics. Verdigris is the turquoise pigment that develops through the natural corrosion of copper, it was used as a dye by the Romans, and can also often be found around the rivets on vintage jeans.

New pieces include a range of English made bags, which are constructed from an 18oz unsanforized conveyor belt canvs, cut in one piece with the straps also made from a single piece of cotton webbing and come in either raw un-dyed, Woad, Wattle and Verdigris. These colours also find their way onto Tender’s new 3/4 sleeve T-shirts, which are cut in one piece too.

Knitwear is also present with lightweight Scottish lambswool pullovers and slipovers hand dyed with woad, and a range of English made, circular knitted, hand-linked socks. Short sleeve shirts come in cotton cambric (the very same fabric they make bank notes from) or Irish linen and long sleeve shirts in cotton cambric, Irish linen or English ticking. These three fabrics are also utilised in a new range of boxer shorts and finishing off the new products are a pair of sunglasses which are made from cotton acetate, being cut and hand-polished in England.

All of this is of course in addition to the denim and leather products that continue to be refined season after season. New products in these areas include a range of cotton canvas jeans and short trews – with both styles constructed from the same industrial canvas as Tender’s bags. For more information on the label, go to the website here: Tender. Also check out their online shop selling exclusive products here:Trestle Shop.

Oh and if that wasn’t enough I’ll be featuring an exclusive preview of William’s new label SLEEPER very soon.

Edited February 13, 2013 by rodeo bill

[Youthxattak]

Shorts and 3/4 sleeve shirts. Can't wait to see it!

What color is that guards jacket featured in the article above? On my screen it almost looks like your flowerpot dye but I can't tell if my eyes are deceiving me.

I know you said mutiny already had some spring arrivals.. Any idea when we can expect spring shipments to the other stateside shops?

Could we see a comparison of your verdigris dyed to your woad dyed?

Ps. Those new glasses look soo good! Not surprised they are going so fast.

[rodeo bill]

^^thank you very much! the tan colour is a different treatment with wattle, the bark dye first used in the last production. This version has a warmer, tan colour. The jacket's a new shape, in fact, adapted from the shirt pattern. I'd be very happy to take some verdigris/woad pictures soon- for now, though, the bags in the photo four from the top are made from the canvas dyed (left-right) in verdigris, tan wattle, and woad.

Hickoree's received a first delivery on Monday, so should also have some things up soon, as will superdenim, I think. These will just the first few pieces though, more to come in the next few weeks. I'll put up some detail pictures soon!

[Youthxattak]

Oh wow. I looked too fast. I thought verdigris was actually a white. Oops.

Super excited!

[jabber]

Hello, I would like to share my experiences with Tender jeans. Unbiased view onto both the products and also sellers.

I have four pairs so far, all bought new from official retailers. I am located in EU mainland.

Pros: whole idea, denims, cuts, slow but deep and strong evo

Cons: soft cotton stitching, non consistent sizing, not so perfect retailing

1. Goodhood UK, type 130 woad, size 3. All good, fast shipping, no letter from William received.

2. OEN UK, type 129 woad, size 2. Perfect, fastest delivery, personal note from store, great email comms, letter from William received

3. Hickorees US, type 129 HillSide Ed no.2, size 2. Worst experience ever, real nightmare, had to urge them one week to ship, received after more than one month from my payment. They use most horrible international shipping service, Priority Mail (slower than basic First Class), had to pay custom fee GBP 100, no letter from William received. Sizing on this pair size 2 was way too small, 2 inches smaller than woad dyed same size and same 129 type pair, useless

(comparison to Blue In Green in NYC is insane: I received my jeans from BIG via EMS within 3 working days w/o any custom fees)

4. Goodhood UK, type 130 wattle. Ordered size 32 (according to their offer), expecting size 3, received huge size 4. Fast free delivery, perfect service. No letter from William received.

I am a huge fan of Tender, William and his work. Anyway I would prefere direct sale via Trestle shop for EU customers. Also accurate sizing chart to each type and pair should be more than appropriate.

Stockists could spoil your business, William... I would never order from Superdenim for example, they even substitute dye type of your jeans in their descriptions...

Writing all this just as a feedback helping you improve your business idea, no disrespect or anything.

Good luck and thanks for reading

[Youthxattak]

So I just received my newest Tender purchase. I picked up one of the railway caps. The brim is a little straight for my personal taste so I'm sure I'll bend it in after a couple wears but overall the weight is a really nice... Surprisingly light. This is a huge plus for myself considering how hot it can get down south. (my hat has some rain on it in the picture below.. That's not discoloration)

This pic gives you an idea of the weight/density. This was with me holding the hat underneath a few feet away from a lamp. (notice the amount of light penetrating the cap)

Andd.. Heres the fit shot.. Not huge on this one.. I'm no model. But alas..

**as for jabber ... Sorry for all the bad luck. I've dealt with hicks, context, unionmade, lyonstate (probably my personal favorite experience), superdenim, okiya, buttery, and trestle.. And knock on wood.. Still no trouble with customs or products. I must say though.. At least you don't let it stop you.. Sounds like you've tried to pick up some really rad gear.

Edited February 15, 2013 by Youthxattak

[redragon]

Have to say, I have the best experience buying directly from Trestle, great customer service by William himself.

[rodeo bill]

jabber, thank you for the feedback, and also thank you so much for the support and interest in my products! to respond to your points, cotton stitching is indeed a con in some ways (less durable than polyester) but i think the pros (dyed better, shrinks with washing, nicer texture, wears more interestingly) outway this. For the last several productions I've switched the outside leg seam to polycotton thread, as I found this seam was coming open over time. As it's a hidden seam there's no adverse effect to the look, and it makes the garment a lot stronger. letters get tucked into every pair of jeans and each jacket, and I guess occasionally go missing in shops' stock rooms, which is a real pity- I'll mention it. as for individual shop sales, I'm very very sorry you've had some bad experiences, especially from Hickoree's, who I would expect nothing but the best from. They're great guys and I'm sure this is unusual. I'll get in touch with them though, so they're aware of this.

[rodeo bill]

^^youthxattak, thank you for posting your hat! you have quite a collection now- I'm really grateful

the brim is flat- the guy who makes them is a traditional British hatter, making flat caps, where the crown would snap down onto the flat brim, as opposed to an American-style cap, which has a curved brim. this is similar to a railway worker's hat which I saw in a guys collection a few years ago (no photos I'm afraid)

with a bit of time, though, the brim will start to curve down a bit. Here we go, with matching scarf:

[andrew_]

Thought I'd contribute with an unbiased review too...

Bought from the189, never had such fantastic service, cannot recommend the store highly enough.

Had the Unborn 129s for about 5 months now.

Negatives:

> Cotton stitching. I'm not sure I personally (personally!) agree that the cotton stitching is worth it. My experiences with the stitching have been pretty bad. Have had to repair stitching twice around the fly buttons, as well as the outer seam by the pocket on both sides. Not sure the stitching is an area that I want to see an evolution in wear, it's a shame that the stitching is the weak link in what is otherwise a ridiculously hardwearing item.

> Advice in this thread on sizing/shrinking of unsanf jeans (sorry!). Nowhere near the 2" shrinking advertised. I would say to new buyers that if the unborn jeans fit spot on (or even a bit tight) unwashed on the waist, they will be perfect for you in the long run. The jeans will shrink about an inch and be uncomfortable for a day, and within 2 weeks will have stretched back out to the pre-wash waist (probably further). This is recommended buying method for other heavyweight denim (see Ironheart forums etc).

>Pockets too long for modern use. I'd say front pockets need to be a good inch shorter (maybe more!) to make them easily useable, reaching into them is a real chore, have ripped outer seam whilst trying to get out change I've absent-mindedly thrown in there.

> Chainstitching on waistband but not on hems? Pretty sure I read that the hems were "double-rolled and chainstitched for extra roping" - hems weren't chainstitched but lower waistband was? Not sure if I'm misremembering or misread somewhere. Had the hems chainstitched myself anyway, they look so much better with a bit of roping!

Positives: Lots more than the negatives. Fantastic denim (so hairy!), exposed rivets (domed) that look fantastic with age and don't ruin furniture, 2 button fly (maintains modesty perfectly, easier to open up when you need...no idea why some jeans have 5 button flys), snob's thumb pocket (never used it at all but love it), front pocket opening and selvedge strengthening - looking great the more they're worn, lining in back pockets getting so soft with wear too, top button is so great.....

All in all really really happy with my purchase, full of character and fantastic features, and more than happy to put up with the slight negatives to buy into William's brand and ethos (can't think of a better term for ethos, I hate the word ethos). Once these are dead, I'll be buying some woad dyed 129s for sure.

Edited February 16, 2013 by andrew_

[rodeo bill]

^thank you very much for this andrew! I've taken your comments in, and it's really good to get clear, honest feedback. I'm really delighted you're enjoying your jeans, and your negatives are sensible and well worth thinking about.

Tender jeans hems have never been chainstitched- they are double rolled (a big fold, which is then itself folded in half) and lockstitched. the double roll makes it extra thick, and sometimes results in a few tufts of weft sticking up above the hem line, which is something I've always enjoyed. Chainstitched hems are part of the american mass-produced (and thence japanese atelier-produced) denim vernacular, and can be lovely, but in my opinion don't make sense in the same way that other areas of chainstitching do. THere have been discussions around here on this before, but (for instance) the waistband is put on on a machine with a folder that pulls the band through and sews it in one action- this machine needs a chainstitch (which feeds from the top only). It's a similar story with a run-and-fell seam which gives you the double or triple chainstitched seams across the back yoke and seat seam. A hem, by contrast, is often run through a folder and into a chainstitch, but the double fold on tender jeans needs to be pressed by hand (with an iron) before being sewn down. This could be done on a chainstitch machine, but you're then not using it for it's intended advantage- a chainstitched sewing line is actually quite a bit weaker than a lockstitch. The advantage, then, would only be a historical/personality driven thing, which I fully support for American-repro driven jeans, but it doesn't seem relevant enough to Tender to outweigh the disadvantage/unnecessity.

on an entirely different topic, I just made up a fresh few pots of boot grease a couple of days ago (in fact somebody here got the first pot of this lot!):

as the fat cools it becomes opaque and shrinks slightly, so they sometimes need topping up

while I was melting down a panful, I thought I'd try dipping my new coin purse (of which more to come) directly into the grease:

afterwards I was cleaning up the pan and I gave this purse and my wallet an enthusiastic coating:

[rodeo bill]

^as above, and just this minute up on the trestle shop, fishtail coin purses, cut from wattle tanned leather:

also new up today are rough-out wallets:

here's my own grain-out wallet, and coin purse. being viewed by some bears:

[rodeo bill]

whistles are in!

they arrived this morning from the jeweller, very pleasingly wrapped up together:

up on the trestle shop now, full details here. here are some more photos:

beep beep!

(wearing a just-arrived tender & for holding up the trousers T)

[rodeo bill]

Sleeper huh? Must have...ugh..slept on that that.

www.builtbysleeper.com now has some preview lookbook pictures on it! and this morning rob, at lineage of influence has posted a nice little write-up:

Introducing SLEEPER

FEBRUARY 21, 2013

tags:

Mens fashion, SLEEPER, Tender

As stated in my post on Tender’s latest Spring/Summer 2013 collection (find that here), William has launched a new brand, SLEEPER. The label is researched and designed in the UK but whereas Tender is produced over here, this new label will be made in Japan for Homestead Ltd.

This range for Autumn/Winter 2013 sees itself based around the items that form William’s personal collection of 20th Century British Rail uniforms. It’s going to be predominately available in Japan but hopefully it will be stocked by a few international shops too. And at the moment, that’s as much information as there is.

To see more images of the collection, and to keep an eye on future developments, go to the website here:SLEEPER.

These images are only a preview, and don't show the full collection yet, but I hope they give an idea. They're also mixed in with a couple of vintage pieces.

This is an Autmn/Winter 2013 collection, due in shops towards the end of the summer, and is mainly for Japan, but we do have some great representatives in the UK, US, and elsewhere set up. More product details closer to the time!

[Youthxattak]

What does the "B.R." on some of the Sleeper product refer to?

[aho]

^British Rail?

some great pieces, excited for more...

[rodeo bill]

^yup, that's right. it's taken from stamps and embroideries on various things from before the current double arrows logo, which was introduced in 1965. the Tshirt graphics are from photos I've taken of sign writing on the sides of trains and on bits of hardware in archives during my travels for tender research. thanks for the nice comments! the models, incidentally, are Rob Newman and Dan McKinley, two of my students at the university of westminster, who've been really helpful with bits for tender. rob's dad's the one wearing a pair of 132D jeans in the photo one page back.