Buying My Buddy a Gift...Surprise, It's Denim!!
-
Hey Folks,
So, I've known my boy Matt for 23 years. He was the best man at my wedding, fishing buddy, traveled a bunch together, basically all the rad shit, we've done it together. Now it's his turn to get married, so I want to buy him the gift of denim!!He's been complaining for years about the fast degradation of his jeans and for the last 5 years or so listening to me ramble on about well made shit and most importantly, Iron Heart. So I want to buy him something he would never buy for himself.
I went head first into heavy weight denim. This would be too much for him. So since I don't have much experience with IH's lesser than 21oz weights, I was hoping ya'll could help me out with some cut and weight advice. Here is goes:
He hates shit to be rough or itchy or stiff. He'd want something breathable and easy to break in.
I've got a pair of his favorite fitting jeans and have measured them. This is where they land after a wash:
Waist-37"
Thigh- 12.5"
Knee-9.5"
Hem- 8.75"
F. Rise- 11"
B. Rise 14.75"My two contenders that IH have in stock now are:
-634 18oz Vintage Tag 36 (I think these may be cut looser than he'd love)
-888 142ib Tag 36 (Leaning towards these atm)Any advice from the hive on the fabric or cut suggestions would be awesome! I don't have a lot of time to wait for things to come back into stock. Probably have a month or less to pull the trigger!
-
@Mizmazzle man, you think the 21oz is too heavy for him? I feel like that's a great starter because it's just so soft and wearable from the get-go. I find the 14oz to be less friendly, despite the lesser weight. 18oz would be a good option. When are slubs back?
-
@popvulture man, my only 21oz are OD and they are soft as butter. I think he’d learn real quick to love that. I’ve never broken a pair of the indigos. What do you think?
@pechelman 666!!! You’re on point with that cut. Can’t believe o over looked that. Gonna see what’s in stock now!
-
@Mizmazzle they have the same feel as the OD, totally nice n' soft. I think the only comfier IH offering would be the slubbies. I know they're due back at some point but I don't know if they'd be back in time for your deadline.
-
I'm seeing a few good options in the 14IB's for both 666 and 777's. Looks like Tag 36's are generally the right size.
It fades relatively quickly / high contrast as well so it might be more enjoyable to him as a first pair of fancy denim than say an OD'd pair. I'd probably also steer you to a 666 over the 777's as I found having any snugness in new areas (crotch, calves, knees, etc) to be much more noticeable with heavy denim and the 666 might actually give him a bit more room in some of these places than his current pair.I totally agree though with OD being so soft that it could be suitable for him in 21oz.
-
Great input guys. I’m thinking the 666 cut is the way to go. Can’t go wrong with the flagship 21oz indigo, just don’t want to throw too much at him too fast haha. But sounds like the 21oz is more breathable and perhaps easier to wear then the 14oz ib…
Wish the tonal stitching version of the 14oz ib was in stock.
Any insight to how crispy that 14oz ib denim is out of the bag?
-
So between the 18oz and the 16oz (slubbies), my vote would be slubbies. Though 18oz is my favorite looking faded from the pairs that I’ve owned.
21oz though are blankets compared to both. I know the weight makes it seem more daunting than it is but he won’t notice after a few months.
As for the the fit, I agree with everyone above with a bit more edge towards the 666
I'm as ugly as you
-
14ib is pretty crispy, smooth, and dense. Not to the extent of UHR/19L crisp but more similar to say 17oz duck or even the 12oz denim when new. It also stays that way for a good while unlike 12oz which breaks-in and softens pretty quickly. It's got a nice balance where it will set some great creases but it should soften pretty quick in high-wear areas around the tops of thighs/knees. My only 14IB is a type 3, so it should go much faster in pants.
-
I would never give my best friend a gift card for such a big event in his life. Besides, I like the challenge of getting the people I care about something that blows them away. Just takes some attention to detail and knowing what they like.
Also, if I fuck it up the first time I can count on IH to help me dial it in on the return.
-
@sabergirl now this is great advice! There are also 9+ pairs in stock in tag 36...lots of options to have the crew fine tune the fit a bit as well!
-
@Mizmazzle Hmm you’re not going to like my answer - it depends. Lol
If you wear it steadily for about 3 months, it starts to settle a bit from the initial stiffness. It gets noticeable softer after each wash too. But I didn’t notice a huge difference until after a year or so of wear with a handful of soaks and washes
-
Maybe you could take him to a retailer if there is one close by so he could try them on?
-
People used to buy me clothes when I was a child for birthdays Christmas etc, that all stopped when I was about 13-14 years old
Socks etc I don’t mind at Christmas even now
But buying a pair of jeans for someone else without them trying them or even wanting to try no thanksIt’s a nice gesture for sure but I just can’t get my head round the practicality of it unless it was an instore hey try these on you like them I’ll buy them for you scenario
-
@Mizmazzle 21oz no question!
