Iron Heart in the Press or on other Sites
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Continued…
3) What do you particularly like about their products?
Where to start? The quality, the design, the fabrics? The unique Japanese flavour that plays around at the edges and underneath the more obvious American inspirational sources? All of these things are important to me, but it’s all been written about before.
For me the attraction to the brands products is fundamentally based on both practical and emotional values. I have a connection to the products both because of the simplicity and usefulness they represent in terms items of everyday items of clothing and also because of the way the products speak to me.
I love that I can wear the same IH garment to my day job as a high school teacher, walking in the mountains, chopping wood at the cabin or going for a night out on the town. There is a combination of practicality, ruggedness, class and style that makes all these things possible. I have a pair of IH-666-XHS that I trashed one summer doing a major landscape gardening job that involved a lot of construction, wall building and wallowing about in mud. I wear them to work about twice a week now. They are my favourite Saturday night jeans as well.
I grew up as a metalhead in the 80’s and was part of a 90’s punk/crusty subculture. Market biker stalls and Army surplus stores were my Hennes & Mauritz. I wore leather jackets, off-brand jeans and pewter and leather jewellery. I had combat trousers, field jackets and combat boots from a variety of western militaries, all bought for a bargain and worn in a fashion that was most un-military. With IH there is a large element of personal nostalgia for me in rocking a pair of H-san’s cargo pants with a big pair of 8” IH/Viberg collab work boots, or an IH M65 with IH SBG denim and engineer boots. It’s an extremely well-made version of what I wore when I was a young man. That personal, nostalgic association extends to the vests, tops and jewellery IH either makes or sells via the IHUK website, from their curated partner brands. Because of IH I get to wear the clothes and jewellery I wanted to wear when I was 18 but couldn’t afford.
So, to summarise, they protect me from the elements, they’re hard wearing, they’re utilitarian, they look great, and they feed the needs of my midlife crisis…
4) What is it about the weight of clothes? Why is it so appealing when it’s heavy?
The obvious things are the durability and toughness of the fabrics. That has a functional appeal. Living in the north of Norway the insulation and warmth they provide is very useful.
From a denimhead point of view there is no doubt that the way the heavy denims and duck fabrics develop is more interesting. The folding, creasing, and draping is that much more pronounced and the resultant evolution of the fabric from wear and tear is fascinating stuff. The 25ox XHS is an excellent example of this. It’s a very dark indigo when new and stiff like cardboard initially. The creases become thick and rigid when they form and as the indigo gets stripped the fades tend to be very high contrast. This reveals the intricate build of the fabric via the vertical fading that occurs. It creates an effect and a depth of fading that you just won’t get with a lighter denim. Add to that the way the denim almost magically softens and you’ve got a seriously fascinating bit of fabric.
Initially the weight was very interesting to me. I enjoyed having something substantial to wear, something I knew was there. However, after a while you just don’t it notice anymore. It doesn’t feel like you’re weighed down or inconvenienced when you’re wearing IH, it just feels like a natural but meaningful extension of yourself.
After a while it becomes more about solidity and robustness than heaviness. I don’t own any of IH’s 14oz denim, the lightest I’ve had is the 17oz. While I don’t doubt its quality, I suspect it would feel odd to wear such light jeans now. I’d feel like I’d lost a leg or something.
That being said, one recent experience suggests that the heaviness has its own seductive quality. I love IH vests and especially the IHV-02 work vests. They are made of 12oz wabash amongst other things. Last year IH remade them in 21oz wabash. I bought both iterations and I haven’t worn the 12oz ones since. Having a sharply cut vest in such heavy fabric just feels great. The vest is that much more real in a way.
5) How many IH items do you own? What’s your favourite and why?
Fucking loads. So many it isn’t even funny anymore.Quite a lot. I keep meaning to catalogue them, but it is an intimidating task. Soon after I bought my first couple of items, I made the decision that I was going to build an entire wardrobe out of IH gear. It just seemed like the sensible thing to do. After nearly five years as a customer/fanboy I have now about three wardrobes full.A rough count suggests I have about 12 pairs of jeans, 5 pairs of non-denim pants, around 15 shirts, about 15 vests (some waistcoats, some outerwear), approximately 10 jackets/coats, about 20 t-shirts, three hoodies, five sweatshirts, about nine thermal sweaters (these are the most versatile, most worn pieces I own), three pairs of collab boots/shoes, three pieces of IH jewellery, two belts, one wallet and about 10 pairs of socks. Oh, and an apron. I love that thing.
A favourite item is impossible to choose, trust me I’ve tried. If I was to choose a favourite denim it would probably be the XHS but the UHR is in the running. My favourite non-denim fabric is probably IH wabash, but again the 17oz brown duck is close on its tail.
When it comes to individual pieces then this winter’s coat is the IHW-13-GR, a 26oz Melton wool M65 that just sums up the combination of utility, style and precision design that IH represents for me. It’s amazing and a current favourite right now. I also have a vest in black and grey, striped, 11oz jersey fabric, cut in a peculiarly Japanese style that wasn’t released in the west that I adore.
The one true prestige piece I own though is the IHV-26, a vest, cut like the IHV-02 work vests, but done in a beautiful indigo-dyed bit of front quarter horsehide. It’s finished with exquisite gold stitching and copper buttons. It is not for everyone, that’s for sure. It is a horrifically expensive bit of kit that should probably only be worn by bona fide rock gods, but I care not. Only a very few were made, and they weren’t sold outside of Japan. I acquired it from a fellow moderator on the forum, Anthony Love. His Japanese wife managed to nab it for him, but it didn’t work out and I took it over. It’s just unreal and I’m eternally grateful to him for the giving me the chance to own and wear it. I remember wearing it at an IH party in Gosport. Haraki-san, Tom-san and Sarina-san were there and saw me wearing it. They immediately had an animated discussion in Japanese while pointing at me, and then H just gave me a thumbs up from across the room. For an IH geek like myself it pretty much made my day.
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@neph93 What a really great/enjoyable read. When I got my very first pair of IH,I couldn’t believe that I had found jeans that ,so intently, reminded me of the Lees,Levis,and Wranglers I had growing. The nostalgia effect was jaw dropping. I also had an insanely great customer service experience,where I totally screwed up,to which the response was if your not going to be happy,we’re not going to be happy. I’m sure there are quite a few,customer service,stories like mine and yours out there.
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Nicely done Reuben.
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@neph93 Nice work, thanks for sharing that.
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Comedian Marc Maron promoting his A Few Parts of The World Tour on BBC Breakfast this morning in an IHSH
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Boots, I believe from being a Marc Maron and Dean Delray fan boy are Oxblood Horsehide from Role Club in LA. @BrianTheBootmaker on Instagram.
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Marc Maron is doing a gig at the venue where I work on
Monday, maybe ill bump into him and chat shirts
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Cool! Those are RC white cork soles on a pair of whites boots.
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I laughed when I noticed the first response to this Reddit Buy It For Life thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/BuyItForLife/comments/bt9c70/request_looking_for_a_durable_denim_shirt/
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YES!
BTW, love your handle and the Cats avatar, @setandsetting
