What is your Denim/ Clothing Life Story?
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What a GREAT thread DougNg !
OK, for me…I discovered high end denim when Self Edge first opened doors, some 3.5 years ago.
I stumbled upon Self Edge accidentally one late summer, Saturday afternoon, in Year 2006. Having just had some sinfully sick Turkish coffee at Philz, I decided to walk up 18th toward Valencia just for some pretty people watching (lots of it to be found in The Mission). I too was going through some doldrums in life...I was broken-hearted over a girl, and while wandering aimlessly round The Castro on that day, I was hoping to bump into her (didn't happen).
But I had recently thrown myself hyper-intensively into yoga -- I was doing it 7 days a week, mostly to overcome the heartbreak I was feeling. When you perform this much yoga, however, your psyche changes whether you want it to or not...in a good way. At that point, I realized that I had too much clutter in my life and that I needed....LESS. This may sound bad, but my clutter included people with whom I wasted a lot of time but had superficial relationships with. I wanted to simplify my life...and just keep less shit around.
Derek sold me my first pair of IH, 634S, W30, on that day. When I tried them on, I wasn't too crazy about them but I felt like spending $$ so I went ahead and splurged.
The 634S hung in my closet without wear for the next year and a half.
Then one day in December 2007, I started wearing the IH 634S. I couldn't believe what I had been missing all along ! I wore them every day during the entire month of December and made my New Years Resolution for 2008 : Get rid of every fucking pair of pants I own except my IH 634S and a couple pair of interview/funeral/wedding slacks.
Come January 2008, that's exactly what I did. I threw my 50 or so pair of jcrew, levis 514, levis 511, diesel, true religion, etc...into several hefty lawn bags and either gave them to friends/relatives or goodwill.
I was left with 3 pair of pants in my closet -- one of them being IH jeans -- the other two, like I said, formal pants for formal occasions. In February 2008, after the big closet purge, I bought my second pair of IH jeans -- IH-1634 in a W30 (also sold to me by Derek).
For all of 2008-2009, til about September 2009, I just rotated between these two pair of IH Straightcut jeans. Though I love them (I'm wearing the 634S today), they're quite big on me. I've lost weight since I bought them, and I don't see myself ever gaining those 10 Lbs back. I needed new skinny IH jeans. That's when I went on a rampage at Self Edge late last fall and bought IH 301S, 9301 Slim Super Black, SEXIH03BK and SEXIH03. Ginno sold me my IH 301S and 9301 Slim Super Black while Derek turned me on to the Cyclist jeans. These 4 pair of "skinny" IH became my main rotation overnight.
So I didn't try Skull, Flat Head, Imperial, etc...I just went straight from mall brand to IH and never looked back !
But you should see my closet now. It's very thin. I don't have much shit. IH has helped me live a clutter-free life. And PS...my social life has also become clutter-free. I have a few friends that I enjoy hanging out with -- a FEW. That's all I need.
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What a story!
I actually don't really remember how I learned about IH. I think I discovered by chance in a forum. I might have wanted to look up something on jeans and then read about it. Doesn't matter, I'm happy I ran into IH, Giles, and the gang here. I won't becoming a premium denim snob like Shuba.
I was wearing my ordinary Levi's STF 501 Verde Rigid the last two days and really enjoyed them. Absolutely beautiful color with a slight green cast. I actually did sit in the hot bath tub with those pants and had them shrink down and dry on my body in the Texas sun.My next premium jeans, not that I need any, having ten pair of perfectly good jeans in the closet and probably 20 pair of other trousers, will probably be the Triple Works 1220 in Natural Indigo or the Sunrise Mud-dyed natural indigo jeans. If that stuff just wasn't so expensive, sigh.
Till
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I didn't wear jeans àt all until I was about 24… First I bought jeans from skatestores... Mind you: those cost 70-100 € as well... That's what still baffles me: massproduced crap jeans made in China costs you as much as 2ndhand (but 80-90 % new) Samurais or IHs or FHs or w/e...
My first 'proper' jeans were Nudies... 'Average Joe'... Bought for cheap on eBay... My first REAL proper jeans, were purchased a bit later: Atelier LaDurance 'Prescott' (overdyed). Also bought on eBay, for 40 €, and it was brandnew. Still have and still love those btw.
Then I got to know the SF and SuFu fora, and started buying FH and Sams and other high end jeans.. Bought tons of jeans the last 2 years, now I have a couple left... By now I exàctly know what a pair of jeans have to look like, and how they have to measure for me to love them.
I really am in love with the pairs I have left/ decided to keep... They hang right next to me, while I'm on the computer, typing away... So I'm able to squeeze 'm... Look at the fades...
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I bought my first selvedge items in a Amsterdam Levi store in 1997 (Jeans & Jacket‚ both Big E). A trendy work friend had just told me all about vintage shuttle looms and the Japanese owning them all. From there I started to collect some Evis items‚ imported from their flagship store in Tokyo. I continued to collect various Levis selvedge items (and some Lee for good measure). I then went to live in Hong Kong in 2001 (for 2 years) and I found a shop with (genuine) Japanese Evis(U) and bought some more items. All of the denim I owned (all selvedge except 1 pair of Diesel) have lasted a very long time‚ then about 8 months ago I got the urge to start buying some new items‚ SuFu took my to IH‚ google took me to Giles..the rest is history…..
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Funnily enough, Beatle asked me how I got into the denim thing earlier today. It is only a snap-shot of a denim life story, but here it is:
About 6 years I decided it was time to get rid of some of the millions of pairs of 501's I had been hoarding since my youth. As is my way, I did a stack of research, and realised that there was a massive Japanese denim culture that was not being well serviced in The West (and which I knew zippo about).
So, I researched a bit more and worked out which, in my mind, were the 5 best brands that did not have representation outside of Japan. Top of the list was IH, so I emailed and said I wanted to look after their interests. Luckily for me, Harakis best friend is a good English speaker, so I got an answer almost right away.
In typical Japanese fashion, it took a long, long time to get the relationship working in a way that suited both our cultures, but we got there in the end.
I was in New York with Haraki last year and a person who I had not met before asked me over dinner if I was the international representative for IH. Before I could answer, Haraki said, "he is my partner, but more importantly, he is my friend", it was then that I knew I had eventually cracked it.
I am sure I drive him wild as I am extremely demanding and I email him incessantly, but I reckon I take well over 50% of his output (he's far to cute to confirm or otherwise), so he puts up with me!
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Thanks for sharing that Giles, and a thank you to Beatle for asking the question!
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Long story, short version
I've been using jeans since boyhood, thats over 40 yrs now…
About 2 or 3 years ago I got sick of what they are offering in shops nowadays here in Finland.
Crap, at high prices. So thin denim, that it makes me wanna puke.
I'm not into fashion, been a biker since I got my license.
At first I bought 2 pairs of Levi517 as they aren't sold here (yea I know, El Cheapos) and I wanted bootcut jeans, and at that point there wasn't any available here, which is odd. Then couple of pairs of 501's Shrink-to-Fit's. At that point I found out of japanese denim. (from US with help of friends)
Then I bought Sugar Cane's 1947's. They are fine, but still wanted bootcuts, not those skinny emo-type ridiculousies or vintage cuts...
Last autumn I found out about IH, and have been wanting a pair since. Now I got me a second-hand pair coming...Jack
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I'll first start off by talking about my Dad. I don't know him very well as my parents divorced when I was about four years old. The one thing that drives me crazy is the fact that he lectures me constantly on just about everything. . . even to this day as I'm in my late 20's. Although there were a few things he said that stuck with me and make sense. "Buy things of high quality that will last."
I did this with a lot of things, even in my younger days when I slowly put together a good stereo system over several years instead of buying a cheap little boombox. I never cared about my clothing this way because I felt like, "whats the point"? Jumping ahead on this a bit; I was in a terrible relationship throughout my whole time in college where I took that "whats the point" outlook to another level.
After I got out of that dismal situation and graduated I slowly started caring more about taking care of myself. Eventually this came to the idea of clothing where I really can't remember how I found out about raw denim. . . I just know that my first pair was a Nudie "Average Joe". Boy did I struggle with these; too tight, didn't seem as well-made as they should for the money, didn't stretch as much as I'd hope, etc, etc.
Now I'm a person who usually has what I like to call "fleeting passions". I get very interested and involved with something and then I could care less about it after a few months. It was looking like good denim/clothing would be the same way until. . .
I thought to myself one day, "These Nudie's really aren't all they're cracked up to be, I need something serious". As I looked on some message boards and checked out some brands I stumbled upon Iron Heart. 21oz ?! Three-hundred-and-how-many dollars?! I dove right in and purchased my 634S not really knowing what to expect, just that my expectations were high.
When they finally arrived I took them out of the box and they felt like something you'd wear into combat. I could barely get them on or close the buttons. But it was the fact that I spent so much money that I couldn't just give up on these jeans, I was determined to fight the good fight. After about 6-8 months they turned into something that begged to be worn everyday. They saved me once from a nasty fall I took while playing basketball (I know, basketball in jeans) where I have a horrible scar on my elbow and a faded patch on my jeans to show what happened. They've been with me hiking where 'pricker bushes' don't stand a chance to get through and cut me. They've made people at work say, "Just give it up with those jeans already"! I love these jeans
Ever since then I've been filling in the gaps with some Samurai, Flat Head, etc. Now that my jeans drawer is filled how I want, I have been picking up shirts/jackets this past year to complete everything. Soon I'll have a wardrobe for life. . . but damn if the upcoming releases don't tug at my willpower!
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I quite liked this thread, so I thought I would repost and see whether it is resurectable:
Funnily enough, Beatle asked me how I got into the denim thing earlier today. It is only a snap-shot of a denim life story, but here it is:
About 6 years I decided it was time to get rid of some of the millions of pairs of 501's I had been hoarding since my youth. As is my way, I did a stack of research, and realised that there was a massive Japanese denim culture that was not being well serviced in The West (and which I knew zippo about).
So, I researched a bit more and worked out which, in my mind, were the 5 best brands that did not have representation outside of Japan. Top of the list was IH, so I emailed and said I wanted to look after their interests. Luckily for me, Harakis best friend is a good English speaker, so I got an answer almost right away.
In typical Japanese fashion, it took a long, long time to get the relationship working in a way that suited both our cultures, but we got there in the end.
I was in New York with Haraki last year and a person who I had not met before asked me over dinner if I was the international representative for IH. Before I could answer, Haraki said, "he is my partner, but more importantly, he is my friend", it was then that I knew I had eventually cracked it.
I am sure I drive him wild as I am extremely demanding and I email him incessantly, but I reckon I take well over 50% of his output (he's far to cute to confirm or otherwise), so he puts up with me!
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That is a brilliant thread. I don't have any fancy stories to contribute, but will write down some sentences. And, btw, I would like to hear more stories here…
Basically, I loved destroyed jeans since I was a kid and my mum had to patch up my jeans every two weeks (first patches were cotton and didn't last very long, then she used leather). I grew up on the countryside and so I had beaten up and grass/blood/mud stained jeans all along my childhood. Then, I got into punk (at the age of 11 or 12) and ripped my jeans and bleached them. I remeber bleaching an old brown jeans which developped orange spots - I'm sure my mum's got pictures of that phase.
When I was 16 I was also into metal and changed to leather pants (bad mistake) until I was 21. At that phase I wanted to change my look back to "decent" but still wear something special that stood out of the mass. That's when I read about nudie jeans and was fascinated about creating an own worn in jeans - brought back the memories of my childhood.Well, then it all happenend very fast, bought the first pre-washed nudie, read about dry denim and learned I had bought the wrong pair for a break-in process, first dry denim --> first selvage denim -->first japanese denim --> first Iron Heart. And here I am. (or: mynudies-->SuFu-->IHF)
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my first pair of dry denim was a pair of carhart jeans that were made made like traditional duck logger pants & this was back in the 90s. I wore the jeans every day until they got soft & since they were relatively cheap, once they began to wear in I gave them away. I traveled in a lot of different circles at the time & folks uptown weren't wearing what folks in brooklyn or queens were wearing, but no matter where I went people always respected the jeans. Many moons passed & I sort of moved away from carhart jeans because they weren't readily available -i swear i would go into a store & buy out my entire size for the year-.
To jump ahead many moons, I first discovered raw PRPS & fell in love with the color & the way the jeans felt. IMHO the jeans had cool hidden details & a really nice back story. I also liked them because in my crazy mind they took me back to a simpler time in my life. Since these jeans were much more expensive than the carhart jeans of my youth I wouldn't give them away when they began to wear-in & would just admire certain things about them. Again when they broke in I would pretty much just stop wearing them
I stumbled across SelfEdge while looking for a retailor of PRPS & when I saw the jeans I literally bought almost one of each pair that I could fit. When I received the various brands of denim I was impressed by all, but one brand stood head & shoulders above the rest. . . & so here we are today. I am a self confessed IronHeart junkie & there is no turning back. -
My first memory of any branded jeans I owned was a pair of Lee's. Must have been the mid seventies from a shop on Stoke Road in Gosport ! Fuckin' great flares but I loved them.
Jump foward a few years and it was Levis from my Mum's catalogue, probably Grattens.
From them on it was always Levis, jeans, jackets, everything. I remember a Levis jacket I had new in about 1980, probably selvedge, my mate 'borrowed it'. I never saw it again.
I then got caught up in the MOD revival here in the UK and then it really HAD to be Levis, MOD's wore Levis.
Then in the mid Eighties Levis really started to push the 501 again (and stonewash) and to my shame I was pulled along with it, but I knew no better.
I once even bought a pair of Lois, really, really light blue if I remember rightly.
Levis was all I really wore for about 15 years with a brief Diesel interlude.
Jump foward a bit a while and whilst considering a new leather jacket I discovered the Aero website and whilst I never bought a jacket (at the time) I 'discovered' Selvedge Denim. I was of course seduced by Levis Selvedge and as a bonus it was all made in the USA, everything in the shops was made in Hungary or some other place which never rang quite right.
My first pair was a pair of 1947 Shrink to Fit which I even sat in the bath with and then proceeded to walk around my village in, soaking wet pushing my son in his pram and with great big baggy knees !
I then tried some Lee 101, which was a big step for me. Still got them somewhere.
Now this is going to sound like heresy on this forum but I never really liked the Selvedge 'twist' :o :o :o.
To this end I started to 'surf' and happened upon the'Iron Heart' website and was immediatley hooked.
I remember calling Giles for the first time and explaning my irrational dislike of the 'twist' and he explaind the sanforizing process and how it reduces twist.
That was it, off down to Gosport and my first purchase, of Non Selvedge 461, go figure.
I have since, I believe, become a royal pain in the arse to Giles as I can't help turning up on his door to try before I buy, I only live a hour away.
Then the forum happened
I think like most people on this forum Iron Heart has now become a bit of a religion and the forum my extended family. I am always astonished by the knowledge people have about denim and what a rank amateur I am about the subject. At least people are never openly critical of my ignorance.
My journey continues !!! -
Thanks G, I feel better now.
I've been wanting to get that off my chest for years.
I was hoping that he discovered denim along with wine, women and song when he was a lad in his mere 20s.
