Update on the Skulls & PBJ's

Excuse the lack of updates, life's been pretty busy. Luckily, I got to wear my jeans while I got shit done, so here's a little update.

First up is my pair of Skull 5109xx, at almost 8 months of wear, fresh after a handwash:





And my Pure Blue Japan xx-007's, with 7 full months of wear, also after a handwash:



Thanks for viewing!

Alden - A Factory Tour

The guys from Epaulet, a store in Brooklyn NY, took a trip down to the Alden factory in Middleborough. I love to see a product getting build from scratch, especially things like this. This little movie just gives you a lot more insight and appreciation for the boots.

Ronnie Fieg for Red Wing

Just came across these great looking Red Wings. I love, love, love these colours, they would look great with just about anything. Might get a pair of them, since my 8131's are starting to get really beat up and need a resole. To all Dutch readers: who knows a good cobbler that can resole my trustworthy pair? Please let me know in the comments or in an e-mail. Thanks!

210 days

My Skull Jeans reached the 7 month mark yesterday, and I wanted to throw up some pics but the lighting just isn't right at the moment. Also decided I wanted to machine-wash them for the first time before putting up some proper pics. Got some teasers though.

Viberg Boots

Items for sale - Skull Jeans & Flat Head shirt

Everything has been sold, thank!

Re-launching Evisu

Evisu, one of the Osaka 5 brands, is re-launched in the USA this month. There's a new CEO & creative director in charge, Scott Morrison. Scott is known for his work at Paper Denim and Earnest Sewn. Evisu created a new collection that will be available at Barneys New York in November. Let's hope they made some decent stuff, at least the new gull looks pretty good. And I need a pair of Evisu's 'no. 1' denim in my life.

Brand Profile: Spotted Horse

When you're reading this blog, there's like a 95% chance you're now wearing your favorite pair of Samurai, Flat Head, APC or some other brand. You are wearing them because you like the falling of the indigo, and the unique pattern that shows up with the years. However, there are also people who are either lazy, have a salaryman lifestyle or can't stick to a couple of jeans. For those, there is the company Spotted Horse from Osaka, Japan.

13 years ago the founder of SH liked wearing his jeans from a raw state, and noticed that all the stone washed jeans available then weren't to his liking. Sure, they were faded, but not in a way like you would've worn them yourself. He then invented the 'Magic Wash'. All the jeans are distressed by hand, creating one-of-a-kind washes. I gotta say I'm impressed with the washes, they look pretty authentic. Still, it's not the 3d effect you get from wearing jeans yourself.

Also, Spotted Horse offers a Make Over service. You can bring in your own unfaded jeans or denim jacket, and let them customize it for you.




http://www.spottedhorsecraft.co.jp/english.html

New PBJ model announced: XX-011

Pure Blue Japan is releasing a new denim this fall, the XX-011 denim. It's going to be a straight fitted, left hand (!) twill, indigo warp and grey weft denim. It's most likely to drop late September. Looking forward to this one!

Pure Blue Japan XX-007: 6 months

There's now half a year worth of wear in my beloved PBJ's. So far, I soaked the jeans in lukewarm water in my bathtub twice, and as you could see in my last post, ocean soaked them too. I'm very pleased with the construction of these, so far not a single thread has failed on me. The fabric is thinning out in certain area's though, like the belt loops and of course the right back pocket where I keep my wallet. I feel like I should give it a proper machine wash in a month, to get all the dirt and grime out properly, the previous soaks didn't quite do that. On to the pics:





I'll post some detail shots again next month.

Oceanwashing

I'm back from my holidays in the south of France. Of course, I brought some jeans with me. My Pure Blue Japan and PRPS jeans needed a proper wash, so having the Atlantic Ocean at my disposal, I decided to rinse out all the grime in one of the world biggest bathtubs. After the jeans were done sun drying, they got a freshwater rinse to get all the salt and sand out.

Summertime

And the living is easy. No more school and work for a couple of weeks. This picture shows how I'll be spending my afternoons: relaxing with my friends in Sonsbeek park, the best park in Holland. Reading a book, drinking some beer. Looking trough my dirty sunglasses.



Off to the south of France on the 4th of July. Gonna do a little surfing and of course soaking my PBJ's the the Atlantic Ocean. Pics will follow!

Secret Sale @ Oki-Ni: 30% off

Oki-Ni, a webshop that sells some nice work wear (inspired) brands too, has a special, secret sale going on. All you have to do is enter your name + e-mail address and you're getting 30% off on brands like Nom de Guerre and Haversack.

Follow this and subscribe. You'll receive instructions after that.

Skull Jeans - 5 Months

It's been 2,5 years since I got these Skull Jeans (by an Alchemist) at their Harajuku store which, unfortunately, no longer exists. You probably expect this to be the slim 5010xx model, but it's not: it's the 5109xx, which is based on a mid-sixties 501. It's made of the same, 6x6 14,5oz denim though and features hidden rivets. The jeans didn't get enough love yet, but as it's a true vintage cut, and I can't get myself to wear them every day.

5 months in

Pure Blue Japan XX-007: 133 days

Just a couple of detail shots.

Winter Shoes - Red Wing

Here's my pair of Red Wings, model number 8131. I bought these in 2,5 years ago, and they have served me well. Actually, a resole would be nice by now... I just need to find a place that's able to do this here in Holland. I won't be wearing my boots for a while though, September is probably a good time to break these out again. A proper polish to breath some life in the leather and they won't come out of my closet for a while.

Summer Shoes - Elia Maurizi

Got me some new shoes for this years spring and summer. Wanted to get some desert boots for a while now, but finally found a pair that matches my needs. They are made by Elia Maurizi, a small young label from Italy. Already love these to death.

Pure Blue Japan xx-007 at 3 months

Well, 95 days to be precise. The denim is so damn interesting and it fades faster than I thought it would, which makes them perfect jeans for those with a salaryman lifestyle. I also gave them a soak in lukewarm water when I hit the 3 month mark. On to the pics:




Note the leg twisting!




And the leaf I like so much, has already started to fall apart.

Lynn Downey's Spring Break

The guys from Denimnews are following Levi Strauss & Co's very own historian, Lynn Downey. She's following Levi's first footsteps in his journey to San Fransisco, where all the magic happened. I think it'll be a fun ride to watch for those interested in the history of denim.

The Workshop by Sam

I found out that I have a follower on my blog. It turned out to be Sam, who has his own blog where you can order custom made work shirts. It looks as if he could use some attention though, so he'll make more of the following kind of things:

Looks great, doesn't it? Unfortunately, I'm but a poor student, so I haven't actually purchased anything from him... but am planning to do so in the future. His prices are pretty fair, US$180 for a shirt, including worldwide shipping. And hooray for me, he's even doing student discounts!

Go check out his stuff.

The Workshop by Sam

Levi's Vintage Clothing - 1967 505

It's been a while since I posted, life has been busy. In the meantime, whilst working on the PBJ's (almost at 3 months), I decided to show some pics of another pair I used to work on. It's the 505 as it was released back in 1967. Made with denim from the Kaihara mills, constructed in the USA.

These have now seen 5 months of total wear. Unfortunately, they are on the big side (32W) so i decided to leave them in my closet, waiting for me to get fatter. Which might take a few more years.

Full Count Denim Contest 2009

Just a heads up - another denim contest has just started. New York's number 1 denim store, Blue in Green, has collaborated with the Japanese Full Count from Osaka. Contestants can choose between two models, the 0105C and 1108C. Most people are still waiting for the jeans to arrive, but it'll start soon.

To follow the participants and the progress of their jeans, a blog has been started:

http://fullcountcontest2009.blogspot.com/

Brand Profile - Omnigod

When i traveled Japan, i ran into the Omnigod flagship store in Kyoto. Back then, i read about the brand once or twice, but never got a good look at the products. The store looked promising from the outside, with big roles of selvage denim greeting the customers.


Here you can see the (orange) selvage denim. Peep my dad's Red Wing 877 for size comparison.

It's Omnigod's mission to create simple, basic clothing for a comfortable everyday life. The brand is part of Domingo (based in Kojima), who also carry the brand Spellbound. The aesthetic resembles to brands like 45RPM and Pure Blue Japan. Relaxed clothing made from the finest cotton available, with great craftsmanship.

Unlike other Japanese brands, Omnigod knows how to create superb washes on their jeans, denim shirts & jackets. So if you're lazy, have a salaryman lifestyle or cannot deal with wearing unwashed denim, the Omnigod prewashes sure are something to look out for. Pricewise as well, as a pair goes for 11.000 - 22.000 yen, which is cheap compared to others.

When i left the store (empty-handed, i didn't buy anything because i had time left in Japan and didn't want to spend money until i handled some other brand as well - stupidly enough i didn't find Omnigod anymore afterwards) the friendly SA ran after us to give me and my dad a booklet about the brand. Unfortunately, i don't have a scanner but i did try to photograph a couple pages. This never really works out properly, but it gives you an idea of the fading capabilities. Too bad Photobucket re sizes the images... I'll find out another way to upload my high-res pics soon.






Check out their website for the latest goods and the 'Standard Lineup': http://www.omnigod.jp/