Back in December I began thinking, that
was time for a new pair of raw denim jeans. I had been reading After
the Denim regularly for some months, and had been truely impressed by
Simon's knowledge I decided to email him for advice. After a few
weeks of mailing back and forth with Simon I decided that a
forthcoming trip to Stockholm would be the perfect place to get some
new jeans and try them on before. Simon seemed interested and asked
me if I wanted to write a little piece for his blog about my
experience and a few shops in Stockholm. So here we are.
Stockholm (and Sweden in general) is a
brilliant place to go shopping for menswear of different kinds. Shops
like Nitty Gritty and Welcome, Tres Bien Shop's branch in Stockholm
together with Our Legacy, are in my opinion shops which can compete
with the best when looking for a more fashion-esque selection; this
is where you get brands such as Nigel Cabourn, Visvim, Nanamica,
Gitman Brothers, A.P.C, Adam Kimmel etc. But I decided to focus on, Mr Mudd and Mr Gold and Unionville.
Both stores have a somewhat more heritage and authenticity oriented
profile with a heavy selection of denim.
Mr Mudd and
Mr Gold
The
store
is
situated
in
Stockholm's
bohemian/creative
quarter
called
SoFo
(South
of
Folkungsgatan)
with
lots
of
little
shops
and
cafés.
From
all
these
shops,
this
one
definitely
stands
out.
It's
actually
two
stores
in
one
as
Swedish
brand
Denim
Demon
has
recently
opened
their
own
store
within
the
store.
A
history
of
the
store
and
an
interview
with
the
owner
Mikko
Engström
can
be
found
here.
The
selection
of
brands
is
amazing;
they
have
a
great
mix
of
”real”
heritage
brands
and
brands
that
reproduce
especially
old
army
clothes.
American
shoe
brands
like
Quoddy,
Wesco
and
White's,
Japanese
reproductions
like
The
Real
McCoy's,
Warehouse,
Buzz
Rickson
and
Mash
are
found
together
with
a
lot
more
American,
British,
Japanese
and,
of
course,
Swedish
brands.
And
it
is
not
only
clothes
but
also
Japanese
and
Swedish
knives,
beads
and
pins,
various
sorts
of
care
for
both
your
boots
and
skin
etc.
All
of
it
is
of
course
of
incredible
quality
and
hand
picked
by
the
store.
Åsögatan 174
Unionville
Unionville
is
the
place
to
go
if
you
are
serious
about
denim.
Started
less
than
a
year
and
a
half
ago
by
the
guys
from
Sivletto
together with the
brothers
behind
the
brand
Blue
Highway.
Sivletto
had
ordered
ten
pairs
of
custom
made
jeans
to
their
store
from
Blue
Highway
and
as
a
result
of
the
co-op
they
decided
to
open
a
shop
together
which
would happen only
a
few
months
later in December 2010.
The
store
is
one
part
shop
and
one
part
workshop
where
they
repair
and
alter
jeans
as
well
as
crafting
the
Blue
Highway
jeans.
Apart
from
creating
their
own
jeans
in
the
store
they
have
also
recently
collaborated with Edwin and Pace.
The
selection
of
brands
is
very
impressive.
Apart
from
a
large
collection
of
Red
Wing
boots
it
is
mainly
denim.
For
the
traditionalists,
they
have
a
large
selection
of
Levi's
Vintage
Clothing
(rigid
and
made
in
USA,
of
course),
but
they
also
have
hard-to-get
(at
these
shores
at
least)
Japanese
brands
like
Momotaro,
Sugar
Cane,
Spellbound,
Studio
D'Artisan,
and
Iron
Heart.
Fellow
Swedish
denim
brands
Denim
Demon
and
Indigofera
can also
be found
on
the
shelves.
They
also
have
a
n extensive selection
of
mainly
Japanese
magazines
such
as
2nd,
Free
&
Easy
and
Lightning.
The workshop
Katarina Bangata
69
Personally I ended up purchasing a pair of
Levi's Vintage Clothing 501 1947, which I am sure I will be very happy
about. I tried on a pair of Momotaro and had had my eyes on a pair of
Studio D'Artisan, but tradition and history won in the end. Although
I could probably have got the jeans cheaper on sale online somewhere,
I was very happy about being able to support the guys from Unionville. They seemed deeply dedicated to everything about their shop, which is
something I prefer to support whenever possible.
All words and photos by Lars Engelbrecht
