Livid Jeans

Denim culture in Norway used to be as poor as it is in Denmark, but then along came Jens Olav Dankertsen of Livid Jeans and changed that. Sweden is still without a doubt the leading country, but Denmark is now bordering pathetic, although Thomas Bojer of Denimhunters is doing, what he can to change things.

Livid Jeans recently put out this little video, and I can't believe, I haven't shared it yet, as it's very nice and I should be showing more support to my Scandinavian brethren. I won't write more about it, as I think, you'll more out of just listening the Jens Olav speak. I like the fact, that he speaks his mother tongue instead of doing it in English. It makes it seem more real and relevant to me.

Denim Shopping in Stockholm

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.

http:///www.mrmuddandmrgold.com

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 2^nd, Free & Easy and Lightning.

The workshop

http://www.unionville.se ( for online shop)

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

One Month of Denim - Day 30

Last day. I made it through. Each and every day for the past 30 days I sat down and did a post on denim. It has been hard, and I won't be doing a month like it for a very long time, if ever. I think a week suffice in the future. But I hope this has been of some help to some people, although the information I have provided you with, is probably rather basic for many of you. 

Today I was going to write about indigo dying, but I ran out of time, instead I got the idea to write about one simple term based on the pictures of the hairy denim on the work jacket from yesterday and that term is singeing.

Singeing is a process where a gas flame (most often, but I do believe you can also use razor shar knives) to burn of the tiny hairs on the denim or any other kind of fabric. This fluff is what you see on the surface, when you look across it and it looks almost sort of dusty. This fluff has been getting a revival because Japanese makers started introducing it again. To this one operator from Cone Mills noted, that they had invested heavily in singeing machines, but now the customers wanted overly hairy denim fabrics, so these expensive machines looked a bit useless now.

The fluff is generally a sign of an inferior cotton because of it shorter staple length. This is normally one of the qualities of cotton from Texas. However this is often how denim from the late 60's to early 80's looked.

I have even seen a pair of jeans from the Swedish brand Indigofera, where the hairyness has been overly exagareted. Again, not to anybodys taste, but it surely adds to the character.

Lastly a little Levi's commercial with lots of character.

One Month of Denim - Day 27

One the subject of wearing and thus fading jeans I would like to put in my tuppence worth.

There are many rules and equally many misconceptions to wearing - and washing - your raw denim the right way. Just thinking about doing something the right way, rubs me the wrong way. By that I mean, that no one should tell you, how you wear your jeans. 

If you feel uncomfortable wearing your for six months straight without washing them, then that is not the right thing for you. If you on the other hand enjoy doing so, and every now and then go a couple of years without washing your jeans, then I salute you too.

I know this may sound a bit incoherent, and it is. I know. But while I was doing what little research I have done for "One Month of Denim", I came across a lot of people, who were telling other people, how they were supposed to wear their jeans. That is just wrong to me. So now I'm telling you how to wear your jeans: The way that suits you. Be that washing your jeans 7 times a week, then that is your way, and your jeans will fade according to your lifestyle.
That brings me to, why I find jeans so damn incredible. They become a screening of your way of living. They become a reflection of your daily life. They become second skin.

Besides these hollistic bogus statements I just came up with, I would like to address some things or rather make some suggestions to wearing raw denim. As always in no particular order.

1. Always wash your denim inside out in order to avoid weird vertical white lines

2. If you are wearing shrink-to-fit denim, then wash/soak your jeans once or twice before wearing them

3. If you are wearing sanforized denim you may also want to soak your jeans before wearing them in order to remove some starch

4. In the summer it is fun to wash your jeans in the ocean and letting them dry in the sand and sun - experiment with your jeans

5. Mineworkers and cowboys didn't wait six months before they washed their jeans. They washed them, when they could or when they needed washing

6. Wearing your jeans daily for at least 6 months before washing, will give you high contrast fades, that Superfuture members will give you plus rep for

7. Wearing you jeans daily and washing them regularly will give you more vintage-like fades

8. If you don't remove the starch from the rigid fabric by rinsing, washing or soaking, your jeans will be more prone to crotch blows, due to abrasion of the rigid cotton fibres

9. Do what you feel like, they are your jeans

10. Do what feels right. If not they won't be your jeans.

Sorry no pics in this days post.

One Month of Denim - Day 25

Until about an hour ago the Buddy Lee fan group had 101 fans, but then I joined the group, and the number rose to 102. I felt bad doing this, as I found it quite symbolic, that the group had 101 fans, knowing that the iconic Lee model is called 101. Was this a coincidence? I'll let you make up your own mind.

Buddy Lee. The little doll, that became the mascot for Lee or rather became synonomous Lee, was created by a Lee sales manager named Chester Reynolds. He was originally featured in Lee commercials from the 1920's to the beginning of the 1960's and he has later made appearances and still do so.

Buddy Lee is a highly collectable item in some of the early editions and can fetch very high prices to the right collector. Buddy Lee has been suited in all kinds of different outfits - from railroad worker to cowboy. Buddy has done all kinds of odd jobs.

Originally he was only supposed to be used as a sort of sales promotion in the shops. After the promotion shops were encouraged to sell the dolls to the customers. This caught on and later the small Buddy Lee doll was turned into a piece of sales merchandise and a succesful one. When Buddy was pulled from the market in 1962 it was the second-highest-selling doll in the US. 

Of course I also found a movie for you to watch.

One Month of Denim - Day 24



As always my weekends are kind of busy, so again I find myself with very little time to write about denim. So today you will have to settle with a link to a visit to the Cone Mills White Oak plant in North Carolina. This visit was done by Mr. Denim - Paul Trynka.

Cone Mills was one of the original suppliers to denim - besides Amoskeag, which folded many years ago - and they are also the supplier of many other brands. Cone Mills denim is probably not the most interesting choice of denim, although their technical department have done some amazing fabrics like the "Tweed Denim", that the American brand, Left Field used for a very limited run of jeans. I helped a friend of mine get hold of a pair and I can truly testify, that they are very unique and very beautiful. What you do get, when you buy Cone Mills denim is a very strong, hard wearing and very reliable fabric. So it is obviously one of my favourite fabric, which is also why that I decided on buying Cone Mills denim, when I acquired some denim. Other than that the denim is still mainly woven in the US and they also offer some other fabrics such as indigo dyed selvage canvas and some pretty rad cotton duck.

For the article - GO HERE!

One Month of Denim - Day 23

I have been posting a lot of videos the last couple of days, and how I wish I could continue doing so. I know, I can't do so for all eternity, but I'll keep going for another day.

Here are some good denim-related videos in a mixed order and with a mixed quality or relevance.


























If you have some denim videos, that you want to share, feel free to do so in the comments or send an e-mail and I'll them to the list

One Month of Denim - Day 22

There are some factors to what makes a great denim fabric and one of these factors are besides what cotton type, also how the cotton or rather cotton yarn is spun. When speaking of yarns used for denim there are generally three ways. The first being Ring-spun denim, second Ring-Ring denim or double ring-spun denim and finally Open-end denim.

Ring-spun denim was the most common method used up until the 1970s. In this method the cotton yarns are twisted together for a stronger and harder-wearing product, which will also fade like the actual vintage jeans.

The Ring-Ring denim creates the best quality denim, as it employs Ring-spun yarn for both the warp and the weft. This is the traditional way of producing denim.

Open End was introduced in the 1970s and it reduced the cost of producing denim, as well as reducing the quality in many ways. The cotton fibres are mock twisted by blowing them together. This creates a fabric that is more coarse, dark (because it absorbs more dye), bulkier and it doesn't wear or fade as well as Ring-spun denim because of the extra dye.

It is possible to create a denim using a Ring-spun warp and an Open-end weft. This gives the fabric some of the strength and the look of Ring-spun denim, but it is still cheaper. It should be said, that just because you are paying large amounts for a pair of jeans doesn't mean you are getting a quality product. Some of the biggest designer brands are known for using Open End denim...

One Month of Denim - Day 21

Roy Slaper of Roy Denim is an artist. No doubt about that. Just like Blue Highway, he is making his own jeans one by one, but he has got a bigger and better selection of machinery. The cool thing is that he makes everything himself and he does all of it on old machines from Singer and Union Special for instance. Before reading anymore you should just watch this video done by Self Edge.

When he started out he offered made to order jeans for customers through Superfuture and they were definitely in demand, so much that he decided to focus on making jeans and selling them online exclusively through Self Edge.

I think I could write a lot more about Roy and his one man operation, but I think many people have done so and done so with a great angle in the past, that I would much rather turn your attention to them. But may I just add, that I love the scalloped stitch, he uses.

Grain & Gram

Denim News

Revolver

Superfuture

Did I mention, that he makes a pair of fantastic jeans in duck cotton? Well, he does.

And did I mention, that there is another movie of his jeans-making-goodness floating around? Well, there is.

One Month of Denim - Day 19

The thing that makes denim quite special and the thing that makes denim fade so well is the fact that it consists of a warp and weft of a different colour.

The construction is pretty simple. The "warp" - in denim - is the yarn that runs parallel to the selvage. This is the yarn that is vat-dyed blue and this is what gives denim the blue appearance. The "weft" runs from selvage to selvage at right angles to the warp yarn. The weft is also what gives denim a noticible different colour on the back side, which is often cotton yarns of a natural, un-dyed colour. The weft is also known as the filling or the filling yarn. It should also be said that the weft may sometimes be vat-dyed, like the warp, and this creates a fabric with a very dark blue appearance and some spectacular fading abilities.

And you can find denim with a weft that is of a different colour than blue - like in this instance, purple.

One Month of Denim - Day 18

"Ok, here's a question for you: I go to thrift stores a lot but tend to avoid the jeans section, I have trouble determining the age of a pair of Levi's for example. Can you share a few pointers on what to look for? The patch? The brand of the zipper? The rivets?"

I received this question from an anonymous reader, and I figured that it could be answered in an entirely new post. I'm very grateful for this question, so thank you very much and if I didn't answer your question in full, let me know and I'll try to add more information.

First of all, do not avoid the jeans section.

Secondly there are some give aways. Here are some in non particular order. 

1) Do the jeans have selvage? Turn the cuff - it's fast and effecient.

2) If they are Levi's jeans, does the red tab or orange tab on the back pocket spell LEVIS and not Levis. I'm refering to a thing known as "Big E", which was how LEVIS was spelled until 1971, when they changed the capital E to a small e.

3)Look for defunct jeans brands like Foremost (a JC Penney brand), Ranchcraft (Also a JC Penney brand), Key, Washington Dee Cee, Can't Bust 'em, Buckaroo by Big Smith, Roebucks - the list goes on and on.

4) If you are looking for zippers, the zippers you should be looking for are Talon (especially Talon 42), Scovill, Ideal, Gripper Zipper. 

This post may be of some help

5) Knowing this timeline from Levi's is good when you need to date jeans. Just look at the differences in arcuates (the iconic stitching on the back pockets) for instance.

This post may be of some help. And if you need some help, I'll gladly give some in depth explanations to understanding it. But please remember that there can be variations depending on the factory used even back then.

Finally I would recommend you look on the inside tags. If they are "made in USA", they are vintage and probably a lot more interesting than most new Levi's jeans. But try them on, so you don't end up in a pair of boot cut jeans - unless you are rocking a full "Freaks&Geeks" attire....

One Month of Denim - Day 17

My Internet connection is very poor and I have no time. This is of course a poor excuse for not writing some of the denim posts in advance, however I like to write in a more spontaneus way.

Hence you have to settle with another short post on denim. However I would like to remind you that there are still 13 days to go. Lastly I would like to encourage any readers out there to ask any question about denim, that you might have. I have enough subjects to write another month, and probably more, but if you have any subjects, that you want me to cover, then please let me know. No question is too small or dumb.

Today we will be covering the term "jeans". There are some speculation to etymology of the word. One of the most widely accepted explanations is that jeans is derived from the french word "genes", which was used to describe certain indigo coloured pants worn by sailors from the Italian city Genoa. As a more fun fact it must be mentioned that denim remained in use in the navy for sailors for a long time. If you dig into the history of denim and the navy, you'll discover that denim is a very versatile fabric that can be used for a multitude of different garments. As if you didn't know this already...

Speaking of which. The term "denim" is believed to have been derived from the French term "Serge de Nimes", which refers to a heavy twill or serge fabric made in the French city of Nimes.

One Month of Denim - Day 12

Let's keep it short today. The cinch back was a widely used up until the Second World War. It was used instead of a belt to tighten the waist on pants, hence the lack of belt loops on early jeans. Belt loops were added by Levis in the 1920's, but the cinch back remained for another good 20 years, until it was scrapped.

The cinch back seemed like an archaic and slightly boring detail, but after having read the book "Jeans of the Old West", I got a totally different perspective on that detail. Now, I still find it quite costumey, but I now find it quite inspiring and I may just get a pair of jeans with a cinch back one day.

Some time ago I discovered, that the author of "Jeans of the Old West" and denim hunter/collector, Michael Harris has an amazing Flickr account. You should check it out here - and by "check it out", I mean, spend some hours soaking in the stunning images - there are small movie clips too.

One Month of Denim - Day 10

There are many ways to classify or differentiate denim. One of the most important things you can talk about are shrink to fit versus sanforized. I'll not be discussing, if one fades better than the other, or if one is better than the other in general. Again, I would like to say that buying jeans is personal. You have to figure out, what works for you and what you appreciate. Before writing about the two, I would like to correct a common mistake, the difference is not between raw and sanforized. Sanforized can be just as raw as shrink to fit denim.

In the old days all cotton materials -including denim - would continue to shrink after the first couple of washes. They were shrink to fit so to speak. The cotton was untreated, which made the cotton fibers constrict after washing. Therefore the general rule was that the fabric would shrink 10%, meaning you would probably have to go 2" up in the waist and 3" in the length, when buying jeans.

Sanforization is a process to treat the cotton fabric, that was invented by Sanford L. Cluett in the late 1920's. The process was first used by Erwin Mills in the 1930's to make denim for workwear. Shortly hereafter many companies started using the sanforization process and you will often see it advertised on old clothing when the tag says sanforized or sanfor-treated. Many denim companies started using the sanforization process because it could reduce overall shrinkage to about 3%, which meant you didn't have to take shrinking into consideration, thus allowing the consumer to buy the exact size. Levi's however remained true to the shrink to fit denim until the 1970's - and they still make an shrink to fit 501 model in their main assortment (indicated by the XX after 501), plus most of the jeans in the LVC range are made of shrink to fit denim (with the exception of the 505 - and jeans from the Orange Tab range).

Nowadays the denim purists demand shrink to fit denim and there are many rituals connected to it. There are millions of ways to soak your jeans. Some soak them in the sea, some in a bucket of water, some wear them in the tub and the list goes on. Some people prefer to wear their jeans without ever washing them, but that is for the extremists, although recent studies show no health risks concerning the no-wash method.

One Month of Denim - Day 9

I foresee, that I will have very little time to do some blogging today and you will probably have very little time to read the blog. Now this is just an assumption, of course. If you find yourself with a lot of time on your hand with the urge to read, please go to the library and read a Raymond Carver book. Alternatively Hemingway, Bukowski, Steinbeck, Thoreau, Fitzgerald or whoever you prefer.

This is another good insight to the understanding of jeans*

*Though the info on the 501z is crap. The actual model didn't feature narrow legs FYI.

One Month of Denim - Day 6

Day 6 already? Today I would like to talk about the terminology regarding fading denim. What to look for in a nicely faded pair of jeans or possibly what to strive for. I would however like to say, that I think fading jeans is a very personal subject, so you have to figure out, what you like and thereby what you strive for.

Whisker: Whiskers are the horizontal wear lines that you will see in the crotch and thigh area. This is caused by wear or rather repeated wearing of the fabric. Whiskers may also be referred to as moustache or hige.

Atari: No, not the computer. Atari is a term that covers fades around seams. It could be the seams on the belt loops or pocket seams. It will sometimes appear like ridges where the fabric has contracted slightly around the stitches. 

Honeycombs: You'll find the honeycombs on the back of the knees. Sometimes the honeycombs can create an almost 3-d effect because of the colour difference from dark hues to the light blues, going-on white lines. The fades are created through repeated bends of the knees and they can be emulated by starch. 

Railways: Denim shrinks the most lengthwise. Therefore the fabric contracts and creates some very visible small creases along the side seam. The two selvage lines are folded on the back of the side seam which will also create an impression. May also be called railroad tracks and train track.

Stacking: This may not actually be a term that covers a certain fade, but a stack fade will sometimes be discussed. This is achieved if you wear you jeans long - and mostly uncuffed. The bunching of fabric can create some fades in the lower half of the jeans. They can look a bit like honeycombs if done well.

Roping: Roping was mentioned in the post on chain stitch. The thread in the chain stitch pulls and creates a sort of wave resulting in a fade that looks like a bit like a rope.

Leg twist: Leg twist isn't actually a fade, but it surely ads to the character or appearance of a pair of jeans. You'll often see vintage jeans with the side seam being in the center of the front of one leg and in the center of back on the other leg. You can also experience this with some more recent jeans - although mostly from so-called repro brands - if the fabric hasn't been skewed. This is caused by the pulling to the right or left, depending whether the fabric is right or left hand twill (more on twill types later). This will happen after washing, as the fabric tries to follow the direction of the weave so to speak and thereby tugging in the direction of the twill.

There are plenty of more fades, such as the rivet fade covered in the previous post, but these terms should get you covered for now.