Levi's Vintage Clothing - 519 Bedford Pants

I'm willing to look past the fact that these pants are made in Turkey, as the fit is just so good on these pants and furthermore I'm really into the bedford fabric. Bedford is quite similar to corduroy because of the lengthwise ridges in the fabric, however it doesn't feature the filling yarns that create the wales in corduroy. Bedford is also a very hard wearing fabric that was utilised by the US army for a number of years. 

What makes the fit so good is the narrow hem, relatively high waist and the fact that the thighs are still slightly roomy. Actually it's a very period correct fit of the 60s - a fit that I'm always looking for and unfortunately a fit that is so hard to find. 

I think, they would be some of the best pants for the forthcoming summer.

WAYWT - 02

I tend to dress in the most boring fashion, hence I never do much WAYWT (except for one a while back). However today I received a parcel, which content made me take my socks off and go out into the gloomy weather, which later turned to snow. But I didn't care much because my feet were wrapped in the some of the best leathers known to man in the shape of a pair of penny loafers from the venerable English shoemakers, Crockett & Jones. I friend picked up on the fact, that I wanted them badly and decided to donate them to me and for that I'm forever grateful. Thank you.

From bottom up

Crockett & Jones "Boston" penny loafers - with a Dainite sole.

Levi's Vintage Clothing  jeans - 501z 1954 

Vintage braided D-ring belt - Indigodyed.

James Dalgliesh  crew neck - Argyle in Shetland wool

Levi's x Filson trucker jacket - in waxed tincloth

Not visible

Woolrich Woolen Mills Upland shirt - in blue chambray

The Hill-Side scarf - in violet chambray

WAYWT - 01

WAYWT isn't really my thing, but I've been wearing the Eastlands constantly, since purchasing them a couple of days ago, and I'm surprised by the level of comfort and absolutely no break-in period. It's been a pleasure. Furthermore they are really growing on me, and I think they look absolutely stunning.

From the bottom up I'm wearing

Eastland Made in Maine suede chukkas

LVC 1954 501z  jeans - absolutely worn out

Jamieson's fair isle  Shetland sweater

Lavenham waxed, quilted jacket

Not visible - Engineered Garments 19th century BD shirt.

Shrooming

I had the pleasure of meeting an American exchange student some years back, who talked about how he went "shrooming" in the mountains of Colorado. I told him, that I liked to go shrooming too. With my mom and dad even. As the talk progressed and when he offered me more than a beer and a smoke (I quit that a long time ago FYI), I quickly figured, that I was sure as hell not checking Urban Dictionary often enough. 

Fast forward some years I still like to go shrooming with my mom and dad, so this weekend when I paid them a visit, I went mushroom hunting. This time I did so with my dad and my girlfriend, who managed to find a great spot, that was literally filled with some of the biggest chanterelles, I had ever seen. 

I did bring my camera in hopes of taking some lovely pictures of the woods and of our harvest, but I had forgotten to charge the battery, hence the poor iPhone pictures. Anyways, they are testament of some very fond memories of a day well-spent, so I don't mind and I hope you don't either. 

For a long time out basket looked like this. Some nice chanterelles and a few other sorts, that I don't know the English name for.

My girlfriend is wearing a pair of Tretorn sneakers. They were made on a military contract for the Danish Civil Defence in the 1980's. They are so great. Unfortuntately they were found deadstock and chances of finding another pair is probably quite slim.

But then we found a really great spot and the basket quickly filled with chanterelles

In case you are wondering, I'm wearing an ECWCS Gen II Gore-Tex parka in Woodland camo. I would have liked it an a different camo pattern, but I got it at a great price. Other than that it is an extremely functional and wearable garment. I can't recommend it too highly. If you are trying to find one for yourself, please remember to go down one size, as they fit quite roomy. If there is some interest, I'll gladly do a post on it at some point. Other than that I'm wearing a Giman shirt, William Lockie lambswool knit, LVC 1955 501 jeans, and Red Wing chukkas. As always, very boring.

Yes, Ladies and gentelman, that is an original Opinel knife - if that is worth mentioning. It is perfect for picking mushrooms. Other than that they are made in France and they are relatively cheap. Not the best knife you'll ever hold, but it's a fun one to have. 

The woods are filled with ripe mushrooms at the moment, that are ready to be picked. They are a product of the horrible summer of low temperatures and the loads of rain, we had here in Denmark. If you don't know anything about picking mushrooms, find someone who does and tag along. Or just go for the chanterelles, they are quite easy to identify. 

One Month of Denim - Day 7

First of all it should be said that I'm sorry for focusing almost solely on the history of Levi's. There are of course other iconic denim brands that should be focused on, but it is the history I'm most familiar with and it is the one denim brand that seems to have the widest appeal. I may be focusing on the history of the two other big, old American companies - Lee and Wrangler.

Levi's has a big gap in their knowledge of their own history from the very beginning of the company to around 1906. In 1906 San Fransisco was hit by an earthquake and big fire followed. Everything was basically lost in that fire. This has been one of the things that their very own archivist, Lynn Downey, is trying to piece together. She has been collecting old clothing and memorabilia (of literally all sorts) from the company and trying to piece their history together. This collection is unfortunately not open to the public, but you may find reproductions of some of the pieces, as the line "Levi's Vintage Clothing" is mostly based on things found in the archive.

The oldest pair in line of what became the 501 jeans in Levi's archive - or should I rather say Lynn's archive - is a pair of jeans from around 1879. This pair is locked up in a (fire-proof) vault in San Francisco and they have a value of approximately $150,000. Not bad for a pair of jeans that were bought for $1.50, when they were originally purchased.

If you want to expand your denim vocabulary some of the features on this pair are, natural dyed indigo denim, single stitched construction, hand punched copper rivets, cinch back, one back pocket (with hand done arcuate), raised watch pocket, no belt loops, but suspender buttons and a button fly.

Out and About - Picking Apples On a Sunday

Before you start reading any of this, I would like to apologise for the abuse of the Hipstamatic function on the iPhone. I didn't take any of the pics and my friend Anna apparently enjoys that function slightly too much. Secondly, this isn't my poor attempt to turn ATD into a food blog, but as the criteria for anything on this blog is being good, then this should be included.

The Hipstamatic pics don't affect my wish to document this day any less, as it was a great Sunday.

Let's start with the end. This is the product of a well-spent Sunday : 3-5 kg of stewed apples.

That much stewed apples don't come easy. First you need like 15 kg of apples from just as many different sorts. Luckily we got these apples for free, as we biked around town to some secret locations. The apples were picked using a perfect branch that I found in the nearby woods. 

That's some good fun and in no time you have a huge tote filled with delicious (some more than others), freshly picked (rather, violently removed with a thick branch), organic (I can only assume) apples.

When the picking is done, you have to peel them and slice them into smaller pieces, which seems like work Sisyphus wouldn't even do, as it is a huge task with that many apples. After the picking, the peeling and the slicing it gets easy. Just add some organic vanilla and some organic cane sugar, that you borrow from a roommate (which I promise, I will replace, Louise) and let it simmer until perfect. 

You'll know when you hit perfection.

Special thanks to Anna for filling the gap for my much-missed girlfriend and making this a very pleasant Sunday.

In case you are wondering, the tote is from Engineered Garments. I was also wearing an oxford shirt from Brooks Brothers Black Fleece, jeans from LVC (1954 501z), shoes from Yuketen and a vintage jacket from Fjällräven (not pictured). I forgot to mention that my underwear are from one of the last - if not the last - Danish producers of underwear. I'm trying to set up a visit to them, which will hopefully materialize soon.

One Month of Denim - Day 3

If you think all denim is made in Thailand or Tunisia nowadays, you are right. But then again you couldn't be more wrong. There are still a lot of jeans being cut and sewn in Japan and there are still some being sewn in the homeland of blue jeans, the United States of America.

Today, I made a small list of companies still making jeans in the US. There are most likely still some interesting brands, that I have forgot to put on the list. If there are any, you can think off, then please tell me, and I'll add them to the list.

Today I won't be giving my two cent on which of these brands I prefer. I'll just allow you to form an opinion based on this selection of "Made in USA" jeans. And I haven't included Levi's (or LVC) in this selection because it is so very little of their huge production, that is made in the US.

Raleigh Denim

Tellason

Baldwin

Imogene + Willie

ROY denim

Rogue Territory

Mister Freedom

Rising Sun

The Stronghold

Left Field

Crate

Jeans Shop

3Sixteen

Epaulet

OK, I couldn't help myself. These jeans are my favourites.

Quality Mending Company

Buy them - for me - here