Watches - Omega Speedmaster with Fluco Cordovan watchband

I came across an old picture of my friend Rasmus' late Omega Speedmaster. I say late because the watch has been sold and replaced by another Omega. The Speedmaster is equipped with a shell cordovan watchband - which is made in Germany by a company called Fluco. I have a couple of these cordovan watchbands myself, and I have to say, that the price is hard to beat and the quality is very good. 

So if your watch is in need of a strap, then look no further than Fluco. They represent great value for money and if I had a shop, I would definitely pick these up.

If you have a nice watch of any kind (ATD is not about snobbery, so a nicely patinated Timex will also make do) and you want to share it on ATD, feel free to e-mail a picture. I will be sharing pictures of my watch collection in the time to come. They are probably being edited as we speak.

A Proper Collection of Footwear

A very recent comment on ATD reminded me of a Flickr account, that made it's way through a lot of tumblrs and blogs.

I'm refering to this one

I sometimes return to it, just to get some inspiration and to feel poor because I wouldn't be able to afford 1/10 of that collection. Some models aren't my style at all, but I wouldn't mind borrowing (stealing) most of them.

Want: Danner Boots

Maybe I should finally cave in and buy my first pair of hiking boots. I'm not sure, how much use they'll be getting, but some of the options, that have surfaced recently, are looking very promising.

Boots by Danner, Made in Oregon - USA for years and years. Perfect.

Danner sounds a bit Danish as well. Maybe I should get these instead of a pair of Limmer.

Give-away - Hell is in Hello "20.000 Leaks Under The Sea"

Here is the first After the Denim give-away ever. Hopefully the first of many. And you don't even have to like the Facebook page or follow the Twitter (because there isn't one just yet) - this gift comes with no strings attached.

I originally intended to upload it this as a Christmas present, but I figured, that you were all sick and tired of presents at that point. Then it struck me, when did you last receive a New Year's Eve present? Not very often, eh? 

So without further ado I would like to present the record "20.000 Leaks Under The Sea" by Hell is in Hello, which is a very interesting Danish project by Rasmus Hedeman. This record was self-released some time ago and I remember listening to the songs intensely. I was really surprised by the stunning quality of the music. When I contacted Rasmus recently concerning allowing you guys to download the Album via ATD, he gave me permission straight away, so this is actually not a present from me, but more of a present from Rasmus.

I won't go into details about this project other than it is definitely one to watch for the future. If everything goes according to my premonition, that I'm making just now, it will at some point become something big. Until then enjoy the fact, that Rasmus Hedeman is probably the friendliest musician around. If you are lucky, he'll even send you one of his records, if he still has any in stock.

What should I say about this record? Again, I won't say much, other than I like it quite a lot and you should form an opinion of your own. I think it has some absolute lo-fi gems (some of them might be called hits, if you like music and not Lady Gaga) in songs like "So Miserable", "Deep, Deep Sleep" and "I'm Surprised by Your Eyes".

So please do go ahead. Download it. It's free. Not only is it free, it's also an amazing listen.

Mediafire

Filesonic

From Hell is in Hello and After the Denim with love.

Oh, while I'm still able to write somewhat properly, I would really like to wish you all a happy ending and a new beginning. 20-12 will be a great year, I'm sure. And I promise you, that I'll do my absolute best to push the boundaries of After the Denim.

It's been great and I never anticipated the response, that I've had so far. I would like to thank you all for coming back and commenting. You make me want to do more and so I will.

Merry Christmas

I can't begin to express how glad I am every time I check the number of visitors and realize, that people are actually visiting this blog. I'm amazed.

I'm sincerely humbled by the interest people have shown and the friends I've made through this blog. I really hope to make more. I also hope to find more time to daily update the blog and finally start investing more in realizing some dreams, that I have about my own future and the future of After the Denim. I get the feeling that the two are interlinked.

I hope you guys - and girls - will keep returning, keep commenting and of course also keep paying all the good blogs on the blog roll a visit. They are all doing such a great job and they all deserve to be read.

Feliz navidad, merry Christmas, glædelig jul, boze narodzenie, Fröhliche Weihnachten and god jul.

I hope 20-12 will be our year!

Kind regards Simon Tuntelder

Winter Must Have: Försvarets Hudsalva

Neighbouring countries always seem to have some sort of friendly competition and sometimes even jokes about the stereotypes from the neighbouring country. This is of course also the case with Denmark and Sweden. I won't be going into details with any of the jokes. I will only say, that I'm generally very fond of all of our neighbours. And especially Sweden. 

The Swedish military has even fostered a lot of cool things. Like the camo pattern, M90 and if you ever come across any vintage gear from the Swedish military like their storage boxes and jackets, you'll realize, that they were doing something right.

However I would probably say, that the one thing I like the most, is their lip balm, called Försvarets Hudsalva. This product was ordered by the Swedish military some time in the 1950's and since it has been a massive hit. The original purpose was to avoid chafing wounds, and probably also to put on the skin to avoid frostbite. But today it is mostly considered a lip balm because because of its slight vanilla scent and flavour. But you can use it everywhere needed (apparently also for frying food), which makes it sort of the male equivalent of the "Eight Hour Cream" by Elizabeth Arden. And the packaging isn't too bad either - very masculine and it reminds me of the small container, that films for analog cameras would come in. By the way it's still made in Sweden, in case you care about that.

If I had a shop, I would definitely be selling this. I think it might be sort of a hidden gem, unless you live in Sweden, but I still hope, that this will get a larger, easier distribution.

These photographs were taken by my friend and photographer, Niels Hjorth. Hopefully Niels will help raise the standard of the pictures used on ATD over the coming months, as we are discussing a lot of different projects. Hopefully they will all materialize in the new year.

Otter Messer for Blixt&Dunder - Kniven

I get a surprising large amount of e-mails through this blog, and mostly they are just great and I appreciate every single one of them and try my best to respond to them straight away. Sometimes I get some annoying commercial e-mail from people wanting to push their non-ATD-approved products. This wasn't the case, when I received an e-mail from Blixt & Dunder some time ago.

They had a 60 of these knives made by Otter Messer in Solingen, Germany. This is of course "but" a an updated version of the Ankermesser, but it is a rather fun and subtle version of a classic. It's 400 SEK with free worlwide shipping, so it shouldn't break any budgets.

I hope, that I'm lucky enough to have some pocket knives made myself at some point. That would the the pinnacle of my life. Next to having children and some other stuff, probably.

Dreaming of: Limmer Boots

Sometimes you don't need a lot of words. 

These hiking boots from Limmer are probably the best. Just ask Daiki Suzuki.

I suggest you head over to these pictures from the Limmer factory (the US factory) unfortunately. The off-the-shelf Limmer boots are also made in Germany in the Meindl factory in Bavaria, which is why, it says "made in Germany" in the picture.

Lavenham For William Fox And Sons Blazer

If I truly believed, that this would be waiting for me under the Christmas tree, I think I would look forward to Christmas a whole lot more, than I do now. Lavenham jackets - the regular ones - are my go-to jackets and I have had more than a couple throughout the years. I don't know, what it is about them, but they fit great and keep you just warm enough to not get toasty, but never get really cold either. I just bought a waxed version and I'm sure, that it will be my new favourite jacket.

This blazer however would fill a hole in my wardrobe. Looking slightly more dressed, while remaining warm and comfortable. Furthermore it has three-buttons, which suits me the best, I think. Again personal preference. 

Only thing I dislike is probably the inside colour, but it might surprise you in person, which you can at Present London.

When I started buying jackets from Lavenham some years ago, they still went by the name Lavenham Horse Rugs. I quite miss that.

Alden for Unionmade

There is no leather like shell cordovan. I love it. Simply. This is also why, I feel almost ashamed, that I do not currently own a pair of shoes made of cordovan. I plan on changing this, once I come across a pair of shoes or boots, that fits my wants. Thing is, most footwear made of cordovan is equipped with leather soles. Personally I feel leather soles very impractical and rubber soles much more comfortable and long wearing. At the moment I don't think there is a cobbler in this country, that I would trust with resoling a pair of shoes, so I avoid any kind of footwear with leather soles.

This is why I was very pleased to see that Unionmade decided to go for the plantation crepe sole on this blucher. They are beautiful and will never look off or dated.

Alden really know how to put together a pair of shoes and they still do it in the US. Unfortunately they are quite expensive outside of the US, and I think that most English shoemakers are just as good, if not better at some point. However I must say, that the Alden's use of shell cordovan and other leathers from Horween gives them big star in my book.

Now I couldn't mention Alden without mentioning the now defunct blog, The Agatine Eyelet. It will fill you in on what you need to now about Alden.