Edward
Bartender
- Messages
- 25,113
- Location
- London, UK
I actually remember when I was at university, looking at a pair of 501s one day. Now, bear in mind that unlike nowadays, back in the mid 90s they had started to come down in price from their Eighties heyday, but they were still expensive. An average price was GBP45.00 for a pair, at a time when I was buying Lee Coopers at £20 a pop. The pair I looked at - this must have been around September 1997, from memory - were a pre-washed treatment, and carried a label which stated clearly and in plain English that they might not last a long as other pairs due to that treatment. Levis still sold plenty of them, though.
I suspect you're hanging out with the wrong women.
In general, though, it's a fair point: mainstream women's fashion is in my experience much more focussed on brands and constantly changing styles than in the men's market. There is also considerably more pressure on ladies these days to buy in to the fashion norm than there is for men (from what friends tell me, it can often even be impossible to find anything on the high street that's not the current fashion norm, whether you want to wear that or not).
Heh, I've never seen anything that far, but in the Rat Rod genre, you'll see plenty of satin finish cars (a look I rather like, actually), a style which originated in mimicking semi-finished, rolling project cars from back in the day that hadn't reached the final painting stage. I've also seen many painted in a sort of rusty-brown colour which looks just like rust from a distance, as well as a few where in several spots the top layer of paint has been rubbed back to reveal undercoat and even bare metal before a final topcoat of clear sealant is put over it so that the look is maintained without leaving the steel body of the car open to weather-damage. I find this fascinating - it's not for me, but it does show just how far the 'heavy patina' effect has filtered through as a style choice.
In guitar circles, there are frequent, raging arguments about the acceptability of the "relic" look (something first introduced on a commercial level by Fender, inspired by Keith Richards, and rapidly copied by many other makers with varying degrees of success). A good one can look exactly like a guitar that has been taken on the road and played hard for fifty years. There are also many guitars out there which have been subjected to amateur attempts to relic them with a belt sander, and look exactly like guitars that have been subjected to amateur attempts at relicing them with a belt sander. What fascinates me are the people who are morally outraged by this, guys who will in all seriousness argue that you have to somehow "earn" the wear on your guitar... For me, it's just another finsh option, really - not one I care for, but hey...... capitalism, right?
I agree, but equally I think most folks who would make that choice for the most part assume that expensive, big name brand = top quality, good-looking suit. I remember at one time in the late Eighties one of the big names, might have been Armani, was doing very well with these dreadful, ill-fitting boxy suits that looked like David Byrne cast-offs and made the average man look like a bad fancy dress version of Danny Devito in Twins. Looked awful, but people were impressed by the name: it was a "designer" suit, and therefore a "good" one. [huh]
Tomasso's point about impatience is also a valid one, I believe. It's a part of the instant gratification, consumerist culture.
Saville Row is a globally known "brand", but it's a niche market, and a fancy-schmancy 'designer' fashion brand probably does have more cachet in certain circles where conspicuous consumption is all the rage - think about people like Puff Diddly, or whatever the hell he is calling himself this week.
Well, quite, but you, Sir, have taste.
Playing Devil's advocate, I have to ask is it really so surprising? Bearing in mind there are plenty of folks in vintage circles who will pay a significant premium for Eastman's "timeworn" treatment, or want pre-distressed Indy hats / jackets? The latter, I suppose, is a little different as it is costume replication of a very specific look. I do always find it a little bizarre, though, when folks buy new A2s and ten immediately want to treat them so they look sixty years old....
I found a raisin the other day that looked exactly like Keith Richards. I thought it was some sort of sign until I realised all raisins look pretty much like Keith Richards. I'd like to see his baby photos. I'll bet he looked like a grape.
I suspect you're hanging out with the wrong women.
In general, though, it's a fair point: mainstream women's fashion is in my experience much more focussed on brands and constantly changing styles than in the men's market. There is also considerably more pressure on ladies these days to buy in to the fashion norm than there is for men (from what friends tell me, it can often even be impossible to find anything on the high street that's not the current fashion norm, whether you want to wear that or not). Heh, I've never seen anything that far, but in the Rat Rod genre, you'll see plenty of satin finish cars (a look I rather like, actually), a style which originated in mimicking semi-finished, rolling project cars from back in the day that hadn't reached the final painting stage. I've also seen many painted in a sort of rusty-brown colour which looks just like rust from a distance, as well as a few where in several spots the top layer of paint has been rubbed back to reveal undercoat and even bare metal before a final topcoat of clear sealant is put over it so that the look is maintained without leaving the steel body of the car open to weather-damage. I find this fascinating - it's not for me, but it does show just how far the 'heavy patina' effect has filtered through as a style choice.
In guitar circles, there are frequent, raging arguments about the acceptability of the "relic" look (something first introduced on a commercial level by Fender, inspired by Keith Richards, and rapidly copied by many other makers with varying degrees of success). A good one can look exactly like a guitar that has been taken on the road and played hard for fifty years. There are also many guitars out there which have been subjected to amateur attempts to relic them with a belt sander, and look exactly like guitars that have been subjected to amateur attempts at relicing them with a belt sander. What fascinates me are the people who are morally outraged by this, guys who will in all seriousness argue that you have to somehow "earn" the wear on your guitar... For me, it's just another finsh option, really - not one I care for, but hey...... capitalism, right?
I agree, but equally I think most folks who would make that choice for the most part assume that expensive, big name brand = top quality, good-looking suit. I remember at one time in the late Eighties one of the big names, might have been Armani, was doing very well with these dreadful, ill-fitting boxy suits that looked like David Byrne cast-offs and made the average man look like a bad fancy dress version of Danny Devito in Twins. Looked awful, but people were impressed by the name: it was a "designer" suit, and therefore a "good" one. [huh]
Tomasso's point about impatience is also a valid one, I believe. It's a part of the instant gratification, consumerist culture.
Saville Row is a globally known "brand", but it's a niche market, and a fancy-schmancy 'designer' fashion brand probably does have more cachet in certain circles where conspicuous consumption is all the rage - think about people like Puff Diddly, or whatever the hell he is calling himself this week.
Well, quite, but you, Sir, have taste.
Playing Devil's advocate, I have to ask is it really so surprising? Bearing in mind there are plenty of folks in vintage circles who will pay a significant premium for Eastman's "timeworn" treatment, or want pre-distressed Indy hats / jackets? The latter, I suppose, is a little different as it is costume replication of a very specific look. I do always find it a little bizarre, though, when folks buy new A2s and ten immediately want to treat them so they look sixty years old....
Nah, that market is already cornered. It's called keeping up with Keith Richards.
Of course I tend to think that he came into this world pre-distressed.
Cheers!
Dan
I found a raisin the other day that looked exactly like Keith Richards. I thought it was some sort of sign until I realised all raisins look pretty much like Keith Richards. I'd like to see his baby photos. I'll bet he looked like a grape.
