Broke out the 1950's Lee dungarees with lots of period patch repairs. View attachment 374264
Look great, you don't see the 9.5" hem at all.New CianoFarmer jeans arrived yesterday. I already have a pair in the Miner fit in size 32 which I love, but realised I could size down to 31. I requested an additional 1” at the opening (now about 9.5”) , to make sure they would easily cover any boots and never get caught up when I sit and then stand. I was a little afraid they would look too flared or bootcut but I’m very happy with the outcome. The Miner is a high rise true straight, so adding a bit at the bottom doesn’t alter the profile too much. Fantastic construction again. I love the soft yet insanely heavy pocket bags and reinforced back pockets. These were a six month wait, but luckily I have a second pair in the queue (heavy Japanese indigo) that should be ready in about a month.
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thanks for info. I'll check out Railcar too. Sugarcane, I still kick myself to this day, I had a chance to buy a HD Cycle Champ style jacket from Buyee for like super cheap, $300 maybe. I forgot that they let the auction go later and went to bed early. Still dream about that jacket--teacore, full belt, etc. etc. And I'm guessing the denim is just as good.If you want a made in LA brand, just go with Railcar.
If you're open to non made-in-LA, just get Sugar Canes and you can retire from jeans searching early. They're spectacular, even compared to much more expensive makers.
I need to get into raw denim like I need a hole in the head. I always get trapped by the intrigue of all these sub cultures. Here we are a little over a year later on these forums and I bought 30 something jackets. I fear what might happen here LOL. But I'm quickly going into the camp of buying fewer things at a higher quality.
Ok, I'm going to take the plunge and grab a pair or two of Bravestar. Being in Los Angeles, I want to support my fellow neighbors. @Mrfrown had a killer trucker that caught my eye and here we go down the rabbit hole. I followed their sizing instructions and think I got it, but there's a few questions.
I measured the flat waist then doubled. My comfortable jeans (Banana Republic, Gap, Levis, etc.) come out to about 37 to 37.5 inches. That's still a hair or two on the loose side though, not like falling off without a belt, but enough room to take a breath. 36 inches would be tight, but not so tight where they don't fit, but not something I'd want to wear all day or do any sort of physical activity in. So when I size a BS, am I supposed to assume this same "comfortable" measurement? I hear a lot about having the new jeans be tight so you can stretch and mold. But then I see you'll get about 1 size shrink on first wash. So am I sizing against the 37 (which is like their size 35) out of the box (i.e. they wont stretch much since they're not too tight and then shrink back to like a 36) or need to go a little tighter out of the box (i.e. better to get a molded/stretch fit and then hope the shrinking won't be so bad)? Btw, to get to the 50 or so wears before you're supposed to wash, that might be a solid year plus for me since I'm work from home nowadays.
And then on the inseam. 30 inches gives me the perfect end point if I don't want to cuff. I have a couple pairs at 32 which allow for a one roll cuff. If I want the same with the BS, should I go 32 or do I need to allow for some shrinking down the road? I was thinking about going 33 inch just in case and I could do a wider cuff or worst case do a double roll.
I'm thinking slim straight and/or slim taper. Don't want anything too skinny and I think true straight doesn't have enough taper for my tastes. Although I could see myself getting a pair of true straight if this experiment goes well.
And then for weight, I'm not going hardcore here. People already looking at me like I'm nuts wearing leather jackets in weather that's probably way past expiration. So having heavy jeans also will I think cannibalize that. I'm thinking 13 oz range. They have some black 16.5 avail that would probably be at the upper end of where I'd go.
Any advice, much appreciated. I should just take a drive down there. It's by the airport which is never fun to get to, but I guess being lazy over a couple hours in the car is an easy way to blow a few hundred bucks.
I need to get into raw denim like I need a hole in the head. I always get trapped by the intrigue of all these sub cultures. Here we are a little over a year later on these forums and I bought 30 something jackets. I fear what might happen here LOL. But I'm quickly going into the camp of buying fewer things at a higher quality.
@Edward - being a chemist, I was also interested in the processes by which indigo washes out or shows fades. The problem is that indigo does not covalently bond to cotton (does not form a chemical bond, which is one of the strongest in nature - not including nuclear forces of course). Reactive dyes do form covalent bonds with cotton, but indigo can't. Instead, it basically gets into the nooks and crannies of the fabric, from where it can be removed by washing or rubbing. Internet search shows that you can somewhat "fix it" by a vinegar bath and then a heat treatment. It might work to some extent, but I doubt it. Or you can try this: https://www.dharmatrading.com/chemicals/retayne.html. May be worth an experiment or two.I'm in one of my pairs of 13MWZs today. Got two pairs of those, one two years old, the other nearer three. They've both been patched on the inner thigh where I wear jeans out first every time. Pretty heavy wear this last two years; I don't as a general habit wear jeans out of the house so much, but with working from home so much and not going out socially this last couple of years... Only gripe with these is that they don't do them in a really dark indigo colour. For me, the holy grail of jeans is still a deep indigo that doesn't gradually wash out or show fades.
I am a 36 in Levis and I wear a 36 in Brave Star true straight. I would start out with your Levis size for your first pair and adjust accordingly if you want tighter or looser.Sanity check. I know it's not an exact science and so many variable, but if I was a 33 in Levis, Gap, Banana Republic, etc. slim styles (6'0 185 lbs), what does that translate to just as a rule of thumb maybe for Bravestar.