UNDERSTATED EXTREMES

Superfine/Alexander Wang collaboration demonstrates the power of shouting quietly. Takes an extreme element, be it a zip or a dropped crotch, and uses that sole thing to carry the concept. Through Oak NYC, where it's physically impossible for any of their stuff to look bad, quite frankly.

PHOTO ALBUM INSPIRATION

My Dad things he looks like James Dean in this picture. He was so keen that I post the picture that he's very sweetly scanned it in on his home fax machine. He was kind enough to throw in this one of my Mum, but he's more impressed with himself. I'm going to go through the family albums and select some choice pictures of 1970s denim courtesy of my stylish parents and scan them in slightly better. I think these two give you the flavour of what's to come. You could look nothing less than stylish in denim, no matter when the photo was taken.
For Porsche enthusiasts, its a 911E from 1970.

DENIM SHIRTS...

Having promised myself some good old research into denim shirts I'm now putting it off. A self-imposed deadline is no deadline at all. Good excuse for some Steve McQueen, making the case eloquently. It's a Wrangler shirt. Even better.
Picture from Flickr

VINTAGE MADNESS: DOLLY ROCKER DENIM DRESS

On sale through Etsy. It's not the one for me, but it's very Agent Provocateur.

DENIM DRESS

The longer I have been writing and posting about denim, the more denim I find myself wearing. Given that I wore denim most days anyway, that's a lot. I was at a party last summer, dressed as a hippie (fancy dress), and someone said 'I don't mean to be rude, but do you actually have that much denim in your wardrobe'. I was in flares, a denim shirt and a denim waistcoat at the time. I took the bus to Clapton dressed like this you understand.
It's got to the stage where pretty much the only things I contemplate buying are denim-based, and my planned summer purchases are no exception. What I really want is a denim dress. I have been mooning over the girl in the picture from The Sartorialist in that great full-skirted, button through dress. This Diesel one is the closest thing I can find at the moment, but it's not totally there. And although I want everything from the Imogene + Willie collection (shirt, dry jeans, amazing washed jeans), I want the adorable chambray smock the most. I am picturing myself at the festival I'm going to in July (I'm forward planning), and I'm clearly in top to toe denim again. And the answer is yes, I really do have that much denim in my wardrobe.

DENIM & LEATHER

Harper's Bazaar has a great mood board selection of the best pale denim and leather fashion. They've chosen Suzi Quattro, which certainly challenges my claim that Mel Gibson rocks this trend the best (or would, if they'd just put Max in jeans rather than head to toe leather). Set aside the eyewatering designer items, and this is a combination whose time has definitely come.

VINTAGE MADNESS: DENIM BLOUSON

This really reminds me of the Sass & Bide for TopShop jacket that's currently in store. This looks nicer though, double collar and heavier denim. Bliss Vintage.

D.I.Y DENIM

Some more home-made denim inspiration, courtesy of Childhood Flames.

D.I.Y. TEE

A gorgeous and time consuming d.i.y. found on Childhood Flames, who has a step by step guide to this (I'm looking for volunteers) brought to life by Vanilla Scented. Just occasionally jersey can make you as happy as denim.
It's not the denim shirts I promised... I'm building up to them.

LAST SEEN HITCHIKING

I'm clearly angling for the porn-traffic crowd with my titles, what with BLUE MOVIES, BITS ON THE SIDE, and now this.
But how could I pass it up? My ostensible reason for posting is the wonderfully on-trend cut-off shorts, denim shirt and double denim ensemble. And is that a denim shirt I see on the cover of Nice Fillies Finish Last? I can't recommend all the covers in Brett Halliday's oevre strongly enough.

DENIM SHIRTS

I adore denim shirts.

This is a picture to stop hearts. Don't listen to those currently decrying the return of double denim, as I can think of nothing sexier than a denim shirt and jeans.

I am fascinated by all the different choices in pocket shape, yoke, snaps/buttons, especially because I think 'new' and 'designed' denim shirts are pretty much without exception disgusting. It seems to me that the whole point of denim shirts is that they are based on an existing vintage denim shirt, either all or in part. I have therefore set myself a project to find lots of different pictures of denim shirt pockets, cuffs, plackets, washes etc. and I'll publish the results here over the next week or so. Stick around, it's all thrills.

Steve McQueen photographed by William Claxton. Source, Jake Davis

STOCK VINTAGE

I love vintage shopping, but probably a bit less than I should. I think I like the idea more than I like the pressure of finding the one amazing thing. I always end up wanting what the person next to me has found, and there is always the suspicion that there is a bigger, better vintage warehouse that people in the know are rifling through, while I am rummaging through the stuff that has already been triple-filtered to remove all the good bits.

So the idea of a store where all the good bits end up, and a store that is styled to look like an enticing emporium without the damp, limp check shirts and the vintage smell, well - my kind of shop. And, darling, they all go there apparently - Ralph, Tom. I think that the RRL stores use Melissa Howard and her stock to supply the vintage pieces they mix in with their reconstructions. In short it sounds, and looks, pretty amazing.

Stock Vintage

143 E. 13th St.

212.505.2505
NY

Source: Urban Daddy

APC MEN'S SS09

When APC does washed jeans, you know it's time to rethink the raw dark denim look. This time, they are washed in a laundry, rather than having been worn by someone else (someone who became your personal jeans 'butler', and had their initials stitched into the jean for performing this service) as they did last year in New York. The 'Pioneer' jean (above) is in the idolised APC new standard fit. The narrow worker jean, below, is part of the Spring fashion collection.

IMOGENE + WILLIE

There is a lot of talk at the moment about how people shop, have shopped, will shop in the future. I have my own theories, and I won't bore you with them here; suffice to say that I am always right. However, I do think they key thing to remember is that shopping can be an absolute pleasure. Everyone seems to be enjoying denying themselves rather than buying anything at the moment, some kind of consumerist hair shirt, and that is missing the point of what is great about shopping. Going into a shop that has been set up by someone who's clearly harboured the dream of their own store for a long time. Knowing that they've refined it in their imagination for years, and spent effort, time and hope creating it in real life. Additionally, imagine if the shop sells things made on the premises, by the people in the shop. Buying something directly from the people who have conceived it and designed it, made it and washed it, is an utterly perfect way to spend money. Buying from people who love what they do and understand denim is the connoisseurs' way to buy jeans, but it shouldn't be.

How does this one sound:
'My family has been in the denim business for 22 years. I have worked in the family business for what seemingly feels like the whole 2 decades.. My hands and my husband's hands are blue, most all of the days.
My husband and I have started our own label, imogene + willie...and will soon open our store... in a gas station, in Nashville, Tennessee.
We just simply want to sew in the back of the store, a good jean for both men and women, that fits perfectly. We have no intention to wholesale the product. Just would hope that the gas station would become a destination for lovers of good denim and other treasures.'

Jealous yet?

From imogene + willie, not only do you get to buy something from someone's dream, you also get really lovely chambray shirts with vintage buttons and authentic handmade in America denim jeans. And seriously, check out the wash on these...

LEVI'S LIMITED EDITION GRAPHIC COLLECTION

Very cool-looking reverse printed Levi's, on the classic 501 shape and being released as a limited edition. They are apparently inspired by 1980's video game graphics, and the Levi's arcuate stitching on the back pocket and button on the fly match the respective print colours.
Sources: Coolhunting and h(y)r

VINTAGE MADNESS: DENIM TOPPER

From Bliss Vintage

SAN FRANCISCO DREAMING

At the risk of sounding ridiculous, I have a rule which I try to impose on myself when considering a purchase, and that is 'would it look good getting into a vintage Porsche'. I don't own a vintage Porsche, and it's unlikely I ever will. I also know it makes me sound like a wanker. But I think it keeps me on the straight and narrow, style-wise. It requires clothes that have a cool edge, an 'old money' vibe, a touch of originality and a nod to the classic.

So, with that disclaimer out of the way, let's continue.

The 912 Porsche.



Source: A Time To Get

This is the car that Robert Redford drives in Spy Game (sorry, but I love that film), and people who know more than me tell me it was in production between 1965 - 1969, and again in 1976, so it has a discernibly strong association with classic imagery from those specific times. My mind is also eliding it with Jacqueline Bisset and Bullitt (which is unforgiveable, as the internet tells me she drove a 1964 Porsche 356 Cabriolet). That takes me to San Franscisco, and that is the perfect beginning for a pair of jeans...

Poladroid pictures from top:
Current/Elliott
18th Amendment
Citizens of Humanity
Not sure - maybe Antipodium
Jovovich-Hawk
Not sure - maybe Unknown Factory

Jeans from top:
Current/Elliott (old season)
Ksubi (tobi.com)
18th Amendment (tobi.com)
Wrangler (asos.com)
18th Amendment (tobi.com)