anybody here into high end denim jeans?

[Basement rat]

I would love some good riding jeans. Im not a fan of leather pants or chaps... Just not me.

Jeans would be perfect.

BUT... "High end denem"... LOL! what a joke!

I wouldent think about buying a pair of jeans over $80 EVER again, all the "high end" stuff falls apart in less then a year. Every pair of $20 jeans I've ever owned lasts at least 3 years and by the time I'm done with them they look like a $400 pair with all the grease, oil, burn marks, paint, holes and etc...

SO, I would very much consider a bespoke pair or two jean made from a cotton/ kevlar material with reinforced knees and ass. Leather patches on the knees? pockets for a piece of plastic armour in the knee?

FUNCTION OVER FORM!!!!!!!! dont forget that!



Once upon a time leather and denem was for the worker becasue they were cheep and tough, now look whats happend...

 

[biker_reject]

I remember Aerostitch selling denim jeans originally made for tree trimmers that had pockets in the knees for pads or armor.

 

[dead bound]

Don't shoot down someones entrepreneurial spirit. "High end" just may have been the wrong approach here as someone said earlier. Most of us probably have an aversion to anything being upscale which is why we have old cheap bikes with "personality". I have used that rational many times, at a bar, around closing time. "She'll do, she's drinking beer, not cosmos."

No skinny jeans. I need boot cut man jeans. Hell, I still have some jeans from STRUCTURE that have lasted longer than all others. $50, that was expensive back then. They have lasted way longer and fit better than my cheap work jeans with the old man crotch.

*Disclosure* --- I have 2 pr. of $$ jeans and they fit pretty darn good.

 

[Basement rat]

I was at a Tommy Hilfiger shop in Vancouver. The had "High end" jeans that came with a warning. "Be carefull of rubbing against things, or car seats. The dye in the material may leach out" or something to that extent. I took one of the legs, rubbed it aganst the wall and sure enough it left a blue smear. Why the hell would I pay $100+ for pants when I have to be carefull how I wear then?

Unless "high end" is actually a specific material made to be more durable. Usually, its just cotton sewn the exact same way as $20 wall mart jeans probibaly by the same person making .15 cents a pair.

 

[biker_reject]

Great Googly Moogly!!!!

This thread reminds me of a lyric: "Is that a real poncho, or is that a Sears poncho?" Quick, who is the artist?

 

[mantanab5]

I am a self-professed denim head. A.P.C., EP's by Epaulet (cone mills denim... should definitely check out), Naked & Famous, Crate, 3sixteen all in my closet. Can't afford sugar cane, PBJ, other japanese brands generally given my budget and desire to spend money on other things. Pic from my newly started build thread wearing beater A.P.C. NS

If your into denim you should be on styleforum.net. Clothes and Cars/Motorcycles are my vices.

 

[Rocan]

meh, i rarely care what i wear... but jeans...

levis 514, all day every day. fit perfect, and are hella durable. and are super comfy. they loose there color after a TON of washes, yet they still look good. i wont ever buy anything else.

i agree though. this is a friggen moto forum! we dont care about no style! (ok, maybe some vintage threads are cool, but seriously, why spend a lot of money on clothes?)

 

[VonYinzer]

I have 3 pairs of these. http://www.dickies.com/product/product_detail.jsp?FOLDER%3A%3Afolder_id=2534374302024401&PRODUCT%3A%3Aprd_parent_id=2534374302024397&PRODUCT%3A%3Aprd_id=845524441764964&ADD_CART_ITEM%3A%3AATR_Sku_Size=_

Ive had them for 5 years, and wear them to work (commercial construction) where I may be in knee deep mud, working with chemicals, working on heavy equipment, or crawling under buildings, as well as in the garage (you all know what happens there) and out in the bike. All 3 pairs are still intact and comfortable. Theyre highly discolored due to constant heavy use and the crap theyre subjected to but still in one piece. Ive had sharp metal drag across them without tearing them, and chemicals that ate holes through my t shirt barely faze them. $20 or not, that sounds high end to me.

Dont get me wrong. I own my share of higher end clothing, but I keep my pricier duds limited to playin dress up for weddings, and what not. I just cant get paying big money for any clothes that you wear every day, UNLESS you know that youll never get em trashed. I cant say that unfortunatly.

 

[biker_reject]

Ha! I have a pair of gray Dickies pants. A friend of mine once said "My, aren't we a little gangster today?" Apparently a favorite garment of Latino gangsters.

 

[Rocan]

im with you guys on this ones... dickies is good stuff! have some shorts from them... nice for summer time wrenching (when no leg protection is needed, of course)

 

[isolato]

wow, thanks for the link Von Y. their industrial level jeans http://www.dickies.com/product/product_detail.jsp?FOLDER%3A%3Afolder_id=2534374302024401&PRODUCT%3A%3Aprd_id=845524441761372&mbref=true&green=13925183733
look like a good replacement for my old favorite, no longer made, Wild Ass jeans from Bailey's Logging supply. They've replaced them with these
http://www.baileysonline.com/itemdetail.asp?item=100WA+3230&catID=10389 nice jeans but
I don't like them as well as the old ones. (Fortunately, I have a dozen pair of the originals)
These are very loose fitting, and can be had with double knees too.

also... I won't pay more than $15. for sunglasses:0

 

[Rocan]

i dont wear sunglasses, but if i do its either my vintage glasses (i got two cool ones) or some nice ray ban aviators. cheap sunglasses usually dont have UV protection (though they say they do) so what ends up happening is your pupils dilate in order for you to see more, but in the end it lets in more UV rays which fuck your eyes up.

 

[isolato]

I've got aviators too! (35yrs old), and a pair of wayfarers. cool stuff. I just haven't for years, and won't again, pay $up$ for trendy sunglasses. my last pair were oakleys and my friends dog ate 'em. ...no uv protection there. they said uv protected...I dunno, were they? there are a buttload of under $15 brands and I'm sure many are crap. some say uv, some don't. some you can just tell by looking through 'em they are better than others. I don't really wear 'em for uv anyway. I wear 'em for glare, and 100. or 200. or 300. is just a waste, and frankly...kinda poserish (is that a word? kinda like "high end" jeans. ... or pretty much anything in vogue and over priced. I don't dis anyone for doin it, it's their cash, I'm just done with it.

(imo, of course)

 

[mantanab5]

There is a difference in "high-end" jeans that most people think of, and the jeans the o.p. was talking about. Being a denim geek, I will shed some insight, even if all of ya'll could give a rat's ass about expensive jeans. Back in the day, Levi's produced their denim (or rather Cone Mills in North Carolina produced the denim) on shuttle looms. Shuttle looms produce denim that has a lot of "character" in the form of minor imperfections and the all important "self-edge" meaning the edge of the roll naturally cannot be frayed (look up selvedge if you really care to see a pic). Projectile looms were invented, and they produced denim more quickly and consistently. The shuttle looms were laid to rest, but a subculture in Japan grew that was really into "Americana" type goods. Companies purchased the old shuttle looms from Levi's, and began producing reproduction's of old Levi's styles, using old cuts and original looms (and often using natural indigo, more labor intensive dying practices, and higher quality cottom typically from zimbabwe). Eventually these new-old jeans became more popular, and jeans with japanese selvedge denim came to be in high demand. Most of the people who purchase these jeans like them because they "hand-crafted" jeans. They aren't mass-produced in some sweat shop, and they often are made with heavier weight denim that wears harder and molds and conforms to the individual wearer. So if you read that you have officially increased your useless knowledge bank.

 

[VonYinzer]

Thanks for that mantanab5. Wasnt exactly aware of the process, though I knew a little... I really love the idea of buying hand crafted clothing. I try to when I can. In fact I just gave a friend an old hand made Italian 3 piece suit I had. (Was getting a hair snug... damn beer gut...) I agree that the jeans youre talking about are made of a higher quality material than most, and anything thats not made by 12 yr old chinese kids is great. My (and I really am only speaking for myself only) only issue is that the life I live very quickly destroys clothing/shoes/sunglasses, and whatever else has been brought up in this thread. Combine that with the fact that I could never really afford to buy several pairs of $100+ jeans and well, they dont really work for me. I def understand the appeal though.

 

[biker_reject]

Well... I learned something new! 8) And yeah, I often think about what I'm buying and where it came from and who made the item. I often feel powerless to do anything about it with most consumer items; never gave it much thought as a youngster. I guess this is a really good argument for buying hand crafted clothing, eh?

 

[isolato]

yes thanks manta5. informative. seemingly exellent quality for those who regard jeans as more than functional. I just use 'em as a tool. I do care how they look, just not all that much I guess. I checked out some of the brands the op referred too and got prices from 180 to 320. If I didn't work so long to make 320 I might get a pair. I can get 13 pair of my favorite jeans for 320. and they are (were) made in Canada. I'll assume there are no 13yr old Chinese making jeans in Canadian sweat shops? anyway... good enough for me. apologies to all fashionistas if offended. it's just a priority that has dropped off my list.

 

[mantanab5]

(sorry, post happened while typing this) Not really (justification for hand made goods)... its just that sometimes if you want something with a little more substance, you sometimes have to pay a premium. The thing about having nice japanese denim is that most of the time, you're the only person that knows what it is or wear it came from. Ladies aren't really impressed by your "slubby" jeans (slub is the term for the minor imperfections in the denim) made of selvedge denim. It's more of a personal choice. Lately I have been into jeans by this company called Epaulet, a small store in Brooklyn. A lot of their jeans use Cone Mill (work out of the white oak factory which opened in 1902) denim which means the fabric itself is produced in the USA, and the jeans are made in L.A. So from start to finish you have a made in U.S. product. The jeans cost like $130 but I find that to be an easier pill to swollow then the $200-$300 japanese brands. And they are tough as nails. K, i'm officially done talking about denim on a motorcycle forum.

 

[Represto]

I'd like a pair of bike pants made of high end denim, with kevlar and...

- Hidden knife pocket in the back.
- It should have pockets that are designed so that if you have change in your pocket it won't fall out or dig into your leg.
- They should be wide enough in the leg to cover a tight boot or let you tuck them in to a loose boot.
- A slight wax coating so that rain won't soak through but not so much so that they look shiny. I have a pair of pants that have some belstaff wax transferred on to them and they're awesome.
- I prefer button fly.
- Belt loops at the front that are spread apart a bit. Some pants have the front belt loops too close and they get in the way of my belt buckle...and I don't have a hub cap for a belt buckle.
- Selvedge, double felled seams.
- Hidden rivets on the back pockets so that it doesn't fuck up the seat cover we just made.

 

[Basement rat]

I guess this is a really good argument for buying hand crafted clothing, eh?

How are "hand crafted $$$ jeans" any different from the $ jeans at Wall Mart? It still takes someone to sew the seams. What your paying for is usually the skill of the person making them and the design. Still around 200% mark up im guessing.

BUT!

Last year I commisioned a custom made copy of my grandfathers german bike jacket he wore in the 50's. It cost short of 1K and is a one off. I also just got in some prescription sun glasses from a place in Barrie Ontario. They are Sillouette frames from the mid 90's (think big circles for lenses) they have AR, AS and are nicely tinted. Around $400 but 75% of that is the lenses.