Australian Members - Page 1888

Highlighted for veracity.
It was me that added nutty... mea culpa, I meant it as a compliment. FWIW blahman puts the frightners on me without even being here...

I've heard that if you say blahman three times he appears behind you and strangles you with a pair of dad jeans from Kmart

Sheesh, details! I think my first post got swallowed, so I'll try again ;)

 

Newly moved to Melbourne, working in IT although it's technical pre sales so I'm customer facing. Need to dress professionally but not to the same standards as a "professional". When I do have to speak at the odd conference I'll need to step it up. Basically I need to build a new wardrobe out for the role, and have remained quite unaware good dress sense until recently. I like the idea of starting with a conservative wardrobe which gives me some staples to build around. If I can add a nice sports jacket to my existing pants, I'll get some breathing space to build out a proper (ish) wardrobe. I'm putting aside $1000 p/m to hopefully build out something decent over the coming year. Currently a 42R, back on the bike and hoping to lose the slight beer gut which has appeared over the last six months of being deskbound (or lazy).

 

HTH,

Grant

Or with a Hello Kitty dress.

You mean while wearing a Hello Kitty dress.

 

haha - so this isnt you? fwiw i said professor.. respectable profession .. someone else added nutty! haha

"Raw" denim is something I don't understand (unless you are in a profession that allows you to wear jeans every day).

6-18 months of wearing the same pair of pants? For those of us in suit and tie jobs, how many weekends does that translate to? Sleeping in jeans? Blue dye everywhere? Not sure I'll ever be bothered to go through that. I find it a bit gross, really. No matter what the bacteria count says ^^.

im still trying to break in my 3-sixteens. Still a tad tight on my thighs for my liking:(

+1.
I find raw denim disgusting. Raw denim ruined few pairs of my shoes , my gfs bags, some shirts and my car leather seat(light beige).

My thoughts on raw denim: I don't even like that faded, honeycomb look that develops on them. I wish there were more brands at the moment that focused on quality, non-raw denim.

The other thing is that, personally, I don't even really like the end result. As a reward for putting up with months of awkwardness and discomfort you end up with.... a pair of jeans that looks "well worn", i.e. worn out. It seems like a lot of raw denim afficionados then go and buy a new pair and start all over again, keeping the old ones as some sort of sartorial trophy, a monument to their ability to put up with discomfort.

When, exactly, do they look gooandnd fit well? When is the honeymoon period?

To my mind, there isn't even that much difference between the pair you've worn for 12 months, and the pair of distressed selfedge denim that you could've bought brand new in the store in the first place (pre-distressed denim which, ironically, a lot of raw denim afficionados seem to despise!). There is quality distressed denim out there: eg RRLs. Sure, you have "personalised" those fades and honeycombs - but other than the occasional denim geek, who's to know? Why go through all that pain and effort (additionally, I hate the thought of feeling "pressured" to wear something I own) when there is a good alternative out there that's readily available?

Would you buy an ill fitting pair of plain tan shoes and put up with an uncomfortable 2 years for them to stretch to your foot and burnish naturally? Or would you buy some pre-burnished ones that actually fit in the first place?

I guess it's one of those self-satisfaction things....

Personally I like the dark and clean look that Raw denim has when it's first bought - then they get gradually worse and worse looking over time, until they've faded so much that they attain the vintage/stonewashed look, which I am on record as quite liking. In between, they sort of just look.... dirty and worn out.

Anyway, I know there are a lot of denim heads out there that will strongly disagree with everything I have just said, so I reiterate that it is just my personal viewpoint and not something I would ever foist on someone else.
Edited by lachyzee - 3/17/13 at 9:39pm

I always say Raw Denim is for Graphic Designers (ie people who can wear them everyday). Been through a few pairs and just got the shits with them breaking in.

Eventually found by chance a pair of G-Star Raw, that they say are Raw but are somehow much much softer and don't need breaking in, nor did they stretch like crap. They do have the same look as your typical dark, stiff RD does though. Best jeans I've ever bought and no bells and whistles like most of the other awful G-stars. I must say I don't wash them all that much either, probably once every month or 2, unless they get stained.

No offence to any Graphic Designers that may be among us

I am also doing the same with my Strike Gold 2109. 

 

I am far from a denim fanboy. Personally, I find the breaking in period and the blue dye to be a bit of a biatch.  Plus I dont get to wear them much.

 

BUT....

 

The beauty is in the details. The stitching, the rivets, the leather patch, the roped belt loops, the selvage edge, the method used for dye-ing, the evolution/fading of colors after washing, etc. And once broken in, it is buttery soft and fits like a second skin.

 

Not much difference to suits and details eg peak/notch lapel, pick stitching, canvas, working cuffs, barchetta pockets, neapolitan falls, MOP/horn buttons, etc. Who really notices them apart from another connoisseur?

On a completely different note - leather jackets.

I've never really had a good, well fitting leather jacket and have wanted one for a long time. Last time I got interested in looking around again I came across the NZ mob Magnoli, who do custom jackets and also reproductions of ones featured in films. Whilst this sounds potentially hokey, a bit of searching seems to indicate that they are reasonably well thought of in terms of quality, including on some SF threads (admittedly from a while back).

The idea of getting MTM is appealing now that I've been down that path with other garments and the risk seems more manageable. Anybody had experience with Magnoli that would like to comment?