Denimology

The Year Of... Denim

I came across yet another premium men's denim label today - The Year Of. These are jeans for guys that like to be noticed, thanks to the back pocket designs that can be seen from a hundred yards away... in the dark. According to their website they only produce 1,000 to 2,000 yards of denim each year which allows to them to make just enough jeans for one season. And the prices reflect the rarity of the jeans, you will find yourself paying the best part of $400 for a pair of these jeans, that's if you can find them. So far the only store selling them online seems to be Commonwealth.



Continued (with more photos)...

Celebrity Denim Icon 2006 - Vote Now

I thought it might be interesting to find out who the readers of this site thought was the Celebrity Denim Icon for 2006. When I say Denim Icon I mean the person who wore their jeans with the most style over the past 12 months. Seeing as this is my site I am going forget all about being impartial and cast the first vote for Victoria Beckham (seen above in a pair of Superfine skinny jeans). I know a lot of people are going to disagree with me on this one but I think that when it comes to her choice of jeans she always looks impeccable. The rest of her outfits might look like a little too much effort went into them but when it comes to denim she knows what suits her - skinny jeans tucked into high-heeled boots. Do you agree or disagree? Please nominate your Denim Icon For 2006 by leaving a comment. To remind yourself of who wore what in 2006 check out the Celebrity Denim Archive. I will announce the winner sometime before Xmas.

Voting Closed - Click Here For Winner

Rica Lewis Fair Trade Jeans

French denim label Rica Lewis have announced the launch of the world's first Fair Trade Jeans. What this actually means is that Rica Lewis "supports small farmers in developing countries by buying their cotton at a fixed price that cushions them from fluctuations in global markets and provides them a better living". You have to admire the sentiments of Rica Lewis as they are now buying their cotton for 70% more than the average world price, however I can't help thinking that they might sell more jeans and in turn do more to help farmers in Africa if they spent a bit more time turning the cotton into decent looking jeans rather than these dodgy looking things.



Continued (with more photos)...

Superfine Jeans Men's Collection

Superfine grabbed column inches the world over and kick-started the skinny jeans revival when Kate Moss was photographed in a pair of their jeans. Now they are hoping to have the same sort of succes with the launch their first men's collection entitled "Kicking In". These down and dirty, straight leg and skinny jeans have more than a hint of rock and roll about them and are already being worn by skinny white indie kids such as The Horrors and The Kooks. There is a real lack of denim labels coming out of the UK at the moment, so it is great to see a British company like Superfine producing a distinctive line of modern looking jeans.



Continued (with more photos)...

Victoria Beckham To Sue Rock & Republic?

According to today's Sunday Mirror, Victoria Beckham (pictured earlier this week looking like Dracula in a black cape and skinny jeans) is threatening to sue Rock & Republic for whom she designed a range of jeans. A legal source is quoted as saying "Victoria Beckham's lawyers and accountants believe the range to have been far more successful than anyone imagined - and that Victoria is owed tens of millions of pounds." It is believed that Victoria is about to announce a deal with Western Glove Works Ltd (the family run business behind 1921 Jeans) to produce her own line of DVB branded jeans.

Red Monkey Jeans - Why So Popular?

A while ago I reported about the most searched for jeans according to Yahoo, suprisingly in the No3 position (above Levi's and Diesel) was the little known brand Red Monkey Company Jeans. Now I hadn't come across these jeans in the shops so I decided to do a little research and find out why they were so in demand. Red Monkey Company Jeans are the brainchild of Martin Ksohoh from Hong Kong and are made from specially engineered cotton from China which is woven and dyed using the indigo rope dying method to produce high quality and unique denim. The jeans also carry a very distinctive embroidered Japanese influenced back pocket designs of geishas, crashing waves and dragons.

Obviously these are some pretty special jeans but this alone doesn't explain why a niche denim brand should be so popular on Yahoo. Well it turns out that Red Monkey Jeans are a favourite with the likes of Jay Z and Sean Combs, as well as being mentioned in the lyrics of the song by Ghost Is Back by Ghostface Killah. Which just goes to show the enormous influence of hip hop these days.

Getting your hands on pair of these jeans is not that easy, they are made in extremely limited editions, are only stocked in a few shops and retail at around the £300 ($600) mark. Before you part with your hard earned cash you should read this guide to spotting fake Red Monkey Jeans as there appear to be a lot of fakes around especially on eBay. Alternatively you could buy them from Amazon.com which seems to be the only site selling the guaranteed authentic Red Monkey Jeans.



Continued (with more photos)...