Studio d'Artisan - Denim And Leather Baseball Glove
Nestled among some small side streets in Soho, NY, I discovered a rad store, Blue in Green, that caters to male raw denim fans. One of the brands that I found most interesting was Studio d'Artisan, a Japanese brand, specializing in raw vintage denim. I don't understand much about baseball, but these unique gloves, really - I think they're kind of interesting. I have no idea if they work in a real baseball field, but who cares, they're cute, and here we are not concerned about scooping up the sharp grounder, but about denim, right?
Besides the gloves, Studio d'Artisan also has some nice denim pieces, like the dark- and light blue striped shirt and if you like them ostentatious, they have just the jeans for you as well! Check out their oversized designs on their back pockets. And well, they don't come cheap, prices range between $285 and $450.
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Introducing: 2a-Brand
2a-Brand is a new Japanese Brand, based in Tokyo. They are a whole lifestyle brand and their collection includes: outerwear, sweaters, woven shirts, knit shirts and tee's, pants, shorts, and scarves. The retail prices are $140 (tee's) to $3,000 (leather jackets). One great thing about this brand is that the sizing is done on USA spec, because many designer collections from Japan are too small for the US market.
Currently, they are doing only men's, but as you can see in this lookbook for their Spring 2013 collection, they kinda encourage women to wear their men's clothes - which is just what I love.
I wear men's jeans for a couple of reasons: most of the time they are the only jeans available in 100% cotton with no stretch and they are Japanese denim (which is my big passion). Come on, you have to agree with me that this girl shown here in the men's jeans looks really cool!
Goldsign Selvage
I am determined to make all of our readers understand and even more importantly value Japanese selvage denim. This is why I will keep on posting the real "McCoy" whenever I happen to see it, be it in a showroom, a store or online. And my aim is to pursue the brand and have the designer tell us about his idea of why he is using selvage denim, even though it is not as "commercial" (meaning not selling as well) as the "fashion denim".
We've already met Naked and Famous's and Agave's selvage editions. Now it is Adriano Goldschmied, who will tell us about why he loves selvage and what he says it's all about. The jeans shown here are the boyfriends, rolled up at the cuffs. You can clearly see the red stitching at the inside seams, which is the the sign of of selvedge. Adriano told me that he has the very same jeans in a regular denim, and it is one of his best-sellers. These jeans do not sell as well, because of the higher price tag. They retail for $288, compared to $198 for the non-selvage version. OK, you can go and buy a dress for $20 at H&M, or you can buy a dress for $200 or $300 at Macy's. But how come, there are so many women that spend over $1,000 for a dress at Barney's, or $5,000 for an original Alexander Wang?
Well, the same goes for denim. As you can buy less expensive (not necessarily bad) jeans, you can also buy haute couture jeans without the haute couture price. $300 is really not all that much if you think that you will have a high quality pair of jeans that will love your body the more you wear them.
Here is Adriano's comment:
<"I love the selvage as it adds a very sophisticated and unique detail to the jean, it is a kind of signature of premium denim. In addition, there is no question that the fabrics made with the old shuttle looms are much better than the ones made with the new, modern, high speed industrial processes.
Many times I have made the example that selvage is equal to a nice restaurant when compared to fast food. The tension of the yarn in the selvage is not too high and so the character of the yarn is not too flat therefore the color is more rich and luxurious. It is definitely worth the additional money as the product is more sophisticated and looks its best."
Uniqlo Made In Japan Ltd Edition
Are you a guy that has read about Japanese denim and are interested to try some out but have been put off by the price. Well you are in luck because retailing giant Uniqlo have a limited edition Made In Japan Collection which is now available online. You get all the quality and detailing of premium Japanese selvedge denim but at a price of £70 that is far more reasonable that you will find anywhere else.
The Grungy Gentleman Is Giving Away 4 Stroke Jeans
We don't usually plug giveaways for other sites, but while we were in New York for Fashion Week we made an amazing new friend, Jace Lipstein - Editor of The Grungy Gentleman (and also Fashion Director at online fashion store Singer22.com). He just happens to be giving away 3 pairs of jeans from a brand we are quite fond of also.
Head over to his blog (here) to see how you can slide your backside into some seriously, stylish 4 Stroke NYC Jeans for Fall.
Self Edge x Flat Head x Real Japan Blues Jeans
A new collaboration from specialist denim store Self Edge is always interesting news to fans of quality Japanese denim. This time they have gone a step further than usual as this is a three way collaborations between themselves Real Japan Blues and Flat Head. Self Edge came up with the design (a slim straight fit), Real Japan Blues then developed the denim (14oz rope-dyed unsanforized Japanese selvedge denim made using using Zimbabwe cotton) and Flat Head put the whole thing together. The end results is classy and classic looking pair of jeans that apparently have a soft feeling fabric (once worn in) designed to feel comfortable in warmer weathers. The jeans are only available from SelfEdge.com where they cost $365 (including shipping).
