Price points on high-end denim?!

Anyone else into high-end denim (japanese and domestic selvedge). Personally I'd down to throw down a grip on nice denim, but the prices Rogan and PRPS is asking these days seems like a stretch. Seems like last year, they broke past the $200 barrier by going from $180 to $220. Today I was checking out Union NYC and now Rogans are all at $240 - $290 and the same exact denim PRPS was pushing last season for $240 is now $290. Granted PRPS is doing some nice stuff despit me still not being a fan of the short wide cut, but that seems awfully high even for a niche brand doing japanese selvedge. Granted I've dropped $450 for a pair of 45rpm's that were too sick to pass on, I don't think I'm willing to pay those kids of prices for domestic brands even if the denim is imported, or especially for domestic denim.

Any one else into premium denim kinda turned off by this?

On a similar note, what's up with all the companies also asking $50 - $65 for simple t-shirts?!

evisu jeans cost around 300 a pair. ive never paid over 60 for a pair of pants.

the 50 dollar t shirts your referring to im guessing is supreme. right?

God damn, an item has to be damn near perfect for me to drop more than $50 on it.

Originally posted by skem@Oct 9 2004, 06:58 PM

evisu jeans cost around 300 a pair. ive never paid over 60 for a pair of pants.

 

the 50 dollar t shirts your referring to im guessing is supreme. right?

Quoted post

no, Supreme t-shirts are $24 when you get them at the store. I was referring to Rpgan and PRPS.

it's nice to have a nice pair of jeans, despite the cost to get them....

i mean if you get some jeans from the GAP, they'll ruin within 5 washes..

so in my opinion, anywhere from $87 - $150 is fine by me. to me, it just

seems like its worth it in the long run. people who say jeans are jeans,

and they're all the same ( even if it were from Target or somewhere

expensive), just don't realize quality of clothing, and you are really "paying

for what you get."

did that make sense?

Originally posted by Misteraven+Oct 9 2004, 07:56 PM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Misteraven - Oct 9 2004, 07:56 PM)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteBegin-skem@Oct 9 2004, 06:58 PM

evisu jeans cost around 300 a pair. ive never paid over 60 for a pair of pants.

 

the 50 dollar t shirts your referring to im guessing is supreme. right?

Quoted post

no, Supreme t-shirts are $24 when you get them at the store. I was referring to Rpgan and PRPS.

[/b]

oh yeah, but anywhere besides the store they are 50 +. and the store rarely has them in stock.

I live close to the store and know a few people, so I've never had to go the mark up route on the Supreme gear.

As far as I'm concerned if there's anything worth dropping loot on, its denim. Shit lasts years if you take good care of it. And good denim actually gets better with age. I usually get 2 - 3 pairs a year, maybe more if I get a good deal. If you happen to be in or around NYC, go check out the 45rpm store in Soho. Their denim is a work of art.

By all means buy quality shit and pay for it, but a pair of Levi's 501s lasts forever and costs forty bucks, I can't justify spending $200 on something like that.

Living in Nyc it's hard not to become a fashion victim to all that wacky Japanese "street" culture jive. i admire Rogan, Prps, etc... but I could never justify paying. Racking if i never intended on setting foot in downtown again. I tried a Rogan parka today that was $795 dollars!!! That's more than my rent. Denim is utilitarian work clothing; and I'm happy enough rocking APC or LEvis rigids.

On one hand i think the average graffiti kid is an individual with an eye for detail and beauty. On the other hand I still idealistically believe that I am motivated to bomb as a reaction to the commercialization of youth culture. It seems like the graff kids in NYC are more concerned with fleecing japanese tourists thanpainting nowadays.

Incoherent and full of holes i admit. I'm pushing 30 i might add. :chicken:

This is something I know almost nothing about. But I'd like to learn more. Post some pictures and clue me in.

Originally posted by Nekro@Oct 9 2004, 09:08 PM

By all means buy quality shit and pay for it, but a pair of Levi's 501s lasts forever and costs forty bucks, I can't justify spending $200 on something like that.

Quoted post

Obviously Levi's is a classic you can't knock, but if you see the way a pair of Japanese selvedge that have been hand died using natural indigo pigment wear over time, it's hard not to fall in love with them. Granted Levi's get a personality of their own after rocking them for a few years, naturally died selvedge have personality right from the start (without all the need for the artificially created whisking and treatments). Anyhow, to each their own I guess...

Originally posted by JerryCurl@Oct 9 2004, 11:07 PM

This is something I know almost nothing about. But I'd like to learn more. Post some pictures and clue me in.

Quoted post

This is kinda hard since most these brands are small and exclusive, thus avoiding a heavy presence, especially online. Regardless, you can check out the 45rpm website here... http://www.45rpm.jp/denim/index.jsp

Originally posted by Misteraven@Oct 10 2004, 12:31 AM

I live close to the store and know a few people, so I've never had to go the mark up route on the Supreme gear.

 

As far as I'm concerned if there's anything worth dropping loot on, its denim. Shit lasts years if you take good care of it. And good denim actually gets better with age. I usually get 2 - 3 pairs a year, maybe more if I get a good deal. If you happen to be in or around NYC, go check out the 45rpm store in Soho. Their denim is a work of art.

Quoted post

Can you hook me up w/ a Supreme box logo hat, tee, and sweatshirt? all matching ofcourse. ;)

Originally posted by Misteraven@Oct 10 2004, 07:45 AM

This is kinda hard since most these brands are small and exclusive, thus avoiding a heavy presence, especially online. Regardless, you can check out the 45rpm website here... http://www.45rpm.jp/denim/index.jsp

I find it interesting that in order for brands to stay "cool," they must attempt to avoid becoming well-known.

Originally posted by Misteraven@Oct 10 2004, 12:31 AM

If you happen to be in or around NYC, go check out the 45rpm store in Soho. Their denim is a work of art.

Quoted post

you would probably like the girbaud store as well. the denim is ill.

its in your price range too. im not speaking of the wak girbauds

that they sell at macy's. the design of the store is fresh too.

enjoy.

levis alll the way

Originally posted by zodiddly@Oct 11 2004, 12:12 PM

levis alll the way

Quoted post

you see the alife x levi's 501's? Not bad, but not sure they were worth and extra $120 just for the extra alife woven label.

finding a nice pair of broken in jeans at your local thrift store can be just as rewarding. the thought of spending that much money for jeans is crazy. ( must be some nice pants )

while looking on evisu's website, i found a section that tells why their jeans are so special.

Evisu has spent the last 10 years developing their jeans to be as authentic as today's vintage jeans can be. All Evisu jeans are made of vintage selvedge denim. This means that the denim is made on old style shuttle looms rather than modern projectile looms. In simple terms this means that the cross thread in the weaving process goes back and forth during the weaving process. But modern looms, shoot each cross thread through individually, hence the edge of the cloth is frayed rather than clean (although brands who are only interested in making quick money, try to cash in by faking the smooth selvedge by stitching up the frayed edge afterwards). No shuttle looms have be made for over 40 years as they can only make cloth about 30 inches wide whereas projectile looms can make fabric 60 inches or even wider for much less money. All the looms that make Evisu denim are practically antiques and about as reliable as a 50 year old car. Because the fabric made on these looms is so narrow we need approximately 3 yards to make each pair of jeans. To maximise the usage, the traditional method was to have a straight outside seam and cut right up to the selvedge so that when you turn the jean up you see the two selvedge edges of the denim stitched together. You can also see it on the inside of the coin pocket.Also, all of our denim is indigo dyed by loop dying machines. Again, these are rare and ancient machines which basically feed a rope of cotton yarn through vats of indigo dye and then back out and up to the roof of the factory to allow the indigo to oxidise before the 'rope' goes back down into the next vat. Evisu denim has a minimum of 16 dips and some styles have 30 dips, hence the deep blue colour.We use 100cotton threads which are more authentic but break more easily during the sewing process. We reproduce the original production techniques at every stage. This means using a large number of specialist sewing machines which have not been produced for many years. For example, we chain stitch the hem which gives the thick stitch line visible around the hem when you turn the jean up. This requires a special machine which again has not been produced for 40 years. Wherever possible we try to use Union Special machines which were the Rolls Royce of sewing machines in the US in the fifties. Many of our styles then have the logo hand painted on.As a result of all this and a host of other details relating to every raw material and process our jeans cost many times the price of normal jeans to produce. From what I understand other jeans companies make much larger profit margins than we do.All this obviously leads to the next question: why do we bother? In simple terms it is the result of the Japanese fascination with details and because everybody associated with Evisu from Mr. Yamane (the Japanese owner of Evisu) down are denim 'maniacs'. This is Yamane's term by which he means something like having obsessive, almost trainspottery love for denim. Denim produced on shuttle looms is naturally irregular and these irregularities come out as the jeans fade, making every pair develop into a unique and beautiful pattern as it fades. The deep blue colour and the way the jeans fade can only be achieved by using the loop dying system and all the other details give the jeans a combination of authenticity and the knowledge that you have something that is a labour of love that no other jeans or probably any other item of clothing, in the world can give you.We understand that for many people these things are not important but for those who appreciate this level of craftsmanship, we believe Evisu jeans are worth every penny.

^^^^ thanks for the history. those really are some special pantalonies....

evisu is hot stuff, without a doubt. however its nearly impossible to get it in my city. if your really into denim i'd check out with ag denim. i can't pronouce the guys name but he makes some incredible jeans. he was one of the top dudes at diesel before starting up his own label. he has jeans that have only one seam on the leg, and possibly some of the softest material there is. another brand that i tried recently and really enjoed was nudie jeans from sweden i belive (but correct me if i'm wrong.) they have a very nice fit to them, as well as a pretty decent wash. my friend went on a tour of the evisu plant in toyko and said it was amazing. especially the european evisu's are suppsoed top be insane. the colour teachiniques as well as the individual treatment of each pair makes them nothing short of art.

where in soho is the 45 store located?

Clothing as art? I'm skeptical. High quality clothing? I'm sure it is.

Also, what is "selvedge?"

The edge of a fabric that is woven so that it will not fray or ravel.

Originally posted by foulphil@Oct 11 2004, 11:15 PM

where in soho is the 45 store located?

Quoted post

Just below houston on mercer. a door or two up from marc jacobs.

Originally posted by skem@Oct 11 2004, 11:23 PM

The edge of a fabric that is woven so that it will not fray or ravel.

Quoted post

kind of... it describes an old technique for making the denim fabric. back when it was done on shuttle looms, they could only make it so wide. as a result you could actually see the ends of the fabric and how they were finished off. most jeans try and immitate the look by weaving or stitching the end, but selvedge looks different. It's not so much this reason that the fabric is appealing, but rather the distinct twist that selvedge has when constructed into a pant, and more importantly, the unique character the fabric has from being made by such a crude technique. all the imperfections in the denim makes each one a little different, and because it's a relatively slow manufacturing process, you can usually count on the jeans only being made in relatively small batches.

one thing I have to say......

CK makes some of the finest jeans I've ever owned.

And the best part.... the pocket lining is black!!!

Plus they are soft as sin and just the right shade of blue.

Sure they aren't handmade fancy pants,

but in the 'under-100' category, they're tops

i went through a brief period where i wanted to drop a grip and get one good pair of jeans i'd have forever. then i realized that no matter how careful i try to be, i get paint on absolutely everything i own. i do not want a pair of jeans i have to be paranoid about wearing.

instead i got 5 pairs of levis, onsale for $22-$24. sure enough, after two years, only one of them is still 'active'.

fast forward to last week... i'm at my ex's, and she made me put on this new pair of seven's she'd just gotten. now, i was skeptical of putting on girls jeans, but i'm a sucker for blow jobs, so whatever, you do what you have to.

i cant front, them jawns fit kind of nice.

now i have a dilemna. do i suck it up and drop $150 on a pair of jeans?

raven (or anyone)

what is a good brand under $150 (or there a bouts)? it's got to be low-rise and made for skinny guys without asses. i would bite the bullet and buy girls jeans, since i know they're cut differently, if there was a specific one that was ultra-hype. all i know of are the shits jay z talks about. ha. seven, evisu, etc.

raven? anyone?

Originally posted by seeking@Oct 13 2004, 05:26 PM

i went through a brief period where i wanted to drop a grip and get one good pair of jeans i'd have forever. then i realized that no matter how careful i try to be, i get paint on absolutely everything i own. i do not want a pair of jeans i have to be paranoid about wearing.

instead i got 5 pairs of levis, onsale  for $22-$24. sure enough, after two years, only one of them is still 'active'. 

 

fast forward to last week... i'm at my ex's, and she made me put on this new pair of seven's she'd just gotten. now, i was skeptical of putting on girls jeans, but i'm a sucker for blow jobs, so whatever, you do what you have to.

i cant front, them jawns fit kind of nice.

now i have a dilemna. do i suck it up and drop $150 on a pair of jeans?

 

raven (or anyone)

  what is a good brand under $150 (or there a bouts)? it's got to be low-rise and made for skinny guys without asses. i would bite the bullet and buy girls jeans, since i know they're cut differently, if there was a specific one that was ultra-hype. all i know of are the shits jay z talks about. ha. seven, evisu, etc.

 

raven? anyone?

Quoted post

seeeking: i think you would like the brand Club Monoco (sp?) they got some nice jeans for under $125.... other than that, you can always try Express...which are around 50-80.... can't say that these are really good brands or not, but they do fit nice, if you find the right pair of pants..... however, for baggier jeans and what not, just look up L-R-G, their jeans are pretty damn nice... and not too expensive either.... but as i said before, they're not the slim fit kinds....more like the baggier, loose fit

and i know a lot of haters, hate on Deisel jeans, but they are pretty nice.... a little on the expensive side...but whatever....but like i said, some people will hate on you, but at least your gonna be gett blowjobs...... THE CHOICE IS YOURS

L-R-G jeans are really really dope...

the jeans are very well made... all diff styles, and nice little touches that really seperate them from the other bullshit... L-R-G on a whole is dope as all hell... and i aint just saying that cause they give me free clothes...