Denimology

Chuck's Vintage Guide To Vintage Levi's

$10,000 jeans? Are you nuts!? The world of premium denim continues to push the envelope with price point. Designer jeans at $130 five years ago are now nearing $400... *ahem* True Religion, I'm looking in your direction....

But the REAL premium denim, and the denim that demands small fortunes, continue to be vintage. One of kind pieces that serve as inspiration to today's denim designers and Holy Grail collector's items to enthusiasts worldwide. What makes "old" jeans, vintage? What are the major things to look for, the key elements that turn your grandfather's old work pants into historically significant collector's items? Here are a couple of the big ones:

Selvage Denim: Selvage denim refers to denim that has been loomed on the now-outmoded shuttle loom. These looms were the standard machinery for making textiles from the mid 1800's through the 1970's. Fabric made on these looms are narrow off the bolt, usually right around 30" wide, and have finished edges (Shuttle looms were once known as "Self-Edging" looms...which later became the term "selvage"). This type of denim, produced on the old looms are often times more irregular and grainy, a result of the natural imperfection in the engineering of the old machinery. This irregularity, known as yarn-character, gives vintage denim it's tell tale look. As shuttle looms were retired, and replaced by contemporary projectile looms, subcultures developed that valued the superior quality, and natural beauty of the original, selvage fabrics. The first major hurdle for denim to be considered of significant vintage is to determine if its selvage: Check the out seam.... Woven, finished edges, or raw edged fabric with over lock stitching??..... Finished edges?...Good.... Keep reading.

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A Vintage Year for AG Adriano Goldschmied

AG Adriano Goldschmied's line of AG-ed vintage-washed jeans has become a huge success story, despite the economic downturn. The line features vintage looking denim, aged as if it had been worn from 3 to 30 years. With price tags of $225 to $325, the AG-ed line has grown in just a year to account for 40 percent of AG's total sales. They say their most popular wash is the 10 year, a medium vintage wash. Above and below are a couple of our favorite picks from this line, all are available at RevolveClothing.com.

Kanye West in RRL On American Idol

Here is a clip of Kanye West performing "Heartless" on American Idol this week. West is doing his utmost to bring back the denim jacket back into fashion. For this performance he rocked the double-denim look by teaming his favourite vintage Levi's jacket with a pair of RRL jeans.

Lee 'Archive' Denim Collection

Here's one for all you vintage denim fans, Lee Jeans have opened their archives to re-create some of their own heritage styles for Autumn 2009. The collection will be made and washed in Japan, which guarantees the authenticity of the denim and the finishes, but Lee have also been determined to stick to the original cuts, making a collection high on vintage feel and credibility. (Source: Selectism)

Ebay Treasure Chest Vintage

Generously keeping a watching brief on ebay for vintage denim finds so you can spend 23 hours a day doing something else, we've always loved the Treasure Chest Vintage ebay store, maintained by Rumi at Fashion Toast. She styles herself in her vintage finds, and looks totally amazing. The shirt & shorts have a few days to go, the dress and Levi's cut-offs are already in someone else's wardrobe. The denim shorts & shirt are described as 'grunge', and the cut-offs certainly have a certain Seattle look. The fact that these pieces wouldn't look out of place in the TopShop SS09 collection just shows that no matter what the wash or cut, denim never goes out of style (depending on who's wearing it). And that the 1990's are back amongst us!

Rachel Bilson In Vintage Levi's

Rachel Bilson is pretty adorable at the best of times, but Rachel Bilson toy shopping with her little sister is almost too much cuteness to handle. On top of that she is rocking a classic pair of vintage orange tab Levi's.



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