Last Friday, Nudie Jeans opened their newest showroom in Los Angeles. ”We’re growing!” exclaimed Chris Adams, Nudie Jeans’ west coast sales/brand manager. With its flagship Nudie Jeans House showroom in West Hollywood still in place, this latest expansion situates the company close to major showrooms and the California Market Center. Expect to see the same signature meticulous, minimal-industrical decor of a Nudie Jeans showroom, complemented by the buzz and energy of downtown Los Angeles. Nudie’s US sales director Michael Irving flew in from New York to attend the opening, joined by local indie band NO and a host of local Nudie jeans aficionados.
Tags: Nudie Jeans, Nudie Jeans Los Angeles, organic denim, selvage, selvedge
Last time we linked up with Kuro, they showed us a gradient of denim washed, aged, and treated for different lengths of time, and told us the best way to wear distressed vintage jeans was with a tailored blazer and a crisp, clean button-down. Sound advice that doesn’t expire, it turns out, since we ran into them this week and they were keeping with their vintage meets tailored aesthetic. “Denim for the Yohji fan,” they explained, showing us a dapper mannequin outfitted in the customer image. Selvedge trimmed back pockets, top-stitching, and other details characterize this impressive Japanese brand. Check them out online for more on their philosophy and products.
—Michelle Christina Larsen
Tags: Denim Menswear, Distressed Jeans, how to wear, Japanese denim, KURO denim, mens denim, selvage, selvedge, tailored blazer, vintage jeans, what to wear
Edwin Jeans' ED-47 'Rainbow Selvage" seam. Available at FUSShop.
We are asked what is the difference between “raw” denim and selvedge quite frequently, because, quite frankly, denim terminology can be confusing. In an effort to not get too technical, here are some basic definitions.
I LIKE IT RAW
Raw Denim is denim in its original state: unwashed, untreated, unfaded and unprocessed. It is sometimes called “Dry Denim.” It is indigo denim straight off the looms. Jeans can be made from this raw denim straight from the roll. Raw denim can be hard to distinguish with the naked eye or even with hand feel, because there are many resin and super-saturated wash styles which mimic the desirable features of raw denim.
SELVEDGE OR SELVAGE, THAT IS THE QUESTION
Selvedge (or selvage) denim is woven on traditional, 100-year-old wooden shuttle looms. Selvedge is referred to the type of weaving process, and not to denim, specifically. Denim woven from traditional wooden shuttle looms use a continuous thread that goes back and forth in the weaving process, ultimately creating a closed-off, non-fraying self-edge (also known as selvage edges). The slow shuttle looms produce a tight weave and uses more thread. As a result, it is more costly. To maximize usage, companies would use the denim all the way to the self-edge, hiding the edges in the sewing process. Today, selvedge aficionados often reveal show off their selvedge seams (found on the outseam) by folding up the hems, revealing the identity of the superior textile.
An example of a selvedge edge (self-edge) on a fabric.
The selvedge seams are sewn together by fabric mills using different thread colors, depending on the factory’s color coding system.
For more technical definitions, check out the Denim wiki.
Are you a Denim Head? Contribute your knowledge!
– Kathy Ng Hassan
Tags: definitions, dry denim, raw denim, selvage, selvedge
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