Category: Lucky
“Bruised, never broken”.
| March 17, 2012 | Filled under AG Jeans, Gardeur, Hudson Jeans, Lucky, MENS STYLE TOPICS, PRPS, Q&A, Real Men Real Style |
Q&A
Hello Casey,
Answer:
Established in 2002, Prps is a New York based denim brand founded by former Nike designer, Donwan Harrell. The brand motto is “Bruised, never broken”. Woven on the original 1960′s Levi Strauss looms. Prps jeans are manufactured in Japan. The denim used for the manufacture of the jeans, is organically grown in Africa using the strongest and best cotton from Zimbabwe. The Japanese manufacturer of the jeans uses looms from the 1960s similar to the type that were used to produce denim for Levi’s. Now a small family business that had been around for decades. Harrell says that the manufacturing process was inspired by denim worn by workers before it became popular as an everyday fashion. Some of the distinguishing features of Prps jeans include a folded back pocket, the purple tab on the back pocket, different colored buttons on the fly, and purple line selvage.
Every season they reinvent the most unique washes inspired with a story, a way of life and hand drawings to take you on a journey. By far the denim for a connoisseur, they guy that’s got everything and is interested in a sick jean that has no age limit. Now that I am in NYC I will be kicking it with Chris and Josh 2 people on the Prps crew that inspire the brand sharing the story and processes form retailer to retailer. There will be more to come from this brand in stores and on The Butt Therapist.
Thank you Jonathan for your e-mail and I hope I was able to guide you in the right denim direction.. please keep me updated on your denim purchases!
Passionately Indigo,
The Butt Therapist
DENIM-Made in the USA
| October 18, 2011 | Filled under 7 for all Mankind, A Tailored Suit, Agave Denim, Agave Nectar, Cone Denim, DENIM HISTORY, EDITORIAL, GAP Jeans, Hudson Jeans, Levi Strauss, Loomstate, Lucky, MENS STYLE TOPICS, Paul Smith, Real Men Real Style, Roy Denim, Self Edge, True Religion |
PART I: pub. 10/17/2011 #denim
The denim market is one of the most aggressive growing apparel markets in history that has directly affected our social normality; running parallel to that of computer electronics. Cotton prices have risen to an all time high; causing the denim industry to adjust. Demands for consumer price stability and margin maintenance have become two of the most important business aspects that are causing all businesses to refine their strategies during our questionable economic times. Thus, sending many manufactured goods overseas to be produced in order to keep companies in business and consumers happy with the prices they are used to. Denim has been coined an “American thing” however, are we loosing that “nickname” as more denim is being produced outside the USA. I would hope that the USA will retain its position as the largest denim consumer market (2010) and become the denim production Mecca of the world. Real Men Real Style and The Butt Therapist have come together for a little denim education and highlight a few denim addicted Americans designers that are making an industry statement by communicating their personal integrity through their business operations by producing denim products that are Made in the USA. “You can support your country one jean at a time.”
From the beginning of Levi Strauss in 1869, the work man’s functional uniform, to casual Friday’s, and denim debuting on catwalks across the globe. Denim has gone beyond the borders and the social benches to create global social unity or as I like to refer as “the blue universal language”. When it comes down to spending your dollar wisely more people are making it a priority to find out where the products they buy are produced and an increased number of consumers are taking the company’s mission into consideration when deciding who to support before they hand their hard-earned dollar over the counter. The level of competition with-in various Jeanswear segments are at war with each other as they have been required to rethink their business and operation strategies to become most effective and streamline their manufacturing and distribution processes. The top three challenges companies are trying to prioritize are:
- Achieving Consumer Price Stability
- Maintaining the Brand’s Heritage
- Increasing Market Growth
Today a single product can visit as many as 8 countries before achieving product completion and being sale ready. To help you figure out where your dollar is going and decide where it will be going for future purchases we’ve broken it down to US denim mills, denim manufacturers, independent denim designers, and even a few retail stores that focus on selling only Made in USA products. It all starts with a piece of cotton and 25,000 farmer-owners that are committed to continually improving the denim manufacturing process.
American Cotton Growers (ACG) has a total capacity of 38 million yards of denim produced annually which is approximately 26 million pair of jeans; making them a major supplier of denim fabric to the jeans market for 35 years. Plains Cotton Cooperative Association is a farmer–owned,cotton marketing, warehousing, denim manufacturing and jean production cooperative headquartered in Lubbock, Texas. All from Littlefield, TX SafeDenim is “Sustainable, American and Friendly to the Environment”. Owned and operated by The American Cotton Growers—or ACG—and its farmer-owners are focused on developing high quality denim fabrics for our customers with minimal impact on the environment. American cotton literally created from field to fabric. For them it’s a multi-generational commitment to ensure our children and grandchildren can farm the land. We’re protecting our ecosystems for these future generations by remaining good stewards of the land, air and water. We value doing the right thing, in the right place, in the right way, at the right time, and it requires the use of new technologies.” -SafeDenim/ACG
Denim North America is the most modern textile plant in North America and committed to their manufacturing process to be 100%.
Made in the USA. They are developing and distributing innovative fabric to premium denim companies for global distribution. The newest innovation is the release of EverFlex (6/1/2011); a denim fabric that may be found as the next pair of jeans you buy. What this means is that any jean that has the patented EverFlex label is Made in the USA; even if the denim company chooses to constructs it’s denim outside the USA you can find comfort knowing that the fibers and production of the fabric are 100% USA Made. The EverFlex fabric is projected to hit the premium denim market that may include brands such as: True Religion, Lucky, 7 for all Mankind, Hudson and possibly Gap. So, EverFlex… is a NEW patented stretch denim fabric that retains its shape better than any other cotton based denim blend on the market to date. This means no more bagging out, stretching out, break in period or droopy butts.
White Oak Denim Mill (Greensboro, NC.) has been manufacturing denim since 1905 making jeans for a plethora of denim brands that put quality first. Cone Denim offers a denim companies to create collections that are 100% USA Made. Denim Brands like Loomstate, True Religion, Agave, and Paul Smith’s Red Ear are just a few examples.
“I walked in-between a web of 350 strands of cotton dancing in the air across a 100 year old wood floor that united each organized chaotic piece of thread into a rope the width of a silver dollar that was slapped around a ball warping machine. It looked like a giant friendship bracelet being made. Tchaikovsky would have been inspired for a melody and the orchestra would follow the rhythm of the 30 original shuttle looms that weave in unison and send an unduplicitable vibration through your bones; I could have stood there for an eternity. Possibly one of my most beautiful experiences confirming that I am a Denim Dork!”-The Butt Therapist
There are employees that have worked at White Oak for over 30 years. The stories they have of the process changes that have happened over the years through technology advancements and industry innovation with blends, dye, finishing treatments, and trends have warped through the decades makes for its own story. Making denim as an art itself; a magnificent creative process from a single cotton fiber to your favorite jeans on your toosh. Right-hand twill, Left, Flame woven, blends, slubs, and weaving patterns. Even with over 100 years of producing some of the best quality denim in the world even they are feeling the pinch with the economic changes that have forced more apparel brands to find manufacturing resources overseas in order to keep the COGS down as consumers are becoming less likely to pay premium prices for denim made in the USA. Every business that produces a product must retain a certain amount of margin to self-adjust and absorb changing production costs: cotton, fuel, shipping, labor, innovation, and quite frankly to keep them in business while the economy stabilizes and sales projections can begin to be more accurate. “We feel it comes down to education and passion” Lawson Nikol is a passionate denim head that is interested in a Blue Revolution. Co-founder Nikol of All American Clothing Company (based in Arcanum, OH) discovered on a retail floor that the company he proudly worked for by distributing USA Made Denim had been outsourced. This marked the beginning of him launching his own company to attempt to keep some denim Made in the USA to “support the heritage of jeans, American families and the American Dream.”- AAC. All American Clothing Company is the only listed denim manufacturer listed as Made in the USA Certified. Each jean is given a “Certificate of Authenticity” that allows you to trace the exact location your jeans were produced. You can buy All American Clothing collections online and in selected retail posts from California to New York City. The Nickol family prides itself on producing products patrons can be proud to wear. The family and the employees believe “The USA label will always stay on our jeans because you and we understand the importance of USA Made. When you buy a pair of All American Jeans our label also means; Thank you from us, our employees and the people in our country who still have good jobs due to folks like you. Thank you from all of us.” -Nikol
Handcrafted Denim from an artist to a collector; the process is worth the penny…
Roy Slaper is a single man handcrafting each pair of jeans Roy Denim available to buy only at Self Edge for around $275.00. Beginning in his apartment teaching himself how to sew; he now has one of the most impressive sewing machine collections and jeans in the USA! Roy feels that jean making is a lost art. It is not often enough that we think about our clothing as someone else’s work and trying to measure how much “work” went into the design and construction of our favorite shirt let alone our favorite pair of jeans. Roy experimented with many garments but made a business by designing and creating custom jeans. He learned as he went, taught himself a craft and refined it to just one thing; Denim, available in 2 styles, made perfectly by hand in Oakland, CA. He uses only the highest grade denim fabric that is he believes in and has worked with Cone Denim on several occasions to produce his ideal denim fabric.I wrote a 31 page article about Denim; Made in the USA however, overwhelming you with information is not my goal. Consider this PARTI of the Denim Saga.
All my denim love,
The Butt Therapist
———————————–Don’t forget to check out Antonio with Real Men Real Style
Does Gap have what it takes?
| August 16, 2010 | Filled under 55DSL, 7 for all Mankind, Abercrombie & Fitch, Aeropostal, American Eagle, Barney's New York, Bergdorf Goodman, Citizen's, GAP Jeans, GILT, Harrods, Hudson Jeans, JCrew, Lucky, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Paige Premium Denim, Rich & Skinny,, Rock & Republic, Ruelala, Saks 5th Avenue, True Religion, William Rast |
|
Good morning denim lovers, it is nearly 3am and I have written you a novel. David Moin wrote an article in this weeks WWD; about “Gap Gearing Up Denim” that caught my attention. Gap…denim… really; we are going to do this AGAIN? I am not convinced that Gap Inc. knows how to communicate their brand, differentiate their store experience or have a “real” relationship with their customer… who are they? J crew knows who they are and who their client is…Does gap have the right crew to pull off the gap brand being cool and return to be a closet staple like it was in the 90′s?
Personally, I am going direct here- let’s ask the questions; I have asked several kids, friends and even my own clients {what do you think about GAP} Some comments I may be playing devils advocate, than again, some may be right inline with my personal belief that fact is there are questions that need to be answered and considered. Enjoy….
What kind of shopping destination is Gap and would “you” ever go back?
The sales we saw last year in the 2009 during the retail meltdown gave everyone a chance to have designer goods for garage sale prices. Do you really want to give back the labels you love or have you begun a small, planned collection of love-able items in your closet…the yearly fashion bucket list I call it… I’ve got one! You just may haven’t actually wrote yours down. Go get a notepad…
Are people being “YOU” willing to pay full retail for Gap jeans @$59.50-$70.00 rather than hitting the killer sales at your favorite specialty store or much less skip the opportunity at Nordstrom Rack to score a pair of $200.00 designer jeans for sixty-five bucks? Who is the Gap customer; I don’t believe they know who their customer is nevertheless who to market to!
Another favorite Quote: “Prior Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance” unknown
I am gonna break it down in “coffee talk”…quick!
Elementary School: Yes! Grade school kids are wearing designer jeans…It is common for kids to be rewarded with “socially coveted cloth” designer jeans for finishing their monthly book reading list. If you were to walk into an elementary school you would see, P.S by Areopostal ($29.50), abercrombie Kids ($32.00), and probably some Levi’s, a few randoms but that’s parents… not the kids! If you asked the kid, they would tell you what they like {they already know}. They might just be waiting for their older sister’s hand me downs. FYI:Older sister is cool- she’s wearing the cool jeans that she earns for doing chores and having good grades. If you ask the parents-it’s about money- but Gap jeans aren’t going to be cheap they are comparable. Every company should want to introduce their product and brand to a potential customer as soon as possible in order to develop brand loyalty and allow the brand to become part of the consumer’s identity. “lifestyle branding is beautiful” you’ve seen it at work; its like shaking Tinkerbell’s fairy dust on each person that walks in your store- a little magic”. How early….look at Baby designer jeans- Joe’s, Seven 4 all Mankind, True Religion, Levi’s Vintage, Diesel, little Marc Jacobs… heck- we’ve got DENIM Huggies!
Middle School:
6th graders- the babies on campus again; luckily they are starting a new team sport to help adjust and make some new friends. They are beginning to make decisions based on their ideal and start developing a personal identity and identify with brands, groups, and are striving for social acceptance. They most likely just got their first magazine subscription. Gap…where are you spending your advertising dollars? I can’t see Gap jeans being hotter than Abercrombie & Fitch in middle school; because the high school kids are wearing them and working in the stores-they’re “cool” kids. It doesn’t take rocket science to know middle schooler’s look up to older siblings, high school kids, and celebrities. Just like the incoming freshman want the designer jeans that are on the 11 and 12th graders… POCKET ENVY! The lifestyle branding VALUE kids get to feel accepted and confident is priceless. Have you been back there lately…it’s not pretty! No matter how much you develop a child skills, talents and value system, acceptance or lack there of at such a young age makes a difference in their confidence and motivation with their endeavor.
Alright, your 6,7,8 grader DOES NOT GO SHOPPING WITH THEIR PARENTS! The mall is like a big FREE babysitter! They even have security; “let’s call it multi-tasking for the mums and the “social time” for the kids. This is when shopping becomes a “hobby” or a way to “pass” the time. Going to the mall is about all they can do when they are not playing sports or doing homework. Kids are at the mall…shopping with their friends, hanging out and spending their parents money WITHOUT THEM. Is it a cool experience to go in to Gap? ya.. no. Turn the music up- incorporate a video arcade… dude- something to get these kids excited about being a part of your BRAND! Kids are amazing… I truly want like…a million! They are blank canvases just waiting for a killer sales associate to walk up and play dress up, show them how great they look in such in such brand of clothing and teach them a little bit of style. But instead… no one pays attention to the kids in the store… do they? Well, I do! I have had an entire 6th grade cheerleading squad come down to my store and do a little cheer ’cause they all shop with me. I am the ultimate big sister and I will adopt anyone that needs one. I think it is the coolest thing ever to have someone look up to you and a beautiful responsibility to show them how special they are; inspire them to want to do great things! p.s. I am not talking about dressing up little girls in mini denim skirts and ruffles. I am talking about taking an eleven year old that is shy or prissy and making her confident enough to rock the boys camo cargo shorts, a pink tank top, hoodie, ripped up denim jacket and flip flops – when all the other girls are wearing the denim mini skirts, make-up and tight tee-shirts “little kid sexy”. Which little girl is going to be stronger, self-confident, and find her own personal style and identity first?
Kids are also wearing at this point: Hollister, A&F, 55DSL, Lucky, and American Eagle, and breaking in to designer jeans like Seven 4 all mankind. Rock & Republic killed kids with POCKET ENVY; everyone learned about designer denim real quick!
Oh.. the dreaded HIGH SCHOOL: If you are sending your child out to war their freshman year without the damn pocket just get them a pair so they don’t have to deal with it! “go to the mattresses” Kids can be VERY cruel! So, give-in for them, just one pair that’s all it takes to be “accepted” into the club or should I say avoid being “rejected” from the clicks. At least they have 4 years to decide if they want to be friends with any of the other kids rather than it not being an option. First impressions go both ways! I would LOVE a brand to emphasize individuality and “secret” of the brand. Levi has remained true to the All-American lifestyle…so, far as Levi’s are neither coveted nor shunned with the youth age group.
We are in high school now and are parents may or may not wear designer denim but… I bet they do, because it took over the WORLD! If mom does, then daughter is stealing them or begging for more! Dad is going to buy them for his son-cake!
So, what is paired with every hoodie and henley in the halls… jeans! But, again are they gap jeans? Would they become gap jeans? Levis are just American- blank-accepted- and less expensive than the new gap jeans.
COLLEGE: If you didn’t get the magical cloth in high school well- YOU ARE GETTING SENT OFF TO COLLEGE WITH THEM! Why? because this kid is fed up with NOT having them in high school- sick of it! Are incoming freshman rushing in Gap jeans? When you have 7 days to show who you are and that you belong to a particular “social” group? NO! Hudson, Citizen’s, Rich n’ Skinny, Rock & Republic.. oh yea! Need a refresher from your SAT’s… Attorney is to suit as College student is to jeans; it’s a uniform people. The only difference is that these uniforms also serve as status symbols… I am not even going to start on Handbags!
COLLEGE: This is where your consumer learns about personal services available at Barney’s, Neiman Marcus, Forum Stores, SAKS 5th Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, Harrods, “some” Nordstrom stores and the INTERNET groups like GILT and Ruelala. How’s your loyalty right now… gap- do you have any interactive college apps?
Now, all these kids are good kids, honor roll, driven, are/have great friends, confident, ambitious (they are going to change the world you know), and family oriented. But, our youth is our time to experiment, express, and decide who we are and mold who we are going to be- Seize the day! Fashion is the way we decide how we are going to start our future! You’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it twice…”everyone is in such a hurry to grow up”… are you still wearing children’s clothing?
So, you’re average college student buys: A&F, Hollister, AE, Levis, Seven 4 all mankind, William Rast, Urban Outfitters, Rock n’ Republic, XXI, Hudson…and hits up Nordstrom Rack FIRST! Gap— who is going to gap… there is no music, no service, no prints, “overpriced” basics and …no memorable lifestyle shopping experience? Personally, I am busy- and I don’t have time to go shopping if it is not going to be an EVENT or BLISS!
Post college: you’re BROKE! Thank god you stocked up on all your denim when you were in college… you’re starving now so, they all fit again! However, that first tax return they get for actually working an entire year is sooo… going to buy the newest hottest jeans in February! Although, graduation is only 5 months away from Christmas!
Thus far…baby gap is pretty strong, Toddler gap sizes definitely do-able, teen and young adult- NEEDS SOME WORK!
Addicted to denim... that’s us these days, always on to the next. The best, perfect pocket placement in a world consumed by pocket envy… or so, far beyond that it is just all about the butt! There’s the question [ding, ding, ding, ding, ding] Does gap have a better denim butt then Paige Premium Denim?
{to be continued}…
