Summer in January

Santa Cruz in January

Tellason Denim: John Graham Mellor/Joe Strummer Review

There isn't a whole lot better in clothing than a well made and great fitting pair of jeans. However, I didn't always know that. Like most kids growing up in the 90s I started out wearing horribly baggy jeans, slowly moving on to some better fitting denim. Only a few years ago did I discover selvedge and the heritage movement. I'm not sure how I first heard about it, I think I was reading about the history of jeans and stumbled upon the great tales of cowboys and the legendary actors who represented them on the silver screen, but it felt right.

These jeans were my not my first pair of selvedge denim, as I’ve had the Gap straight fit (don’t hate, I feel like they are somewhat underrated for the price) and then the Levi’s ’47 501, so I wasn’t a complete novice when I began looking for something better. With some help from Denim Debate and other reviews, I settled on Tellason. In addition to having a great fit and finish and being made from White Oak denim, these jeans have the fantastic quality of being made right around the corner in SF (SOMA). Even the leather patch is made in Oregon. Probably as American of a product as you can find. As soon as I tried them on at my favorite men’s wear store Unionmade last June, and realized that they are named after my favorite member of one of my favorite bands, I knew I had to buy them.

Recently I noticed that while a lot of people seem to own the jeans, I haven’t come across many detailed reviews or wear photos, not even a follow up to the introduction on DD, so here we go. My $.02.

Company
I have to thank whatever force brought Tony Patella and other denim visionaries together to start Tellason in 2008. You can read about the company history and philosophy on various websites and blogs (ACL, Denim Debate, The Citrus Report, Durable Goods Concern, The Reference Council) and get a feel for the good nature of the owners. Something that I find apparent and interesting among these interviews is that this is not a revived heritage brand or an old workwear firm that is releasing a high-end street wear line. Tellason is a young company with new ideas, but with a strong eye for the way things were done back when they were still done correctly. They are not ashamed to say that they have influences and change things up in a modern way.

Specs
Denim: 12.75oz. Cone Mills Raw
Fit: Slim, mid rise with higher tilt back (Unionmade) | Slim-Straight (Blackbird)
Patch: Tanner Goods leather
Wear: 4-5 days a week for 7 months (only 1 initial hot soak)

Fit
When I tried them on at the store, I knew they would be perfect. Raw, they were a bit loose at the waist and just right at the thighs. Before wearing, I did a boiling water soak to get all of the shrinkage out. The waist slimmed up to the perfect size, however the thighs became a bit tight. After about 2 weeks of wear, the denim stretched out just enough to make for a perfect fit. I did have to get them hemmed as the inseam was too long, although I did leave enough length for a double cuff (I know it’s not everyone’s preferred look, and it probably makes me seem shorter, but I dig it). It’s been seven months so far, and fit is still good. The seat and knee areas have stretched a little too much, but that is to be expected and is not out of the ordinary. I am thinking about giving them a wash sometime soon, but since I’m so close to hitting the full year mark, I might as well wait.

Sizing
My basis for comparison at the time of purchase was my pair of Levi’s ’47 501s which I sized to be quite snug on me. After wearing both jeans for a while, overall the Tellasons are looser in the waist and tighter in the thighs, although it’s hardly an issue. There was definitely more shrinking on the Levi's, and they did not stretch out at much. The shrinking of this particular denim was probably about ¾ of an inch at the waist, and an inch and a half at the inseam. However, if you do look into buying a pair of Tellasons keep in mind that they do various production runs of their fits with different, so different denim means different shrinking pattern. For example when I was at Unionmade purchasing these, I had a choice to go with a Kaihara Mill denim or Cone; I went with White Oak to complete the American made scheme, but I could have chosen the Japanese denim instead. I believe they also had a recent collaboration with Blackbird on a 15oz. denim as well as several Tenue de Nîmes so I'm sure the specs for those were a little different.

Fabric & Color
This particular pair was made from 12.5oz. Cone Mills black cast indigo denim. This is a perfect weight because it is not too heavy in the summer and perfect for the mild Bay Area winters. At first the color seemed to be outright black, and even throughout the break-in period I questioned the indigo because the fades were grayish. I got in touch with Tony Patella over at Tellason and he told me that “while the fabric we use looks black because it is so dark, it is actually indigo with a dark, almost black cast.” So hopefully over time more of the blue hues will come forward, although I am really growing to love the almost black effect. The raw denim is obviously stiff so feeling it soften up over time has been a great experience. The strongest signs of fading can be seen around the coin pocket where I kept a zippo for a few months, and the wallet fade on the right back pocket.

The fading on the jeans did take some time though. I feel like it’s only really starting to show through now, and at 7 months it’s taken more time than my other pairs; however I blame this on working in a cube and not getting out much as well as wearing them only 4-5 days a week. Had I been working as a lumberjack I’m sure the fading would be marvelous right away. That said, I haven’t had a problem with the dye bleeding so my lighter colored shoes and belts don’t have dark stains around where they meet the denim.

Details
By far my favorite things about the jeans are the details that go into each pair. Standouts are: reinforced bottoms on the back pockets, durable pocket bags with stamps on the inside that denote specs and lot numbers, the color combo of the stitching and chain stitching, as well as the amazing “LEGAL” tab, that pokes fun at the Levi’s lawsuits on companies that would mimic the red tab, on the inside of the right back pocket (sure makes for a great fade). The minimalist donut buttons and hidden rivets make for a great piece of clothing that is neither flashy nor overly simple. The patch on the back is tasteful and the leather is breaking in beautifully. The western feel to the simplistic logo really stands out from the somewhat cluttered designs of other brands.

Overall jeans can’t get much better than this. Being able to contact the people that made your jeans and fostering a relationship feels so much better than buying a product from a large corporation. They are my favorite pair, and I look forward to getting another at some point. I wish Tellason all the best in their future endeavors, and congratulations on the recent launch of the Tellason x ACL & Co. straight fit!

Company site
Buy Mellor at Unionmade
Buy Straight Cut at ACL Shop 
Buy Tenue de Nîmes x Tellason Nº2 
Follow the Tellason Tumblr

PacNW

Stick to What You Know

that My buddy Sizzle's entry into my Favorite Things Series seems to have created quite a stir in the comments for that post on his blog. Mr. Anonymous #2 seems to think that TAD Gear has sold-out and makes some assumptions as to nature of the company, and fashion blogs, where apparently true purpose-driven products go to die from the glares of fashionistas in over priced clothing. Below is my response to the hatred, and also a little bit on the nature of today's marketplace.

Dear Anonymous #2,

While Sizzle wrote a truly fantastic response to your somewhat ignorant comment, I think I would like to go a little further and into more detail, but I’ll keep it short. Anonymous, I would just like to point out that you are not alone in feeling a bit upset over the apparent selling-out of TAD Gear (I’m not an expert on the subject so I’m not going to judge whether or not this has occurred). I am sure there is a select group of people who tend to agree with you. But, unfortunately Anonymous, it happens with almost everything. People frequently experience this with their favorite ‘back-pocket’ band that they saw perform at every grimy, dirty, and awkward smelling bar and club in town. When the band gets a record contract people can’t help but feel let down; the band isn’t small anymore, and their biggest fan suddenly has competition. The best way around this is to try to feel happy for the people who are finally living their dream of seeing a project they started get recognition on a larger scale and start reaping the rewards of their hard work.

May I also remind you that TAD Gear is first and foremost a business, and at the end of the day they have to gross. Without the money they make they can’t offer new and better products for people to enjoy. So if they hire a marketing team to help spread the word about their goods, or can’t let someone into their store to use the bathroom at the risk of potential loss of merch, please don’t blame them. They’re just trying to get by, and bring you the next batch of excellent goods and services.

As far as fashion blogs go, I do not want to be a representative of all the fashion blogs, but I will try to make a stand, because after all, we’re not all talking about “$3000 sunglasses on $400 jeans.” Although there probably is a fair share of fashion blogs out there that feature ludicrous items, the blog that featured TAD Gear, and the one I linked to from my blog, is Selectism. They are a righteous bunch of contributors in collaboration from all over the world that bring you the latest word on the what’s new and exciting  in men’s fashion. The latest in men’s fashion just happens to be an amazing trend that focuses on heritage goods, and above all, a return to honest-to-goodness quality. So what may seem like fashionistas that are trend-hoping, is actually a return to values like quality, simplicity, and timeless style that have almost been forgotten in this fast-paced, instant-gratification driven world of modernity in which we all reside. You will most likely find that quite a few of the items featured on these blogs are not only very inspired by decades old styles, but may even be straight reissues. Not a fickle fad at all.

While TAD Gear may sit next to (corrected based on facts) $500 sunglasses and $300 jeans on these blogs, it is important to remember why. Everything is made in factories, of top notch materials, that maintain a living wage for their workers and do not exploit them for a huge profit margin. In addition, a large majority of the products are made in the U.S.A., so no complaints about outsourcing ‘Merican jobs. These are trends that are here, and hopefully will stay for a very long time. TAD Gear is mainly a purpose driven clothing and accessories manufacturer, but in addition to quality in their items, they strive to offer you a great looking product. There’s nothing wrong with a few people who find their look appealing spreading the word about a great brand.

So Anonymous, please don’t be upset with TAD Gear’s apparently new found (although they’ve been around for a while) success, but be happy that the company you have loved and followed for so long has grown with more and more people getting to enjoy their great functioning and great looking products.

- R.R.

Shit's expensive!

Magnificent Seven

Kurosawa made Seven Samurai in 1954, Sturges re-imagined it in 1960 as The Magnificent Seven, however the real Magnificent Seven can be found in the 1979 novel The Right Stuff and the 1983 movie of the same name.

The plot is a story about Chuck Yeager and about the Mercury Seven (Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard, and Deke Slayton) who were the original people in the astronaut training program in the US. Highly recommend the amazing book and movie about people with the testicular fortitude to go where the nation needed them, and not to sound cliche, but where no man has gone before, and in some cases, since.

The movie is generally kind of slow, and may not necessarily be for all viewers, but it definitely works for me. It starts off with Sam Shepard portraying the legendary test pilot Chuck Yeager at the moment when the military recruits him for their first attempt at breaking the sound barrier, and as history tells us, he broke that, and subsequently almost all other flying records for as long as he was in his prime. However when it came time to pick the pilots that would make up the Space Program, he was not eligible as he was not a college boy. After various excruciating tests the Magnificent Seven were picked, it was apparent that the astronauts felt that instead of a monkey doing a man's job by testing out the space capsule first, they were doing a monkey's job by sitting in a capsule with no windows and no way to actually pilot the machine, with computers doing all the work. This was resolved through what I think is the largest theme of the movie: the role of the media. The astronauts threatened to use the media to work against the space program by ruining the public opinion of the operation, thereby cutting the funding. While this was perhaps a positive move that helped the space program in the end, the movie also portrayed how reporters would not stop hounding the families of the brave few, and drove everyone crazy. Brilliant performances all around, but the standouts are from Ed Harris portraying John Glenn, Scott Glenn as Alan Shepard, and Dennis Quaid as Gordon "Hot Dog" Cooper. If you have any interest in anything to do with the space program, military, or good movies and stories in general, do yourself a favor and watch this if you haven't already.

If you liked that movie, read other Tom Wolfe classics: The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test and The Bonfire of the Vanities. 

Deus Ex

Someone buy me this: Deus W650 Swingbobber in satin black

A classic cafe racer that is an instant modern classic. Deus Ex Machina is a motorcycle builder/tuner that storms out of Sydney, Australia. You can find the specs and more info on it online but it's basically a Kawasaki W650 that was lowered, fitted with a retro tank, simplified and chopped. The machine is really beautiful and there's a lot to be said for having a really simple bike that can tear your crotch off.

No, it's not a pocket rocket. No, it won't take you to ludicrous speeds. No, it's not safe. No, it doesn't have electronic gadgets, limiters, stabilizers, or censors. Buying one would probably be a horrible, irrational, and down-right stupid action. Everything in my brain tells me that in the long-term I will not be pleased. But for some reason everything in my (over sized) gut yearns for the idiotic action that will let me be free on the road and as close to the elements as you can get going 80mph. Yeah, it's probably the next best example of phallic expressionism after an Aston Martin V12, but so what.

If you're not convinced, James May of Top Gear UK fame just bought one. Hammond is happy. Clarkson can suck it.

The Moulin Rouge from Deus Customs on Vimeo.

Favorite Things Series: Sizzle - TAD Gear Explorer Jacket

Time to get friends involved! Faithful reader and longtime friend will be the first to take part in my new series entitled Favorite Things. This is an opportunity for folks to talk about one of their favorite item of clothing or accessory, one that truly defines them as a person.

The first entry comes from the man behind The Digital Edition, check out his post about it here. Although he freely admits that he "doesn't have much of a clothing arsenal, and doesn't consider myself an expert on fashion," he was up for the challenge. Sizzle is a huge TAD Gear fan, and owns many products from the company. His favorite though, is the Explorer jacket and here's what he has to say:

I might own a lot of TAD Gear jackets, but there's something about the Explorer jacket I picked up at the end of the summer that has me wearing it more than the rest. It definitely isn't the priciest or the highest performance of the bunch, but it's different. Unlike the others, this one sports a semi-rigid collar (as opposed to a hood) and forgoes any patch panels. Add to that that it's made of a somewhat more textured Rhino-Hide material, and I find it a lot more suitable for school and for just general about-town adventures. That seems to be about the most exploring I have asked of it, but, true to its namesake, I don't think it would let me down in the least should I decide to do some light outdoor adventuring. I know I made the decision to buy it more of stylistic reasons than of performance necessities, but trusting it wouldn't let me down if I should choose to test it is reassuring to say the least.

As Sizzle points out "thanks to a new marketing team, their gear has been picked up by a few style blogs (Selectism), and that part about having to explain and introduce their gear to the uninformed has become less necessary." Their main retail location is located in SF (more info on their website), however with their growing popularity, "they didn't sellout and cut costs to keep up with a growing customer base. They stepped up their production, but the quality is still the same, and if it sells out, it's gone, end of story. They don't bring gear back because that would go against the mentality of improving it at the next cycle. They move on. Of course, they make a few packs and accessories, but their pride and joy is their clothing line, or more precisely, their jackets."This jacket is a wonderful example of how special an item of clothing can be to someone, and I want to thank Sizzle for getting involved with my project here. I am really impressed with the personal touch that the owners of the company have put into their clothing as well as the attention to detail that goes into everything they produce. I look forward to seeing more things that he and others enjoy wearing and using every day.