Man clothes: where do you buy them?

shasta maybe knows more here but afaik nudie jeans are made in italy.. that's not to say the actual people making them aren't exploited african immigrants cause i don't know but they claim "no sweatshops". can't stomach h&m for that reason (and that the clothes fall apart) - it's like buying a whole chicken for $2

I like H&M dress shirts cause they're usually slim fit. hate the boxy department store kinds. but jeez H&M seems 10x better constructed than AA stuff

Nudie is made in Italy, they used to have a small facility in Sweden but I think they found out it's just cheaper to do it in Italy.

H&M is made all over the world, afaik they have no commitments to their production facilities so you can expect them to be globally price-shopping for the best value so that the customer who wants that £8 jean will be satisfied.

I have a couple H&M pieces (I went crazy chasing down the CommeDesGarconsxH&M collab pieces (made in Turkey and Croatia)) but I ended up ebaying quite a bit of it. The suits were actually not bad, definitely incredibly designed as far as $250US suits go. The t-shirts were pretty cool too... I kept this maroon one with flourescent blue polka dots that I think is great.

GAP: zero desire for any of that stuff, not my thing, I've been hearing nightmares about the company for a long time through industry gossip.

As for American Apparel, there is a comparable company out of North Carolina called Alternative Apparel http://www.alternativeapparel.com/Consumer.aspx that makes much finer product and actually does not exploit their workers (AmApp has had several immigration raids at their LA factories, as they are employing undocumented workers!!!).

Uniqlo jeans are great as I've said many times, if you want raw selvage denim made in Japan for a fraction of the cost of most brands, there you go. They also make black which I prefer to the indigo. I know they also sell t-shirts but I'm really not that familiar with their other merchandise. Looks like Gap/Old Navy.

APC is great, very solid dependable quality I just find their menswear lines are always really abbreviated. But everything I've ever picked up from them is really solid, it's just picking up something here and there over the years.

Jeans: I have (est.) 300 pairs, but I've been shopping vintage denim and working for denim manufacturers for most of my life. I have a similar obsession for vintage sweatshirts, which I don't think I've ever talked about on ILX but goes just as deep.

Couture likes: Paul Smith, CdG/Junya Watanabe, Dior Homme, John Varvatos; dislikes: Marc Jacobs, also most Italian stuff lately!!!

Athletic wear: I LOVE Nike ACG (esp. the Japan line), Louis Garneau, Rapha. All are very $$$ but are super comfortable, intuitive and long-lasting.

Jeans: I have (est.) 300 pairs

jesus christ

hmm think I'll get that uniqlo raw denim I've been eyein

Steve what other Jeans do you have/collect? What's your opinion of some of the newer jeans like 4 Stroke, Allevol, Jean Shop, or Ironheart? I love my pair of Jean Shops with a straight leg. I haven't washed them in 4 months and I think they will turn out nice.

so am i right in assuming that it is impossible to get uniqlo anywhere in the states other than ny?

i have decided to care about my appearance

i shop @ marshalls & tj maxx 4 the most part tbh

occassionally j crew, banana repub (tho havent liked them in a while)

I collect mostly vintage and vintage inspired jeans, mostly over the last 70 years.

I used to work with the 2 of the folks behind Jean Shop, they do a great job, I love their use of International Orange for their sundries. Pretty nice touch imo. There jeans are straight up traditional repros, unless they're doing something different recently. I like them.

I really, really like the folks at Iron Heart, but I'm becoming less of a fan of their jeans the more I wear them. I have three pairs that I've worn really hard: 634S, 634SR (the 21/23oz raw), and a custom pair that are cut off the Dior Homme 21cm pattern. I love Zimbabwe long staple cotton, but I am not in love with the indigo recipe nor the way the jeans wear (I've had the 634S's for almost 5 years). They are one of the newer JP denim companies I deal with, and the people there are all ~super~ nice (I have a pic with me and the president in my FB), but I'm just not feeling the product over the long term. THAT SAID, if it's raining out, they are the first jeans I turn to. So make of that what you will.

4 Stroke is not my thing. Way more fashion than function as far as I can tell. Lots of color, seem to be moving away from denim and into more workwear inspired twills and chinos last I saw? Kanye likes them lol.

Allevol... I randomly met the guy who either owns them or manages them at that denim store across from Rough Trade in London. He showed me their line and it reminded me of what I've seen from Naked & Famous (Canada), Takumi (USA) and Imperial (Aus)... they all source from the same denim mill in Kojima, JP. Allevol did have one jean that had this super gimmicky thing that they ripped off from either Oni or Samurai where the took the selvage and ran it THROUGH the busted seam on one of the outer legs so that the selvage was exposed along the weftside. Not a very practical design but it was certainly a way to distinguish themselves... albeit in a corny way.

This shop:
http://www.sonofastag.com/

I collect mostly vintage and vintage inspired jeans, mostly over the last 70 years.

omg u r older than morbs!!!

i'm catching up to Morbs fastlike.

yeah, uniqlo is only in NYC, they might have a webstore tho?

p sure they dont

i can't believe you guys spend so much money on clothes?

― plaxico (I know, right?), Saturday, January 23, 2010 10:38 AM (9 hours ago)

Jeans: I have (est.) 300 pairs

jesus christ

― iatee, Saturday, January 23, 2010 6:56 PM (1 hour ago)

on a message board where someone admits they have over 2,000 LPs and nobody blinks an eye, I think we could call this "cultures of scale"? Also, it helps to be able to have access to an expense account for R&D, not to mention the tax deductions for industry related expenditures.

yeah I mean I wasn't judging you for it, it's your job, just amazed that anyone could own that much clothing. how do you store them etc.?

also yeah fashion insiders don't really get to call poor people sad, sorry phil

way to put words in my mouth. i don't recall calling anyone poor or sad.. and you of all people, being skinny and in NYC can NOT complain about not being able to find fun and cheap things to wear.

also, taking pics of fashion editors hardly qualifies me as an "insider"....

on a message board where someone admits they have over 2,000 LPs and nobody blinks an eye, I think we could call this "cultures of scale"?

and yes, what shasta said....

Steve has turned this thread into my new favorite! I had no idea that ilx had a denim guy. You said you don't like Marc Jacobs but did you ever try on his Jeans he designed for Wrangler?

x2 - really interesting to read your opinions Steve!

i don't wanna b all "save the worker" on ur thread, but there are like a billion ways that more upmarket brands get away with covering up their sweatshop production. a friend of mine interned for an up-and-coming designer over the summer and he had started getting his semi-diffusion-still-v-pricey stuff made in india but he wanted to be able to say they were made in england so they made the entire dress in india but left the main seam open, the dresses were shipped to london and sewn up. ta-daa! made in england. wherever the item is finished is what goes on the label.

steve have you ever worn pace jeans? back when I could afford expensive denim due to working in a clothes shop I used to buy their jeans a lot, think it was a swedish company, really nice.

xpost

one would like to think that stunts like that have become notorious enough that its only a question of when the EU wade in to clear it up. there's been similar shit in all sorts of industries, "made in sheffield"&c.

way to put words in my mouth. i don't recall calling anyone poor or sad

p sure you called us all sad

i felt sad when i read it

not sad like you meant tho...sad like the opposite of not sad.

sometimes a whole is less unsad than its parts.

sometimes a whole is less unsad than its partspants.

apparently inspired by this thread, TOAST are launching a range of man clothes next month.

i get my ed hardy swag on the 'net (internet), for the rest of my shit i just hit up the SEARS bruv

All about Filene's and Marshall's and sometimes TJ Maxx. All that Calvin Klein and John Varvatos and fancy, simple shit for cheap.

gilt.com, lol

For a long time I only bought clothes in the January sales, as a result of which I could go for years without buying a pair of trousers but always had too many shirts. Now I at least have an income and occasionally splash out, though I still feel bad paying full price for anything. Internet shopping is good for tracking/comparing prices on sales items, though I want to either know how the label does sizing or already have tried the item on IRL. Anytime I've Internet-shopped I've bought direct from the label.

Most of my "nice" clothes are from Paul Smith or Folk, I have a bunch of H+M/Uniqlo/found stuff to fill in the gaps. Shoes are Camper or Onitsuka Tiger.

Other labels I rate: Oliver Spencer, Reiss (sometimes), Paul and Joe, APC.

As for American Apparel, there is a comparable company out of North Carolina called Alternative Apparel http://www.alternativeapparel.com/Consumer.aspx that makes much finer product and actually does not exploit their workers

Yeah, I'll buy stuff from the sleazy, exploitative company that makes stuff in L.A. any day over the "socially responsible" company that makes their shit in China.

You can, you know, buy stuff from both. I'm assuming yr shoes, other shirts, pants, etc. are not all made in LA so it's kind of a strawman argument.

Suit by Zegna, jacket & accessories by Ted Baker, shoes by Camper, Adidas, and Jones. Work shirts by M&S.

Aw yeah, player.

As for American Apparel, there is a comparable company out of North Carolina called Alternative Apparel http://www.alternativeapparel.com/Consumer.aspx that makes much finer product and actually does not exploit their workers

Yeah, I'll buy stuff from the sleazy, exploitative company that makes stuff in L.A. any day over the "socially responsible" company that makes their shit in China.

― wk, Tuesday, August 24, 2010 6:34 PM (Yesterday)

When i wrote that AltApp was still made in the USA. Do your homework if you want to be a revisionist.

american apparel is so fucking gross, i'm amazed that any conscious human being could actually buy anything with their brand upon, ever

i dunno their t-shirts are nice

there was an article on don charney linked to in the AA thread that made him seem like not-that-big-of-an-asshole

dov I meant, don charney makes me think of a hip don rickles

The new Toast for Men campaign is oddly amusing.

Do blokes really wear £450 suits with Converse-style pumps? (As the current Toast catalogue seems to suggest).

If male models are blokes, then yes.

Lately I've had good luck waiting for those J. Crew 40% off sale items days (I get e-mails). Dress shirts for $20-30, nice wool slacks for $50-100, etc. Nordstrom clearance is also not bad.

My slim button down shirts look dumb when tucked in, especially to khakis. Need more shirts for work (teacher). Going to hit up lord and taylor now, wish me luck

BTW Nordstrom also has really good slim dress shirts (the John W. Nordstrom) that are actually slim and don't bunch and aren't too expensive.

xp why do you think they look dumb?

Too slim but mostly too short. I bought smalls because i didn't want them to be baggy. They look great untucked with jeans imo but i think i need to size up for shirts for work.