What do you think of Bench clothing?

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It seems to have become very popular in recent months from what would appear to be a standing start. I don't know much about the label, but do you own any Bench clothes? What do you think of them?

― MarkH (MarkH), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 07:46 (twenty-one years ago)

I own two pairs of jeans and a zip-up jumper/top/jacket thing. Bench has been popular in Exeter for years, literally, it's about the only time we've been ahead of the fashion curve. It's popularity is probably something to do with the affluent skaters/surfers/middle class kids in the area.

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 07:49 (twenty-one years ago)

It's been around for years, but all of a sudden, about a year and a half ago, it was all over the place. I used to have a bench fleece but lost it somewhere.

See also Boxfresh, which used tto be only available from a few places and was nicely different, now it's just like fcuk and all that crap.

― chris (chris), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 07:50 (twenty-one years ago)

I think I became aware of Bench some time last autumn when a colleague was wearing a pretty ordinary looking black coat, kind of like a long parka with a fur-lined hood. I think she'd been wearing it for quite a few days before I noticed the word "Bench" in red letters on the back near the hem. It seemed quite an odd place for the logo to be and seemed a weird name for a clothing line - almost ironic, like "let's pick the oddest, ugliest, most unfashionable name we can find". Of course there may be a Mr or Ms Bench out there.

― MarkH (MarkH), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 07:50 (twenty-one years ago)

I suspected this would happen - ppl would say "it's been around for years!!!" highlighting just how out of touch and unobservant I am, ha ha!

― MarkH (MarkH), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 07:51 (twenty-one years ago)

It's hitherto been a surf/sk8 thang, as Sick says. I've had some fun for the last couple of years from mocking my friend Rosie's Bench habit - she's from Reading after all. Generally quite nice simple design with slightly unusual fabrics. Probably to go down la toilette if becoming v. popular.

― Liz :x (Liz :x), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 07:54 (twenty-one years ago)

they've only just got round to establishing a web presence tho! ;)

Bench.

― MarkH (MarkH), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 07:55 (twenty-one years ago)

I think the logos have become steadily larger and more obtrusive, thus more noticable, over the last couple of years.

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 07:56 (twenty-one years ago)

Bench - first actually started wearing bench in about 1994. They have been around that long. They had a really awkward to get but great range of graphic design t-shirts.

It has been the past 2 years where they have really pushed big on the Bench name. Like - you would never have noticed, and in fact they faded away for about 5 years inbetween where they almost appeared out of business. I was surprised to find them coming back to be honest, as I honestly believed they had gone.

I hate their tops for men - I loathe the blatant sloganeering that they use. The tops for women are really nice - I like the scruffy but kind of fitted cut that they have - and less of them have a huge "BENCH" on them. Those coats, mentioned above, look lovely as well.

I have several pairs of the trousers -all the combats, no jeans - their cut on the jeans is shit, whereas combats are meant to just 'fall'. But nothing else. I don't like big company names on things really.

― ___ (___), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 07:57 (twenty-one years ago)

recently, I have noticed quite a few fleeces with white Bench logos on the back of the neck which look quite nice.

I think I saw someone wearing Bench trainers t'other day? Do they really do footwear? Maybe I'll check on their website...oh, wait.

― MarkH (MarkH), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 08:00 (twenty-one years ago)

It's been all over the Manc student crowd for years (I started there in 2000), but the men's lines are pathetic. They do alright coats for ladies, tho'.

― I am not a mandible (Barima), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 09:02 (twenty-one years ago)

it's very weird seeing it still around. i have a bench hooded top that i'll be sporting at glastonbury, which i bought in cult clothing in cambridge in 1998.

i always thought bench was one of those labels that the "cool" (i.e. not really) shops in uncool towns sold (eg bath, cambridge), cos those were the only places i saw bench stuff. in fact i still think that, i guess.

― toby (tsg20), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 09:07 (twenty-one years ago)

Exeter would fit that description.

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 09:09 (twenty-one years ago)

someone at my work has a bench top, his last name is actually bench so that's kinda neat.

my old flatmate used to have one too. his last name was something else.

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 09:15 (twenty-one years ago)

both of them live in london

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 09:15 (twenty-one years ago)

I own no Bench clothing but I've seen it around. Mostly on the young skatey people that live round here.

I used to own some Firetrap stuff when I was young and cool. Is Bench the new Firetrap?

― robster (robster), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 09:23 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm beginning to think Oxford has fewer young skatey ppl than most towns its size.

― MarkH (MarkH), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 09:25 (twenty-one years ago)

I used to own some Firetrap stuff when I was young and cool. Is Bench the new Firetrap?

God no. Firetrap made terrible clothes consistently!

― ___ (___), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 09:31 (twenty-one years ago)

bench is from manchester and is not a surf or skate label really. some of the stuff is ok. at any rate its nice to have half decent clothes coming out of the north, like its properly established, in london as well as anywhere else.

not quite sure why you thought they had only come up in the last few months? didnt know they had been going since 1994, but have seen people wearing them for at least 6 yrs or so.

― ambrose (ambrose), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 09:31 (twenty-one years ago)

I was young once. Never cool tho.

― MarkH (MarkH), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 09:32 (twenty-one years ago)

It's been omnipresent in Manc for a while. I don't like it at all.

― Tag (Tag), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 10:22 (twenty-one years ago)

re skatey people in oxf - tom penny, one of the world's best skateboarders, is from oxford...

― metalmickey, Wednesday, 23 June 2004 12:41 (twenty-one years ago)

I bet he doesn't live here now!

― MarkH (MarkH), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 12:42 (twenty-one years ago)

no, he went to LA to became famous and fukt up and now resides in france, getting his shit together syd-style...

― metalmickey, Wednesday, 23 June 2004 12:49 (twenty-one years ago)

re bench, it was okay about 7 years ago. now it's fucking horrible and has been for about 5 years. gruesome clothing that no one in their right mind would wear

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 13:12 (twenty-one years ago)

!!! er that is a bit over the top dave. you still in yr 'misanthropic' phase?

― ambrose (ambrose), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 13:15 (twenty-one years ago)

There's a band round here called Bench and for years I thought all Bench clothing was their merchandise. I wasn't alone.

― mei (mei), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 13:36 (twenty-one years ago)

this is nothing to do with being misanthropic, it's about not wanting to wear badly made, horribly designed homogenous tat.

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 13:38 (twenty-one years ago)

understood Dave, Ambrose's response surprised me too!

oh, that's a real can of worms there.....if you called yr band Kappa or Converse the clothing company would find it difficult to object, as its just another word. If you called it Levi Strauss or Sergio Tacchini, however....

― MarkH (MarkH), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 13:39 (twenty-one years ago)

I have to agree on the blandness of it all tho- far nicer stuff in cult clothing than bench. And as has been mentioned, they've hardly hung onto the utsider status that the brand so craved.

― Johnney B (Johnney B), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 13:46 (twenty-one years ago)

i know many people who wear bench and who are def. in "their right mind". just seemed a bit extreme Bench-hate...like, to single them out for hate for "badly made, horribly designed...tat" seems weird, when they are just like any other comparable clothes manufacturer. eg Boxfresh, Buddhist punk, even Diesel (often even more horribly designed). most clothes nowadays fit your description, so to pick on Bench who are fairly harmless, seems odd.

I just find the description "it's fucking horrible and has been for about 5 years. gruesome clothing that no one in their right mind would wear" does not tally with you "not wanting to wear" it. You might not, but clearly other people do, and to call their choice "fucking horrible" is a bit over the top.

― ambrose (ambrose), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 13:58 (twenty-one years ago)

I DON'T LIKE IT, OKAY!!!

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 14:01 (twenty-one years ago)

There's a band round here called Bench and for years I thought all Bench clothing was their merchandise. I wasn't alone.

I always assumed that was why they chose the name. There's also a hardcore band called Champion who I imagine to think along similar lines.

As for the gear, I just associate it with a certain kind of recent graduate type who is just bland enough to make it not worth your while actively disliking them.

― DJ Mencap (DJ Mencap), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 14:52 (twenty-one years ago)

I thought about buying some, but I figured I would need to buy a Bench press to keep them unwrinkled, so I decided not.

― Aimless (Aimless), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 15:32 (twenty-one years ago)

one year passes...

Are "Bench." and "Bench/" of the same company?? I've seen both logo around and im 100% sure "Bench/" is legit... it looks like so is "Bench." -- so are they the same brand?

― Rrrrrrr, Sunday, 2 October 2005 00:32 (twenty years ago)

I brought a bench hat yesterday and it's pretty cool

― Googley Asearch (Toaster), Sunday, 2 October 2005 10:13 (twenty years ago)

i like the brand and like many of the clothes, only problem is im not too keen on the growing size of the brand name on the clothing, i think it should be more discreet.

― jayney, Wednesday, 12 October 2005 14:58 (twenty years ago)

my fav labels/brands at the moment: we, boxfresh, yojapan, obey, gravis, penguin.

― mark p (Mark P), Wednesday, 12 October 2005 15:14 (twenty years ago)

I like North Face, Lacoste, Stussy and Levi.

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Wednesday, 12 October 2005 15:16 (twenty years ago)

are you chris lowe?

― Rob Bolton (Rob Bolton), Wednesday, 12 October 2005 15:20 (twenty years ago)

i might get a bench hoodie or something, but that's about it. my label whoring is pretty mixed, but i'll always have on something from 4you/boss/boxfresh/h&m/freshjive/ken cole/paul smith/

― Rob Bolton (Rob Bolton), Wednesday, 12 October 2005 15:29 (twenty years ago)

Bench clothing would be great were it not for the huge logos. Girls in Bench stuff always look cuter. Must be the fit and/or fabric.

― Cracks (Crackity), Wednesday, 12 October 2005 21:10 (twenty years ago)

Iluuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuv BENCH I THINK IT ROCKS!!!!!!!!! I HAVE LOADS OF BENCH CLOTHES. PEOPLE THAT DONT KNOW ABOUT OR LIKE BENCH ARE SAD DEPRIVED PEOPLE!!!!!!!

― Stephanie Lawless, Saturday, 15 October 2005 18:53 (twenty years ago)

I've never heard of this brand, but the stuff on the site looks exactly the same as every other small skater/urban/indie clothing label. Plus I don't like stuff with logos on it. Maybe I'm just not 16 anymore.

― Hurting (Hurting), Sunday, 16 October 2005 02:33 (twenty years ago)

I just want to point out Stephanie's post.

― dog latin (dog latin), Sunday, 16 October 2005 08:27 (twenty years ago)

i like the jeans with the rising sun motif on the back pocket. that is all.

its quite unusual for a label from manchester to get what appears to be international exposure, isnt it? i feel bizarrely proud of that, despite the fact that i neither wear bench clothes, nor am i from manchester.

― ambrose (ambrose), Sunday, 16 October 2005 08:38 (twenty years ago)

I luv BENCH clothing it is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo nice!!!!!!!!!!!!! I agree with Stephanie Lawless!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

― dana mackenzie, Sunday, 16 October 2005 14:45 (twenty years ago)

fsmail.net users agree: BENCH IS THE BEST !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

― kyle (akmonday), Sunday, 16 October 2005 14:56 (twenty years ago)

ILUVVVVVVVITITSAWWWWWWWWWSOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

― Hurting (Hurting), Sunday, 16 October 2005 15:53 (twenty years ago)

i love bench i love bench i love bench i love bench i love i love bench bench i love bench i love bench i love bench i love bench i love bench !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hi coral
hi dana banana

― stephanie lawless, Tuesday, 25 October 2005 13:00 (twenty years ago)

Actually don't Americans get fined for "Jaywalking" if they DARE to get in the way of teh automobile?

― Chewshabadoo (Chewshabadoo), Tuesday, 25 October 2005 13:38 (twenty years ago)

i am a fsmail.net user and i agree with Kyle (Akmonda...)

― stephanie lawless, Tuesday, 25 October 2005 16:48 (twenty years ago)

ooooooooooooooh iluv bench teeee heeeeee !!!!!!!!!

― erin macgregor, Thursday, 27 October 2005 10:20 (twenty years ago)

that was me

― stephanie lawless, Thursday, 27 October 2005 10:22 (twenty years ago)

Hi mum (dude)xxxxx

― stephanie lawless, Thursday, 27 October 2005 10:28 (twenty years ago)

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― Erin MacGregor, Tuesday, 8 November 2005 15:14 (twenty years ago)

five months pass...

I THINK BENCH IS COOL

― bob smithe, Friday, 28 April 2006 07:32 (twenty years ago)

Before we can post to this thread is it necessary that we have some kind of thoughts about Bench clothing, or can we just sort of squeak by without knowing anything about it at all? I was just sorta, like, you know, wondering.

― Aimless (Aimless), Friday, 28 April 2006 15:52 (twenty years ago)

three years pass...

Superdry is worse than Bench ever was. I've never seen a clothing brand take over a town so fast. Frightening. I swear alien bodysnatchers are involved.

― exploding angel vagina (Scik Mouthy), Tuesday, 27 October 2009 11:14 (sixteen years ago)

I'm not a fashion maven or anything, but that looks like some off-brand JC Penney stuff right there.

― alexfromnycderpoolera (kingkongvsgodzilla), Tuesday, 27 October 2009 11:22 (sixteen years ago)

If the me from like nine years ago could see me around and about regularly dressed in a Bench rain jacket and Carhartt jeans he would think 'that fucking guy' to himself. The me from like nine years ago was a total dick though so it balances out

― Turbohongro (DJ Mencap), Tuesday, 27 October 2009 11:35 (sixteen years ago)

as soon as i saw this revival i knew it would be about superdry.

― jed_, Tuesday, 27 October 2009 12:47 (sixteen years ago)

I remember reading something last year which pinned the Superdry ascent on David Beckham, which makes sense as he used to wear it all the time. Because of the Superdry JPN logo stuff I assumed it was this year's Evisu, but it seems that they are straight outta Cheltenham and the japan stuff is merely an affectation.

And SM otm, where once the students here were clobbered up in Bench they are now Superdry-tastic.

― Bill A, Tuesday, 27 October 2009 13:04 (sixteen years ago)

one year passes...

"i think i'll but myself that superdry jacket i've just seen on 20 different people in my hour walk through the town centre."

what's it all about, eh?

― jed_, Saturday, 11 December 2010 03:06 (fifteen years ago)

Aye,super dry ride marelike. Is this UK wide I wonder.Glasgow is lousy with they jackets.

― rappa ternt sagna (jim in glasgow), Saturday, 11 December 2010 03:19 (fifteen years ago)

I was told a while back there is a subset of the lesbian community known as 'bench' on account of their whole wardrobe coming from there

― Princess BigSam (DJ Mencap), Saturday, 11 December 2010 17:22 (fifteen years ago)

one year passes...

t shirts and sweats with a washed out instagrammish picture of a landscape or cityscape "LA" or "New York" or "san Diego" written at the top with block capitals. seen @ 20 of these in an hour in town.

― jed_, Monday, 11 June 2012 12:53 (fourteen years ago)

Paul's Boutique everywhere

― Michael B Higgins (Michael B), Monday, 11 June 2012 13:25 (fourteen years ago)

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