Sons Of Selvedge Podcast
Our Founder Tom is one of the participants of the Sons of Selvedge Podcast, a new podcast that focuses on the Denim scene headed up by the Worn Out Global team. They discuss the latest news in the denim world, what they have all been up to while in isolation and chat about their latest denim experiences.
Give it a listen at https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/sonsofselvedgepodcast/episodes/2020-06-27T11_52_53-07_00
Or you can find it on Spotify and iTunes! Let us know what you think and if you have any questions for the team then leave it in the comments below.
United Overalls Book List 2: Denim Branded
The second book in our list follows on from the themes of the last book but expands that into the branding of every denim brand since the early days of workwear. Denim Branded by Nick Williams and Jenny Corpuz looks at every aspect of branding for a denim company including the buttons, rivets, logos and labels. The book not only looks at vintage brands but also looks at the best of the present denim brands many of whom we have great respect for such as Endrime, Toyo Enterprise and Tellason. We had a chance to meet Nick at the London launch of the book and he has an impressive amount of knowledge of all things denim so it is no wonder that the book is a wealth of facts and even deep dives into the Wrangler Archives!
Although a lot of brands tend to conform to the heritage vibe there is still a lot of innovation seen throughout the book and you have quotes from the designers and owners of these brands explaining their thought processes behind the concepts.
The book also does a very good job of explaining how logos for brands changed over the years. For example the Lee logo went through many different iterations especially when all of their sub brands get taken into account.
This book really gives the layman an appreciation of how much goes into making a denim brand stand out from the crowd while also looking like they are an authentic denim company. There are so many pieces that you have to get right otherwise you run the risk of your jeans fading into the sea of indigo that is on the market. We have a feeling that ours stand out with all the right details!
United Overalls Book List 1: Jeans Of The Old West
As we go into our 10th week of lockdown we thought we would share some of the books that have provided much inspiration for us since long before we started our brand. The first and probably the most important book for us is Jeans Of The Old West: A History by Michael Allen Harris.
The book contains as detailed a history of early workwear brands as could possibly be written, giving pictures of original vintage pieces and the patent drawings for all the innovations that were dreamed up during those times. This includes the patent by The Neudstadter Brothers for the single piece fly that we also use in our ED-1 jeans! They are one of our favourite brands covered in the book as they had a plethora of different patents and design ideas intended to reinforce their clothing in lieu of copper rivets that at that time were still a Levi's patent.
All the original items that are photographed in the book come from some of the best vintage collectors in the world so the book gives us a small window into some of their most unique and stand out pieces (without having to spend the thousands it costs to aquire similar pieces!)
A lot of the details on our jeans were inspired by the pieces found in this book so it is an invaluable read for anyone into denim, vintage clothing or even for someone who likes a good bit of history!
Major Brands Use Forced Labour
It has always been a key part of our brand to produce as much of our jeans in the UK, not out of any kind of civic pride or jingoism, but as a guarantee that workers are not mistreated or taken advantage of during the making of our ED-1 jeans (plus less fossil fuels are burnt transporting materials across the globe.) It is sad that some companies can only profit from producing sub standard products with forced labour and slavery but we aim to break this trend.
Read the article below as evidence that the products people buy from overseas are built with blood.
Scott Boyd Tailoring's Studio
We had the opportunity to visit the studio of Scott Boyd, someone who we have always admired for his work in darning and fixing vintage and denim clothing.
We had met him through the London denim scene on several occasions and we had friends in common from his time as a tailor for the Levi's flagship store. When given the chance to visit his studio for a chat we couldn't give it a miss!
Scott talked about his time sourcing for most of the major denim brands on the market today which has meant he has a rather interesting and vast collection of pieces he has accrued on his travels. Highlights include a crazy amount of military jacket liners, some of which he has converted into kimono type jackets, indigo fabrics with gorgeous dyeing techniques and lots of unique pieces from the likes of RRL, Levi's Vintage Clothing and Pendleton.
He also worked as the repair technician for Filson bags which means he has some amazing backpacks, carryalls and cross bodies. Some of these are pieces that he repairs and others he gets to remake and engineer into completely new and innovative designs. He can truly think outside the box if a customer has a specific request for him.
Some of these designs he is marking under his new home brand Scott Boyd Tailoring, where he can truly let is inventive mind go wild with all the inspiration that he has collected up over the years. The highlight for us was the roll of original WW2 tarpaulin fabric that would have gone over a truck and the original roll of ripstop fabric, both insanely thick and durable that he uses for custom bags. We also loved the Filson axe that was hanging up with the bags!
He is currently clearing out some of his collection so do give him a message on his Instagram @s.b.tailoring if you want to see what is available or if you want to commission him for a project, whether it's fixing up a vintage jacket or making a custom bag. We got a few nice pieces for our archive so don't miss out!
A Visit To Blackhorse Lane Ateliers
As we are sure you already know, we rave on about manufacturing our ED-1 jeans in the UK. We proudly work with the best in the business here in Britain as only the best will do for the best jeans in the UK. The place where we get the construction side of the manufacturing done is Blackhorse Lane Ateliers (apart from the riveting which Tom does at home while sitting in his underwear.)
We wanted to give you all a glimpse into Blackhorse Lane Ateliers so we headed up to North London and took some candid shots of the factory while they were working. It is an amazing experience getting to see the workers in action, each one a master at their job. The Atelier is also a central part of the community, hosting a shop where you can buy local produce and also selling freshly baked sour dough bread which seemed to be very popular while we were there!
Soon we will have more to show you to give you more insight into Blackhorse Lane Ateliers but here for now are some images we took.
