When Guess asked me to participate in Denim Day to support victims of sexual assault, of course I said yes…
I Took a DENIM 101 Class at BPD Washhouse: Day 1
When I received an invitation to attend a Denim 101 class at BPD Washhouse, I jumped at the chance. I’d heard from several people I knew who’d taken it that it was informative and incredibly hands on…
I Stalked A Woman Over a Pair of Jeans…And Lost
I feel compelled to share a story. It’s a rather shameful story, but one I hope every woman that has ever wanted an item so badly she could taste it can relate to. If not, then I’m just a petty person that should never have graduated from the kindergarten playground. So what is it that’s so shameful you ask? Well, I stalked a woman.
I Wore GUESS’ New Moisturizing Jeans for a Week
Performance apparel, formerly the sole territory of activewear, has become new and conquerable territory in denim with a few intrepid brands attempting to break ground with various technologies. Odor-resistance, moisture-wicking and other attributes are gaining considerable buzz, but Guess’ recent launch of their Jeancare collection has caused the biggest stir to date.
New York Fashion Week Fall 2015???
Artist rendering of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in 2010
Ever since Mercedes Benz Fashion Week set up shop at Lincoln Center, NY Fashion Week has become nothing short of a spectacle with the drama outside the tents often overshadowing the shows. And by drama I don't mean the excessive peacocking that occurs on the outdoor promenade (although that is a big part of it). What I'm referring to are the constant stream of complaints that seem to mark each season, not the least of which come from top editors regarding overcrowding and commercialization. Unfortunately, industry complaints were never the worst of it.
Denim is Not Dead
While I perused the booths at MAGIC, Project, Liberty and the countless other fashion tradeshows that were going on in Vegas last week, reports were circulating in the media that jeans are on the decline. As I read through them, I became hyperaware of the myriad of people in some form of denim or the infinite amount of established and up-and-coming denim brands that were showing at almost all of the shows. So what am I to think with so much contradictary information? Well…to put it bluntly, I think denim naysayers are nuts!
If denim was going out of fashion would we have red carpet runway like this…
You Can Get With This or You Can Get With That….The Great Debate: Yoga Pants or Jeans
After over a hundred years of being the number one go-to item for casualwear, our beloved jean is getting some serious competition. That is if you believe the number of articles being written about it.
From Business of Fashion to Yahoo, there has been a lot of talk lately about jeans losing ground to athleisure wear -defined as athletic wear that can be worn outside the gym. I love my athletic wear (though nothing I do in athletic wear is leisurely enough for me to call it athleisure wear), but I am firmly in the THIS category. Hello! DenimHunt!
Check out the round-up of some of the chatter heard 'round the web -complete with totally biased commentary of course- and decide if you can get with this (yoga pants) or you can get with that (jeans).
The Most Visionary Man You’ve Never Heard of…Until Now
You’ve probably never heard of Jeff Shafer, but there’s a good chance you’ve heard of his brands. BC Ethic, Agave Denim and most recently Bluer Denim, though vastly different, are all representative of his unique approach to doing business. An approach that’s founded on the principles of the American dream, a personal philosophy of social change and producing quality products.
The Most Visionary Man You’ve Never Heard of…Until Now
You’ve probably never heard of Jeff Shafer, but there’s a good chance you’ve heard of his brands. BC Ethic, Agave Denim and most recently Bluer Denim, though vastly different, are all representative of his unique approach to doing business. An approach that’s founded on the principles of the American dream, a personal philosophy of social change and producing quality products.
QOTD? When Does a Jean Stop Being a Jean
WWD May 14th Issue back cover*
There is a topic that comes up every time I have a conversation about denim -jeans specifically. That topic is, when do jeans, stop being jeans.
Let me explain. Traditionally denim is a 100% cotton, indigo-dyed, 2×1 right hand twill. In other words, it doesn't stretch and it lasts forever. Prior to skinny jeans, when the premium bootcut was king, err queen, most jeans would have, at most, 2% stretch. This allowed the denim to conform a little better to the body without taking away the core traits.
Fast forward 10+ years, skinny jeans reign supreme and jeggings are a closet staple. The body-skimming nature of the skinny naturally requires more stretch for technical purposes such as butt-lifting and tummy-flattening, not to mention comfort. However, what began as a practical purpose has spun so far out-of-control that I can't see it as anything but a cost-cutting measure that cheapens the quality of some jeans and teeters on the edge of what can actually be considered denim.
I own a pair of jeans that I've worn often enough to say that they are one of my favorite pairs. The distressed jean, by a brand I choose not to name, has been brushed on the surface so that the denim feels soft to the touch and the 8% stretch (the remainder is cotton) hugs my curves nicely. However, after about three days of wear (I usually wear my jeans more times than I care to share before washing) they lose their shape. The result is that I'm washing them more often then I'd like which leads to another problem -the color doesn't last as long as I'd like either. Not only that, the white yarns that usually string across carefully engineered holes have all but broken off because the lycra strands weren't durable enough to last. So it's just my thigh and the fresh air. Because I really like these jeans, I've had to reduce how frequently I wear them so I can keep them a few more years. Needless to say, this is not supposed to happen. You're supposed to be able to wear a pair of jeans over and over again and keep them for years and years.