The best precursor to romance, in its wildest throes, is denim. Pop the clutch and peel away. It looks best, crumpled on the floor.
Photos by Pete Daly
A fox ain’t sly, he just can’t think any slower. Men who design and produce quality jeans are no different. Their cortex sees a raw palate of denim and imagines it creasing around a pair of swinging hips. Such shrewd visionaries!
Some of the best, would y’believe it, are from Australia. Malcontent with searching for decent cuts and colourings, a cupful of men from Sydney decided in 2000 to inject their own flavour into the market. Rumour says they towed some denim around behind a ute in a field to get that faded, beat-up look (it could even have been a miTSUBIshi ute… uh? Uh?).
All of a sudden, denim was held together by safety pins and the fingers of lovers, hugging a shade tighter around the calves. Tighter and tighter it hugged until they looked sprayed-on.
Then, a wave of rolled chinos blew the cut back out a little. Regardless of Stab’s speculative mini-history of denim in the 2000s, what you should really know is that copper rivets still hold those joins down and make all the difference when coloured, and that the weft stitch, which still passes under two-ish warp threads, holds surprising leverage over the end-product.
Buttons and stitching ain’t something you should overlook. Going out to dinner? Stuff ‘em under a collared shirt and choose something dark with matching coloured rivets and stitches, to give more of a pant look. Daytime? Contrasted stitching with some rough metal rivets and whatever your flavour of tee. If the denim’s a bolder shade of twill, make it pop with a tortoiseshell button. It’s these particulars that Stab adores. And, here we examine them.
Oh, and, BUY STAB ISSUE 58 ONLINE, HERE.
Josh wears 84 Slim Twill pant, $100, by Hurley.
Shot 1: Josh wears A Grade tee. $50, by Assembly. Chilli Choker jean, $90, by Volcom. Braata shoes, $120, by Nike. Shot 2: Josh wears Slugger tee, $50, by Nike. Creeper Jean, $110, by Analog. Slymz Leather shoes, $120, by Analog. Shot 3: Josh wears Empirical shirt, $70, by Rusty. Skinny fit jean, $100, by DC. Era Decon CA shoes, $140, by Vans.
Globe: Jeans this classic leave nothing to chance. Which, even though Stab loves boldness, ain’t always a bad thing. Yellow stitching on navy denim? So solid that you’ll create your own luck.
Billabong: Details are everything, let no man tell you elsewise. Even if you don’t click anything onto this metal loop, the occasional glimpse of it under your tee will attract eyes like the flash of jewellery.
O’Neill: Fade that pops ain’t a juxtaposition. It totally exists, here on these O’Neill jeans. Did you know the best wetsuit company in the world makes such classy denim? It sparkles as much as their rubber!
Analog: Black denim, with black stitching and black rivets? The wine stains won’t show up, the doorman won’t think twice and your gal’s parents will melt. Pair with something cuffed and collared and this is as nice as denim gets.
Assembly: Brighter coloured denim is easy through the warmer months, but with some killer nuances it’ll take you all the way back through to spring. Doesn’t matter what the shade is (though, burgundy is the best) – a tortoiseshell button is the perfect exclamation.
Volcom: Make a challenge outta these. Take the head start on fading and run with it – don’t wash, don’t stop wearing and don’t stop enjoying the transition from regular slacks to the pants of a charming vagrant.
