Saturday, December 29, 2012

APC - New Standard [Evolution]




I'm not entirely sure when first got in to raw denim. I think it was the summer of 2004, around the time I first started checking the Hypebeast forums *. I was instantly enthralled with the "Evolution of Denim" thread**. First pair that I actually owned was a pair of G-Star's, and I was drawn to their rigid feel and clean look. In the days that denim brands were more worried about the patchwork on the butt pockets and the wash/distress than the fit and denim quality, it was nice to have a pair of jeans that brought it back to the basics. If the G-Star's wet the appetite, it was the APC's that' created the addiction. I bought my first pair of APC's in 2008, and wore them nearly exclusively through 2010. I use the word 'nearly' exclusively because at the time, I was still working at a formal establishment in which daily attire consisted of slacks and dress shirts - so wearing of the jeans was pretty much limited to weekends and nights out. Since then, I acquired pairs of denim by Tellason, Easton, and UNIV, each of which filled a different void (and alas, now wear work to jeans - cheers to start-ups!)

In 2013, a couple friends and I are going to do something we've deemed "the APC Challenge". We are each going to buy a pair of new APC's that we will wear exclusively for 2013 - and see how they hold up. We'll document the process***, and hopefully some of it will make its way on the site. After the jump - check some pictures of the aging and repair on my first pair of APC's. I lost most of my pictures prior to my jump from PC to MAC (grr...) - but you get the point. Picture above is one a took today of a pair of my wife's semi-new APC's (worn 6 times - no wash) and the pair I got in 2008 washed twice).


*Who knew that user FuckTyler would go on to create one of the biggest movements in music in 2011, or that LOCHNESS would go on to create one of my favorite brands? Maybe the forums weren't that bad of a place after all.
** To post that link - I just revisited the forum for the first time in years - it looks like they re-organized the denim sub forum such that each brand has its own thread now.























Side by side shot of a pair of APC's after a 3 years of on/off wear, 1 soak (hot water - used Dr. Bonners soap), and 1 pair worn twice, no rinse/soak



Hanging with the old ladies at the fabric store to search for the perfect fabric to patch up a crotch blowout:





Before repair:


After the repair, *Fab voice* Niiiiiiiiiiiiice:




After my 2nd soak (cold water) - compared against my wife's pair worn roughly 6 times (no wash). Sidenote - the white blanket REALLY shows the contrast, doesn't it?






Same pair (again after the 2nd soak) - just shown with a different background since the light (natural vs artificial) and background REALLY impacts how the jeans look in the pictures