Glory Threads - How Did You Find Iron Heart?
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I probably have a bit of an odd story here…
In 2005, I saw An interview with Hedi Slimane in details magazine and he had on a pair of his jeans (now somewhat iconic) from his dior line. Karl Lagerfeld has just dropped 120lbs in order to fit into one of his suits, and the fashion world was all about this new “Dior” wonderboy. He was also great friends with musicians such as Pete Doherty (I was a big time Libertines and Rakes fan at the time), and I became obsessed with “his look.”
He rocked raw denim jeans, converse and Chelsea boots, white vnecks and vests a lot, and I was into it. I bought my first pair of Dior Raws in 2005, some Evisu #2s in 2006, more Dior Raws and some Nudies in 2006 and became a lurker on mynudies in 2008.
My first “iron Heart” experience was around 2008/2009 by a poster on sufu named SeaFinch - he had some of the most beautifully faded 301s that fit so well, but back then, the cost of entry was more than my entire semester of spending money, so I kept with lower cost stuff like Warehouse N&F and Nudies.
In 2011, my GF of 6 years and I split and I decided to get back into Denim. I got a pair of (way too big) 9301 on sale from SE and later sold them to a resale shop in New Orleans.
I didn’t buy anything IH again until 2013 when I bought some gear for my engagement photos. Since then it’s been a fun ride, and one that I have been thrilled to be a part of.
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Man, this is a great topic.
I was doing a Google image search trying to find a 'grey buffalo plaid western shirt. It was a shirt that I had envisioned and conceptualized in my brain. My only western shirt I had at that time was a shadow plaid Ralph Lauren shit that I got on sale for $80…
Scrolling though I saw a couple shirts. But not what I was looking for at all. I got to the 2nd page of images and:
And lo and behold, I saw exactly what I was looking for, only it costs $350 plus and it said it was 'extinct', it was the IHSH-20... I had no idea what that meant. But I thought how the fuck can a flannel shirt cost that much? I googled Iron Heart and the model number and saw a couple more instances of the shirt on Ratuken, all sold out.
Disappointed, I gave up and forgot about it. Then about a month later I went to work at a power plant in Illinois. In Illinois they are required under contract at that plant to use Union labor. And I was hired on for that job making foreman scale, like $72 an hour, double time on the weekends. I was there for 3 weeks and made over 5 grand. I only bring this up because I am a blue collar guy, and I would never pay $350 for any article of clothing ever. I think most people wouldn't. The most expensive item of clothing I had ever owned up to that point was a Horsehide leather police jacket that I paid $250 because it had the insignia removed. The cop it was made for didn't like it. But I thought it was great.
But anyway, I had a ton of cash and I thought maybe I would try out a pair of Iron Heart jeans. Being frugal, I ordered the cheapest pair I could find. A pair of heavily discounted Vulcans. They appealed to me because they were cheaper to the others and they had the extra pockets. I thought they were cool because they didn't have the yellow arcs. I had no idea what Japanese selvedge denim was at the time. But I was excited because they were advertised as "extra heavy". The heaviest jeans I had up until that point was a pair of Duluth Trading 8 oz fire hose canvas jeans. They were pretty nice and I liked how soft the fabric was. I wore the Vulcans and loved them. But I fucked the sizing up and they became relegated to wearing at work. I wore them until they were jet black from dirt and I ruined them in the washing machine.
Liking soft feeling jeans, imagine my surprise when I finally got to wear Iron Heart. I was sad that I ruined the jeans. But they were too big anyway. So my next pair was a pair of 25oz XHS 666s. I was initially blown away with how stiff and heavy they were, even more blown away when they finally got like sweatpants. I wore them a ton and I kind of fucked them up too washing them in the washing machine too aggressively. I gave that pair to @sabergirl
By this time I was completely hooked and now I wouldn't want to wear anything else. I tried several other Japanese brands. I won't try to undermine their reputations here. But I always have favored the weight and the hand softness of Iron Heart over anything else. I think their cuts are better than anyone else's too.
I have owned many pairs of Iron Hearts now and I think my most favorite is the 21oz denim of the IH-805 overalls. I think the weight of the 21oz denim is about perfect and I like how versatile the denim is. Its both cool in the summer and warm in the winter. I love the way it feels and how it hangs off my legs. I think it fades great too, but it is stubborn to fade. I love it. My favorite thing about them is how soft they feel on the inside and I love how the overalls feel against my love handles and kidney area. It's weird I know, but it feels like a warm, soft hug. I've likened that feeling to the denim feeling like it is having sex with my legs. I've said multiple times I hope to die in my overalls one day, so they become my 'ghost clothes' and I get to wear them in spirit for eternity.
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Found the OG thread in a similar subject…..
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Also, finding that thread saves me from repeat posting in this one
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I'd love to know how/why Giles got banned from superdenim. Haha
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I discovered selvedge denim back in '13 after I kept seeing people posting photos on SuFu and SF. I did some reading up on it and bought my first pair from the Gap and then from Uniqlo. These were my entry into the selvedge world before I knew about the higher quality expensive brands let alone fit. Over time, I stuck with the cheap brands like Gustin, N&F, United Stock Dry Goods, etc., but my first expensive pair was the SL-120x shadow selvedge from 3sixteen. As time went by I researched more and more brands and came across IH on another forum. I, too, scoffed at the idea of paying $300+ on an article of clothing but the sticker shock faded over time. From there I checked out other Japanese brands like PBJ, TSG and SDA before getting sucked into IH.
Full disclosure, I still do not own any IH jeans because I still have a ton of other unworn jeans, but they are on my wish list. With that said, I finalized my divorce early in 2017 so the combination of lawyer's fees, child support and other #firstworldproblems like car repairs all but sidelined my spending for most of the year. 2018 should be better for me financially and i'm looking forward to spending my tax refund on the modified od type III from SE. The ihj-69 is also on my need list.
oh, first IH purchase was the ihsh-130gb
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@Filthy:
I'd love to know how/why Giles got banned from superdenim. Haha
Wait, what? Is this a thing?
oh, first IH purchase was the ihsh-130gb
Classic shirt.
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- Got banned from SuFu
- Stared the IH Forum (thanks for the idea Hectic)
- Loving what I do and wear
https://www.ironheart.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=234.msg107763#msg107763
It was in the other thread. And he said SuFu. Sorry I don't go on there at all.
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@Filthy:
I'd love to know how/why Giles got banned from superdenim. Haha
This
And while we are on it. Where is beatle these days. ?
Those sufu days are what got me into raw denim. And from there I got into Iron heart through the mega beatle busters (MBB).
After that it was a slippery slope that basically made any other pair of jeans just not up to scratch.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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I was doing a tour on the My Nudies forum, and @FOXY was the next person, so we did a personal handover since he happened to be in Berlin at just the right time. I was very taken both about his jeans and the guy, real fine person, it felt weird for only the very first seconds to spend time with a dude this way, much like a blind date minus the romantic interest. We lucked out finding a really pleasant restaurant - just everything worked well that evening- and talked mostly denim. He wore beautifully faded IHs and also told me about this forum. The rest is history…..
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Now that’s a cool way to get into IH.
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Another obvious point i'll make as to why I started to gravitate towards IH is fit. I've tried a few American brands and Japanese brands and while there are one or two that make bottoms/tops that fit, there are others that miss the mark completely. I like that IH accomodates Western builds first and foremost. The cut of most IH tops is near perfect, as in perfect length, chest and shoulders. Then there are the little details like beefy snaps, side gussets and heavy fabrics…basically details that we geek out about. Second, I love the fabrics and patterns. Truly nice looking stuff. Lastly, I think it's pretty cool that Giles and crew put themselves out there on the forum -- it adds a personal touch that I don't see often with other brands.
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I became aware of selvedge denim in 2006, and after buying a pair of washed nudies decided I wanted to go raw. For the next few years I wore APC's NS for the most part but also had a pair of Sugar Cane 1947's I liked a lot. In '09 I picked up some kit from SESF in person (SExSCx06?) 2010 I decided I'd get into Levis seeing I was in SF.
Late '10 I was on a mission to find the best possible hoodie I could find. Zipper couldn't be standard YKK, had to be thick, good hood, pockets etc. I eventually found the IHSW-05 which I purchased from Japan. Quality blew me out of the water. I immediately decided i wanted a pair of jeans. Seeing the price, I picked up a second hand pair of IH-634S' before going on all. Rest has been a wonderful ride of long lasting joy.
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I first started searching for raw denim in 2010~. Ended up with some Sugar Cane 1947 that were too big, but non returnable. I wore them for two years because they were the most expensive denim I had ever bought at the time. As I looked more into denim Iron Heart kept popping up in my searches. 2012 we were in NYC with the family walking around the city. I knew SE stocked IH and very slyly guided the family in that direction without letting anyone know. About Three miles later I asked my wife if I could "check this store out." To this day she thinks we stumbled upon SE on accident. Bought some 634s and the rest is history. A few weeks/months later bought the plate belt from IHUK. An 07 next, a few UHF and some cut and sown and I was hooked. Now I feel a bit off if I don't have some IH on.
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Another obvious point i'll make as to why I started to gravitate towards IH is fit. I've tried a few American brands and Japanese brands and while there are one or two that make bottoms/tops that fit, there are others that miss the mark completely. I like that IH accomodates Western builds first and foremost. The cut of most IH tops is near perfect, as in perfect length, chest and shoulders. Then there are the little details like beefy snaps, side gussets and heavy fabrics…basically details that we geek out about. Second, I love the fabrics and patterns. Truly nice looking stuff. Lastly, I think it's pretty cool that Giles and crew put themselves out there on the forum -- it adds a personal touch that I don't see often with other brands.
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Agree with all of this. The fit part was something I meant to mention as well. They really have nailed the fits for the most part which is hard to find in general let alone in a Japanese brand.
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Some great stories so far btw.
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I think I was born to wear jeans. I started as a child in Wranglers. As I grew up I would flip flop between Lee's and Levi's. Through the marvels of ebay, I was discovering that there were great things going on in Japan with denim. In September of 2014, I went to San Francisco for work, and started to read the hotel book on the city and kept reading an article about a store called Self Edge. I had an appointment also on this trip to go to the Levi's store to have a pair of jeans that would be tailor made for me.
I went to the appointment and found that the pair of jeans would be $750.00, mainly based on which denim I chose, rivet and button color. which I guess I expected it to come to. Then I went to SESF on Valencia, walked out with a pair of 633's, 21 oz which I loved. Next day I went back and got a pair of 634 SEXIH13's and the 526J. I flew back to Charlotte, went online to find out more about Iron Heart and discovered IHUK. Then I discovered the 1955S and 1955UHR. And now the rest is history. I never did get the Levi's
