Best Iron Heart Models for Western Wear?
-
oh no. plenty of boot pics. just the 1 with 777s.
& thanks @twinning
-
@twinning FWIW, I think the standard inseam on IH jeans is the ideal length for stacks - see @goosehd 's pick in his UHR denim. You are entirely correct, once the denim settles, the "stacks" are about a 3, maybe 4, inch section of fabric.
The history behind stacks does in-fact date back to the Cowboys, when they sat on a saddle, and their feet were in stirrups, they wanted their jeans or duck trousers to provide an extra layer of protection around brush, and having an extended inseam was the result, covering the shaft and the instep of their boots. Ironically, the same inseam requirement for riding a motocycle and not having the wind go up your trousers haha. At some point, cowboys would also order their jeans extra long to be able to cuff the bottom part, and be able to carry things like their cigarettes in the cuff, which gave them easy access to a smoke while on the trail.
Christophe from Mister Freedom took this little nugget back in 2008 or so, and added pockets to the bottom of a pair of the "rider's" jeans he created. essentially taking the folk lore of "the cuff" being used as a pocket and just added a legit pocket to the hem for the same reasons.
This look then carried along the cowboy aesthetic over time, and when the jeans were heavily starched, also a real life tool, adding a layer of "armor" against brush and tree branches to keep the fabric from catching and fraying, but it also ensured the jeans "stayed fresh" even on multi-day or multi-weeks rides, the stacks would get additionally pronounced, and the area where the starch would rub off and the denim would "fold" would fade differently than the indigo heavy layer that was flat. This created the optical "stacking" look, in the same way that honeycombs ad whiskers are the exposed "stack" of denim that protrudes away from the body, and the indigo stays deeper on the pieces of fabric closer to the body.
Wow, nerdiest thing I've ever written, but alas...
-
thanks for that @Appfaff. memories of HEAVILY starched britches and long trail rides. maybe i’ll take a pr of XHS to get them starched…
-
Do it @mikebarhoot - ever since they got rid of Sta-Flo, I've been buying the Stiff-It off Amazon. I did try to make some myself, but it WAS NOT shelf stable lol
-
@goosehd they claim there was "low demand" - I bet it had more to due with whatever chemicals it had it in haha. My wife would get pretty mad when I use the aerosol cans, as they literally have butane in them... the Stiff It stuff seems pretty clean and works well.
-
Again, this is the content that I've been after here on the IH forums since I joined. Lots of gate-keeping elsewhere on the ol' internet around cowboy boots and western wear, so I'm stoked to see this level of sharing and discussion. Love it
-
@Bobcat-Sig - I hate to keep adding options, but my SExIH01's arrived today and they are essentially a doppelganger Wrangler Slim Cowboy cut if you want to give it a whirl - high rise but not too much, slim thigh, good leg opening. Mine are a tagged 33 (actual 32: waist, so size up two tagged sizes from your natural waist according to the SE team) and I have almost an 8 inch opening and enough fabric to stack on boots. I'll be wearing mine with boots tomorrow and will post pics.
-
@Appfaff Hell yes! Love it. Almost all slim cut is a no-go on me, unfortunately. Much to the delight of my wife, I'm blessed with a proper backside. And a lifetime of skiing, hiking, mountain biking, and motorcycles has left me with properly meaty thighs. I even have to watch knee measurements. Otherwise, if that's too small, my calves take up all of the lower leg and I get all manner of boot printing and bucketing.
Nonetheless, I'm digging the experimentation and look forward to seeing the results.
