Random questions to which you seek an answer
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Agreed that it is interesting that the forum and the wider market diverge. Wonder how that looks over time? Is the forum behind or ahead of the curve?
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Not to soapbox, but: I don’t think it’s so much that the forum is “ahead” or “behind” the market, so much as the forum is a self-selecting population with different tastes and needs than the broader IH-buying public. Single-focus BBCode forums are something of a relic from before the Internet consolidated around the current social media behemoths. I would wager that most people familiar enough with the concept to be here instead of on /r/rawdenim are older (less likely to want to wear skinny jeans), have relatively unconventional or non-mainstream attitudes towards clothes and technology (ditto) or live a life that lets them spend a lot of time online (less likely to be able to wear skinny jeans). Thus, we adore the 888, 805s and 634, but the 555, 666 and 777 actually sell.
I don’t have demographic data on the IH forums to back up what I’m saying here, obviously. If anyone has real numbers I’d love to hear that I’m wrong. But anecdotally, I’m a very young millennial and I don’t know anyone else IRL who uses a forum like this. Some of the elder gen z guys I’m in charge of think I’m an old man because I spend my (limited) downtime at work on Reddit instead of Instagram or TikTok, lol.
I’m very curious to see how the demographics of the forum shift once the migration happens, though. I know a lot of people who don’t own PCs anymore and only use their smartphone. Maybe the mobile-optimized site will help with reeling them in?
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That's an interesting perspective, but I would wager that because cuts are introduced over time it is likely that both the popularity of the cuts globally and forum have changed over time. I argue that they will continue to do so. The heritage menswear context likes to imagine itself as out of time. The reality is that trends are still at work but they move in a different way. The popularity of the last few years for outdoorsy stuff, for example, has seen IH make a fleece vest. So to come back to the popularity of cuts, I think the 888 and 634 are trending, if slowly, as trends move away from skinny. It will go further too. IH came out with a relaxed chino, and I would be surprised if Haraki didn't at some point release a new denim cut that is wider. So this is all to say that I imagine that the trend to 634 and 888 is relatively new, but we will probably see wideness/skinnyness wax and wane. Brands need to give us reasons to buy stuff. I still wonder if the popularity of certain cuts were charted over time, how would the line for the forum and the global market compare? Nevermind then adding in the difference between East and West…
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You definitely have a point about the release schedule of the cuts skewing their sales numbers. I'm new to this, so I defer to your greater knowledge of Iron Heart on that front. I think the rankings given in the UHR thread were since 2019… I wonder if they're the same for 2021 or 2022 YTD.
As for the fading (lol) popularity of super-skinny jeans, you're probably onto something there, but from my (very limited) viewpoint the IRL replacement for them seems to be more slim-tapers like the 777 rather than outright relaxed and straight-leg cuts, at least for men. The pendulum could very well continue to swing towards wider legs, though. I am not versed enough in fashion trends to speculate, but for my part, I would welcome a '999' cut with even more generous waist:thigh ratios than the 888
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@jtaylor69 is looking into this
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I bet Alex has the master server in his suitcase in the Bahamas, and there's currently a hornets nest being constructed in the innards.
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Recognized it too, but I thought it’s our shitty internet here
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What's this about a summer sale?
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I did not
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I'll sign up now.
Just visited Jinji in Paris, they have some interesting Wescos. No IH stockists in Paris?
