Random questions to which you seek an answer

[Oaktavia]

@tody yeah buddy I have them on me right now! All thanks to @Clint_D Definitely a great piece and I quite like the dark grey triple stitching.

[Go For Chill]

In light of the 666UHR drop, I’m curious if there are any additional cuts to be expected in this final run of UHR, or is the 666 the last of them?

[Giles]

You can find that out by going to the UHR products and clicking on this:

See more here:

https://forum.ironheart.co.uk/topic/19715/restock-estimates-on-product-pages

[ROman]

@Go-For-Chill In the newsletter I received today it mentions that this 666 run of UHR will probably be it for UHR.

[Oaktavia]

I have so many freaking jeans. Another pair arrived today (thanks @Inorganic!) and I literally just added it to the pile. Nope, I don't want to sell any of them. I've gone over my list many times. Each of them is special to me.

So anyway, to get on with it, my question is: have any of you started to see things differently than you did before? As in maybe it's time for a break from hyperfixating on one pair to fade them to hell and back? I do not want to underestimate the awesomeness of a well loved and faded pair of jeans. But I suddenly have an existential light bulb in bright indigo glowing over my head.

Maybe I should just take a year off? During this time, embrace the variety and pleasure of wearing all of my denim in a large, diverse rotation? Different jeans every 15 days and repeat for 365? That's like, what...24 wears each in a year? Does any of this actually matter? Where does the realness lie? One pair for a year? 15 pairs for a year? Do any of you think like this? Perhaps summer break has me thinking too much. But I think I am onto something here. Because if I keep up wearing one pair for 150 to 300 or so wears (depending on the denim and how quickly it fades), I won't be wearing certain pairs until a decade from now. What if I die tomorrow? I'll lay to rest knowing I never wore those SBGs, Prontos, SE collabs, etc.?

Does anyone care to chime in, perhaps you have had similar lines of consciousness?

Edit: more to note: I have never had a large rotation before either. No more than two or three tops, with one that is my main pair. I have mentally formulated two additional scenarios:

2. Having a main pair to fade to feck but have two days out of the week to explore a rotation. Say, Tuesdays and Thursdays, for example. This would certainly help prevent my future students from asking why I literally wear the same clothes to work every day (which gets old).

3. Going hard af with one pair every 100 days. 100 days, boom next pair, 100 days boom, next pair and so on.

Now please excuse my blatant neuroticism, my ADHD and OCD are in full force this afternoon.

[dirtyframer]

@Oaktavia personally im a big fan of having a rotation, options and choices are great! I may never get the grail fades but I will have ultimately enjoyed my experiences with many product types and fits.

[Giles]

@dirtyframer said in Random questions to which you seek an answer:

personally im a big fan of having a rotation

Me too, of one......

[goosehd]

Rotation…wake up and pick a pair, wear it for a day, maybe a week, maybe a month. Don’t track wears, don’t track washes…enjoy what I have for what it is. Really well made clothing.

[Oaktavia]

@Giles said in Random questions to which you seek an answer:

@dirtyframer said in Random questions to which you seek an answer:

personally im a big fan of having a rotation

Me too, of one......

LOL not helpful but it might be The Way after all...

[Oaktavia]

@goosehd said in Random questions to which you seek an answer:

Rotation…wake up and pick a pair, wear it for a day, maybe a week, maybe a month. Don’t track wears, don’t track washes…enjoy what I have for what it is. Really well made clothing.

This is where my original stream of cognative diarrhea began. I would love to enjoy a fruit salad instead of the same apple every day. Even if it's the best apple in the universe.

[Jett129]

@Oaktavia Really great post for starters. I have 5 pairs of 25OZ jeans and they are my basic rotation from pretty much October to May,and I’ve been doing this for years. They all have between 300- 400 days of wear on them. Now that it’s gotten warmer I wear all my 21OZ jeans which consists of about 7 pairs. I still have my very first pair of Iron Hearts,634s which I still wear on occasion. As well as my first pair of 555 SBGs which I’ve been enjoying this Summer. There you have it.

[Tago Mago]

@Oaktavia as a variation on @Jett129's post: pick 5 pairs to rotate on weekdays for a year, then you have the weekend for "cheat days"

[Oaktavia]

@Tago-Mago said in Random questions to which you seek an answer:

@Oaktavia as a variation on @Jett129's post: pick 5 pairs to rotate on weekdays for a year, then you have the weekend for "cheat days"

I think this is the best option or something similar.

[Oaktavia]

@Jett129 thank you kind sir, this is insightful.

[goosehd]

@Oaktavia What I’m trying to say is I don’t get hung up on any single pair. I’m not trying to accomplish anything with my clothing although I do appreciate people who do. It’s not me or the way I operate and choose each days outfit for how I want to look or feel. If it’s hot, no XHS, if it’s cold, no 16oz slubs. I dress to be comfortable and sometimes to look what I perceive is good. Other’s may hate what I wear daily, but then again, I’m not trying to impress them.

Wear what you want, when you want…simple approach that works well for me and possibly others.

[goosehd]

…and to add, I entered in one indigo invitational and made it about 3 months before I realized it wasn’t for me. I hated the thought of having to wear the same jeans day in and day out. It was that revelation that made me realize that the entire charts, wears, washes, etc wasn’t for me.

[Oaktavia]

@goosehd said in Random questions to which you seek an answer:

…and to add, I entered in one indigo invitational and made it about 3 months before I realized it wasn’t for me. I hated the thought of having to wear the same jeans day in and day out. It was that revelation that made me realize that the entire charts, wears, washes, etc wasn’t for me.

Oh yes, they aren't for me either...

[northsouthdenimguy]

@Oaktavia

Only cause you asked…

I have the same type of thoughts going through my head all the time.

I have a pretty large rotation of clothes, and I also have a lot of clothes that never make it into the rotation. Over the last year or two, I’ve been focused on keeping only the pieces I actually wear. If I haven’t worn something in a year, it’s sold or given away.

I know there are exceptions. Some people would never part with a 20th Anniversary piece or another particularly popular or one time releaae, and I totally get that. I just don’t have the same emotional attachment to clothing that I used to.

Footwear was even harder. At least with shirts and denim, you can realistically rotate through everything in a few months, especially if you’re changing two or three times a day like I sometimes do, depending on what’s going on. With 40 or 50 pairs of boots, though, for me that is just not possible, especially since I’m not wearing every pair on construction sites. It’s not even about the price. It’s about using the right tool for the right job.

I’ve made this all about me, but I get where you’re coming from. I go through phases too. I’ve sold about 30 pairs of boots over the last year, and I’ve lost count of how many clothing items, some Iron Heart but mostly other heritage brands, I’ve let go because I simply wasn’t wearing them.

As I’m trying to reduce the overlap, I’m becoming a lot more selective. Sure, I’m always going to have multiple denim shirts, but I probably don’t need two Dobby shirts that are similar in weight or fill the same role. I don’t need any of this, but I’m trying to buy with more intention instead of just accumulating more.

I still want to buy it all and have it all. I’ve just learned that, for me, it didn’t really add anything. It only created anxiety from having so much stuff, whether it was clothing or footwear.

When clothing and boots becomes one of your hobbies, which they have been for me for a number of years, it’s interesting how you have to navigate what you like, what actually makes you happy, and what simply adds to the pile. I still enjoy the hunt and appreciate great pieces, but I’ve found I’m much happier with a more thoughtful collection than one that’s constantly growing.

Edit: As if I haven’t said enough already, I also understand trying to figure out how to rotate everything. When do you wear something? Do you start fading it now, save it for later, or just leave it alone?

[Oaktavia]

@northsouthdenimguy Thank you for the write up, I value the insight and it actually does help quite a bit. 50 boots is wild! That is amazing you were able to sell 30 of them. I have sold about 30 items total from my collection in the past year and it feels AMAZING!

I wanted to point out the point you made about having too much gear and it causing anxiety. My wife said it's stressing me out that I have too many pants to wear. And it is true. Who knew, when we think we relieve stress by "therapy purchases" and it just compounds it. The entropy of an isolated system always increases over time.

[pechelman]

I've got a generally simple rotation plan. I pick a pair I want to wear and generally commit to only wearing those for at least a month or until they need to be washed. I'll select the pair based on the season, so right now I'm in 16oz slubs. If I'm going to do lots of yardwork or something dirty, I might switch to a beater pair, especially if I just put on a fresh pair. Generally I can't wear pants more than 2mo before I start to feel gross, so that starts the rotation again. This way feels pretty reasonable for how many pairs I have and still feels like I can make progress and actually see a difference.

I definitely have some pair though that I need to sell as I've started to prefer different things though, so that helps keep the number to rotate through a bit smaller.

Edit, I'll also add I dislike rotating pairs regularly during the week because I hate having to swap out my belt, knife, and anything else small in my pockets.