@Oaktavia
I understand the anxiety you speak of.

In my early days of IH and Japanese denim, i did what a lot of people do: i bought way too much stuff. Over time it began weighing me down - the anxiousness of feeling like i had to try every type of denim, combined with the guilt of excessive consumerism. In hindsight, in a lot of cases i think i just wanted to see and feel the product, not necessarily own it. It took me a while to realise this.

I stepped right back for a number of years. I still wore good jeans in that time, but would go months (even years) without looking at things online and drooling over them. It was amazingly liberating - i was oblivious to whatever was going on in the denim world.

The (unintended) tradeoff for me was that i got heavily into guitar building in that period, and ended up with way too many guitars. I guess it’s my personality to go a bit over the top when i find something i like!

These days, i’m fairly restrained with my denim purchases, although arguably still have too many jeans. The other thing that’s changed (although i can’t put my finger on why) is that i don’t give a fuck about fades. At all. I love the look of new jeans just as much as old ones.

Just my story…all the best finding a strategy that works for you. Cheers!

Friday night at home, playing guitar and kicking back on the sofa. Good times.

@Oaktavia
Moving stuff on can feel really good, huh.
I think many of us have been through periods where we got carried away wanting almost every new release, but it can reach a point where it weighs you down mentally. These days, at any given time i only have a handful of IH things, and the rest I’m happy to admire from the sidelines.
[edited for typos]

Why do some people expect/want a reward for buying stuff? Isn’t a well-made item enough?

I wasn’t aware a loyalty scheme existed - my purchases are sometimes quite spaced out (sometimes by years), which is probably why. Also I’ve sometimes bought IH stuff from SE and R&H.

Controversial idea perhaps, but I’d consider going the other direction and adding a surcharge to purchases after an individual has reached a certain annual spend. IH then donates the surcharge to charity, and it doesn’t stop people buying things if they have the funds to support an indulgent clothing habit.

@Alex said in IHSH-316-IND - 9oz Selvedge Ombré Check Western Shirt - Indigo:

No plans, but we often look to the past for the future

No worries. An UHF in a similar colour scheme would also be welcomed (by me).

Please put my vote in the ‘random bloke asks for random shit’ folder, if it's not at capacity.

I’m smack-bang in between sizes on this run, so will sit it out and see what the next lot yields.

I was thinking recently - to use a guitar analogy - that the 634s is like the Telecaster of jeans: Not fancy. Never goes out of style. Lasts forever and gets better over time. Goes well with everything.
Just as Leo Fender got it right the first time, so did IH.

Pretty hard to put that genie back in the bottle, eh?

I spent several years away from the forum while indulging in other (equally expensive) hobbies, and on returning was pretty surprised to see how the IH product range has exploded. To be honest, i also sometimes reminisce about ‘the simple times’ when there was just a handful of IH options, but the comments in the initial post about diversification make sense.

Good on you for responding to the question so calmly, Giles. Not sure I would have the same level of patience.

Weird times in the world.

I reckon I’m finally grown-up enough to get a pair of 634S. Not sure how I’ve managed to avoid them for so long - guess I was just caught up in the 666 and 777 models.

Looking forward to a restock whenever it lands.

Release time is 1am in my corner of the universe. I’m not getting up in the middle of the night to order jeans, so I’ll see if I can snag a pair a few hours later at a locally sensible time. I don’t feel great about my chances, but either way I win - either I get a great pair of jeans, or I save $600 (yep, that’s the exchange rate for ya).

Continuing the ash and maple theme, here’s my “Blackmore” style partscaster.
(It’s lefty with a mirror image decal)

@Anesthetist said in Random Rants:

I am pretty sure my Stevensons have angled loops at the back and it can be a pain to get my belt through them. The look doesnt bother me as much as the extra trouble.

I’d have to go back and look, but I’m pretty sure that my first pair of IronHeart’s the DC 4001 had an offset loop for comfort.

Interesting. I didn’t remember it ever featuring on IH.

On the upside, the angled loops have saved me buying a few pairs of jeans over the years; things that I otherwise would have picked up. I guess that’s a sign of how spoilt for choice we are these days - it really is a golden era.

I might have an unhealthy obsession with belt loop aesthetics….. I really love the heavily ridged ones that sone brands do. I’ve been loving wearing a pair of Strike Gold lately, featuring the most beautifully defined belt loop ridges.

Possibly, i don’t know much about Evisu. Denime and SDA do it a fair bit, and i’ve seen it occassionally on a few others such as Flat Head.

Now for something completely different….

Offset or angled rear belt loops: I just can't deal with the aesthetic, and could never wear jeans with them.

Whenever i see them, I just wanna straighten them up….dammit.

So petty, i know.

@Alex
Thanks for the reply. Must be a case of distorted memory. Beautiful denim anyway.

I recently acquired some effectively new (ie unworn or washed) 25oz IH jeans. The denim feels softer and less dark than i recall. That said, my last pair of 25oz was over 10 years ago.
I suspect the difference is in my memory or perception, but curious to know if there has been any change in recipe over the last decade or so?

Great news, “Two Dads” Padmore!

I hope these sell out fast, otherwise i’ll probably end up buying one.

Price reduction.

Very nice indeed.

Cheers for the explanation, Ross.

It’s one of those situations of “once you know where to look” it’s fairly clear, but for newer viewers perhaps it isn’t obvious. In a way you (IHUK) are a victim of your own diligence, by providing so much product info on each page.

I feel for you guys in this forum patiently fielding restock questions day after day.