DenimHunt

RIP Hilly Kristal, founder of CBGB's

Hilly Kristal, founder of punk staple, CBGB's, died yesterday at the age of 75 following a battle with lung cancer.

Almost one year ago, Kristal was forced to close the infamous dive due to rent hikes and other disagreements with the landlord. CB's first opened in 1973 and served as the stage for acts such as the Ramone's, Sonic Youth, and Blondie. As happens so often, given the easy connection between music and art, CBGB's expanded into a gallery space hosting some of the art world's most unique up-and-comers, as well as the annual Terrible Toy Fair.

As Patti Smith says in today's New York Times:

“There was no real venue in 1973 for people like us,” Ms. Smith said on Wednesday. “We didn’t fit into the cabarets or the folk clubs. Hilly wanted the people that nobody else wanted. He wanted us.”

In honor of Kristal, we're wearing our favorite skinny jeans, grey Jimmy jeans, named after CBGB's fixture, Jimmy Web, of Trash & Vaudeville. We suggest you do the same and watch the Ramone's at CB's from 1977:

For more: The New York Times

Danielle Clarke does Ditto

Last year we worked with Danielle Clarke in partnership with her line, Frankie B. and their breast cancer efforts with Her2Genes. The event in which her iconic husband, Gilby Clarke of GnR fame took to the stage with Velvet Revolver's Duff McKagan, was a huge success. Even more of a success was her denim collection which was so coveted attendees broke into the display and stole a dozen pairs of the limited-edition jeans.

We're convinced Clarke will have as much success with her new project, the relaunch of 70s mega-jean, Dittos. Hitting shelves this fall in a color assortment that would make Crayola jealous, Dittos will be available in their classic highwaist flare as well as more modern silhouettes such as a skinny hipster jean and a highwaisted short. For a headstart, check out RevolveClothing.com where the classic style retails for $165.

SOURCE: Vogue UK

Denim Rocks: Ryan Adams

For more Ryan Adams, check out this week's interview with Pitchfork.

Designer we love: Rick Owens

As long-time fans of Rick Owens' dramatically draped knit garments, we explored a little deeper to find an amazing range of men's denim.

While Owens is a favorite with the Hollywood fashion elite, he maintains a rather low-profile living with his wife (founder of Les Deux Cafes in LA) in Paris. He currently produces mens, womens and furniture lines for his own label as well as acting as the creative director for furrier Revillon. Owens gained notoriety by winning the CFDA Perry Ellis Emerging Talent Award in 2002 and has since seen his collections on everyone from Ellen Barkin to the Olsen girls. Racking up even more avant garde points, word is Owens' Italian factory will be producing Gareth Pugh's (a former Owens intern) highly anticipated collection.

These many accolades bring us to his men's range of denim. Of course the fits are slim, but not forcefully cut skinny, and the washes follow the palette of muted grey, taupe and black as with the rest of his knit and leather pieces. While the pieces can be hard to find at retail, check out Atelier in New  York and Maxfield in Los Angeles.

What are your thoughts on Mr. Owens? Do you love his "avant grunge" aesthetic or do you look for more traditional pieces?

For more Rick Owens: OwensCorp.com

The skinniest legs; the skinniest jeans

While girls have a selection of trend-setting styles to choose from, the edgey cut for guys still seems to be skinny. Of course, this style is best left to musicians and their entourages which leads us to the Horrors. It's a bit unfair to give them the award of skinniest jeans(they clearly have the skinniest legs) however, they do wear the style to the extreme and do so better than anyone else we've seen. Perhaps being young, British, and in a band is the key to perfect skinny denim.

What do you think? Have you seen even better skinny?

Photo: SOURCE

Denim on Denim

The latest UK wonders to skip the pond, the Fratellis, have plenty of laid back style to make girls swoon and boys jealous. With sold-out shows in New York, an iPod commerical, and praise from legendary musician, Pete Townsend, they're sure to be around for a while.

As much as we love their music, we love their denim! It has just enough grit and of course, that perfect rock fit. Drummer, Mince, pulls off what no mere mortal can--denim on denim.

With nothing looking too new, we think it's a great look.

What are your thoughts about more than one denim garment at a time?

Photo: Andrew Cotterill