DenimHunt

Five Questions for Five Pockets: Lynn Downey, Levi Strauss

We already clued you in to the new Levi's book penned by Lynn Downey(left,) the brand historian for Levi Strauss. This time, we were lucky enough to bend her ear for a bit for our Five Questions for Five Pockets series.

1. What was your first pair of jeans?

I think it was a pair of Levi's For Gals beige jeans covered with orange flowers. That must have been about 1968 or something. I eventually graduated to 5-pocket denim, though when I entered high school in California in 1969, girls were not allowed to wear pants to school. We could wear pants in our senior year, 1972, but not jeans. So I would get home from school and jump into my Levi's jeans. I'm the third generation (at least) of my family to wear Levi's jeans.

2. Who do you think is the ultimate denim icon?

Well, I think I'd have to say....Levi Strauss! Anyone who invents a product that people are still wearing more than 130 years later has earned icon status in my book.  Other than Levi, I would have to name the anonymous working man of the 19th century as the ultimate denim icon: our first customer, the man who made Levi's jeans part of the DNA of America.

3. What are your current favorite jeans?

Ooh, my 525 boot cut jeans. Love these jeans, they are a fabulous fit, especially on my 53-year-old body. I also love my Levi's Capital E "Swank" jeans.

4. What denim trend do you wish would go away?

You know, I like all denim trends. That's because I love how versatile denim is, you can do so much with it, and I love to see how creative people get with denim, whether it's design, finishing, or packaging. As a historian it's a treat for me to work all day with vintage Levi's jeans, and then go out on the street and see the modern interpretation of the original.

5. What's your number one rule for denim?

Wear it everywhere!

PHOTO: Hangauer/Kissinger

Five Questions for Five Pockets: Thomas Onorato and Max Wixom, OW! PR

Many of you know Thomas Onorato from his hugely popular book, Confessions from the Velvet Ropes as well begging to get past his guestlist at parties such as MisShapes and Motherf*cker. What you don't know is that Thomas and his business partner, Max Wixom, have started OW! PR, and work with some of the largest names in the fashion an entertainment industries. Mercedes-Benz? They've done it. Hermes? Check. Derek Lam? We were there with them this season.

So, what do two of the most important tastemakers wear most often? Jeans of course! In the middle of the fashion week hustle, Thomas and Max took a time out to bring you this week's Five Questions for Five Pockets.

1. What was your first pair of jeans?
Thomas: Lee jeans when I was four which I got with my mom, Toni, at Bradlee's in Bloomfield, NJ.

Max: Either Levi's or Calvin Klein jeans in the '80s.

2. Who do you think is the ultimate denim icon?
Thomas: Talitha Getty, the first "it" girl to put a dress over skinny jeans back in the '70s and the Ramones. You don't get more iconic than that.

Max: Brooke Shields. I was really into that campaign [for CK] when I was growing up on an island in the middle of the Pacific.

3. What are your current favorite jeans?
Thomas: Ksubi, Trash & Vaudeville, Paper Denim, and Cheap Monday

Max: I'm enjoying Levi's Capitol E series and I'm kind of a sucker for the occasional H&M as they're cut very well for my body.

4. What denim trend do you wish would go away?
Thomas: Overtly tricked out, treated, weathered, or dyed denim jeans. Gag me, please!

Max: Color nonsense and tricked out shenanigans

5. What's your number one rule for denim?
Thomas: Simple and worn-in is always the best look.

Max: Never go shopping for it without my business partner, Thomas. 

Five Questions for Five Pockets: Jeremy Scott

Jeremy Scott is one of our favorite people in the whole wide world. He never takes fashion too seriously, and his show is always the perfect mix of cartoon meets couture. Making us even happier than seeing Ashley Olsen front-row at his last NY show before jumping to Paris, was his collaboration with Aussie denim giant, Ksubi (formerly Tsubi.) Incorporating his bright prints with cultural references, Jeremy Loves Ksubi reminds us why everyone from Bjork to Lindsay Lohan to Cory Kennedy, Loves Jeremy. Oh, and we can't forget, Lapo Elkann is fan too as he wore Jeremy's Adicolor pants to Marc Jacob's holiday party.

Time for us to chill with the fan-out. Check out Jeremy's answers to this week's Five Questions for Five Pockets and look for his next runway collection to hit Paris in October.

1. What was your first pair of jeans?
I'm not sure if they were the first, but I definitely remember wearing Jordache jeans when I was in elementary school and feeling like I was it.

2. Who do you think is the ultimate denim icon?

Levi's 501. It's not easy to get around the way they have been etched into the popular subconscious through images.

3. What are your current favorite jeans?
Jeremy Loves Ksubi, of course!

4. What denim trend do you wish would go away?
I don't really concern myself with trends.

5. What's your number one rule for denim?
HAVE FUN!

Five Questions for Five Pockets: Vipada Wongpatanasin, Old Navy

As we posted before, we're more than excited about Old Navy's latest denim expansion. We thought our favorite part of the transformation was their new trouser jeans and colored denim range. That was until we were lucky enough to grab a few minutes with Vipada Wongpatanasin, the brand's senior women's denim designer. With our mutual love of Balenciaga darling, Charlotte Gainsbourg (shown below at right) and the facelift she's given the mass chain, we want to be Vipada's new best friend.

Check out the Old Navy edition of Five Questions for Five Pockets below:

1. What was your first pair of jeans?
Vintage Wrangler, the most beautiful broken twill denim ever. 

2. Who do you think is the ultimate denim icon?
No one in particular. I would say it’s more about the iconic images for example, Marlon Brando in the wild one, Marilyn Monroe in her curve hugging peddle pusher, Jane Birkin in her hi-rise bell. They all embodied their own unique denim icon. I guess Charlotte Gainsbourg is a great example for the modern day icon because she is so effortless in her denim. Ultimate denim icon to me is more about the wearers than the makers. So anyone of us in some way is the ultimate denim icon. 

3. What are your current favorite jeans?
Levi’s vintage 646 orange tab.

4. What denim trend do you wish would go away?
In your face embellished denim and hip hop denim.

5. What's your number one rule for denim?
Wear it like you mean it and love it to end.

Five Questions for Five Pockets: Craig Smith, professional hunting guide and cowboy

We promised you a special edition of Five Questions for Five Pockets from our trip to Wyoming. Following through, we'd like to introduce you to Craig Smith, owner of Triple Three Outfitters. He's a professional hunting guide at his ranch in Buffalo, WY, and all around tough guy. Craig's the kind of guy who ropes cows, starts campfires with flint and steel, and plays poker in the back room of local bars.

Be it riding his horses, hunting in the mountains, or working on his ranch, Craig is always in his jeans. We thought he'd give us a different perspective on denim rather than our usual fashion-focused POV. Check out our wild west edition of Five Questions for Five Pockets:

1. What was your first pair of jeans?
The first pair I can remember were a pair of Levi's when I was about nine. My mom took me shopping at Santerians in Hatboro, PA. There was nothing I hated more than shopping. At that time I was practicing shooting my gun and trapping animals in my parents suburban neighborhood. I can remember making myself vomit whenever it came time to go clothing shopping.

2. Who do you think is the ultimate denim icon?
Country singer, George Strait. He's a classic. Always acts like a gentleman and his jeans always look great--never like a costume get-up.

3. What are your current favorite jeans?
Wrangler's cowboy cut jeans 34w36l and anything from Carhartt. I used to wear Levi's when I lived on the East coast, but I can't find the same fit out here. I like sturdy jeans that take a beatin' without falling apart.

4. What denim trend do you wish would go away?
People cutting slits in their jeans. Why mess up a good pair of jeans? Plus, it just looks stupid. Also, button fly jeans. I gave them a shot, but it's just too much work to get them buttoned back up.

5. What's your number one rule for denim?
Comfortable and durable. They have to feel good and hold up with the wear and tear.

Five Questions for Five Pockets: Andrew Buckler, Buckler

Launched in 2001, Buckler has established itself as the perfect mix of traditional American blue jeans with a Brit twist. Icons such as Iggy Pop, Tommy Lee, and the Stones have been seen in Andrew Buckler's tailored denim pieces.  With a past position with Ungaro, it's no surprise Buckler's biggest fans are also the biggest names in rock and roll. Check out Andrew's answers below in the third installment of Five Questions for Five Pockets.

1. What was your first pair of jeans?
I was living in the UK; it was a pair of Diesel circa 1980--acid wash--they were the only pair of jeans I owned apart from my own in addition to a pair of Daryl K jeans and a pair of vintage Levi's which cost me an arm and a leg.

2. Who do you think is the ultimate denim icon?
Bernard Lichtenstein! No many know who the hell he is. He was probably the first fashion designer of denim jeans. Levi Strauss created the denim jean which was a work wear jean to be sturdy and strong and to last forever. Lichtenstein worked for Blue Bell aka Wrangler to design boot cut jeans for rodeo riders in the 1940's.

3. What are your current favorite jeans?
The Buckler "Franklet" skinny grey denims. The cut also comes in raw and washed indigos from selvedge. The narrow cut is still a statement, especially on guys.

4. What denim trend do you wish would go away?
Denim and trend is an oxymoron. I think the "trend" is all going away and the companies and styles left standing will have lasted the test of time. No more bells and whistles. Keep it lean and mean.

5. What's your number one rule for denim?
Apart from don't wear over designed denim, as in Q4, I think the rule is to keep it organic. I don't just mean the cotton in the fabric, I mean the whole process. Too many jean washes involve carcinogens and chemicals that don't just screw the environment, they literally damage the workers. Buckler has just introduced an organic selvedge denim in the "Angry Anglo" and "Franklet" fits. We reviewed the whole process of making and washing the jeans to find ways to make it as environmentally safe as possible.

Five Questions for Five Pockets: Chip & Pepper

Following the launch of their celebrated, C7P line at JCPenny, Chip & Pepper are quickly climbing up the denim ranks since founding their first fashion line in 1987. Along with the C7P line, keep a look out for the Stella jean (shown below) this fall. The best seller has a contour waistband and asymmetrical rise--lower in the front, higher in the back--to provide just the right amount of coverage while providing a must-have wider leg fit. Chip and Pepper took a time-out from creating the perfect fit, to answer Five Questions for Five Pockets.

1. What was your first pair of jeans?
CHIP--We always wore Levi's growing up, but when I was about 12 or 13 there was a brand of designer jeans called Great Scott that I was dying to have. My mom thought I was crazy because they were like $40 so I saved up my money to buy them. Everyone made fun of me and said I was wearing girl's jeans because they had no back pockets! But they looked so cool--I didn't care. I was ahead of the trends!

2. Who do you think is the ultimate denim icon?
PEPPER--Definitely our friend from childhood, Randy Tuck. He always had the best denim and he always looked like a movie star. He was always perfectly dressed. No one can wear denim like Randy Tuck. He would get in fights almost everyday--and always lost--but no matter how beat-up he got, somehow his jeans managed to stay perfect. We actually named a pair of jeans after him, the Tuck. They have deconstructed pockets but are still great looking as if they made it through the war but still look hip and stylish--just like Randy Tuck!

3. What are your current favorite jeans?
PEPPER--The carrot cut! It's so great for men. It has a sack bum, then gets skinny and progressively tappers. It looks like a carrot! Our carrot cut jean is called "Sack Ass."

4. What denim trend do you wish would go away?
CHIP--I don't know if it is a trend or if I should call it an epidemic, but I can't stand when people, mostly guys, wear jeans that are several sizes too big for them! You know the style--the crotch is so low, the fly is at their knees. Boxers or briefs is a personal choice, I don't need to see it!

5. What's your number one rule for denim?
CHIP--The number one rule is--there are no rules--just wear something that feels good. When you feel good, you look sexy. Being comfortable comes across as pure confidence. It is sexy! For a man or a woman, the best advice I can give is to wear something that fits you well and feels great.

Five Questions for Five Pockets: Scott Morrison, Earnest Sewn

Denim industry heavy-hitter, Earnest Sewn, has quickly risen to be one of the industry's most celebrated and respected brands. With fans such as Courtney Cox-Arquette, Shooter Jennings, and Lenny Kravitz, Earnest Sewn works as well for the woman on the go as it does for world-renowned musicians. President and designer, Scott Morrison, took a moment to share with us some of his denim insight.

1. What was your first pair of jeans?
My first pair that I can remember buying were Levi's of course, but the first pair that actually made me think differently about denim were a pair of Replay 914's.  They were in a limited edition Japanese denim, they felt different than anything I’d ever worn.

2. Who do you think is the ultimate denim icon?
I can't think of any one person, but there are a few that have made some amazing strides: Adriano Goldshmeid, Renzo Rosso, and of course Loeb ‘Levi’ Strauss all come to mind.

3. What are your current favorite jeans?
Without a doubt the Earnest Sewn 'Hutch.89' fit is my all time favorite jean.  It's in one of my favorite greencaste Japanese denims, and the fit is exactly what a durable bootcut should fit like.  It's one of those jeans' that is truly timeless and only gets better the more you wear it.

4. What denim trend do you wish would go away?
Thankfully we avoid being too much of a ‘trend’ driven brand since we’re commited to the classic 5 pocket aesthetic.  Our passion is authenticity and integrity, so the trends in denim I find most offensive is contrived washes, cheesy embellishments, and just about anyone who doesn’t know a thing about making blue jeans giving it a shot because it’s ‘hot’ right now. 


5. What’s your number one rule for denim?
If you can avoid it, limit the number of denim washings.  Personally, I'm a "never ever wash your jeans" type of guy.  I believe in letting your denim wear in and age as it will.  The great thing about denim is the more you wear them in the better they get.  If things get really unsanitary, I either spray them with Fabreeze or hand wash them and line dry them by hanging them from Earnest Sewn's signature locker loop on the center back waistband.