Blackhorse Lane Atelier: Denim Jeans from East London by Alex Hughes

I'm very grateful to reader Alex Hughes, budding blogger, friend of Grey Fox Blog and menswear aficionado for this report on Blackhorse Lane Ateliers, a company making denims in East London:

The debate over jeans and the mature gent won't go away any time soon, but I hope that readers of this blog would agree with the proposition that, with certain caveats (such as quality, wash and fit), there is no reason for any arbitrary limit on the ability of a gent to wear jeans at any age. With that in mind, along with importance Grey Fox blog places upon supporting British manufacturing, this correspondent paid a recent visit to Blackhorse Lane Ateliers, a relatively new but exciting operation based in East London.

Launched in April this year (after over a year of planning and preparation) by Han Ates, who has over twenty years experience in the clothing and textile industry, Blackhorse Lane Ateliers is a project which is the antithesis of disposable fashion. Having purchased three pairs of jeans from a major brand at the beginning of 2015 and having been unimpressed with the quality of construction, along with noticing that each pair had been produced in a different country, Han was moved by a desire to produce a quality item using traditional ‘Heritage’ manufacturing techniques, employing local workers in the process.

His recent experience hasn’t been easy though, and underlines the value in supporting British brands which manufacture in this country and thereby maintain a skilled workforce; 21 years ago when setting up another clothing operation, he advertised for workers and 3 weeks later had 110 applications. This time around, after 4 months he had 9 applications. The current workforce is a mixture of experienced workers and trainees learning the skills needed to produce garments to a high standard.

The result is a range of styles named after London postcodes in a variety of weights of selvedge denim, sourced from (currently) Turkish and (more familiar to the denim heads out there) Japanese mills. Given the emphasis on the quality of materials and care to the manufacturing process the jeans are not cheap, but having borne witness to both it is highly believable that by measuring value in the perennial ‘cost per wear’ metric, they will actually prove much cheaper in the long run, as well as being more pleasurable to wear.

It’s difficult not to be impressed with both their dedication to the quality of their products and high ethical standards they set themselves with regard to the environmental impact of their production. Other projects include growing their own indigo for future use in their jeans, and giving back to the local community, such as providing open days for school children to encourage an interest in clothing manufacture and make them think about the provenance of the clothes they wear. See Blackhorse Lane Atelier Denim

Contributed by Alex Hughes. This is an unsponsored post and all views are those of the author and this blog.

Quantock Clothing - jeans made in England

It's always a pleasure to report on British-made denims. These jeans are made in England for Quantock Clothing. As of May 2016, Quantock are offering a £16 discount on these jeans with the discount code GREYFOX - see link below.

The denim is robust but not harsh, the fit is ideal, slim, but not too so and the waist is comfortably-placed: you won't feel like an inmate of the US penal system with the them hanging somewhere around your lower backside, as is too often the case.

They are designed and made in England from Japanese selvedge denim woven on looms for a tighter and denser weave by the Kuroki Company in Okayama, Japan. There are two styles to chose from - rinse washed (or indigo jeans), or classic stonewashed finished. Highly-recommended. See Quantock Clothing.

Book review: Denim Dudes by Amy Leverton pub. Laurence King

The claim that older men shouldn't wear denim is, of course, nonsense. Denim has been around longer than any of us and no generation has exclusive right to it. A new book, Denim Dudes, by Amy Leverton and published by Laurence King this month, confirms this. Rarely have I seen so many stylish older men wearing double denim; the style police will be reaching for their smelling salts. 

The excellent portraits, shot by a team of photographers, show how widely denim appeals to men of all ages and world-wide: the book's coverage ranges from the US, through Europe, to Japan and Australia.

Denim styles too are diverse. Best battered, often vintage, generally blue, usually unpatterned and always found in a wide range garments and shapes. The attraction of the material is obvious, with links to work-wear, rebellion and informality, denim melds youth and age, appealing to a wide range of independent thinkers. This is style, not fashion. As such denim gets my vote and I highly recommend this book.

This book is for all who have ever worn a pair of jeans, or a denim shirt or jacket. The author, Amy Leverton, is a denim expert who is Director of Denim and Youth Culture at the trend-forecasting website, WGSN. See Laurence King for more information.

Gaolhouse Denim - jeans made in Britain in collaboration with Prison Service

Gaolhouse Denim is the result of a fascinating 2012 collaboration to make jeans between Will Unwin and Her Majesty’s Royal Prison Service. [Sadly Gaolhouse has ceased business since this piece was written].

Inspired by a business model put into practice by his father, Will approached the prison service in 2011 with the idea of working with inmates to design and develop jeans to be manufactured in prison, where there are significant manufacturing resources. The idea was that this would create paid and rehabilitating jobs for the inmates and provide them skills and a work ethic.

Working very closely with inmates the first jeans style, known as the GH-001, was developed. After two years of work, however, there was a ministerial change of heart and the programme to manufacture the jeans within the prison service was cancelled. Not wanting to give up, Will was able to find a UK manufacturer in that could support the first production and help finish off the incredible job that had been started by inmates. 

Gaolhouse Denim is only one of a handful of companies that manufacture jeans on British soil, a vital part of Will’s vision. The raw denim is from North Carolina, USA. A contribution to charity is made from the proceeds of sale of each pair of jeans.

To buy a pair from the limited first run and to find out more, go to the Gaolhouse Denim website [link removed].

Remember raw denim does best from minimal washing. This pocket detail shows when first wash due.

Universal Works - workshop denim jeans made in England

Universal Works have sourced 13oz denim made in Portugal on vintage narrow looms and made two styles of jeans in central England. As with all the best jeans, the denim is raw - no artificial distressing - allowing them, with time, to acquire that natural wear and patina of well-used denim which cannot be beaten by man-made ageing processes.

Available in slim and regular fits from Oi Polloi and Peggs & Son from April 4th - price £135. Also available at Universal Works online or at 37 Lambs Conduit Street and 40 Berwick Street, London.

If you're an older man in two minds about wearing denims, you may like to read this.

Regular fit

Slim fit

A reader asks - where can I get good quality raw denim jeans?

A reader asks -

Firstly thanks for the blog, I enjoy following it and like to imagine myself in some of the more eccentric wear that is shown in your articles.

Distressed denims - good or bad?

I have a question, I have always liked dark jeans, having in my teenage years purchased 501 shrink to fit jeans by mail order when they had their brief resurgence during the mod revival. As I am now in my early fifties I still enjoy wearing jeans but seem to have an issue with sizing and style, as most jeans seem to be distressed or over elaborated with detail. I tend to fall back on next for jeans due to their short leg availability, but quality always seems to be an issue.

My question is do you have any advice and recommendations for good quality dark denim in sizes which flatter the shorter grey fox.
Regards
Rob

Grey Fox replies -

Hi Rob,

Many thanks for contacting me - you've anticipated a post I've been meaning to write for a while. I agree with you that there's too much artificial distressing. I too prefer natural dark blue 'raw' denim. As you know, that term simply refers to denim that has never been washed. 

The great thing about raw denim is that you can make your jeans your own. Depending on how you wear and wash them, they can become battered, faded and distressed naturally or, if you prefer and manage them right, they will stay reasonably dark in colour and provide more of a 'smart casual' look. The choice is yours. 

If you wear them for several months without washing them properly, they will acquire creases, wear and folds that reflect your use of them, even down to the marks on your pocket where you store your wallet or keys.

Image Hiut Denim

Choice will depend on budget. I avoid cheap jeans, not only for quality reasons, but to ensure that I'm buying something that has been sustainably made and not in a sweatshop somewhere. Look at Marks & Spencer who trade sustainably and have a good selection at fair prices. At the luxury end, you can buy UK-made raw denims from Hiut Denim. These are made in Cardigan in Wales, where an old jeans factory has been re-opened, reviving skills that would otherwise have disappeared.

My choice was The Jean Machine (remember that UK jeans chain from the seventies? It has been recently revived by the founder's daughter). I have two pairs of their raw (Japanese) denim jeans and am impressed - lovely denim, beautifully made and well-cut. As usual with good quality raw denim, the fabric is tough as old boots.

Raw denim jeans - image Jean Machine

These jeans are comfortable, though the denim will soften and mould to the wearer with use. I went for the JM2 straight raw - fairly slim so go for more relaxed if you don't want that - but plenty of fits and lengths for all tastes. I like them long and wear them with turn-ups - that's a solution if you like shorter lengths, or simply get them turned up.

I look forward to distressing these naturally over the next few months and will write about this process again in future posts. Please let me know how you get on.

Best wishes

GF

If anyone has any further suggestions of favourite raw denim jeans, please comment at the end of this post.

Hiut - denims made in Wales

I wrote recently about English-made jeans. Here are some Welsh-constructed denims. Hiut have revived a factory that made jeans for thirty years in Cardigan in Wales, using skills that would otherwise have been lost.

I saw their jeans, made from either organic denim or Japanese selvedge denim in regular and slim fits, at Best of Britannia and was impressed by the quality and construction. Why buy foreign-made jeans when you can buy the real thing, made to high standards by experienced denim artists, here in the UK?

See Hiut's website and shop here.

Can I buy a pair of British-made denims? Joe Casely-Hayford at John Lewis

After many years' service, my jeans are ragged and threadbare. These scars have been earned, not applied at the factory like so many designer denims. They were nothing special, but I liked them, and they lasted a reasonable time. They will now be worn for chores before ending their life as dusters and rags.

Sic transit gloria denimi

As I've just had a Made and Designed in Britain month I could hardly sneak off and buy new jeans made in China or Turkey. Then I remembered I'd seen Made in England jeans at John Lewis, who are making a good effort to sell British products - I wrote about their Harris tweed jackets a few weeks ago.

Their Joe Casely-Hayford for John Lewis Raw Selvage Jeans, Indigo, have sold out online at the time of writing, but can be found at a few branches. They are strong and tightly-woven, a rich indigo colour, nicely cut (reasonably slim-fitting) and long in the leg, so even daddy-long-legs like me have plenty to turn up. Most importantly, the fly is a zip and the waist isn't going to be somewhere around your knees - so these are jeans for grown-ups. I now have six months of not washing my new jeans while I let the raw denim map itself to my lifestyle (or whatever). See here for more information.

If you miss these, how about some Welsh jeans? Stay tuned; I'll be looking at Hiut Denim shortly.

If you're an older man unsure about wearing jeans, read my thoughts here and then just buy a pair. Jeans were here before any of us and no generation has an exclusive right to wear them - just do so stylishly!

(All photos by Grey Fox)

Denim jeans and the middle-aged and older man

Sooner or later the middle-aged man in search of style will have to establish his position in the blue denim jeans and the older man debate.  Or so we are led to believe.  I don't think there needs to be any debate.  We can do what we like, frankly, and should ignore those who say otherwise. Most men of a certain age were wearing jeans decades ago; why should there come a time when we should stop wearing them?

Mind you, care needs to be taken, as this picture shows.  However, if there are any sartorial errors being made in this picture by Jeremy Clarkson and his colleagues I would argue that they are nothing to do with a decision to wear jeans per se.  It is more a question of how they are worn.

From the BBC

So, how should jeans be worn as we journey towards middle age and beyond?  Well, I'm going to duck that one as I intend to avoid being dictatorial on this blog.  I leave that to fashion and style experts.  I am willing to stick my neck out and say how I would wear jeans, but I do so simply to throw out ideas, not tell others how to do it.

Firstly, my jeans should fit properly, not be too baggy, long, short or tight.  Secondly, I don't wear jeans with white trainers, tennis shoes, Converse shoes etc - my personal view is that it doesn't work with an older man.  Brogues are, for me de rigeur, with jeans.  Thirdly, I wouldn't wear over-distressed jeans with holes and patches unless I have worn them out myself.  I hate artificially-induced age in objects like clothes, furniture and pictures - it's just fake, and that's bad.  I favour turn-ups on jeans - they look good with brogues.

Here are a few pictures that I rely on in evidence.  Please study them and see whether you take a similar view to me or not, then wear jeans as you want, not as others say you should.  I'm not going to say what my view is of each photo.

From The Sartorialist

From The Sartorialist

From The Sartorialist

Sorry, I don't know whom to credit for this photo

From The Sartorialist

Finally, I have been discussing blue denim jeans here, not other colours.  This picture illustrates how wearing jeans in colours other than faded blue is going to be fairly uncontentious at any age (in my view) -

From The Sartorialist