#56 | Olé Denim 306 13oz Fades

It seems like forever since the days of leaving the house to work at the office or meet friends and family for food and drinks. Though I miss the social interactions the most, I'm getting tired of wearing loungewear regularly. I switch in and out of the same clothes regularly consisting of adidas track pants, pullover hoods and could use more button-ups and denim in my life. As I reflect on my wardrobe, I took a peek at some jeans that I wear to the grocery store on a weekly basis and began to think back on my memories with them. I've always loved that raw denim's rips, tears and fades take you back to a certain time of your life and give you a feeling, similarly to a photograph. You might be saying to saying to yourself "Wow Ryan, you're weird", and I'd agree with you but let me tell you what this article of clothing has been through.

This is my pair of Olé Denim 306 13oz jeans. I've owned these since 2015 and have worn them a couple of times a week regularly since 2016. These used to be a deep indigo when I first purchased them and my plan was to wear these as my "travelling pants". Before I had the chance to wear them on a trip I broke my ankle and wanted to still wear denim, so I paired them with a pair of black New Balance 574's and some crutches. After I got through physio, I was ready to do some exploring and booked some trips taking these to Vancouver, Las Vegas, China, Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia later that year. That was my first time leaving North America making it even more memorable.

After that year, I figured it was best to beat these up and wear these hard so I found myself skateboarding in them, "dancing" at club and skating at the ODR. At this point they weren't only my travelling pants but a faded casual pair that I would wear during evenings and weekends. As you can see in the photos above, we now see that they've lost a fair bit of that natural indigo where the jeans crease and are worked like the whiskers (front thighs), honeycombs (behind the knees) and the pockets. Though these are great quality, they aren't indestructible. I've had a couple of crotch blowouts and rips in my pockets which only added character. I was concerned that they'd get larger if they weren't cared for. Wear, care and repair.

You can see here that I decided to do some sashiko repairs to add some more character to the jeans and continue to do as they become more worn. I worked with my good friend Sengshiko to work on some of these designs. I remember this being quite important because I had a couple more trips planned and I wanted to have them fixed up in advance. So prior to Covid-19, I've also worn these to Toronto, Costa Rica, Mexico, Tokyo, India, Portland and a few other places in North America. Some of these trips you may have seen on this blog.

Thanks for letting me nerd out a bit and maybe I'll even share some other pairs of denim I've worn over the years. I can't wait for the day that we're all able to travel, grab beers and roam around safely. Until then, these are going to be my grocery shopping jeans.

Yours Truly

#42 | Behind the Scenes with Olé

Just the other week I spent time with Brayden and Alan shooting one half of our Olé lookbook. We had the idea of photographing the lifestyle of two individuals in two different cities. It is important to us that Olé can fit in one's life no matter what the world can throw at them. Take a look at what we did with JJ and stay tuned for the full lookbook.

Follow more of Olé here.

Yours Truly

#41 | Olé Denim Samples

The sample process has been a very long but rewarding procedure for us but thanks to our suppliers, producers, Chris and Dallas, we have slowly developed something that we as consumers want to wear and as businessmen are happy and proud to share with the public. As we now go into the final production stages, I want to thank everyone for their support and interest and want to let you know that 2015 is a big year for Olé. We are happy that there are people out there who are as excited as we are! Shout out to Joey Visser for the all of the photos.

Follow our story at @oledenim.

Yours Truly

#29 | Retired Naked & Famous Denim

Four years ago I purchased a pair of Naked & Famous denim from Calgary's Holt Renfrew, specifically the broken twill Skinny Guy. These were my fourth pair of raw denim, but admittedly the first pair that I put significant effort into. I chose these because it was a Canadian brand, an entry pair of raw denim and was a fan of how the broken twill pair turned out.

I remember sizing down a size because the Internet told me to and had a tough first two weeks of wear. I recommend that you should expect stretching, but buy something snug and comfortable at its first wear. These were a great starting pair for being under $200 and still offering Japanese selvedge (the end of the roll can be seen on the cuff photo). Japanese denim is highly sought after for their old practices, machines and general care to ensure quality.

 I wore these for four years and gave them four washes. Many of these companies recommend washing your pair six months in, which I agree on but next time will watch in two month cycles after. The bacteria, rocks, dirt, etc. break down the fibres in your jeans making them more susceptible to tears we hate like crotch blows to tears we like such as near the whiskers. Now I have to retire these due to four crotch repairs that make these uncomfortable.

Did I like these? I like the fit, the fades, the contrast and the attachment I had to an item of clothing. But being introduced to other brands and my own brand Olé, I want to see what other companies can offer. I'm interested in know what you guys wear, what you guys like and what you guys don't like. Comment below.

Yours Truly