Why Heavyweight Denim Is Not Only Harder to Fade

33 oz. Denim, the ‘Best Selvedge Jeans for Men’ (Any Budget), and the Indigo Invitational Winners

I was going to open this issue with something I’ve learned trying to make 20 oz. jeans: heavyweight denim becomes a production problem before it ever becomes a wearing problem.

But then Bryan messaged me this morning asking when I was going to finish the Indigo Invitational Year Five winners announcement. I’d missed the earlier WhatsApp messages; he should’ve sent an email. A little swearing later, I dropped the Weekly and switched jobs.

The winners are further down. First, back to what it takes to make denim this heavy.

What It Takes to Make 33 oz. Denim

Talking about 20 oz. Weirloom jeans has made me realise how quickly denim weight becomes a production problem rather than a wearing problem.

In my new SOSOBROTHERS story, 33 oz. cuts weaving output from 100–120 yards a day to around 30—and that is only the beginning.

The Jeans Guide I’ve Wanted to Write for Years

I keep seeing big-name publications publish their versions of “best jeans for men” guides. GQ put out another one this week.

And every time, part of me thinks: if anyone should be able to make this genuinely useful for denim people, it should be me. So I finally did.

What began as two separate guides—one for the pairs people start with, another as my answer to the generic best-jeans lists—became one:

17 handpicked selvedge jeans across three price tiers, with the five I’d send most people to first right at the top.

Things Worth Your Attention

The inbox was doing its best to turn this into a much longer issue. These five survived:

• Self Edge turns 20 – 20 collaborations with 20 brands, staff from all six stores and a three-day San Francisco Weekender in November; Self Edge calls it the largest public gathering of Japanese brands yet held in North America.
• Hansen keeps pushing denim – I’ve known the Copenhagen-based brand since the early days of Denimhunters, so seeing the Robby Wide Cut Jeans in 13 oz. neppy Japanese denim, made in Japan, feels like a natural continuation of the denim programme they launched last summer.
• Denim-jacket season is here – KATO’s streamlined Blade and Brave Star’s 14 oz. sherpa-lined Brown Bear Ironside sit at opposite ends of the same autumn urge, which is good timing while I’m working on a new jacket guide.
• Flannels are back too – Brooklyn has UES’s 14.5 oz. heavyweight flannel, while Franklin & Poe has 3sixteen’s Brown/Ecru Crosscut; two very different ways to admit summer is over.
• Fifteen years, fifteen boots – My good friend Wouter is marking 15 years of Long John with 15 customised Red Wing 875s. Unmistakably Wouter, and the pairs release on September 26 at Black & Blue in Nijmegen.

The Year Five Winners Are In

More than 2,500 faders started Year Five of the Indigo Invitational. Over 650 made it to the finish, and after the Top 50, community voting and final judging, 25 pairs now make up the winners across the two conferences and Re(Pair).

I was on the judging panel, so I’ve already spent an unreasonable amount of time staring at some of these fades. Jorn-Bjorn from Norway won ROW in 19 oz. Iron Heart IH-555L, while Bima from Indonesia won SEA in 19 oz. Samurai S710XX, and Alex Scheibner won Re(Pair) in his 21 oz. Brave Star True Straights (meaning he can—hopefully—finally put some wear into his Weirlooms).

The full announcement has all 25 winners and the judges’ comments.

From the Archive: Last Year’s Winners

With Year Five finally settled, the obvious archive pick is the Year Four results. It’s worth a look back before you dive into the new winners—if only to see how high the bar already was.

See last year’s winners →