If You’re Hot in Your Heavy Jeans, Shedding Weight Isn’t the Only Solution
I probably should’ve done this week’s big update in April. But men don’t really shop ahead—not for seasonal things like lightweight jeans, anyway. We don’t really think, in two months, I’ll want something lighter. We think, it’s warm today, I’m sweating in these 21 oz. jeans.
This weekend, on the day most of the world celebrates Father’s Day, the Union trade show kicks off in Berlin. I’ll be heading down on Monday for a couple of days—catching up with the industry and helping out behind the scenes for Brund.
In This Issue of the DH Weekly
- The lightweight selvedge guide, rebuilt — read it here
- Gustin drops two lightweight denims
- SOSO: order a TBOL now, get a free tee
- Cultizm got a big pile of SOSO gear
- Iron Heart: the Kersey is back, the Baker Pants are basically gone
- John Lofgren Champion Sneakers at Brooklyn Clothing
- Sales season has started — KATO and Cultizm
- From the archive: what denim weight actually means
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Warm Weather, Meet Your Match
I’ve just finished a full rewrite of the lightweight selvedge jeans guide—one of the most-visited pages on the site, and one that hadn’t had a proper update since it was published two years ago.
What started as a quick tidy-up—check the links, swap out anything no longer available—turned into a couple days’ work.
I’ve added more brands, restructured it to be brand-first rather than product-first, and built a second section for what I call borderline lightweights.
For several brands, I’ve included more than one fabric—because some make more than one lightweight option, and sometimes a core fabric that sits just outside the criteria is worth putting in context too.
I also spent time thinking through what lightweight actually means, because it turns out there’s no industry standard and the sources I found mostly seem to trace back to the same 2013 article.
The conventional definition is anything less than 12 oz. I’ve made 12 oz. exactly the upper limit here, and included quite a few jeans at that weight—because this is denim, not gold.
But weight is only part of it. Fit matters just as much. A roomy 12 oz. will wear cooler than a slim 11 oz. every time—because what you’re really after is air between the fabric and your skin. So the guide also pays attention to that.
The borderline section covers fabrics that sit above 12 oz. on paper but belong in the conversation on feel—things like Warehouse’s Banner denim or Tellason’s 12.5 oz. Kaihara selvedge, where the weave, the yarn, and the cut do as much work as the spec. Especially in a roomy fit.
I also added a shortlist at the top for easy navigation—the brands I’d look at first—and a FAQ section at the bottom after I noticed a lot of the questions people actually have about lightweight denim weren’t being answered anywhere in the original guide.
Actually, the biggest change might be the smallest one. I’ve introduced a “price indicator system,” showing roughly what jeans from each brand start at. I’d like to know what you think of this before I roll it out across all the guides.
Things Worth Your Attention
Staying with the theme of summer and lighter things, here’s what else caught my attention this week.
Gustin Drops Two Lightweight Denims
Fittingly, two drops from Gustin landed in my inbox the same week I was finishing the lightweight guide.
The Vidalia Superlight at 10 oz.—all-American, woven on vintage Draper X3 looms at Vidalia Mills—and the Japan Heavy Linen at 11 oz., which is 100% linen. Both fit squarely in the lightweight denim guide.
That’s the thing with Gustin. New fabrics launch all the time, which makes it hard to include any single option permanently in a guide like this—but it also means there’s almost always something interesting to watch for.
SOSO: Order TBOL Jeans Now, Get a Free Tee
For a limited time—until June 30th or while stock lasts—every purchase of a TBOL (The Breaker of Legs, their 33 oz. selvedge jeans) or TBOA jacket comes with a free limited-edition 11 oz. tee worth $129. Stock on the tees is already running low.
Yes, 33 oz. in the middle of summer sounds a little counterintuitive—especially in the same issue as the lightweight guide. But SOSO is made to order, and the lead time right now is around 7–8 weeks.
Order today, and you’ll have them sometime in August, which is a much more reasonable time to start thinking about the heaviest custom-made jeans on the planet.
Cultizm Just Got a Fresh Drop from SOSO
Speaking of SOSO: a fresh delivery just landed at Cultizm, headlined by the 33 oz. TBOL—now in a new left-hand twill construction—and the TBOA jacket in the same fabric.
The drop also includes Sashiko Denim Chinos; the 25 oz. Ghost Selvedge, the heaviest “normal” denim in SOSO’s lineup, as Cultizm puts it; and a blanket-lined selvedge denim jacket in 13.5 oz. And there’s more still!
Iron Heart: Kersey Is Back, Baker Pants Are Basically Gone
Two things from Iron Heart this week. The 14 oz. indigo Kersey work and western shirts are back in stock—rope-dyed yarns, deeply ridged twill, fade potential you’d normally only get from denim. Warm, yes, but that’s part of the appeal.
The Baker Pants are a different story. A 4 oz. cotton/nylon fatigue-inspired cut, Iron Heart’s first Baker in over a decade—and already nearly sold out before they could even send a proper newsletter about it. If there’s a size left in yours, move fast.
Brooklyn: John Lofgren Champion Sneakers Are Back
The John Lofgren Champion Sneaker just landed at Brooklyn Clothing in two new colours—olive and black. Built in Japan at Moonstar, one of the last remaining vulcanised sneaker factories in the world, from 12 oz. Japanese chino selvedge.
Double-thick soles, double stitching throughout, and the kind of construction that ages well rather than falling apart. If you run large, size down half a size.
Sales Season Has Started
Two worth knowing about. KATO has kicked off their annual summer sale with up to 50% off select items—and if you’re travelling, they’ll hold your order until July 7th. Cultizm has also added new items to their summer sale, up to 50% off.
Brund’s Copenhell Merch Is Raising Money for Cancer Research
Brund has put together a limited metal-inspired merch capsule—a black trucker cap and a black crewneck tee, very few of the latter left—designed by Johan, their in-house merch wizard, for the crew heading to Copenhell this year.
All proceeds go to Kræftens Bekæmpelse—the Danish Cancer Society, which funds cancer research and supports patients and their families across Denmark. Worth a look if you’re after something to wear in the pit.
From the Archive: What’s This “Oz.” All About?
If the lightweight guide left you wanting to go deeper on the numbers—what denim weight actually means, how it’s measured, and why the ounce figure doesn’t tell the whole story—this is the one to read next.
What Is Denim Weight? How Ounces Work, and Why They Matter
The post There’s More to Lightweight Jeans Than Weight Alone appeared first on Denimhunters.
DENIM and PATCHES sourced this post originally published on this site