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Also: Tellason’s Answer to Heat Isn’t Lighter Jeans
I’ve been running the DH weekly as a column slash newsletter since New Year’s. This is the 25th issue, and it goes out on the day I also earned my 25th-visit-cup at my new gym. Coincidence? Totally. Relevant? Not really.
Before I get into this week’s topics, I have a quick Weirloom update: I’ve finally shipped my first shirt! The WL-S ‘First Edition’ is a 12 oz. one-washed indigo flannel. The first batch is sold out, but more will drop after summer.
This week, I visited Berlin for the Union trade show with the Brund team, where I got to say hi to a few legendary names: Haraki-san, Nogami-san, and Hayashi-san (founder of Denime and Resolute).
Besides that, I’ve been counting down the days I’ve got left at my desk before our summer holiday kicks in, and there aren’t many left. Loose ends to wrap up, Roskilde Festival from Wednesday, then a 4-day sprint week before I’m outta here. This weekend, I’m even covering at Brund while the crew’s at Copenhell.
In This Issue of the DH Weekly
- The 8 Signs of a Quality Tee – Bryan’s new guide to spotting one yourself
- Tellason’s Wide-Leg Chino – more room, Italian twill, same denim-world appeal
- O.P. Jewellery – why recycled silver is worth a second look
- Iron Heart – the 634S restocks in overdyed black
- Whitesville and UES – two loopwheeled tees, one easy, one heavier
- Sales – SOSO, Cultizm, and KATO have some good deals
- From the Archive – 8 tees, worn and tested, no assumptions
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You Look for “Loopwheeled,” But What Else?
It feels like every week brings another restock, another collab, another “best tee” claim. Whitesville and UES this week alone prove the point, further down in this issue.
But most of what gets written about quality T-shirts, including on this site, tells you which one to buy. Useful, but it doesn’t necessarily help you when you’re standing in front of a tee nobody’s reviewed.
We’ve already got a well-made essentials T-shirt guide, a guide with hands-on reviews of the tees Bryan’s actually worn, and my own deep dive into loopwheeled tees. So do we really need another guide?
Yes. Because none of those teach you how to spot quality. This new guide does exactly that: you’ll learn about the physical signs to look for, no brand required, so you can visit any shop and know exactly what you’re about to buy.
What to Wear When Jeans Feel Like Too Much
I haven’t worn chinos in at least fifteen years. A pair of Tellason’s fatigue shorts is about as close as I get these days. Not because I have anything against chinos, I’m just not skipping fade days.
I wore plenty of oversized Dickies as a teenager, back when I was skateboarding and pretending to be Tom DeLonge. I ordered them straight from the US to save money, and honestly, just for the thrill of it—guess I’ve been hunting for pants all my life.
Tellason is a jeans brand, but they’re not limiting themselves to that. They’ve already got two chinos, cut and sewn in San Francisco from Japanese twill.
And they’ve been widening the horizons for a while, starting with the Fredy jeans—now worn even by co-founder Pete Searson, who Tony Patella describes as a “skinny bloke.”
The wide-leg chino picks up where Fredy left off, adding a roomier chino option, only this one’s not made the same way.
Things Worth Your Attention
Recycled silver, a denim restock with a twist, two loopwheeled tees, and a few sales worth a look.
Is Secondhand Silver the Solution?
I’ve been wearing a Good Art necklace for a couple of years, and I’d like some more—if only they weren’t so darn expensive! So when Franklin & Poe announced a new jewellery brand, I paid attention.
O.P. Jewellery is based in Stockholm and was founded in 2014. Every piece is handcrafted in Bangkok from recycled sterling silver. That last part is worth dwelling on, because it’s increasingly the norm rather than the exception.
I did some research (thanks, Claude): Silver has had one of its strongest runs in decades, breaking $100 an ounce earlier this year. Supply can’t really respond to that, because (as I just learned) most silver comes as a byproduct of mining other metals. Recycled silver is the supply that really moves, and recycling is now at its highest level in over a decade.
None of that makes O.P.’s silver special on its own. But just take one look at it and tell me it’s not pretty!
The 634S Restocks, This Time Overdyed
Following the 21 oz. signature selvedge that landed a few weeks back, Iron Heart has another restock of their straight leg 21 oz. 634, this time in the overdyed black version.
Overdyeing means they take a fully sewn pair and steep the whole thing in black dye. It colours the indigo without removing it, and gets rid of any residual shrinkage in the process. It’s not quite black, no longer indigo, somewhere in between. Over time, both dyes fade with wear and wash, leaving blue-grey hues behind.
One change worth flagging: this batch is made with a “direct dye” process rather than the sulphur dye used previously, for environmental reasons. The only visible difference is that the brass hardware won’t oxidise the way it used to. The fading on the denim itself should carry on as expected.
Whitesville’s Two-Pack Trick Is Back
Whitesville’s “Quali-T” was one of the two loopwheeled tees worn by Jeremy Allen White in The Bear, alongside the Merz 215.
The brand was originally American, but revived by Toyo Enterprises—the company behind Sugar Cane and Buzz Rickson’s—as a budget-friendly loopwheel classic, made in Japan and sold in two-packs.
Incredibly, I haven’t tried these myself yet—I really have to—but Bryan’s a pack in grey, and gave it the “Best Bargain” badge when he reviewed it. It’s a solid build with real vintage appeal, and at this price, it’s about the easiest entry into loopwheel tees you’ll find.
Worth knowing before you order: it runs small, so size up, and expect some shrinkage in both length and width after the first wash.
Blue in Green just restocked these, but they’re also available at Redcast Heritage.
More Slub, More Nep, More Everything
If Whitesville is the easy entry point, UES’s No. 8 Slub is where you end up once you want more texture.
It’s a heavyweight loopwheeled tee made from 9.5 oz. slubby cotton, one-washed, with a thick ribbed collar and the kind of nep texture that’s hard to miss even in a photo.
I haven’t worn the No. 8 yet either (it’s on my to-get list), and it’s one of the few tees that still stops me mid-scroll. Bold without tipping into crazy territory, with the build quality to back it up.
Sizing runs small here too, even more than Whitesville: go up two sizes from your usual Western size.
You can pick up one at Redcast Heritage, Brooklyn Clothing Co., Iron Shop Provisions or Blue Beach Denim.
Sale Season Is Still Just Getting Started
More brands and retailers are starting to announce their summer sales, and I expect a lot more of that over the coming weeks. If you want a head start, my sales page has everything I’ve found so far, organised by retailer and brand.
Right now, SOSO Brothers is giving members early access to the sitewide summer sale with 15% off the full range. It’s free to become a member, so there’s really no reason not to. A few fabrics are being cleared out for good this round, including one of the flannel colourways.
Create your SOSO account here →
Cultizm’s summer sale is still running, and it’s just gotten even more interesting. Last week, it was the sale itself plus a separate 20% off full-price code. This week, there’s an extra 15% off sale items on top, with the code SALE at checkout.
And KATO’s sale, announced last week, is also still going strong.
More to come as they land, so keep an eye on this space.
From the Archive: 8 Tees, Tested
The new T-shirt guide tells you what to look for. The Basics Shootout shows what that looks like in practice.
It was our second tee guide, and the one that convinced me to go all in and create the loopwheeled guide. Bryan reviews eight tees that’s worn, washed, and judged on their own merits, no assumptions, no free passes.
The post What Really Separates a Well-Made Tee From an Ordinary One appeared first on Denimhunters.
DENIM and PATCHES sourced this post originally published on this site