WHO ARE WE
Roger and Marcel Grivec, twin brothers and denim afficionados since a very long time. We spend most of our childhood in the jeans store of our parents in the southern part of the Netherlands. Growing up with the ‘shrink-to-fit’ culture we became true denim hunters eversince. Books, movies, records and music play also big role in our life. In this photo documentary, we will try to unify with these true loves of ours. Enjoy and come back any time. Greetz Roger & Marcel
May 19th, 2012
AVIATOR SHADES
The aviator shades as know them today were first developed in 1936 by Bausch & Lomb and branded by Ray Ban. In those days pilots needed a great pair of anti glare sunglasses and Bausch and Lomb’s design attempted to cover the entire range of the human eye and prevent as much light as possible from entering the eye from any angle. The design was modeled from the goggles being worn by the U.S. military. Ray Ban began selling the glasses to the public in 1937.The Aviator became a well-known style of sunglasses when General MacArthur (see pic.) landed on the beach in the Philippines in WWII. Newspaper photographers snapped several pictures of him wearing them. In the 60′s the shades became popular, but it was after the release of the film ” Top Gun ” that the sales of the aviator shades went sky high! Even today the aviator shades are largely unchanged in design and are still standard issue for the military pilots around the world.
April 24th, 2012
BACK POCKETS ABRASIONS
One of the coolest wear areas on a pair of worn in dry jeans, are those on the back pockets. For us that says a lot about the person and the importance of the item that person is carrying day in and day out in his back pockets. It’s the consistency that gives the back pockets great abrasions. For me that is my suns can in my left back pocket. I know it isn’t the healthiest thing to do, but hey, it gives my back pocket some nice abrasions.
April 18th, 2012
BRETONE STRIPE
In 1858 the French Navy introduced the white and navy striped knitted shirt as part of the French navy uniform, because the block pattern of stripes made them easier to spot in the waves when they fell overboard. The original shirt featured 21 stripes, one for each of Napoleon’s victories. The striped shirt soon exported to other navies. Around 1950 the Bertone stripe became a fashion hit, when Hollywood stars like James Dean, Andy Warhol and Marilyn Monroe wore the stripes on the big screen. It became Jean Paul Gaultier’s personal brandings trade mark in the 80′s. And the design of his ‘Le Male’ perfume bottle is tribute to the famous French garment as well.
April 13th, 2012
FLYING SHUTTLE
The flying shuttle was invented by John Kay in 1733 and was one of the key developments in the industrialization of weaving denim. In previous looms, the shuttle was thrown through the warp threads by hand and wide fabrics required two weavers seated side by side passing the shuttle between them. On the flying shuttle Kay mounted wheels and used paddles to shoot the shuttle from one side to the other and back when weaver jerked a cord. Using the flying shuttle, one weaver could weave fabrics of any width more quickly then two could weave with a normal shuttle.
March 29th, 2012
THE LAW ISN’T ALWAYS RIGHT!
Especially when it comes to wearing a real nice pear of jeans. Derrick our all-time-favourite crimi has caught us attached to the TV screen since we were kids. Oh man, the music, the locations, this hero and his villains, the sunglasses, and least but not last Harry. This week out of a sudden we asked ourselves what kind of jeans, if any, Horst would wear in his leisure hours. So we spend some time on the internet for our research. Finally we retrieved this picture. A bleached chino style seemed to be the ‘Munich Oberinspektors’ favourite choice. As we would say: “Finger weg von der Waffe”.
March 21st, 2012
BERNARD LIECHSTENSTEIN
Bernard Liechtenstein, better known as Rodeo Ben, was a Polish immigrant who came to America with only some money and his portable sewing machine. In 1937 he made his first steps on american ground and decided that he will use the name Ben. In that time Philadelphia was the centre of the american textile industry. It was there that he opened his tailor shop. After he made his first denim western shirts for a rodeo roadshow, more clients came in and that brought him the recognition. In 1946 the Blue Bell company employed Bernard ( Rodeo Ben ) to develop a jeans line for cowboys, because ordinary jeans did not stand confrontation with the power of the animals. With cooperation of some famous rodeo stars as Jim Shoulders, Freckles Brown and Bill Linderman Ben made some jeans that were tested by cowboys. The thirteenth version was the perfect one. The 13MWZ (13th, Mans, Western zipper) as Wrangler named it in 1947, was also the first zippered, not button up jeans in the world. Rodeo Ben died in 1979 in his new homeland. He was a true star of western tailoring.
March 19th, 2012
HISTORY CHINESE LAUNDRY
In 1820 Chinese immigrants came to the Gold Mountain(America) for work. They became contract laborers who worked in the goldmines and on the railroads. In 1850 more young Chinese men hoped to make a fortune in America. They were excluded by law for numerous jobs and as a result they started to work in laundries. The Laundries were hot and crowded with grueling working conditions.In 1851 Wah Lee opened the first Chinese hand laundry in the United States. His small, leased storefront in San Francisco had a simple sign: “Wash’ng and Iron’ng.” Within a few weeks, the business had expanded to twenty washermen working three shifts daily. In 1880, 95 precent of San Francisco’s Chinese laundries operated in wooden buildings. White business owners resented the success of Chinese laundries, and lobbied for a law insisting that laundries be situated in brick buildings for safety. The Chinese owners fought back and argued that the law was inherently discriminatory and won. Chinese laundries are now symbols of oppression, and of freedom.
March 15th, 2012
CC JEROME’S JETSETTERS
Last sunday we were invited to Jeroen’s 39th birthday party in Maastricht. Jeroen is the singer/ guitarist of the rockabilly band CC Jerome’s Jetsetters. After a couple of beers the band started their gig and we were very impressed by their sound. A great mix of their own songs and some covers of “rockabilly” legends as Johnny “Guitar” Watson, Chuck Berry and so on. Thanks to Jeroen for inviting us!!!!!
March 12th, 2012
TWEED
Tweed is a very closely woven, rough and unfinished woolen fabric and because of that the tweed jackets and trousers ( traditionally worn by the upper class ) became a very popular choice for hunters and early motorists. The original name of tweed was tweel which means twill in Scots. After a misinterpretation of a handwriting by an englishman tweel became tweed and the name remained ever since. For us a nice tweed hunter jacket and denim goes hand in hand.
March 7th, 2012
BLUE VELVET
Blue Velvet is a master piece from the “father of surrealism films” David Lynch and was made in 1986. The title is taken from the 1963 Bobby Vinton song of the same name. This movie was also the revive of Dennis Hopper’s career. In a cult movie like this you will always find cult music like “in dreams” from Roy Orbison.
February 28th, 2012
DENHAM SEWING SCHOOL
As Kids we grew up watching our mother cutting and sewing jeans at a Pfaff sewing machine. In those days there was only one length available, so she did all the hemming herself. As kids we played with the machine that is still running today. Many years later when our friend Jason Denham opened the Denham sewing academy we were the first that graduated. Now when our kids are in the store they also want to play with the sewing machines. time is repeating itself!
February 4th, 2012
PONTIAC GTO
The most bizarre thing about the GTO is that it was never supposed to exist. “No high performance cars” was a mandate that came straight from the highest bosses of GM. But in 1964 the GTO was born. By many it’s considered the first true muscle car. GM took an intermediate size frame instead of a full-size lines as their competition did and could therefore mark it for a budget price. The option package was called GTO, which copied ferrari’s GTO (Gran Tourismo Omologato )model. For us the ’66 model is the nicest one they ever made!
January 11th, 2012
KATHLEEN-ROBBINS.COM
In Cotton is a beautiful photo essay by photographer Kathleen Robbins about the the changing landscape and vanishing livelihood of Mississippi cotton farmers. A handful of people who remain where their great-grandparents once settled down. Each spring, they weigh the odds and walk the land, recognizing every turnrow and low point and subtle rise over a thousand or two thousand or even eleven thousand acres. And, once again, as their parents and grandparents and great-grandparents did, they will buy the seed and the fertilizer and service the tractors and the combines and hire the cropdusters and begin the daily prayers for more rain or no rain and sunshine and cool nights and no tropical storms in September and no frost in early October.
January 4th, 2012
UNIQUE DENIM MANUFACTURE
For 35 years, Edwin Japan have worked on improving efficiency, quality, construction and washing methods by studying and engineering machinery used in the denim manufacturing process.
It is impossible to improve what one makes without spending the time everyday to master what one does, turning ones profession into a craft. The denim technicians at Edwin are true craftsmen, as their commitment and attention to the product is unquestionably what makes the Edwin product stand out from the mass of denim available within the market today. Whilst this remains ‘production’, the working philosophy remains closer to a greatly more efficient and productive Artisanal method.
December 14th, 2011
BLUE CHRISTMAS
Elvis Presley helped to bring the bad boy image to mainstream 50’s America. With Rock ‘n Roll as the soundtrack for a new generation and denim as the ‘uniform of nonconformity’ for the young. When Elvis suggestively swayed his hips in his jeans, denim became sexual. Like for example in the movie ’ Loving You‘ where the King portrays a truck driver who becomes a rock ‘n roll star. And is a true walking publicity for Levi’s: 507 Big E Jacket and 501 Big E jeans. To us Blue Christmas means sleigh bells in the air and denim everywhere.
November 4th, 2011
PEA COAT
One of our favorite jacket is the original Pea Coat which is a dark blue double breasted jacket made from 850 g wool. The right pocket usually has a small pocket sewn inside for storing coins. The name ” Pea Coat ” comes from the Dutch word Pij Jekker, in which Pij referred to a twilled blue cloth with a nap on one side. The term ” Pea Coat ” was first used in 1723, when it became a cold weather uniform in the Dutch and British Royal Navy. The US. Navy adopted them in 1881.
October 21st, 2011
TIP TOP DRESSED IN PRISON
One of our favorite movies is Escape From Alcatraz (1979: Director, Don Siegel), staring style icon Clint Eastwood as Frank Morris. In this movie you see some classics a man should have in his wardrobe such as a Beanie, white T-shirt, Chambray shirt, Pea Coat and a Chino. I can tell you that these inmates were dressed tip top in prison!
October 6th, 2011
STEVE JOBS (1955-2011)
As real Apple fans we are moved by the loss of Steve Jobs and we are going to miss his creativity and inspiration. One of our favorite quotes is: “ I’m as proud of what we don’t do as I am of what we do.”
September 11th, 2011
HAKAMA
The Hakama is a traditional Japanese clothing, best known as a piece of samurai clothing or as a part of uniform worn by Japanese martial arts like Aikido or Kendo.The Hakama was worn by samurai so that the opponent was not able to see the footwork. The Hakama has seven pleats which are a representation of the seven virtues of Bushido ( The way of the samurai). Today only black belts are required to wear a hakama( Aikido). Once you earned to wear the hakama, you must learn how to fold it. The original hakama is made from cotton and hand dyed in natural indigo. As a denim purist and Aikido student, i just can’t wait to earn my hakama.
September 2nd, 2011
SINGER,160th ANNIVERSARY
Isaac Merritt Singer ( October 27, 1811- July 23, 1875) did not invented the sewing machine, but he improved it. Many had patented sewing machines before Singer, but the machines were either impractical or inefficient. Isaac Singer invested $40 and a few day’s work and came up with a new approach to sewing, a needle that moved up and down.In fact he developed a machine so sophisticated that it had all the basics features found on sewing machines today. Isaac Singer started making machines in 1851. We are proud to say that we work with a vintage Singer sewing machine in our shop.
August 29th, 2011
JACK A.
Jack Arnold Weil ( March 28, 1901 – August 13, 2008) better known as Jack A. , or as Papa Jack was the founder of Rockmount Ranch Wear based in Denver, Colorado. Back in the 1940s, Jack A had realized that the cowboy shirt could be something more than a simple product. While visiting San Francisco, he saw a Chinese tailor making shirts with snaps instead of buttons. Jack knew enough about the technology of snaps to see that the Chinese tailor used the gloves snaps that wouldn’t hold up to the stresses that a cowboy shirt undergoes working at the Ranch, but the idea wouldn’t let him sleep at night. In 1946 he introduced the first western shirt with snaps and the famous saw-tooth pocket. The snaps fasteners have a break away function to let loose if the shirt got caught and hold more permanently than buttons. Rockmount shirts have been worn by countless celebrities and musicians like Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Ronald Reagan, Eric Clapton and Slash.
August 8th, 2011
BLUE SHEEP
Last week we spotted (in our neighbourhood Chevremont) a bunch of blue sheep standing on the meadow in front of a hotel. Denim nerds as we are we stopped our car and made some pics of our friends standing there in our favourite colour, which is obviously Blue! If it was up to us, all sheep around the world were blue, cause the world isn’t blue enough yet.
July 27th, 2011
JACK PURCELL
John Edward “Jack” Purcell was a world champion badminton player from Canada. At first he designed a shoe, which would provide more protection and support on badminton courts. This turned out to be the shoe, as we wear it today. Later on people like James Dean and Steve McQueen started wearing it and as of then the Jack Purcell has become more popular for their vintage fashion apparel than for athletic use. In the 1970s, Converse purchased the trademark rights to Jack Purcell sneakers – which it still produces and sells today. Converse All-Star are cool, but the coolest people on earth wear Jack Purcells! That’s why this shoe is one of the favorite shoes of the Grivec Bros.
July 26th, 2011
OUR OWN 49ER
June 29th, 2011
DEAD MAN’S HAND
James Butler Hickok (Wild Bill) was killed in August 2 1976 while playing poker in Deadwood at Saloon nr.10. Usually he sat always with his back to the wall, but that day the only seat available when he joint the game was a chair with his back to the door. “Broken Nose Jack” walked in unnoticed and shot Wild Bill in the back of his head. When shot he was holding 2 black aces and 2 black eights. Nobody knows for sure what the fifth card was he was holding. The hand he was holding is now better known as the “dead man’s hand”, still a famous poker hand.
