In recent years, among the truly committed, truly discerning jeans shopper, a beau ideal has taken hold: raw selvage denim in styles that evoke the rugged workpants of yesteryear. Think Marlon Brando in “The Wild One” (or his jeans, anyway).
近年来,那些品味卓越,一心专注的牛仔裤购买者开始追求一种理想:不同风格的带有织边的粗糙丹宁牛仔布,这让人想起昔日结实的工装裤。想想《飞车党》(The Wild One)里的马龙·白兰度(Marlon Brando),或者他的牛仔裤吧。
Where does one go to buy a pair? Ideally, Japan, where denim brands use old-school shuttle looms to fastidiously reproduce the styles of 1947. Luckily for New Yorkers, raw selvage can be found at several shops in the city that carry the coveted Japanese brands or make their own denim in that vein, or both.
要到哪里才能买到这样一条牛仔裤呢?最理想的地点是日本,那里的牛仔品牌都使用老式的梭织机器,一丝不苟地仿制1947年的款式。不过幸运的是,纽约人也可以在几家店里买到粗糙织边的牛仔裤了。它们有的专营抢手的日本品牌,也有的自己制作这种质地的牛仔裤,抑或二者皆有。
Consider Self Edge, at 157 Orchard Street, a store open for six years that treats denim like a religion. Self Edge stocks only brands from designers who have “soul to what they do,” said Andrew Chen, a partner of Self Edge New York.
果园街157号的Self Edge拥有六年历史,把丹宁牛仔视为一种信仰。它只出售那些“在产品中灌注灵魂”的设计师品牌,Self Edge纽约的合伙人之一安德鲁·陈(Andrew Chen)说。
To illustrate the point, he held up the “foreman pant,” the latest release from Roy Slaper, who makes every pair of Roy jeans himself in his workshop in Oakland, Calif. The pocket bag material is a funky design; the inside stitching is made on a vintage machine that leaves a seashell pattern. “You just can’t do this on a production line,” Mr. Chen said.
为了阐明自己的观点,他拿起一条“领班裤”,这是罗伊·斯拉帕(Roy Slaper)的最新作品。“罗伊”的每一条牛仔裤,都是他本人在加利福尼亚州奥克兰的工作室里亲手制成的。裤兜的质材是一种很放克(funky)的设计;里面的针脚是用一种老式缝纫机制作,呈现贝壳般的样式。“生产线上做不出这样的东西,”陈先生说。
Elsewhere, hanging on iron hooks, were a highly edited sampling of jeans by 3sixteen, a denim brand founded and carried by Self Edge, as well as Japanese favorites like Flathead and Sugar Cane. Another Japanese brand, Iron Heart, makes the heaviest denim the shop carries, jeans that wear like a stiff canvas sack until broken in.
店里的铁钩上还挂着3sixteen品牌精心修饰的牛仔裤样品,这个丹宁品牌和在日本大受欢迎的Flathead与Sugar Cane一样,是由Self Edge自己创立和开发的。另一个日本品牌Iron Heart是店里所售最重的丹宁牛仔,没穿上身的时候,好像帆布袋一样。
“After a year or two, you end up with a jean that you’re really proud of, that you did work on,” Mr. Chen said.
“一两年后,你就可以拥有一条自己真正引以为傲的牛仔裤,可以继续穿着它,”陈先生说。
Prices range from $190 to $360. And Self Edge also offers hemming and repair services; the hemming is performed on a Union Special, which Mr. Chen assured was the holy grail of vintage chain-stitch machines.
这里的牛仔裤价格从190美元到360美元一条。Self Edge还提供缝边和修补服务;缝边是用Union Special牌缝纫机做的,陈先生说,这是老式缝纫机中最好的型号。
Brooklyn Denim Company, at 85 North Third Street, Brooklyn, carries selvage and non-selvage styles. In contrast to the minimalist gallery approach of Self Edge, Brooklyn Denim stacks its jeans in piles on tables and shelves, an initially daunting shopping experience made navigable by the store’s expert staff.
布鲁克林丹宁公司(Brooklyn Denim Company)位于布鲁克林北三街85号,它有织边和非织边两种式样。和Self Edge那种极简主义的画廊风格不同,布鲁克林丹宁把牛仔裤摞在桌上和货架上,在专业店员们的设计之下,购物体验最初有些吓人,其实却很方便。
Brooklyn Denim carries the brand, First Standard, which is made in the shop, along with labels like Levi’s Made & Crafted, Tellason, Strom and the Japanese brands Big John and Japan Blue.
布鲁克林丹宁经营着First Standard品牌,是在店内制作的,店内还销售李维斯(Levi’s)旗下的Made & Crafted、Tellason、Strom等品牌,以及Big John和Japan Blue等日本品牌。
Kenny Abiog, a co-owner, said the store also makes custom jeans for denim heads who have something in mind that they can’t find in the store. Prices for custom start at $795. Repairs and hemming are also offered.
店主之一肯尼·阿比奥格(Kenny Abiog)说,如果丹宁死忠们觉得他们想要的东西这里没有,店内还提供定制牛仔裤服务。定制价格795美元起,此外同样提供缝边和修补。
Perhaps the city’s best source for custom denim, though, is 3x1, at 15 Mercer Street, the brand founded by Scott Morrison, formerly of Paper Denim Cloth and Ernest Sewn. Here, the feeling is a denim atelier, with bolts of selvage fabric in indigo hues hanging on the wall and workers operating sewing machines in the middle of the store.
不过,纽约最好的丹宁牛仔定制店或许还要算是默西街15号的3x1店。这个品牌由斯科特·莫里森(Scott Morrison)创立,他曾是Paper Denim Cloth 和Ernest Sewn品牌的成员。3x1店内的感觉完全是一座丹宁牛仔的艺术工作室,一匹匹各种靛蓝色调的织边丹宁牛仔布挂在墙上,工人们在店中间操作着缝纫机。
The brand offers three options: a ready-to-wear collection ($250 to $325); a custom jean where you pick the fabric, buttons, zipper, thread and other details (starting at $525); and a tailor-made jean (starting at $1,200), ideal for athletes and others with specific sizing requirements.
这个品牌提供三种选择:成衣(250美元到325美元);定制牛仔裤,自选制裁、纽扣、拉链、缝线和其他细节(525美元起);裁缝特制牛仔裤(1200美元起),后者特别适合运动员以及其他对尺寸有特殊要求的人。
Mr. Morrison walked a customer through the 3x1 custom process, explaining the difference between red and green cast fabric (the red is the all-American blue jean, the green is favored in Europe and Japan) and dispensing tips like how to create a dressier jean (choose a matching thread color).
莫里森陪着一个客户在3x1店内走着,向对方解释红色与绿色织料的不同(红色是美国的蓝色牛仔裤上都会用到的,绿色则更受欧洲与日本青睐),他还讲了不少小窍门,比如怎样设计更雅致的牛仔裤(要精心选择配套缝线的颜色)。
Still, Mr. Morrison said, 3x1 will make any custom jean you can think of using its hand-loomed denims and detail kit, no matter how bold.
但是,莫里森说,3x1拥有手织丹宁牛仔布和各种精细的配套设备,不管客户的要求有多么大胆,店里都能定制。
“This is about whatever you want,” he said.
“想要什么我们就能做什么,”他说。