Breaking point in breaking in jackets / jeans

[decadent]

Hi folks,

We all take pride in buying heavy leather jackets and selvedge jeans and breaking them in. The tougher the leather the better and the bigger the oz of the denim - the more legendary they become.

I take time though and you need to be consistent and stubborn. Most of us talk about their success, but what about the shame of giving up in the process

As I am preparing for a longer trip to Japan and thinking what to take with me, I took out my Samurai Jeans I bought last year. 19 oz, really beautiful, but I think I have worn them 6-7 times through the year. They are just not as comfortable as jeans should be and my back of the knees always get chafed. Also the heavy denim makes them really warm and for someone who is naturally like a walking nuclear reactor, this is not really nice most of the time. I am really close to giving up on those!

So, here you can be honest and share your pain - what was the final boss of leather jackets, that made you quit? Which jeans made you think about your life choices and ended up on Vinted or worse - in the trash bin?

Share your failures here

 

[l0fielectronic]

I sold all my Aeros about two years ago (They were lovely jackets but just not comfortable to wear driving or anywhere you need a lot of mobility.) and while I like heavy jeans the Iron Hearts I've had have been the only ones which developed into being super comfortable relatively quickly. Currently have a pair of the 'heavy' Unbranded jeans which feel thinner than the same weight of IH jeans yet are also less comfortable even though the fit feels better. Go figure...

 

[TartuWolf]

So far I've enjoyed all the heavyweight jackets that I've had if they fit me. I've mostly let jackets go because they don't fit me.
Same with denim. If it fits well then I've very comfortable wearing my 25oz Pinion denim day to day.
After getting used to those 21oz Iron Heart denim feels pretty thin. But it's also much softer and much more pliable.
Anyway, for me it's much more about the fit than the weight/thickness.
Here's the deadly combo of Aero FQHH, 25oz Pinion denim and proper PNW thickness White's C350 boots:
Served me well day to day on a trip in Norway:

 

[jacketjunkie]

No leather jacket stopped me in the past, not from weight alone. Bad patterns a of wearing experience made me quit on some. I do own a German 80s Horsehide jacket that currently is testing my limit though, it is easily in the 4.5-5 Oz range, thicker hide than on any Lost Worlds I own and I just find myself grabbing lighter jackets instead...

 

[Edward]

Never had a problem with a correctly-sized leather. TBH, I've always been mystified about the talking-up of the break-in of Horween CXL FQHH in these parts. A month of regular wear, and mine were all as soft as any other nicely broken in hide I've owned.

Denim is another ballgame. I've never gone heavier than 15oz, for no reason other than price. Jeans for me are for wearing round the house, or doing dirty jobs (if I ever have the luxury of a house with garage space to work on a bike - increasingly les likely, living in London, alas - jeans would be my go-to there), or earing to gigs in places where, well... 'nice' clothes might not be the best idea. You know, the sort of place where nobody pogos at the gig because the floor is so sticky... Jeans are very much 'workwear' to me. With "dress jeans" just not being a thing in my life, I just can't imagine spending £300 or so on a pair of the big labels and hefty denim that are popular among the denim heads. Their call, I'm live and let live about these things, but for £300 I'd be looking for something that is less of a "consumable". Like a good pair ofc boots or something. My go-tos in denim are Wrangler 13MWZs, though I've also spent around £100 before now on a nice pair of selvedge from Cathcart.

That said, I'm not sure even price aside I'd be so quick to buy a heavy pair. I like the idea of 21oz or whatever as something for wearing in the depths of Winter to take the dog out for a walk. I'd never be able to wear them for half the year, though. Today, a positively blissful 22 Celsius here in London, the first time since maybe May it's been much below 25C this year, I'm wearing jeans for probably the first time since maybe mid-May. All Summer I've more often than not (on occasions when I might normally have worn jeans otherwise) been in a pair of Soldier of Fortune repro denim battledress trousers. The very wide leg definitely helps in the heat, as does the fact they're lighter - I think maybe 10 or 11oz. And herein lies the rub. Of all the jeans I've owned over the years, the pairs that are the lightest wear the longest. A pair of 13MWZ varies in weight depending on which fabric they use, but the indigo ones I favour (and the single, "shadow black" pair I've had) average out at 14oz. With regular wear, I get about two years from a pair before they start to fray at the top of the inner thigh. A little light patching there, and I can get two or three more years from them (I've not yet had to try a second patching as by that point they're usually regulated to "dirty jobs and decorating round the house" wear, but I might at some point out of curiosity). A pair of dungarees around the 11oz mark that I have had for maybe a decade still show no wear there (albeit those ones got relegated to decorating wear about five years ago after a mishap with a door when they got torn).

My own experience is that, however counterintuitive it is, jeans wear harder for longer when they are somewhat lighter denim, rather than heavier. A looser fit also helps; I've never had a crotch blowout on me since I stopped wearing drainpipes years ago. Funnily enough, the BD denims have proven so useful this year, I'm actually seriously considering buying a second pair and dying them a navy colour just to expand what works with them in my wardrobe. Might even do that with a couple of pairs of SoF's U-Boat version. Into ww2, U-Boat crews were issued with denim uniforms initially some of it captured from Allied stocks left behind after Dunkirk, and later copied from the same designs. The key difference there is the removal of the large map pocket on the left thigh. Tremendously useful for very casual wear during the Summer when it's too hot for a jacket, but its absence (particularly overdyed another colour) does give them a slightly 'tidier' appearance, which at a push could make them wearable to the office. I did used to have a pair of not dissimilar British officer KD trousers I regularly wore to work in the Summer with a collar and tie, and they were great.

 

[decadent]

I sold all my Aeros about two years ago (They were lovely jackets but just not comfortable to wear driving or anywhere you need a lot of mobility.) and while I like heavy jeans the Iron Hearts I've had have been the only ones which developed into being super comfortable relatively quickly. Currently have a pair of the 'heavy' Unbranded jeans which feel thinner than the same weight of IH jeans yet are also less comfortable even though the fit feels better. Go figure...

Iron Heart are on my list to visit while in Japan and on pics they always look much more comfortable than the Samurais I have even though they are heavier. Curious to try some on and find out!

I have tried some Aeros but never pulled the trigger. I think I need to make my way to their shop in Scotland and see on spot what they can do for me.

 

[decadent]

No leather jacket stopped me in the past, not from weight alone. Bad patterns a of wearing experience made me quit on some. I do own a German 80s Horsehide jacket that currently is testing my limit though, it is easily in the 4.5-5 Oz range, thicker hide than on any Lost Worlds I own and I just find myself grabbing lighter jackets instead...

Now I am curious, do you have a photo of this jacket?

 

[decadent]

So far I've enjoyed all the heavyweight jackets that I've had if they fit me. I've mostly let jackets go because they don't fit me.
Same with denim. If it fits well then I've very comfortable wearing my 25oz Pinion denim day to day.
After getting used to those 21oz Iron Heart denim feels pretty thin. But it's also much softer and much more pliable.
Anyway, for me it's much more about the fit than the weight/thickness.
Here's the deadly combo of Aero FQHH, 25oz Pinion denim and proper PNW thickness White's C350 boots:
Served me well day to day on a trip in Norway:
View attachment 805350

Great combo indeed and the proof I needed that you can move freely is the deep squat

I think for a jacket it is indeed the model - I still need to find the perfect one where I can move feely. Same with the jeans, I have some pairs from Nudie, which fit perfectly well and then some which are the same model and size but are much more restricting. Funnily enough the most comfortable selvedge jeans I have for more than 15 years are basic Uniqlo selvedge. Still without a single hole in them.

 

[mcnuonuo]

I think since I have too many jackets and jeans not a lot of them have been truly broken in. Most of them are still rough..

 

[Monitor]

Nothing really stopped me. It's just that certain clothes just made me not want to wear uncomfortable clothes.

I passionately hate the whole heavy denim bs, though. Jeans the most and not because they're uncomfortable. That in itself wouldn't be a problem. Problem is that the payoff isn't worth it. They look only marginally better than any half-decent pair by Levi's or Lee or whatever and are unwearable in comparison.

 

[Zoro]

My problem, as mentioned by others earlier, is having too many things sometimes. It's not that I gave up, it's that I didn't have the time (yet).

On the jeans topic now, I'm still intrigued by some of the Japanese makers, but I'm settled to satisfy that intrigue by buying second hand (if I do buy at all). I've discovered Nudie Jeans and I'm loving them so far. They have free repairs for life and I now live in a city that has a Nudie store (before I had learnt of them and there was a stockist, but they would just give me some patches to apply myself and I'm too lazy for that). So if Nudie keeps it up and their repairs take a long time to be needed and/or are well done, they may have a loyal customer in me.

The only reason I do not have jean shorts (some may gasp about them here) from their brand is that I was too lazy to order them online and they didn't have them in store when the warm weather started.

 

[LordOfLeather]

I found raw denim very uncomfortable until I dialed in the fit. While I haven't exactly given up on any, I did injure my back while wearing my relatively new (at the time) 21 oz Unbranded jeans on a long road trip. They were a higher rise than I was used to, and something about the unforgiving denim and my belt put pressure in just the wrong spot while driving for 12 hours in the same sitting position, completely wrecking my lower back. It felt fine when I was driving, but as soon as I stood up, the pain was excruciating. It took weeks to heal, during which I was unable to stand up straight. I took a break from those jeans until fully recovered.

My wife hates everything about raw denim – the price, the discomfort, the rough texture when new – so I didn’t tell her my theory about the jeans causing my back pain. No need to pour more fuel on that fire.

I am relatively new to raw denim. I resisted the hype for ages, feeling satisfied with my Levi's, until I finally broke down and bought some Gustin herringbone selvedge last year. I didn't care about fades or the things most denim-heads talk about, I just really like herringbone and couldn't find a cheaper, "cooked" version (feel free to use that term). I liked them a bit and soon after bought some heavier denim from Gustin. I found both quite uncomfortable but stuck with it. They softened up some over time, but the fit has been wrong from day one.

Last winter, I embarked upon a hunt for the perfect fitting jeans. I made a spreadsheet comparing the measurements of jeans I already owned to those of brands I was interested in, until I found my ideal measurements in a price range I could stomach. Naked and Famous’ "Easy Guy" and The Unbranded Brand's "Relaxed Taper". I have muscular thighs and what one might call a “*****”, but I still want a tapered fit. Most styles fit too tight in the top block; or if I get this right, the waist is too loose.

Since finding the proper fit, I can honestly say they aren’t uncomfortable at all anymore. I’ve grown accustomed to the lack of stretch, and now all my stretch denim feels wrong. I haven't wanted to wear my Gustins either, so it's probably time to unload them.

The jackets I've battled the most have been CXL Steer, but I haven't given up. Of the two I own in this hide, one is plenty comfortable now and the other will hopefully get there.

 

[Arin666]

I found raw denim very uncomfortable until I dialed in the fit. While I haven't exactly given up on any, I did injure my back while wearing my relatively new (at the time) 21 oz Unbranded jeans on a long road trip. They were a higher rise than I was used to, and something about the unforgiving denim and my belt put pressure in just the wrong spot while driving for 12 hours in the same sitting position, completely wrecking my lower back. It felt fine when I was driving, but as soon as I stood up, the pain was excruciating. It took weeks to heal, during which I was unable to stand up straight. I took a break from those jeans until fully recovered.

My wife hates everything about raw denim – the price, the discomfort, the rough texture when new – so I didn’t tell her my theory about the jeans causing my back pain. No need to pour more fuel on that fire.

I am relatively new to raw denim. I resisted the hype for ages, feeling satisfied with my Levi's, until I finally broke down and bought some Gustin herringbone selvedge last year. I didn't care about fades or the things most denim-heads talk about, I just really like herringbone and couldn't find a cheaper, "cooked" version (feel free to use that term). I liked them a bit and soon after bought some heavier denim from Gustin. I found both quite uncomfortable but stuck with it. They softened up some over time, but the fit has been wrong from day one.

Last winter, I embarked upon a hunt for the perfect fitting jeans. I made a spreadsheet comparing the measurements of jeans I already owned to those of brands I was interested in, until I found my ideal measurements in a price range I could stomach. Naked and Famous’ "Easy Guy" and The Unbranded Brand's "Relaxed Taper". I have muscular thighs and what one might call a “*****”, but I still want a tapered fit. Most styles fit too tight in the top block; or if I get this right, the waist is too loose.

Since finding the proper fit, I can honestly say they aren’t uncomfortable at all anymore. I’ve grown accustomed to the lack of stretch, and now all my stretch denim feels wrong. I haven't wanted to wear my Gustins either, so it's probably time to unload them.

The jackets I've battled the most have been CXL Steer, but I haven't given up. Of the two I own in this hide, one is plenty comfortable now and the other will hopefully get there.

First time Ive heard of heavyweight denim injuring ones back, quite the experience! I use the Unranded 21 oz as well but fortunately havent had them cause any kind of injury. After a few months of wear, they have become pretty comfortable, fading nicely and are my regular go to denim. I had the Iron heart 21 oz too earlier and that fabric was superb, but the fit was too tight and had to move them on.

I am however a convert to heavyweight denim and find them pretty ok to wear all year round except maybe the peak of summer months. Never had any problem with breaking them in for the first few weeks of wear.

 

[Edward]

Iron Heart are on my list to visit while in Japan and on pics they always look much more comfortable than the Samurais I have even though they are heavier. Curious to try some on and find out!

I have tried some Aeros but never pulled the trigger. I think I need to make my way to their shop in Scotland and see on spot what they can do for me.

Nothing beats getting there in person and being able to try a bunch of styles on. They're also lovely to visit. I went up in 2024 (and need to go back!). I visited just as my order came to the top of the waitlist. Murray showed me around, and even picked out the specific hides with me that my Dustbowl would be made from. Really fun. The dream is to go in and buy something off the rack, wear it out of the shop one day...

 

[LordOfLeather]

First time Ive heard of heavyweight denim injuring ones back, quite the experience! I use the Unranded 21 oz as well but fortunately havent had them cause any kind of injury. After a few months of wear, they have become pretty comfortable, fading nicely and are my regular go to denim. I had the Iron heart 21 oz too earlier and that fabric was superb, but the fit was too tight and had to move them on.

I am however a convert to heavyweight denim and find them pretty ok to wear all year round except maybe the peak of summer months. Never had any problem with breaking them in for the first few weeks of wear.

Yeah, it was bizarre. I’ve never experienced anything like it. I take plenty of road trips and have never had this happen, and the only variable that changed was the jeans.

I’m all good now and still wearing the heavyweights. They only temporarily broke me.

 

[Monitor]

Since finding the proper fit, I can honestly say they aren’t uncomfortable at all anymore. I’ve grown accustomed to the lack of stretch, and now all my stretch denim feels wrong. I haven't wanted to wear my Gustins either, so it's probably time to unload them.

That's one thing - I didn't know jeans can be uncomfortable until I got into the high-end denim hype. I never wore denim with stretch, hated it even before I knew I was supposed to because I always suspected there's something inherently wrong with wearing clothes that stretches, but I also don't recall ever buying a new pair of jeans, no matter how cheap, that felt uncomfortable. I'd try on a pair and it was either too small or too large. The one in my size, I didn't think about it twice once I left the store.

So with this whole raw denim ****, I just thought I'd just be getting a nicer looking jeans (I still like the look of those super faded trousers people post). What I ended up with instead was losing a whole lot of money for trousers that sucked in every conceivable way.

Took me a while to realize that most of those makers don't really know how to make clothes.

It was at that time that I also stumbled upon Naked & Famous whose jeans I freaking loved and that mistakenly made me believe that not all this raw denim stuff is bad. It is. And N&F are good because same as Levi's, they actually know how to make clothes, down to picking the right material for their jeans. Of course, it didn't take long for the denim-heads to begin disparaging N&F as being an "entry" level maker from which a true denim connoisseur naturally has to graduate to truly good stuff like Iron Hearts and the likes.

The fact that for the last couple of years, Zara has been dropping self-edge, raw denim collections that look exactly like I don't know, something from Oni, for a fraction of a price, says enough about the whole thing. I wouldn't be surprise if they actually get their denim from Japan Blue.

 

[barnabus]

That's one thing - I didn't know jeans can be uncomfortable until I got into the high-end denim hype. I never wore denim with stretch, hated it even before I knew I was supposed to because I always suspected there's something inherently wrong with wearing clothes that stretches, but I also don't recall ever buying a new pair of jeans, no matter how cheap, that felt uncomfortable. I'd try on a pair and it was either too small or too large. The one in my size, I didn't think about it twice once I left the store.

So with this whole raw denim ****, I just thought I'd just be getting a nicer looking jeans (I still like the look of those super faded trousers people post). What I ended up with instead was losing a whole lot of money for trousers that sucked in every conceivable way.

Took me a while to realize that most of those makers don't really know how to make clothes.

It was at that time that I also stumbled upon Naked & Famous whose jeans I freaking loved and that mistakenly made me believe that not all this raw denim stuff is bad. It is. And N&F are good because same as Levi's, they actually know how to make clothes, down to picking the right material for their jeans. Of course, it didn't take long for the denim-heads to begin disparaging N&F as being an "entry" level maker from which a true denim connoisseur naturally has to graduate to truly good stuff like Iron Hearts and the likes.

The fact that for the last couple of years, Zara has been dropping self-edge, raw denim collections that look exactly like I don't know, something from Oni, for a fraction of a price, says enough about the whole thing. I wouldn't be surprise if they actually get their denim from Japan Blue.

The only heavy jeans I've ever had were 21oz Unbranded ones. I think Unbranded are some sort of budget offshoot from N&F perhaps, but they fit me really well. After the initial surprise at the rigidity wore off, they were as comfortable as any other jeans. They were even the 121 "skinny" fit, and I had no discomfort with them at all.

 

[barnabus]

That said, I cba spending big money on denim any more, so I just buy any old jeans that fit nicely.

 

[decadent]

Crazy story about the injury because of heavy denim @LordOfLeather ! Only explanation for me would be that the jeans were so uncomfortable that you had to adjust your body the whole time in funny angles and that led to the injury. One of the jeans I have for example is too tight at my belly so I catch myself with strange postures when sitting...

I fully enjoy the pure hatred for heavy jeans and the hype around it by @Monitor

That being said I just like the passion of some of the producers in Japan and really want to find the perfect fit for me. I started into the denim world with the idea to buy jeans for life, since I hate shopping for new jeans. I still have my Nudies but two of them I had to give for fixing to the store twice already and it always takes up to 3-4 weeks until I get them back. Which is not the worst for a free service, but it still involves time and effort.

Lets see if Iron Heart will have a fit that works.

 

[LordOfLeather]

The only heavy jeans I've ever had were 21oz Unbranded ones. I think Unbranded are some sort of budget offshoot from N&F perhaps, but they fit me really well. After the initial surprise at the rigidity wore off, they were as comfortable as any other jeans. They were even the 121 "skinny" fit, and I had no discomfort with them at all.

That's right, Unbranded is a "budget" option from N&F. Same quality but made in China. I actually prefer their fit slightly over N&F's equivalent.