Random Observations #007
New t-shirt, random encounter, and irrational sentiments.
There are so many things I wish I could write about one day. In the Random Observations series, I attempt to put together my random thoughts and observations on clothing and related subjects in a shorter, more approachable format. This is one way for me to capture thoughts before they sink into oblivion. If you find any of the subjects helpful or questionable, do not hesitate to share your feedback in the comments below the article — I’d be happy to expand.
In the seventh episode of Random Observations, I share my first impressions about a new heavyweight t-shirt, get emotional about meaningless things, and bluntly fool around.
Let’s get it!
Bleu de Chauffe Heavy Weight Champion T-Shirt
I write a whole t-shirt series where I review my tees after years of wear. Unfortunately, by the time I publish a review, most have already gone out of production. At least we get to see how they age. Quality things are supposed to age beautifully after all. Hopefully, these reviews also help make better choices when shopping for t-shirts both you and yours truly.
Anyway, Bleu de Chauffe hit me up with a t-shirt they introduced just recently and I couldn’t stand sharing it. I mean, they named it The Heavy Weight Champion T-shirt. Now we’re talking.
First of all, it’s heavy indeed. At 290 g, it’s 50 g heavier than my Our Legacy t-shirt which is made of thick boucle fabric. The way Bleu de Chauffe achieves such a weight is by having their fabric knitted in interlock which is basically a doubled version of a jersey knit used in regular t-shirts. With higher density, interlock fabric results in heavier weight.
Another side effect of the double knit is that the fabric features a smooth surface both inside and out. Not that I’ve ever suffered from a rough t-shirt fabric. Quite the opposite, I even enjoy the rigidness and dryness of my All Blues Co. Pocket Tee. It has this substantial feel that I like. But this Bleu de Chauffe tee is both heavy and soft. Like really soft, without having undergone any industrial pre-distressing procedures.
The t-shirt is cut in a regular fit but I found the sizing a bit tricky. Usually, I’m in between L and XL (mostly leaning towards XL, to be honest). But with the Bleu de Chauffe tee, I had to go for XXL because of the narrow shoulders. Fortunately, the XXL fits me well in other dimensions without appearing oversized. So if you are not sure about the sizing, I would strongly recommend going for a larger size.
Like with most cotton garments, I expect the tee to shrink over time. So far, I have only washed it twice, and here are the current measurements:
Pit-to-pit: 61.5 cm (24.2 in)
Shoulder width: 46.5 cm (18.3 in)
Sleeve length: 25 cm (9.8 in)
Sleeve opening: 22.5 cm (8.9 in)
Body length: 70.5 cm (27.8 in)
Weight: 290 g
€55 for a single t-shirt shirt would sound crazy to most people. But if you are reading this newsletter, you might have already developed a somewhat irrational affection for this niche world of quality things from smaller, lesser-known brands, as I did. €55 for a made-in-France, certified organic cotton tee is a heck of a deal. Although completely different in construction and style, my other French-made tee from Arpenteur is priced at €120.
Anyway, looking forward to seeing how this heavyweight tee from Bleu de Chauffe will age over time. But I am already very impressed with what happens when a brand specializing in old-school heavy-duty bags approaches such a basic item of clothing as a t-shirt. Hopefully, will update you with a full review in a year or two!
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Random Encounter
I was on a plane flight this week. The man in the same row was rocking this indigo denim chore coat by agnès b. Curiously, unlike with most denim, the weft yarns that run on the inside of the fabric were blueish instead of the more commonly used white yarns. Despite this, the jacket has developed really sick fades, although less contrasty, all over the place. Not only in the arms area where the fabric is naturally exposed to more wrinkling but throughout the front and the back, and even on the chest pocket! I wonder how long he had worn it to develop such beautiful fades. But they definitely make an impression of a piece well-worn, with many exciting stories behind it. I wish I had taken a picture to share with you.
Anyway, I waited for an appropriate moment to compliment the man on his jacket. In movies at least, people tend to appreciate such things. Especially as my feelings were genuine. But it didn’t go as smoothly as in movies of course. He had to put off his earplugs first. When I repeated my compliment, he asked me to say it again because of the airplane noise and probably because of my pronunciation, too. So I said it again. ‘Fades?’ he responded in surprise. ‘Yeah! Like the way your jacket aged,’ I replied in excitement. ‘Oh, the jacket, bah’ he said to me putting his earplugs back. The man literally acted like he gave zero thought about the things he wore. I mean, that can’t be completely true cause you don’t buy a denim chore coat from agnès b for no reason. But anyway, you get it. The best fades come when you don’t care at all. Or act like it. I guess I’m forever cursed to write this newsletter instead of effortlessly getting fits off.
Oh, I forgot to mention my wife was sitting between us the whole flight. Hope I didn’t make her feel too embarrassed for the rest of the flight. I probably did. Sorry, P.
Small ask: If you find this article exciting or helpful, please share it with your friends, leave a comment on the blog, or simply hit a ❤️ — means a lot to me. Thank you!
Parting With Stuff
Before the flight, we moved out of the apartment we’d been renting for some time. I believe most people naturally tend to accumulate things. But this unhealthy addiction to niche menswear few people really care about makes it even worse. Somehow I managed to fit most of my belongings in way too many pieces of luggage. There were a few old t-shirts I had to get rid of — including the 4-year-old Uniqlo t-shirt I reviewed a few months back and another merch tee I bought at this cool coffee place in Istanbul — but overall, I did fine.
I even kept this tired fleece Noragi jacket from a Japanese brand called ts(s). I was literally on my way to throw it away when I hit up my buddies with a message on how tough it was. One of them, when visiting me a few months back, hadn’t put it off the whole length of his stay. They texted me back immediately with support and awe. I had to explain that the fleece had swollen so badly on the elbows (anyone know of a way to restore it?) which while completely true of course wasn’t the real reason. Because the real reason is that you never have enough luggage when moving out. I had a tote bag with me so I put the fleece back last second pretending to my wife that I forgot to throw it away (again, sorry, P). By the way, she is so much better at parting with stuff than me. Meanwhile, my friend messaged me that he was willing to take care of the swollen elbows. By the time we got to the airport, I knew I had to take it with me even if it meant wearing it over another jacket. So I did. It even saved me from cold when I had to wait for an Uber for half an hour. Now, I have to say sorry to my friend’s wife.
Anyway, this particular random observation is not about the ts(s) fleece. It’s about parting with things.
One of the side effects of this niche hobby of mine is that I have lots of tags. I don’t know how good are mass-market brands at tags these days. To be honest, I would prefer companies to abandon tags, labels, packaging, and all that sort of stuff. Not that I believe it will save our planet but those just feel excessive to me. I mean, a quality piece speaks for itself, why all the bells and whistles? Brands show how much care and attention they put into their work, I get it. But I would rather see them put effort into the product. Maybe it’s just me, because I proactively look for new peculiar stuff, not the other way around. Or at least those very brands made me feel this way.
But anyway, I digress again. I tend to keep clothing tags for some reason. I don’t collect them or, I don’t know, like get them out and look at them from time to time. No, I just throw them in the dark corner of the drawer and forget about them. I stumble upon one or another from time to time and they make me feel good. Weird, I know.
With the move, I just couldn’t afford the luxury of taking the tags with me. I mean, I almost threw my Japanese-made fleece away! Imagine how desperately I lacked luggage capacity. So I got all the tags together and took a picture. Damn, I’m writing about it like it’s a family photo. Call it bragging or madness, but now I am just calm about the fact that these little things will continue to live forever in the form of a photograph posted somewhere on the internet.
Random Rap Cover
I’m signing off the seventh episode of Random Observations with a cover of Desiigner’s ‘Panda‘ because I’ve spent too much time watching clothes on the internet:
Samba, Samba, Samba, Samba, Samba
I got drops in Atlanta (woo)
Twisting Aimé Leon Dore and the Sambas (grrrrah)
Credit cards at the checkouts (woo)
EXTRA15 in the promos (git, git)
Black Wales, Bonner (woo)
White whales look like a Samba (grah)
Going out in bandanas (grrrrah)
Hundred Ws, Hundred Ls (git, git)
Black Wales, Bonner
White whales, Samba (grrrrah)Pockets swole, cargo (ha)
Sellin’ ‘preme, Vinted (git, git)
Man my workwear from Randy’s (woo)
The choppa go hiking for Grami (cci)
Damn put ya keys on a belt loop (woo)
Hope Engineered Garments understand me (grrrrah)
Mystery Links
That’s a wrap for the seventh issue of Random Observations! Let me know how you feel about it in the comments section on the blog and what you would like me to cover next time. Seriously, any feedback helps!
Your flight story is pure gold haha