21oz Shinayaka Selvedge Denim
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OMG.. I can't wait for those 555 21oz Shinayaka hit the store.
They look awesome :o -
Those are looking really mint @neph93! Thanks for the update
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@neph93 if you could have sized up/down would you have done so?
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@neph93 if you could have sized up/down would you have done so?
Put it this way, the sample pair are the 555 in w34. I couldn’t really wear the 555 in w34 in regular 21oz because the the upper leg would be too tight. In that respect these are already sized down, although w36 in normal 21oz would be way too big in the waist.
If I were to buy the 888 in this denim I would size down. 777 and 666 I’d go true to size. The waist isn’t he problem for me, it’s the thighs. The stretch in this denim lets me wear cuts I normally couldn’t.
For most people they can either go tts and have a more comfortable experience or size down for a flattering silhouette without the attendent torture.
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@neph93 thanks for the info, I'm hoping for these to release all at once so I can do a good comparison.
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@neph93 thanks for the info, I'm hoping for these to release all at once so I can do a good comparison.
I don’t know, but I doubt that will happen. The IH-555-SST seems to be on sale in Japan already, so I suspect it will be available ROW soon. Given that Japan probably won’t offer the 777 or 888, and the fact that it is only one factory making these, the chances of simultaneous release are slim.
That being said, I think you’d be safe using the existing measurements for regular 21oz as your basis for comparison. I highly doubt that they will differ meaningfully from the standard iterations. The 555’s I’m wearing have precisely the same dims as the IH-555s-21.
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Readers of this thread….
I’m writing a definitive review of the sample pair of IH-555-SST prior to the first arrival of the Shinayaka denim in Gosport next week.
I’ll try and touch on all the obvious points but if there are any specific areas you’d like me to cover or questions you need answering about this denim, then please let me know here or via PM.
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Can you talk about how it feels and how heavy and soft it is please?
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@Filthy:
Can you talk about how it feels and how heavy and soft it is please?
…and get really close to the mic and speak in the softest whisper. #nephsdenimtease
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HAHAHAHAHAHA
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Wife: “Why are there so many $7 charges on the Amex?”
Me: there is this Scandinavian guy who keeps promising so show me more weft shots if I keep tipping him…
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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I was planning on writing it, not doing an AV version, but «Neph’s ASMR Denim Reviews» has just been registered on Only Fans. Link in the bio, custom requests catered for [emoji15]
I'd subscribe to your OnlyPants in a heartbeat!
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Ok guys… these jeans will be going on sale in the course of the next week or two, so I've written a definite review of them.
The next post will contain the whole review, but seeing as that ended up being about five pages long and pretty wordy (I'm an English teacher, sorry
), I've also made an edit for those who want it short and to the point.The following disclaimer applies to both:
Before I get on to the review of the IH-555-SST, super slim tapered Shinayaka 21oz denim, I’d like to make a few things clear. I was asked by Giles Padmore to test wear the only sample pair of this denim in the west in August 2020. The purpose of the test was to see how the denim wears, fades and works in real life, over a period of time, in order to give Iron Heart International feedback about this. At no point have I been asked to promote them or hype them in any way. All of my posts on the forum or Instagram regarding this sample pair have been of my own choice, my main motivation being keeping the forum and wider IH community informed, while also documenting the development of the jeans and my views on them, over time. This review has been written independently and has not been subject to any external editorial oversight.
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IH-555-SST REVIEW (Full length version):
Iron Heart’s super slim tapered cut in 21oz indigo selvedge denim with a potentially controversial bit of stretch. But will it be rugged? Will there be fades? Will it be “Iron”?
In this review I will discuss the denim itself, its hand, weight, appearance, and similarities to the original 21oz. I will obviously consider the stretch factor too. In addition, I will discuss the 555 cut the sample came in. Finally, I will look at the development of the jeans over the period I have owned and worn them.
In an interview with Heddels published in 2018, the Canadian author William Gibson who is a fan of both workwear and tech wear, described Iron Heart products as being atemporal, outside of time and history (https://www.heddels.com/2015/03/william-gibson-interview-buzz-rickson-line-tech-wear-limits-authenticity/). He said, "Iron Heart achieves that atemporality through an inherent tightness, a stubbornness of intent". I think about that a lot when I receive a new item from Iron Heart, and there have been a few down the years. They come out of the bag hard, shiny and new, while at the same time seemingly unaffected by modernity. It´s the same sense of newness that you get when you buy a good axe, wrench or crowbar from the hardware store. Just like those tools, the essential design of jeans, shirts and jackets produced by Iron Heart has not changed dramatically from the way they were formed decades ago. They are atemporal. Just like a new hammer you can see the stubborn intent, purposeful design and “inherent tightness”. Just like a new hammer, they are fresh from the factory, ready to go, but thoughtfully updated to make them a little better, a little more effective, or indeed a little more comfortable to use. So, it was with the IH-555-SST.
When new the IH-555-SST have a smooth, even hand, with a slight sheen to it. The heft is meaningful, and they strike a pleasing balance of pliability and resistance. The contrasting constructional stitching is neat, uniform, effective. The engineering of the yoke, pockets, button fly, waistband and crotch, is a robust, calculated, resolute architecture, punctuated by the bar tacks, rivets, and other hardware. It shares the deliberate functionality of the aforementioned hammer. In short, anyone who has previously unpacked a new pair of IH jeans made from the 21oz flagship denim will be unsurprised at what they find. As has been illustrated elsewhere on the Iron Heart forum, the indigo face of the Shinayaka is very similar to standard 21oz. Both have a rich dark indigo, with the weft showing slightly darker on the Shinayaka. This makes a more obvious difference to the reverse of the fabric but unless you do a side-by-side comparison then the face is effectively the same.
It is impossible to discuss these jeans without referencing the original 21oz flagship denim, but of course the major difference here is the addition of 2% polyurethane to the weave. Upon first appraisal you wouldn’t know it was there. In fact, there is nothing about the initial feel or appearance of the jean that suggests anything other than heavy milled 100% cotton. It is only when you apply force, taking the material in two hands and tugging the material in opposite directions, just like the two horses on a certain fabled leather patch, that you can notice the effect. It moves, just a little more that you would imagine denim this heavy should.
The movement is not at the extremities like when you stretch a balloon but is evenly distributed throughout the area of fabric under duress. Very natural, and very pleasing. It returns to form with the same quick ease, with the smooth action of closing an oiled folding knife. You get the same sensation when putting them on. These jeans fit me snugly in the top-block, thigh and waist, and on first wear the awareness of the stretch giving just enough to avoid discomfort was odd to me, yet very satisfying. The denim was as palpable on my body as regular heavyweight denim, but where you would expect constriction to chafe or bite, it didn’t. Rather it moved just enough to avoid being uncomfortable.
I was initially concerned that stretch denim would stretch too much. That the movement would give the fabric a warped appearance, like cling film over a bowl. Equally I was worried that distortion in the fabric would be evident after I took them off, but that just didn’t happen. When I took them off and they were no longer under strain, the fabric simply went back to its original dimensions, unlike 100% cotton denim which continues to stretch out after multiple wears. All this being said, I did notice that after continuous daily wear over the first few weeks, the denim did not regroup as much overnight, and incrementally stretched out, but far, far less than standard 21oz does. More of that later.
The IH-555-SST sample has measurements almost exactly like its 100% cotton counterpart, the IH-555S-21. My first pair of jeans purchased from Gosport in 2014 were this cut. I wore them and loved them for many years, but they were very tight over the thighs, and super snug in the top block. The crotch blew out a after only a month or two of wear and was repaired numerous times in the course of their life. That pair have been retired to Gosport now, but again the ability to compare those experiences with the SST is useful.
To date, the IH-555-SST have been worn for about 100 days. About twenty of those wear days have seen me doing heavy labor, ripping out the interior of an 80-year-old house. I’ve been crowbarring, sledgehammering, and up and down ladders in them. There has been much crouching and lifting, carrying and climbing. This is work I would have struggled to do in the 100% cotton version. Certainly, it would have been painful and pointless from a practical standpoint. And it would probably have damaged the jeans too.
The mobility that the 2% gives is liberating and impressive in so heavy a pair of jeans, in such a slim cut. In addition, the panels of the crotch in the Shinayaka are holding admirably. I generally blow out crotches in all my jeans at some point, the 888 cuts I own being the exception, and these will probably go at some point, but a detailed examination shows very little thinning, and no signs of the warp failing at all. I’ll add here that any concerns about toughness that I may have had about denim containing polyurethane were extinguished during this work. The Shinayaka has been scratched by protruding nail heads, taken saw blades being drawn over it, and been exposed to a lot of contact with abrasive surfaces. All this has left its mark, but not challenged the integrity of the fabric.
This leads nicely on to fading and evo. One of the differences that was noticeable with the “Shinayaka” denim was that the elastic meant that creases were slower to form. Rolls would appear with wear before almost entirely dropping out overnight. They would come back in the same place the next day, but this would surely affect any fading, no? Well, yes and no. The creases have developed and now no longer drop out. It just took a lot more time. And now the fading is starting, it is happening as one would expect. The rolls are possibly softer, but they are still pleasingly fat, and the indigo is moving out and fades are appearing at the whiskers and honeycombs.
The nature of the fade is apparently the same as with the standard 21oz. A long fade through navy, to electric blue, them a paler blue. I’ve reached white on a couple of exposed points. On the larger areas the color is shifting, slowly leeching out, and that awesome bruised effect is coming in on the thighs and shins. The 21oz is a slow but beautiful fader and here the Shinayaka is going to do precisely the same thing.
After 100 days of wear and two washes, the effect of the stretch is lessening. This is by no means a problem and is in fact pretty interesting. After the first wash the denim returned to the same dimensions as when new and behaved the same was with repeated wears. However, after the second wash the polyurethane seems to have lost a little of its “memory” and my body’s movement has affected the jeans permanently. They seem more broken in, the way they have formed to my body remains, but the waist and thighs are a little more relaxed straight from the machine. This makes sense and in my opinion is a positive development.
That is not to say that the stretch is gone, the fabric still moves and flexes with me, mobility and comfort are still at maximum. Nor has the fabric given up its elasticity in other areas. Knee bags and sagging out at the rear of the top block are well known “issues” on 100% cotton jeans, and neither has happened in these jeans. My old 555’s had both of these features well developed by this stage, but the fabric’s static memory means it hasn’t happened here yet. They have retained their shape well, with just the right amount of accommodation for body shape, in just the right places.
This may change of course. More wear and more washing may break down the effect of the polyurethane further. Only time will tell, but it seems to me that these jeans have their own break in process, their own way of aging and developing and evolving with their wearer, that is just as absorbing, intriguing, and dynamic as it’s 100% cotton siblings.
I’m writing this on April 1st, and only a few years ago the Iron Heart Forum contained an April Fool’s joke announcing the fictive launch of a stretch denim line. No one fell for it. A few years later it is happening. There is a fair chance that some people are going to be upset, annoyed or just plain dismissive. I get that, but as someone who followed this brand for many years now, my main concern was simply, “Are these Iron Heart”? Of that there is no doubt. They bare all the hallmarks of Iron Heart jeans.
In utilizing the 21oz fabric as a starting point, Haraki-san has made an excellent case for that from the get-go. The addition of the elastic element, is subtle, barely changing the appearance of jean at all. The construction and detailing are precisely what you would expect from Iron Heart, as are the haptics of the denim. They possess that presence that IH jeans have, of being something more than the sum of their parts. A presence that comes from a sublime marriage of fabric design, and engineering skill. The only difference between the IH-555-SST and any other 100% cotton 21oz jeans, is that over the first wear days there is an increased range of motion and comfort, and the fact that creases don’t set as quickly, nor as markedly.
I recently scored a pair of IH-463S in the 100% cotton 21oz. They are trim in the top block and fitted in the thigh. The purchase has allowed a more direct comparison of the fabrics. On the 463’s, the little bit of give isn’t there, I feel like maybe the Shinayaka’s were not as dry to the touch when new, the creases on the 463 have come in a little quicker, they are a little lighter in color. There is also a chance that the Shinayaka is going to be a little warmer. The airy nature of the 21oz is well known, but the Shinayaka seems a little thicker, a little denser, that it’s older brother. This makes sense of course; polyurethane has different properties to cotton and despite there only being 2% it is bound to make a slight difference. But the similarities are enormous, and I dare say as the 463’s approach 100 days wear, it will be extremely difficult to tell the fabric of these two pairs of jeans apart at all.
So why bother? Why bother making stretch denim at all? Why should any of us buy it? The 21oz is the most comfortable IH denim out of the bag anyway, it isn’t exactly a challenge to break in. Are these just for lazy people who don’t want any discomfort connected with their jeans? Who want to avoid the most unintimidating of break-in processes? I think not, although if there are people who feel that way, they should be overjoyed at the prospect of these jeans. A major plus with this denim will be that they are going to take a lot of guess work out of sizing these jeans, and a lot of worry about stretch at the waist or sagging at the knee or behind. Being between sizes, will not be such an issue anymore. Certain measurements not suitable for the individual on a raw pair, will be unproblematic here. The jeans are that much more forgiving when it comes to fit and body shapes, that much more accessible, and I’d dare to say, easier to look good in.
For my part, the Shinayaka denim is a game changer because it will allow me to wear cuts I normally wouldn’t or couldn’t. As a 47-year-old man with a fairly solid build and chunky butt and thighs, the 555 and the 666 are the ones I normally struggle with the most. Not so in this denim. Best of all, not only can I soon wear both those cuts with ease, I can also do so while completing any kind of activity in them. Someone referenced an old Chuck Norris advert for “Action Jeans” on the forum thread for this denim, and while funny, it is also true. Karate kicks, star jumps, squats, lunges all with consummate ease. And all that without diluting the essential Iron Heart DNA that is glaringly present at the core of this soon to be famous denim and jean design.
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IH-555-SST REVIEW (EDIT)
Iron Heart’s super slim tapered cut in 21oz indigo selvedge denim with a potentially controversial bit of stretch. But will it be rugged? Will there be fades? Will it be “Iron”?
The IH-555-SST come out of the bag hard, shiny and new. It´s the same newness that you get when you buy a good wrench or hammer from the hardware store. Just like those tools, the design of five pocket jeans such as these has not changed dramatically from the way they were formed decades ago. Just like a new hammer you can see the stubborn purposeful design. Just like a new hammer, they are fresh from the factory, ready to go, but updated to make them a little better, a little more effective, or indeed a little more comfortable to use.
When new the IH-555-SST have a smooth, even hand, with a slight sheen to it. They are hefty and combine softness and resistance. The contrasting constructional stitching is clearly effective, the engineering of the yoke, pockets, button fly, waistband and crotch, is robust, and comes with all the hardware owners of IH jeans are used to. In short, anyone who has previously unpacked a new pair of IH jeans made from the 21oz flagship denim will be unsurprised at what they find. The appearance of the Shinayaka denim differs very little from a pair of 100% cotton 21oz. Both have a dark indigo color, with the weft showing slightly darker on the Shinayaka.
Of course, the major difference here is the addition of 2% polyurethane to the weave. At first you wouldn’t know it was there. There is nothing about the feel or appearance of the jean that suggests anything other than 100% cotton. It is only when you take the material in two hands and tug it that you can notice the effect. It moves, just a little more than regular 21oz does. It is very natural and returns to form quickly. It feels the same when putting them on. The jeans sit trim everywhere but where you would expect discomfort the denim flexes just enough to avoid it. The denim just returns to shape after wear, although after weeks of regular wear I did notice the stretch becoming a little more permanent, just nowhere near the standard 21oz.
When it comes to evo and fading, one noticeable difference with the “Shinayaka” denim was that creases were slower to form. They would appear with wear and drop out overnight. After much wear the creases have developed and now no longer drop out. It just took a lot more time. The fade is the same as with the standard 21oz. A long fade through navy, to electric blue, them a paler blue. I’ve reached white on a couple of exposed points. The 21oz is a slow but beautiful fader and here the Shinayaka is going to do precisely the same thing.
Now, after 100 days of wear and two washes, the stretch isn’t as noticeable anymore. After the first wash the denim returned to the same dimensions as when new. However, after the second wash the polyurethane seems to have lost a little of its “memory” and the jeans seem more broken in. The fabric still moves and flexes with me, stretching a little so they are very comfortable and easy to wear still. There is still enough stretch to avoid knee bags and sagging out at the rear of the top block. In other words, this denim keeps its shape very well indeed, at least after 100 wears.
The 21oz is the most comfortable IH denim out of the bag and it isn’t difficult to break in, so who needs 21oz stretch denim? People who don’t want minimal discomfort or break-in, for one. People who want their denim to retain its shape longer, people who are between sizes, or find some measurements unsuitable on some cuts will all find these jeans easy to size and easy to wear. These jeans will fit different body shapes easier and are probably easier to look good in.
For me, the Shinayaka denim is a game changer because it will allow me to wear cuts I normally wouldn’t or couldn’t. The 555 and the 666 are the ones I normally struggle with the most and it makes me happy that soon I can wear both those cuts with ease, and I can also do so while completing any kind of activity in them. I’ve worn these jeans doing construction work for 20 days, something unthinkable in a regular pair of 21oz 555’s. They have also taken nail heads, saw blades and lots of contact with abrasive surfaces, which have left their mark, but not damaged the fabric. So, these jeans are without a doubt Iron Heart in every way. Tough, rugged, over-engineered while also being that much comfier.
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Wow! Great write up Reuben, at least the edited version [emoji8] I have one question after reading… can you see with the naked eye any of the polyurethane thread at the points where the denim has worn? It would be cool to see some macro shots of any abrasions on your pair.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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can you see with the naked eye any of the polyurethane thread at the points where the denim has worn?
No sir, you cannot. It just looks exactly like worn 21oz in 100% cotton. Here are iPhone shots of the seam at the crotch, a worn panel on the back of the top block near the crotch, and an abrasion from a nail head on front of the hip:
