Photo cred: Kirsten Swanson PhotographyPaleo is no longer just for all your CrossFitters and cavemen out there. Yeah, I said it. It's now denim. When I was in Austin for SXSW, I ran into the Neighborhood pop up shop on 2nd Street and stumbled upon this gem of a concept. The mastermind behind the label is Richard Cole and I got the chance to speak with him a little about his designs and inspiration behind his line.
Paleo denim isn't based off of the paleo diet or anything of that nature, it's actually a nod to Cole's father who is an amateur paleontologist. The two used to go fossil hunting all over the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic states. "It's a funny way to spend a day, sometimes ponderous and fruitless, sometimes rewarding and exhausting," he said.
As you can imagine, fossil hunting can be tough on one's clothes, which therein lies the inspiration behind creating this new line of denim and leather goods. "The clothing and accessories all have to be tough as nails," said Cole. "I use some of the best leathers, the best denims and best threads to make sure everything lasts a long time." He credits this emphasis on quality products on remembering his clothes being "shred to pieces while fossil hunting." And to Cole, a quality product is really the only option for his business.
"There's no point in making disposable things, it's bad for the consumer, bad for the environment and bad for the character of the producer."
One of the things that I loved most about his designs were that they were almost all made out of selvedge denim. What is selvedge? Basically it's the end of the role of denim and it has a finished edge. This is great because your jeans are stronger and won't fray like other denim will. Plus, it just looks cool and more put together if you're one of those guys who likes to roll their jeans. Most selvedge seams are red, but can also be other colors depending on the manufacturer/supplier.
Here's an example of a selvedge seam:
Photo via Levi'sIn the future Cole plans to work with some stretch, organic, recycled, and hemp denims. He's all about environmentally friendly production which is always a plus.
Another plus? He jeans have a button fly. Now I know for some of you, this may seem annoying, but in reality, it's actually a better option than a zipper. A button-fly is sturdier than a zipper and will last longer. Aka you should really try and get used to it if you can.
And for all of you tall guys and athletes out there, you're in luck! Paleo denim has three different fits: full cut, slim straight, and slim, and they all come in a 36 inseam length, which we LOVE. For those of you who you aren't as vertically inclined, you can just get them hemmed or roll them. Just make sure whenever you hem denim to wash and dry it first because it will shrink about a 1/4 of an inch the first time. Bring your shoes with you to the tailor and have them give you a "full break" in the front and to re-attach the original hem. This always costs more, but I think it looks better that way. Most importantly, don't let the simplicity of his designs fool you- that's all part of the plan. You see, leather and denim were meant to be worn and should look better with time. That is, if they are a quality product, and that's exactly what Cole is striving for. "Quite a bit of my work looks under designed largely because I'm trying to account for how the material will change over time, jeans fading, leathers darkening etc." he said. "I want a piece to look good over every part of it's life cycle"The concept is simple, but that's the beauty of it. After all, jeans shouldn't be difficult. They should just be jeans.
Sorry ladies, there are no current designs for women but they ARE in the works.
Check out Paleo Denim's website here and make sure to follow them on Twitter.
And just to be random and stick with my ADD roots, here's a little bit of what I've been listening to.
