Our Favorite Instagrammers – @selvedge_suede_wool
Name: Jamie
Instagram Name: @selvedge_suede_wool
Amount of followers: 624
Age: 32
Residence: London
Occupation: Investment Analyst
Hello Everyone, I’m Jamie and I live in Dalston, East London with my wife and two cats. Like most people I’ve been wearing jeans all my life but got seriously into denim about 10 years ago after reading about the history of Levi’s and the Big E… then my wife found me a pair and I’ve never looked back.
Outside the world of denim my passions are music, football (soccer) and travelling – I have recorded a concept album about a Viennese mathematician, am a season ticket holder at Tottenham Hotspur, and generally try to visit as many countries as possible.
My favorite food is Vietnamese, and we are spoilt for choice in Hackney in that regard, but my favourite restaurant is St. John for their famous bone marrow on toast. Beer and whiskey are my favourite drinks and we are regularly found in the bars of Dalston chopping down a few pints and/or cocktails.
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Why do you share your outfits? And why Instagram?
I enjoyed following denim aficionados and thought I needed to get involved in sharing the spirit of raw denim. Instagram worked for me as it’s visually orientated. Plus, I’m not on Facebook or other social media anyway.
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What makes your Instagram feed so special?
Well I’m not sure it’s very special but it reflects what I wear: selvedge denim, suede footwear and wool suiting. I like focusing on detail shots and always try to keep it jazzy.
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Where does your inspiration come from?
The streets of London, denim aficionados on Instagram and reading books on denim, Ivy style and heritage production.
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Where does your love for denim come from? When did it start?
I have always been into good jeans but it was after reading about the history of denim and selvedge fabrics about ten years ago that it really started. I was fascinated by Levi’s Big E, and then my wife found me an amazing pair in Hong Kong, which I wore more or less continuously for 3 years until they had accrued so many rips and tears that I had to retire them to a display box at home. The fades are great though. The next step was discovering Japanese denim and it definitely became an obsession from there.
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Your top 3 favorite (denim)brands?
Levi’s – the history dating back to 1873 when Levi’s riveted denim was patented denim, the two horses, the classic 501, Type I/II/III jackets… the list goes on and despite not always maintaining the quality of some more focused selvedge labels it is the archetypical American brand for me.
Blackhorse Lane Atelier – great quality selvedge denim made just a few miles from my flat in East London.
Evisu – ok they have made some bonkers jeans over the years but they push boundaries and I remember these guys bringing back selvedge in the 1990s/2000s. The seagull on the pocket is such an iconic design.
6. What is your favorite accessory?
Ecru selvedge handkerchief by Gant Rugger. Pointless but great.
7. Which items do you wear most at the moment?
A pair of slightly neppy off-white selvedge jeans by Paul Smith. They are so jazzy I can’t bare to take them off.
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What is your favorite shop? And what is your favorite webstore?
Traid in Dalston is a great charity shop which not only does great work reducing the negative environmental impact that textile production can have (and I feel quite guilty about, being an avid consumer) but is also a good source of vintage selvedge denim, suede jackets and other cool stuff.
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Do you care about the production process?
Absolutely. Great craftsmanship is what creates high quality crisp rigid denim. Knowing the heritage of a brand, use of fair production methods and historic production specialities are extremely important in my view. I am fascinated by historic specialists such as Cone Mills in North Carolina, US, the great leather footwear manufacturers clustered around Northampton in England and the amazing Japanese selvedge denim producers that started up from the 1950s.
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What are your dreams for the future?
That the UK somehow remains part of the EU.
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