Editorial nuggets #27 – Michel

This week, I present to you three golden nuggets unearthed during my digital wanderings:

• The first raw linen jeans made in France
• A Japanese canvas shirt that smells like the beach
• A tubular Henley, German quality.

Linen Jeans - Dao

A material that you won't often come across on jeans.

Why this brand?

Dao is at the same time a brand, a manufacturing workshop and an entrepreneurial adventure launched in Nancy by Davy Dao in 2012. After several years of research and successful crowdfunding, the brand has developed and refined its offer while remaining up-to-date. human.

Today, Dao makes artisan quality jeans in front of passers-by in his shop in Nancy. The brand demonstrates transparency on its products and offers a lot of content to inform consumers: clothing care, ethics, environmental impact, interviews, etc...

It is difficult for us not to welcome this approach. We would like to see more of brands like Dao. It is therefore without hesitation that I will present to you what in my opinion is their greatest achievement.

Romain Cottarel, who joined the adventure in 2017, and Davy Dao, co-founder, in their workshop in Nancy.

Why this room?

The suggestion of linen jeans quickly intrigued me. For raw jeans, it's a composition that I've never seen elsewhere. So at the time of this discovery, I continued to dig. My curiosity thus led to a closer look. And the glance became a crush.

Understanding this favorite means understanding the advantage of linen in clothing compared to cotton:

• Its hollow fiber traps or releases air to regulate body temperature,
• It can absorb up to 20% of its weight in moisture without changing its feel to the touch,
• It retains fewer odors.

So many features that make this piece a very relevant alternative to cotton jeans.

Linen fabrics often have a roughness characteristic of this material, and these jeans are no exception: beautiful irregularities which reinforce the much appreciated charm of denim.

These properties make linen an ideal fiber to combat the summer heat. Except, in summer, raw denim is in exile because of its heavy armor and its dark color. Cotton doesn't help at all,

Thanks to the linen, these jeans become a card in my wardrobe that I can sometimes wear in the summer. And I admit that the idea of ​​being able to enjoy it more easily throughout the year while staying dry appeals to me.

Obviously, you shouldn't expect to be able to brave 30 degrees with it. They're still jeans, we're far from the airy fabric of certain linen pants. But after several ports, I can confirm that we can climb up to 25 degrees without problem.

Under 25 degrees in summer, with a pair of open shoes and a henley which spoils the end of my article, wearing these jeans does not constitute a thermal problem. Note that I am wearing the straight cut here, but I have strong legs. For a fitted look, opt for a slim cut.

Increasingly attentive to the ethics behind a garment, I was also not insensitive to the socio-ecological argument of linen: it consumes significantly less water, comes mainly from France, and generates almost no of waste.

Two questions may nevertheless arise regarding the composition of these jeans, and I admit that it tickled me until I received the piece:

• What about linen's tendency to wrinkle?
• Jeans are already not a festival of softness. And linen is rough, right?

In terms of creasing, we feel that the 3% elastane does its job well. Combined with the thickness of the weave, they make this denim significantly less wrinkly than other linen clothing. Especially if it is worn fitted as in my case . I would still avoid storing it in a ball in my cupboard.

If you are used to rolling up your jeans at the bottom, you should take into account the fact that a good ironing will be necessary in this area the day you want to wear them as simple bottoms for a change. Linen deforms easily, you can't do miracles on that.

In terms of the feeling when worn, I don't find them particularly rougher than classic jeans. To give you another opinion, David finds that the difference is still felt, although he does not find it disturbing.

So I take my hat off to this small brand which, after 2 years of development, managed to master this anarchic fiber to make its first very successful French linen jeans.

Japanese canvas shirt - Cotton Society

All I have to do now is find the matching beach towel.

Why this brand?

Cotton Society 's challenge is to offer half-measure shirts at affordable prices. And overall, it's a success: a perfectly good quality/price ratio, attractive ranges of fabrics and a half-measure offer that works. To find out more, Nicolò tested it two years ago.

For my part, it was especially the brand's casual models that led me to my find: Cotton Society has the particularity of offering a wide variety of nicely textured fabrics, with grain, charm, and an aesthetic which we rarely encounter elsewhere.

Note that the models offered by the brand are available in standard size and half-size. In my case, I opted for the first option.

Why this room?

I was looking to expand my range of casual shirts with a few strong pieces that stood out from the crowd. So I was waiting to come across a piece that would really catch my eye, that I would return to see several times. I found this shirt.

And just for a change, it was a Japanese material that I fell for. On a cotton base, the 7% linen and ramie provide some thermo-regulating properties, as well as an additional touch of roughness.

Between two scroll strokes, my mouse quickly stopped on the blue stripes of this room. Beyond their well-balanced thickness, I also like their irregular weave: this alternation of blue and white threads gives a raw look while remaining elegant.

And for me, the choice of an ecru base couldn't be more appropriate for this piece. It makes the whole look harmonious, and its slightly aged appearance gives a lot of character.

In short, we recognize all the charm of Japanese fabrics.

What struck my sensitivity was also the summer spirit that the shirt gave off: this thick canvas reminded me of the colors of sand and water. At the edge of the sea, I already see it floating above me, open and swept by the sea winds.

But while waiting to come across a beach on my way to the office, I intend to let its stripes express themselves with light pants and a pair of moccasins:

Photo of a happy man in his new shirt.

And as it remains quite casual, wearing it open over a white t-shirt won't be forbidden for me either.

So many stylistic hypotheses which quickly convinced me about it.

For the second time in this article, I'm going to tip my hat, even if I don't have one: here to the success of the standard cut of the shirt. The piece adjusts the shoulders correctly and follows the trunk well at the bottom, just the way I like it.

In short, this is my definition of a beautiful shirt: one that pleases the eye, that exudes good taste, that earns me compliments, as well as questions about the origin of this find.

Tubular Henley - Merz B. Schwanen

For me, it's the ideal henley.

Why this brand?

We often recommend Merz B. Schwanen for their high-end t-shirts, made on tubular knitting machines which date from the 20s to the 60s. A century of know-how saved in 2011 by a passionate entrepreneur, Peter Plotnicki.

In a flea market, when the latter discovered a henley made by a traditional German factory in 1911, he marveled at the expertise concentrated on the product. He therefore goes further by going to meet the factory in question, which he discovers closed for three years, due to lack of orders in the face of aggressive international competition.

With his wife and a craftsman from the factory, they took a year to restore the machines and relaunch Merz B. Schwanen.

A brand steeped in history, which I find admirable and which continues decades of tradition. Which is clearly reflected in his collection.

The famous old tubular machines, still used by the brand.

Why this room?

The ultimate henley, I've been looking for it for a while. I already have a white one, but it's not there yet. He is white. Optical white. And optical white, on a Henley, is not ultimate. Although it has served me very well lately, and I love it, I find optical white to be a barrier to the ultimate henley.

The perfection of a henley, for me, can be found in one place in the color palette. And it’s ecru:

• We find the entire vintage spirit of the piece
• We're moving away from the "pajamas" side that a white henley can connote

I knew that Merz B. Schwanen made them, so I took a look and came across what in my eyes is the holy grail of henley. And this, for three reasons.

Eins , the material: in my opinion it is the ideal fabric for a henley. A beautiful fine knit, a subtle speckling, and the kind of ecru that quickly makes you understand the meaning of the word "vintage".

The little brown grains that you can see on the material are the icing on this cotton and viscose cake[bg_info txt="+"]Cotton is the majority. Viscose makes the hand more fluid and silky.[/bg_info].

An ecru that fits perfectly into the shades of “earth” tones: here with camel pants and brown moccasins.

Zwei: the finishes. The coated buttons and long ribbed edges bring originality and a real identity to the piece without distorting it.

Well worked, the buttons integrate perfectly into the whole.

Drei: Like the henley itself, this model carries a story. That of the brand, which, as I told you, generates admiration in me. Remember, I told you about a Henley manufactured by the German factory in 1911. A Henley from which the second life of the brand began. Well this is it. Or at least, his grandson. Since it is directly inspired by the design of its ancestor.

So let me introduce his grandfather to you, can you distinguish the family traits?

For these three reasons, I would like to tip my hat a third time. This will be the last one for this week.