The Brotherhood of the Very Expensive Pants

January 21, 2009 6:02 AM

"It's like I used to enjoy firecrackers, but now it takes dynamite to get me high." Brit Eaton takes Outside magazine on a safari for vintage clothing in the wild west. (via)
posted by 1f2frfbf (19 comments total)

"People make money all sorts of ways, don't they?" Indeed. And when someone states that he is "the best person in the country at finding old clothes, maybe the best in the world," he isn't being "unabashed about his prowess," but boasting. Is it founded? I don't know, but the article didn't provide anything on his competition beyond "there are a handful of other vintage-denim hunters." And given that he still hasn't found a pinnacle-piece (something selling for $30k to $40k), it sounds like he's boasting.

Just sayin'.
posted by filthy light thief at 6:30 AM on January 21, 2009

I swear I thought that said Bret Easton Ellis. I thought, wow, maybe there are second acts in American lives.
posted by sugarfish at 6:33 AM on January 21, 2009

I used to do this, like, a little.
posted by snofoam at 6:46 AM on January 21, 2009

OK, now it's loading. I thought the server was messed up but it seems that my dorm offers some level of filtering that screws up from time to time which I am way not cool with.

This is way cool, but what I'd be the most interested in is the patterns of the pants so I could make a pair of my own. It's funny how those old pants look more like Carhartts (real work pants) than any 505s you could buy now.
I wonder how much thicker the fabric was.
posted by dunkadunc at 7:02 AM on January 21, 2009

Pantsfishing.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 7:17 AM on January 21, 2009

Eaton explains the value of old chaps to ranchers

Hmm.
posted by pracowity at 7:24 AM on January 21, 2009

What an impeccably tight piece of feature writing. Not a wasted paragraph.
(It's the kind of fascinating oddball subject the NY Times mag would thrash to death over several million words.)

Very cool post - thanks.
posted by Jody Tresidder at 7:39 AM on January 21, 2009

I try to avoid crusty old pants myself.

Especially when they're being worn by someone.
posted by tommasz at 8:03 AM on January 21, 2009

Is this something I'd have to be wearing pants to appreciate?
posted by box at 8:16 AM on January 21, 2009

This was fascinating.
posted by mecran01 at 9:27 AM on January 21, 2009

fascinating.
posted by rmd1023 at 10:11 AM on January 21, 2009

Just for clarification: DO NOT USE DYNAMITE TO GET YOURSELF HIGH.
posted by jimmythefish at 11:43 AM on January 21, 2009

although if you set it up right, you have the potential to get very, very high indeed. Once.
posted by echo target at 12:51 PM on January 21, 2009

"You know how kids nowadays buy jeans that are faded and full of holes?" he asked her. "Well, clients rely on guys like me to find things for design inspiration."

Oh my, this dude is like some sort of bounty hunter on behalf of simulacra. "Yeah, I track down and bring in the real. My clients don't like to let that sort of thing run loose among the public."
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 1:22 PM on January 21, 2009

I cannot think of a better way to ruin one's own business than to announce to the world through the internet that an old pair of Levis is worth fifty grand.
posted by digsrus at 1:24 PM on January 21, 2009

Unless they're actually worth fifty million dollars.
posted by zippy at 2:27 PM on January 21, 2009

Thanks for posting this. It was fun to poke around out there and meet some genuine cowboy-type folks.
posted by longsleeves at 3:21 PM on January 21, 2009

I wonder how many people he approaches figure that they can do better by telling him to buzz off and going directly to ebay themselves. Seems like common sense to cut out the middle man, but I reckon the assurance of instant cash is strong.
posted by exogenous at 3:42 PM on January 21, 2009

I cannot think of a better way to ruin one's own business than to announce to the world through the internet that an old pair of Levis is worth fifty grand.

From the narrative in the article, most of the current unbeknownst owners of said valued items didn't strike me as heavy internet users.
posted by Rhomboid at 7:40 PM on January 21, 2009